The Lawyer's Lawyer

CHAPTER Forty-Three



Jack didn’t know where he was when he woke up the next morning. The bedroom walls were the same dull off-white color as Ron’s condo and they were bare of pictures like Ron’s place, but the room was smaller, the sheets and the comforter were a different color, and the bed felt strange. Then he heard movement in another room.

Oh my God, he thought. What the hell did I do last night?

He didn’t move, though. He stayed in bed and thought it through as he did with everything. It all came back slowly—the police; the decision to move to a new place; the drive over with Ron. But who the hell was in the other room?

He saw the knob on the door turn. He started to tense up. Then Ron walked into the room carrying a cup.

“I made you some coffee,” he said. “Cream, no sugar, right?”

“That’s it.”

“How are you feeling?”

“How do I look?”

“Like shit.”

“Well, I feel ten times worse.”

“Maybe you ought to think about laying off of the hard stuff.”

“Give me a chance to wake up and have my coffee before you start with the lecture, okay?”

“Sure. Anything you want, Jack. I’ll be in the other room. I don’t have much time, so if you want me to take you to your car, you need to get ready now.”



Fifteen minutes later they were making the short drive to the old condo in Ron’s white Lexus SUV in silence.

“Sorry I snapped at you, Ronnie,” Jack finally said. “You’ve been a great friend to me.”

“No need to apologize,” Ron said, although it was exactly what he’d been waiting for.

“You’re right, too. I need to stop wallowing in self-pity and do something.”

“I think you should get out of Oakville, Jack. What that cop said last night is true—there are a lot of people in this town who are not thinking favorably of you right now.”

“I probably should but I’m not leaving town. You said something last night that I’ve been thinking about. I need to get a sense of purpose again—focus on something else—and I know just what that something else is.”

“What’s that, Jack?”

“Finding Thomas Felton.”

“Jesus, Jack, every cop in the state is looking for him. You’re a great lawyer, but what makes you think you can add anything to this manhunt?”

“I know Felton better than any of them. I’ve spent some quality time with him in the last few weeks. I think I know what he’s going to do.”

“Do you want to share that information with your old buddy?”

“Only if you swear you won’t tell a soul, except for Danni. I want you to tell Danni part of it.”

“And what’s ‘it’?”

“He’s going to try and kill Danni.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Look, he told me that he couldn’t wait. He meant he couldn’t wait to kill again. The guy gave up millions of dollars. Yes, he’s a serial killer, and he wants, probably needs, to kill again, but that doesn’t explain it all. He was in prison for ten years. He has a good idea of the people who could have set him up, and Danni is right behind Sam Jeffries on that list. That’s why he killed Sam’s daughter.

“Danni’s daughter, Hannah, could have been his next target, but Hannah presents logistical problems for him. And even if he drove out to Boulder, he’d know that by now Hannah’s gone. That brings him right back to Danni.”

“That would be suicide.”

“He doesn’t care at this point. He wants to kill. He wants revenge. He needs it like a junkie needs his fix.”

“Do you think Danni’s figured this out?”

“I don’t know, but she needs to know and I want you to tell her.”

“And what about Sam Jeffries?”

“He may have figured it out, too.”

“That means the whole damn police department knows.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? He’s the police chief, for Christ’s sake.”

“I wish you wouldn’t say that,” Jack said.

“Say what?”

“For Christ’s sake.”

“Okay. He’s the friggin’ police chief, dammit!”

Jack looked at Ron and burst out laughing. It was classic Ron.

Ron started laughing, too. “Where was I?” Ron finally said. “Oh yeah, and what about the FBI? They’re probably already in on this, too.”

“I don’t think so. I’ll bet they’re still in Miami investigating that murder to establish some kind of a link. Then they’ll be here.”

“Still, there are a lot more people with a lot more expertise than you who can handle this problem. What are you going to add to this?”

“I don’t know, Ron. I don’t know. But I’ve got to try.”