“But they’re dragging my name through the mud. My staff and I agree that this has got to stop. Every time I turn around, someone is asking me about this girl. Not only are they asking me, they’re asking my wife.” Fairview’s eyes teared up. “My kids.”
“You’re a smart guy,” Stone said soothingly. “Hell, you’re a senator. Who was that politico who said that the Senate is the most exclusive men’s club in the world? Whatever—I understand why you and your ‘people’ think it is important for you to get out there and say, ‘I didn’t do anything wrong.’ Just stay away from ‘I am not a crook,’” he added dryly. “It’s been done. But if you talk to the feds, you either tell the truth or you don’t talk at all.”
“I understand. What else should I know?”
Finally, Fairview was asking an intelligent question.
“Simple. Keep it short and sweet. No speeches, no big explanations. When they ask you a question, answer it in as few words as possible. If they say nothing after that—do not start adding to your answer. That’s the way you get hung out to dry.”
“Okay, okay.” Fairview nodded like a bobblehead.
“If you want to sit down with the feds, I will be there. Just don’t try to pull the wool over their eyes. My point can be made in two words: Martha Stewart. She went to the can after being convicted of lying about a crime she was never charged with in the first place.”
“Well, I haven’t been charged with any crime either.” Fairview seemed ready to get back on his high horse.
“You really think so?” Sarcasm colored Stone’s words. “How long has your cable been out? You might want to call them and get it back on. Because every night I listen to two blonde ex-prosecutors and my fellow defense lawyers debate your innocence. And let me tell you—it’s not looking too good for you. The feds may not have charged you, but in the court of public opinion you are already being found guilty.”
“Is there anything else?” Fairview sounded irritated.
Stone guessed he was used to being surrounded by yes-men, not someone who gave it to him straight.
“Yeah,” Stone said. “Got a check for me?”
SAN FELIPE TAQUERIA
December 23
When will you tell work?” Cassidy asked, biting into a chip loaded with salsa.
A drop splashed into the deep V of her turquoise blouse that exactly matched her eyes. Allison watched as she nonchalantly scooped it up with her index finger and licked it off.
Allison, Cassidy, and Nicole were grabbing a quick meal at San Felipe Taqueria, a little hole-in-the-wall in Southeast Portland that served the best fish tacos in the city. Cassidy had ordered a margarita, Nicole had gotten a beer, and Allison, despite the counterwoman’s puzzled look, had ordered a large milk. It arrived in a glass with a beer logo on the side.
Allison said, “I’m not going to tell anyone else until I’m sure everything’s going to be okay. When I was working at McGarrity and White, there was an associate who told everyone she was pregnant when she was only a few weeks along. Then she found out the baby had Down syndrome. She took a week off, and when she came back she wasn’t pregnant anymore. But everybody knew what had happened.” She sighed. “I keep wondering if everything is going okay. This must be how people feel when they find out they have cancer. Like something secret is happening deep inside them, dividing and growing, something you can’t see.”
“But this is a baby.” Cassidy looked startled. “Not a cancer.”
Nicole’s mouth twisted into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Sometimes it feels like that, though. The baby takes priority, and if there aren’t enough nutrients to go around, the mother gets shorted. That’s why women used to lose their teeth a hundred years ago.”
“Speaking of mothers, what do you think of Katie’s?” Cassidy raised her eyebrows.
“Heck, if I were that girl, I might run away just to get away from her.” Nicole shook her head. “She’s just a tad rigid. And according to her, Katie walked on water. Nobody is that perfect.”
“Not even Makayla?” Allison teased. Hidden by the table, she put her hand on her stomach. If this baby was a girl, could she do a better job with it than her own mother had done with her?
“That child can be willful. But she knows I won’t stand for any back-talk. She doesn’t like the hours I’m working now because of the task force, but I just tell her, ‘Honey, how do you expect me to pay for that private school and those ballet lessons?’”
“So how are things going with the Katie Converse case?” Cassidy looked at Nicole and Allison expectantly.