Exposed (Rosato & DiNunzio #5)(47)
“I don’t want that,” Judy said quickly. “I don’t need to be a named partner.”
“Why not?” Bennie asked, sensing she had said the wrong thing.
“I don’t want to replace Mary, nobody could replace Mary. I don’t want the credit anyway, and that’s really for people who want their name out there and want to get business. I don’t want my name out there. I’m happy just to keep it going the way it has been, with me in the background and you getting the business.”
“All right, that would be your choice. Whatever you want.” Bennie understood, knowing Judy. Every lawyer in Creation wanted to be a named partner, but not Judy Carrier. She hated attention, even though she dyed her hair blue. It didn’t make sense, but Bennie loved her for her quirks. She couldn’t lose Judy, too.
“So I’ll think about that,” Judy said, brightening.
“Please do, and take your time. I want what’s best for all of us, I really mean that.”
“I know you do. Thanks a lot, and have a great weekend.”
“You too,” Bennie said, hanging up. She tried to rally, inhaling. “I hope that works. I’d hate to lose her. What if Anne and John went, too? I’d lose my whole law firm.”
“Don’t worry about it until you have to.”
“I have to now.”
“No, you don’t. It’s Friday. Come down here.” Declan patted the bed, and Bennie tried to put it out of her mind, shifting down.
“Thanks for the assist on the phone.”
“See? I’d make a great partner.” Declan smiled.
“I know that.” Bennie hoped he wasn’t hurt, but he tended to roll with the punches, like her. Usually.
“Anyway it’s a standing offer. You change your mind, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you, really,” Bennie said, kissing him on the cheek. She snuggled beside him and put her arm across his chest, which was broad and strong, with lean muscles earned from riding horses and pitching hay. She secretly liked his farmer’s tan, typical of his lack of vanity, and he had the perfect amount of chest hair, dark and shot through with silvery strands. Just holding him calmed her down.
“Damn. The game’s on rain delay.”
“Aw, too bad. It’s raining in Philly?”
“Yes, a big thunderstorm.”
“It was fine when I left.” Bennie glanced at the television, where the news was coming on, broadcast from Philadelphia. The lead story was weather, and she rested her head on his chest and watched the TV without really seeing it, replaying Judy’s conversation in her mind. Suddenly a photo on the TV drew her attention, and she did a double-take.
“Declan, turn the sound on,” Bennie said, getting up onto her elbow.
On the screen behind the anchorperson was a smiling photo of Todd Eddington from OpenSpace. A lurid red banner read LOCAL MAN FOUND STABBED TO DEATH.
Bennie reached for her phone.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Mary’s cell phone started ringing on her desk, and she felt a tingle of nervousness when she checked the screen and saw it was Bennie calling. Bennie’s profile picture was a candid of her laughing, taken in happier days, and Mary felt a guilty wrench at the sight. She had been working all afternoon, drafting an answer to the defamation complaint and doing the research to see if she should move the case to federal court. The fact that she was leaving the firm, and the effect on Bennie and Judy, had been in the back of her mind the entire time.
She picked up the phone call. “Hi, Bennie, how—”
“Did you see the news? Are you near a TV or a laptop?”
“I’m at the office.” Mary felt startled at the alarm in Bennie’s voice. “What news?”
“Todd Eddington was murdered. I just saw it on TV.”
“Oh my God.” Mary got onto Google, typed in Todd’s name, and a news story came up, a single paragraph:
Local Man Found Dead
Horsham resident Todd Eddington, 38, was found stabbed to death in his car today, at approximately 7:15 p.m., in the parking lot of Tomahawk Country Club in Philadelphia. Eddington was a member of the club and was employed as a Sales Manager by OpenSpace, a cubicle manufacturer in Horsham. Authorities say that Eddington’s death was the result of a stab wound. It has not been determined at this time whether it was self-inflicted.
Mary couldn’t process it quickly enough. “This is terrible! This just happened? Didn’t you interview him just this morning?”
“Yes,” Bennie answered after a moment.
“Did he seem okay to you?” Mary’s mind raced, and she had a million questions at once. “Did he seem depressed or anything, like he’d want to kill himself? Do you think he killed himself because of the case?”
“I don’t know. I shouldn’t say more. We still have a conflict, and I don’t want to divulge privileged information. I shouldn’t have told you that I met with him.”
“But this isn’t about a case, this is about a person. He died, maybe by suicide. Or he could have been murdered.”
“I understand, but this doesn’t end our conflict. Whether it ends your lawsuit is up to you.”
“Right, that’s true.” Mary tried to collect her thoughts. “I wonder if they’ll continue the defamation case against Simon.”