however well-intentioned attempt to salvage him.”
“Endanger my position? You mean the Baldwins’ position, don’t you?”
“They’re your client … for now.”
“Are you contemplating a change at the helm? If you are, good luck.
You’d last about a minute.”
Kirksen stood up. “Nothing is forever, Jack. Sandy Lord can tell you
that as well as anybody. What goes around comes around. You can bum
bridges in this town, you just have to make sure there’s no one left
alive on those bridges.” Jack came around the desk, towering over
Kirksen. “Were you like this as a little boy, Dan, or did you just turn
into a fungus during your adulthood?”
Kirksen smiled and started to leave. “Like I said, you never know, Jack.
Client relationships are always so tenuous.
Take yours, for example. It’s primarily based on your future nuptials
with Jennifer Ryce Baldwin. Now, if Ms. Baldwin happened to find out,
for instance, that you had not been going home at night, but, instead,
had been sharing quarters with a certain young woman, she might be less
inclined to refer legal business to you, much less become your wife.”
It only took an instant. Kirksen’s back was flat against the wall and
Jack was, so close in his face the man’s glasses were fogged.
“Don’t do anything foolish, Jack. Regardless of your status here, the
partnership would not look kindly on a junior partner assaulting a
senior one. We still have standards here at Patton, Shaw.”
“Don’t ever fuck with my life like that, Kirksen. Don’t ever.” Jack
effortlessly threw him against the door and turned back to his desk.
Kirksen smoothed down his shirt and smiled to himself.
So easily manipulated. The big, tall good-looking ones. As strong as
mules and no smarter. About as sophisticated as a brick.
“You know, Jack, you should realize what you’ve gotten yourself into.
For some reason you seem to implicitly trust Sandy Lord. Did he tell you
the truth about Barry Alvis? Did he happen to do that, Jack?”
Jack turned slowly back around and stared dully at the man.
“Did he use the permanent-associate, no-raimnaking-capabilities line? Or
did he tell you Alvis had screwed up a big project?”
Jack continued to look at him.
Kirksen smiled triumphantly.
“One phone call, Jack. Daughter calls complaining that Mr. Alvis had
inconvenienced her and her father. And Barry Alvis disappears. It’s just
the way the game works, Jack.
Maybe you don’t want to play that game. If you don’t there’s no one
stopping you from leaving.”
Kirksen had been crafting this strategy for a while now.
With Sullivan gone, he could promise Baldwin that his work would be the
firm’s top priority, and Kirksen still had the core of one of the best
army of attorneys in the city. And four million dollars of legal
business coupled with his own existing business would make him the
largest rainmaker at the place. And the name Kirksen would finally go on
the door, in substitution for another that would be unceremoniously
dropped.
The managing partner smiled at Jack. “You may not like me, Jack, but I’m
telling you the truth. You’re a big boy, it’s up to you to deal with
it.”
Kirksen closed the door behind him.
Jack stood for a second longer and then collapsed back into his chair.
He lunged forward, scattered his desk clear with quick, violent thrusts
of his arms, and then slowly laid his head down on its surface.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
S E7H FRANK LOOKED AT THE OLD MAN. SHORT, WITH A SOFT felt cap covering
his head, dressed in corduroy pants, a thick sweater and winter boots,
the man looked both uncomfortable and greatly excited at being in the
police, station. In his hand was a rectangular object covered in brown
paper.
“I’m not sure I understand, Mr. Flanders.”
“You see I was out there. At the courthouse that day. You know, when the
man got killed. Just went to see what all the fuss was about. Lived here
all my life, nothing ever came close to that spectacle, I can tell you
that.”
“I can understand that,” Frank said dryly..
“So anyway I had my new Camcorder, real nifty thing, got an image screen