Shadow Dance_ A Novel Part 12

"Shoot!" she cried as she jumped up and rounded the desk to clean up the mess. "I'm so stupid."

Noah leaned down to help her. "No, you're not. Accidents happen to everyone."

"Especially me," she said. She grabbed the Kleenex box off the desk and wiped up the spilled drink. "I'm so embarra.s.sed. I must look like a lobster. I can feel my face turning red."

Noah straightened a pile of folders and handed them to her. "I think it's a very pretty face."

When he took her arm to help her stand up, the rosy blush on Carrie's cheeks turned a deep crimson. "Thank you," she said.

"Do you think you could find the list of town council members?" Nick asked her from across the room.

Carrie's attention swung to him. "I know I could. They're in my Rolodex. There's only three."

"Let's get them in here," Nick said to Noah. "They'll have to officially replace her."

"You're replacing Chief Haden?" Carrie asked.

The chief had just finished her call, and there was a smug look on her face until she heard a snippet of the conversation.

"No one's replacing me," she said as she stepped out of her office. Her frown was directed at Jordan. "I knew I was right about you. I just had an interesting talk with Lloyd. Remember him?" Chief Haden asked Jordan.

How could she forget? "Of course I remember him. He worked on my car."

"He says you threatened him."

Jordan was taken aback. "He what?"

"You heard me. He says you scared him."

"I did not threaten him."

"He says you did. He says you told him you were going to hurt him."

Uh-oh. Jordan remembered the conversation. "I might have-"

"No more," Noah said. "Jordan, I don't want you to say another word." Turning to Haden, he said, "Get Lloyd in here. Now."

"You're not telling me what to do." Chief Haden started walking toward Jordan, her hand resting on the gun at her hip.

When Noah blocked her, she raised her arm and jabbed her elbow into his chest.

"That's it," Noah said. He latched on to her arm and turned her toward the door that led to the cell. "Chief Haden, you have the right to remain silent..."

Haden's eyes became slits. "Don't you tell me my rights."

"I'm required to," he said. "This is an arrest."

Haden tried to pull away. She grabbed the handcuffs sitting on her desk. "This is outrageous." Her voice turned into a hiss. "You have no grounds." She swung the cuffs and struck Noah on the shoulder.

He grabbed the cuffs out of her hand, took the gun from her holster, and pushed her ahead of him. "Obstructing a criminal investigation and a.s.saulting a federal agent...I think that's enough."

"I know people!" Haden yelled as he nudged her inside the cell.

"I'll bet you do," he agreed.

"Powerful people."

"Good for you." He slammed the door shut in her face. "You'll be staying here until arrangements can be made to transfer you to a federal facility for processing."

"This is bogus," she said.

"You'll be needing a lawyer. I'd get a good one if I were you."

It finally penetrated that he wasn't bluffing. "Now hold on here. Hold on now. Okay, okay, I'll cooperate."

Carrie watched wide-eyed. She wanted to stand up and cheer, but she knew the action might come back to bite her. Her parole officer had told her that her poor impulse control had gotten her into jail, and, if she wanted to change her life, she was going to have to learn to think before she acted. Besides, the chief would eventually get out of jail, wouldn't she?

As Noah walked past Nick, he said, "Nothing I hate worse than a crooked cop." He glanced out the window. A late-model sedan pulled up to the curb. A man emerged from the driver's seat carrying a briefcase in one hand and holding a cell phone to his ear with the other.

Noah turned to Jordan. "Your attorney's here."

LOUIS M MAXWELL G GARCIA WAS THE EPITOME OF REFINEMENT. HE oozed confidence and charm. His smile was warm and somewhat sincere, and his manners were as polished as alabaster. Neither his designer suit nor his starched pinstriped s.h.i.+rt had a wrinkle anywhere. oozed confidence and charm. His smile was warm and somewhat sincere, and his manners were as polished as alabaster. Neither his designer suit nor his starched pinstriped s.h.i.+rt had a wrinkle anywhere.

After the introductions were made, the attorney insisted that they call him Max.

"Doctor Morganstern speaks highly of you," Nick said. "Isn't that right, Noah?"

Noah didn't say a word. He simply moved closer to Jordan and folded his arms across his chest. His expression was impa.s.sive. Slow to warm to anyone, Noah always was skeptical, and Max, vouched for or not, had yet to prove his capability.

"We appreciate you taking this on and getting here so quickly," Nick said.

Max's gaze was locked on Jordan. "I could never say no to Doctor Morganstern."

"Why is that?" Noah asked.

"He's done a lot of favors for me over the years," he said and then turned to Jordan. "Is there somewhere we could talk in private?"

