Blood Defense - [14]

“Where’d you go?”

“I went home.” Dale sighed. “And yes, I live alone.”

It figured. “An apartment or a house?”

“A house.”

Getting worse. “Run into anyone on the way? See any neighbors when you got home?”

“No and no.” He sighed. “I know. It’s a shitty alibi.”

“The kind innocent people usually have. At least that’s what I tell my juries.” I gave him a little smile. His smile was strained. “Have you heard about any of the evidence they found yet?”

“No.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “It’s crazy to be on this side of a case.”

I didn’t say, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” He didn’t need any more depressing news right now. “Let’s take tonight to think about this. In the meantime, speak to no one. Not the press, not another cop, not your friends. For now, you have no friends. Not even Rick Saunders.”

He looked upset. No, more than that. He looked wounded. “You’re not going to take my case?”

I’d been more than ambivalent about it before. But in that moment, I knew what my answer had to be. “I will take your case. I just wanted to give you the chance to sleep on it.”

A look of relief spread across his face. “I don’t need to; I already know. You’re the one I want.”

I stood up and held out my hand. “Then I guess we’re in business.”

Dale got up and gave it a hearty shake. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

With the decision made, my wheels started turning. “You’ve got two exes and a daughter. Anyone lighting candles and chanting for your death?”

Dale gave a rueful smile. “Put it this way, they won’t go out of their way to hurt me, but I wouldn’t recommend you put them on the stand.”

“What about your daughter, Lisa? Any child-support issues floating around?”

Dale looked insulted. “No. Never.” He saw my expression. “Tracy never even had to ask. I paid in full and on time.” His face immediately darkened. “But if you’re thinking of putting her in front of a camera, the answer’s no. I won’t have Lisa dragged into this.”

The sudden raw force in his voice made me lean back as though he’d shoved me. “If anyone ‘drags’ your daughter into this, it’ll be the press, not me-”

As quickly as he’d heated up, he cooled down. The abrupt switchback was startling. His voice was calm, contrite. “Sorry. The thing is, I only just started getting to know her a couple of years ago. When Tracy and I broke up, she took the baby back east to be with her family. Lisa was just six months old. Between work and money issues, I never got the chance to see her. They moved back to LA two and a half years ago, and I’ve been trying to make up for lost time-”

“And they’re okay with it?”

“Yeah, really cool, actually. Lisa is a great kid-no thanks to me.” Dale rubbed his face, his expression miserable. “The minute I heard the cops were looking at me for this, I called to tell her and Tracy that I didn’t do it. They said they knew, but…”

But they didn’t. And now, at the very least, they’d start wondering. “I get it. And your other ex?” I knew his marriage to Tracy had barely made it past the honeymoon. But his second marriage had stuck for seven years.

“Bobbi’ll be okay. No really bad blood or anything. But she won’t be much help.”

Damn. A loving ex would’ve been a nice touch in a case like this. But at least I didn’t have to worry about any bad press. The exes went on the back burner for now.

“I’ll need my retainer up front. It’s fifty thousand. I’ll probably run through that before we get to trial, so Michelle will work out the fee and payment schedule with you tomorrow.”

I walked him out of my office and had him sign the retainer agreement Michelle had already prepared. He nodded to Michelle and Alex, then shook my hand again.

“Thank you, Ms.-”

“Samantha.”

He looked at me and said in a soft voice, “Samantha.” He turned to go, then stopped in the doorway. “I know you don’t believe me right now, but I’m not like your other clients. I really didn’t do it.”

I nodded, but his lightning-fast mood shifts weren’t reassuring. And I didn’t think he’d want to hear the truth: that’s exactly what my other clients say.

EIGHT

I convened the troops after he left. “What do you think, guys?”

Michelle leaned back and folded her arms. “The same thing I’ve been thinking.”

I looked at Alex. He shrugged. “I’m not sure I should have a vote here, but I’d definitely take the case if I were you.”

Michelle held out her hands, presenting Alex. “And there you have it.”

“Then I guess it’s unanimous.”

Michelle finally smiled. “Hallelujah. And by the way, he’s easy on the eyes. That’ll help.”

It really would. Being attractive matters everywhere-getting jobs, getting laid, and yes, getting acquitted by a jury of your peers. No one can resist a pretty face. As long as it’s not too pretty.

Back in my first year of private practice, I had a bombshell of a client. Tall, blonde, built like a Victoria’s Secret model. She was charged with grand theft. A teller for a very large chain of banks whose title ends with the name of a country, my client used her position to filch personal account information from almost a hundred customers and then gave it to her boyfriend. He pocketed more than sixty grand before they got caught.