Judy chimed in, “It’s not just about your case against Home Hacks and EXMS anymore.”
Bennie nodded, standing tall. “And it isn’t just about us working for you either. If you decide you still want to fire us at the end of this argument, then so be it. But hear us out, please.”
Sanjay pursed his lips, glancing at Jim, who nodded. Then Sanjay said, “Okay, fine. Say whatever you have to say.”
“Thank you.” Bennie remained standing as Mary, Judy, and Anne sat down, since she always said she thought better on her feet, then she launched into a full explanation of everything they had learned, namely that Home Hacks was owned by Machiavelli, that they suspected that he also owned EXMS through shell companies, and that he had filed the reverse-discrimination lawsuit and ultimately killed John in order to cause London Technologies to abandon its meritorious suit against his companies.
Mary footnoted Bennie’s argument by showing them the corporate registrations, and Anne reminded Sanjay and Jim how integral John had been in the litigation. Sanjay and Jim confirmed that they had thought of John as the expert early on, but asked why the women hadn’t gone to the police, and Judy explained about William, Shanahan, and the fact that they had all agreed that Machiavelli was responsible for John’s murder. By the end of the argument, Bennie had seated herself, the other women had fallen quiet, and Jim and Sanjay looked stricken.
“My God,” Sanjay said, in hushed tones. “It’s so awful to think that somehow John’s murder was connected to our case.”
Jim had gone white in the face. “It sickens me. John was a terrific lawyer, and I never thought his murder was related to us in any way.”
“We didn’t either,” Bennie shot back.
“But now you know, right?” Mary asked, pointedly.
“Because we’re sure of it,” Judy chimed in.
Anne nodded. “And we need your help.”
“Well…” Jim and Sanjay exchanged glances, then Sanjay said, “Ladies, I’m not going to lie. You’re springing this on us, and it sounds so out of left field. Some sounds like speculation, but some of it doesn’t, I admit.” Sanjay gestured to the corporate papers cluttering the black conference table. “But I don’t know what you expect us to do. We would never go against the police.”
Jim shook his head. “Right, we’re not experts, they are. If they think this Shanahan guy killed John, we’re inclined to go with their judgment. We don’t know how we can help you.”
Bennie leaned forward, urgently. “You don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to even believe us over the police. All you have to do is not fire us for a few days.”
Mary added, “That’s all we’re asking. We need the time to investigate Machiavelli on our own. We need to use your case as a cover and we don’t want Machiavelli to know we’re onto him, in any way. We even took the step of offering to hire the plaintiffs in the reverse-discrimination suit, so he wouldn’t think we suspected anything. The minute you fire us, or go looking for another lawyer, our cover is blown and we lose our basis for proceeding.”
Anne said, urgently, “Sanjay, Jim, please give us three more days, that’s all we ask. You have depositions coming up tomorrow and the day after, and I’m prepared to take them both. You won’t have to cancel or postpone them. You haven’t found a replacement counsel yet, have you?”
“No,” Sanjay said, frowning.
“We were just discussing our next move when you came in.” Jim’s face fell. “We were crunching the numbers, too. We were probably going to have to abandon the litigation and withdraw our Complaint.”
“So then you have nothing to lose,” Mary blurted out. “Please, let us just go forward.”
Anne nodded. “Guys, you won’t be sorry. I’ve worked this case from day one, and we got through the time when you didn’t see me as the one who could represent you. I am, and you know that now, and please let me finish what we started. I swear, in the end this will bring Machiavelli down and benefit London Technologies. We have the facts and the law on our side. This case is a sure winner. If we just keep the pressure on, he has to settle and he knows it.”
Judy cleared her throat noisily, and Mary looked over, surprised to see tears glistening in her best friend’s eyes, though Judy’s attention was riveted on Sanjay and Jim. “I know that you’re entrepreneurs, but I know that you’re about more than money. You came up with a genuine innovation that opened your market up to newcomers, just like you. You saw that it was unjust and you put your company on the line, trusting in us, filing that lawsuit, and trying to break up a monopoly.”
Sanjay listened, and so did Jim, and Mary could see that Judy was reaching them, with the power of her words and the authenticity of her emotions.
“So I guess I’m saying to you that this is not about law, but it’s about justice.” Judy’s eyes brimmed with tears, but she held them back. “We all knew John, some of us better than others. We can’t let Machiavelli get away with murdering him with impunity. We have a chance to do the right thing. You know how hard he fought for your company, how loyal he was to you. So please show the loyalty to him, even in death, that he did for you, in life.” Judy swallowed hard. “I’m asking you, I’m begging you, to give us three more days. Will you do that, for us and for him?”
“Of course,” Sanjay answered immediately, his eyes nearly wet. “Judy, when you put it that way. Mary, Bennie, Anne, we can do that, we have to, don’t we?” Sanjay looked at Jim. “Right, we can’t say no.”
“We can’t say no, not after that!” Jim burst into nervous laughter, wiping his eyes. “Hey, you guys don’t pull any punches, do you?”
“Why start now?” Bennie laughed.
“Thank you so much!” Mary jumped out of her chair, unable to contain herself, and went around the table and gave them both very pregnant hugs. “We really appreciate it!”
“It’s okay, it’s all right.” Sanjay let her go, with a sweet smile. “We have your back. We wish you luck.”
“We sure do.” Jim grinned. “Just be careful. Fighting crime doesn’t go very well with being pregnant, does it?”
“So far, so good.” Mary patted her belly, again instinctively, but the baby was still asleep. It struck her as unusual, but she didn’t know if it was anything to be worried about. Probably not.
Meanwhile, Bennie was beaming, Anne was hugging Sanjay, Judy was hugging Jim, and Mary could feel the palpable warmth of the relationship returning, all of them newly bound by John’s death and a common cause. Suddenly she caught sight of a young tall, redheaded man in jeans and a black T-shirt looking into the conference room, then continuing on his way down the hall.
“Who was that, Sanjay?” Mary asked, since something about him seemed familiar.
“That’s our intern, Paul Patrioca. He does coding for us.”
“I know that family!” Mary said, feeling a happy bolt of recognition. “The Patriocas live in my parish in South Philly. I went to high school at Maria Goretti with his sister. Paul’s the baby of the family, there were seven of them. I knew him when he was little.”
“You recognize him?”
“He hasn’t changed that much. He’s a Patrioca. They have that nose and bright red hair that sticks up. You don’t see it that often.” Mary thought back to Paul and his family, feeling her smile fade. “You know, come to think of it, that’s funny.”
“What is?”
“It’s a funny coincidence that he works here.” Mary started to wonder, putting it together.
“How so? He’s new. Newish.”
“When did he start? About six months ago? About the time that you filed the complaint against Home Hacks and EXMS?”
“Yes, exactly. How did you know?” Sanjay nodded, with a puzzled frown. “We hired him because we were getting too busy with the litigation, the meetings and all. We needed somebody to take up the slack.”
“And he’s in college? He goes to Drexel?” Mary looked down the empty hallway, but Paul had vanished. “Somebody go get him.”
Bennie looked over. “DiNunzio, what’s up?”
“The Patriocas live next door to the Machiavellis.”