Jordan thought about suggesting the chief's office but quickly changed her mind. The small room with the door closed would be too claustrophobic.

"There really isn't anyplace private here," she said. "We could sit outside on the bench, I suppose, if you don't mind the heat."

Max had a lovely smile. "That's not a problem for me. I'm used to the heat. Where's the chief of police?" he asked then. "I should talk to him first and find out what the charges are. It would be nice if we had his cooperation sharing information."

"Yeah, well, that's not gonna happen," Noah said.

"Chief Haden's a woman," Nick said. "And Noah's right. She's not going to cooperate."

"And why won't she?" he asked.

"She's locked in a cell around the corner," Nick explained.

Max asked the obvious. "And why is that?"

"I arrested her," Noah said.

Jordan thought Max didn't look the least surprised, but then as an attorney he was certainly adept at hiding his reactions.

"I see," Max said. "And what was the reason for her arrest?"

Nick explained, and when he was finished, Max scratched his jaw and asked, "Are there any other surprises you would like to mention?"

"Did Doctor Morganstern explain why I needed an attorney?" Jordan asked.

"Yes, he did. He told me you found a little something in your car trunk."

Carrie waved to get Jordan's attention. "I've got Deputy Davis on hold," she said. "Who wants to speak to him?"

"I will," Noah said as he walked around Carrie's desk and picked up the phone.

Max glanced into the hall that led to the jail cell. "I'm going to try to talk to the chief," he said.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"I want to find out what she has."

"You're wasting your time."

Noah's conversation with the deputy lasted less than a minute. After he had identified himself, Noah told the deputy that his boss was under arrest and he needed to get to the police station as quickly as possible.

Max's conversation with Haden lasted much longer, though it didn't start out well. Jordan winced over the woman's crude vocabulary, but within minutes Haden had stopped yelling, and she guessed that Max had somehow charmed her.

"What do you think?" Nick asked. "It's gotten real quiet in there."

"Maybe Max convinced her to be reasonable," Jordan suggested.

"It doesn't matter," Noah said. "He's wasting his time."

"He won't let her out, will he?" Carrie worriedly asked Jordan.

Max returned to the front office. "The chief of police doesn't think she wants to get an attorney's advice, and she agrees that it would be prudent to cooperate with the FBI. She's also agreed to let us step outside and have our conference, and when we're finished, we'll sit down with her."

Noah shook his head. "That's not gonna happen."

Max ignored Noah's remark. "And what do you think about letting the chief off the hook?" he asked Nick.

Nick glanced at Noah before answering. Jordan thought her brother was a bit amused by the question. Did Max expect him to override Noah?

"My partner just told you that's not gonna happen, and that means it's not gonna happen." Before Max could argue, Nick continued, "The deputy is on his way here. Jordan and you can talk to him."

Max looked directly at Noah and said, "Doctor Morganstern warned me about you two. He said you'd give me trouble."

Noah shrugged. "We don't make trouble, but when push comes to shove, we shove. We get the job done."

Max nodded and placed his hand on Jordan's shoulder. "Shall we step outside?"

Nick opened the door. "Jordan, now that your attorney's here, I'm going to drive to Bourbon and look at the body." Turning to Noah, he asked, "You've got this covered, right?"

"I've got it," Noah a.s.sured him.

Max picked up his briefcase and walked with Nick and Jordan outside. Noah followed and pulled the door closed behind him.

The stifling air took Jordan's breath away. She didn't think she could ever get used to this kind of heat.

After Nick had left, Max sat down on the bench next to her. He opened his briefcase, removed a notepad and pen, and was snapping the leather case shut when Noah began his interrogation.

"Where'd you go to law school?"

"Stanford. When I finished, I joined a law firm on the West Coast and worked there until four years ago."

"Why did you leave?"

"I wanted a change."

"Why?"

Max smiled. "I got tired of defending Silicon Valley boys who were stripping their dot-com companies. I decided to move back home and start over."

Max's answers were as rapid as the questions.

"I appreciate any help you can give me," Jordan said, interrupting Noah's interrogation.

"I'll do what I can," he answered warmly. He glanced up at Noah. "I'll need to speak to my client alone."

After scrutinizing the situation for a second, Noah turned to go back inside the police station. "Jordan, you need anything, you call me," he said.

"I will," she promised.

Unlike Noah, the attorney didn't grill her for answers. He simply asked her to take him through the events, beginning with the wedding she had attended and her first encounter with the professor.

Max listened intently and made notes as she went through her actions that morning. When she reached the part about J. D. d.i.c.key's a.s.sault, Max raised an eyebrow.

"I told Chief Haden that I wanted to press charges," Jordan explained. "But she refused."

"Did she give you a reason why she wouldn't arrest him?"