“I need to tell you something first. Something important.”
“Fine. Make it quick.”
His smile warmed. “I’m honestly grateful to you for taking this on. I know it’s not how you wanted to spend your vacation, but I really need your help. Those two guys Justice found for me are probably fine lawyers, but they can’t possibly be one hundred percent on my side. That’s why I need you. So…thanks.”
She closed her eyes and sighed in exaggerated martyrdom. “Fine. You’re welcome. Whatever. Now let’s just go to the hotel so you can freaking brief me.”
“Sure, Suzy,” he said fondly. “Whatever you say. You’re the boss.”
“This is S-3. Please identify yourself.”
“Essie? It’s me. Got a minute?”
Spinner Kristie Hennessy smiled with relief at the sound of Justin’s voice. “I was hoping you’d call. How did things go in court today? Are you comfortable with the attorneys the government supplied? Director McGregor says they’re the best.”
“It went great, but not because of those stiffs. I hired a new lawyer this morning. That’s why I called. I was hoping you could check her out for me.”
“You hired her on the morning of your court appearance?”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “Luckily she’s a quick study. Her name’s Suzannah Ryder. Every bone in my body tells me she’s clean, but if you could run a check—”
“I’m on it.” Kristie’s fingers flew across her keyboard.
“I drew a hard-ass for a judge,” Justin was explaining, “so I figured I’d better call in reinforcements if I wanted to stay free pending trial. Suzy just won a big victory against this particular judge, so I figured she could come through for me. And she did.”
“Suzy?” Kristie grimaced. “I’m guessing she’s attractive?”
“Are you jealous?” he said, his tone teasing. Then he added more seriously, “It’s her attitude that sold me, Essie. She effing radiates confidence, but with enough vulnerability to keep things interesting.”
A recent photo of Suzannah Ryder flashed across Kristie’s computer screen. Honey-blond curls, huge blue eyes and cheekbones so striking that Kristie made a note to incorporate them into one of the composite pictures she sometimes built for SPIN ops.
“She’s darling.”
“Yeah,” Justin confirmed. “But I hired her for her guts. My question to you is, is she as good as I think she is?”
“Her reputation’s spotless, at least on the surface.” Kristie scanned Suzannah’s credentials, noting that she had graduated at the top of her undergraduate class at Notre Dame, then came out comfortably in the middle of her law-school class at Princeton before landing a job at a well-respected civil law firm. Again Kristie made a note to use Suzannah’s profile in a fake ID some day soon. She had just the right blend of excellence and normality, almost as if she had engineered it that way.
“She doesn’t practice criminal law, Justin.”
“Yeah, I know. The win against Taylor was an exception. Something she handled for a friend.”
“That makes sense.” The spinner continued to search her favorite agency and Internet sources. “I’ll keep digging.”
“Okay. I’ll call again tonight.”
“Actually—” The spinner hesitated before suggesting, “If I find something, I’ll let you know. Otherwise, just assume she’s clean, okay?”
There was a long silence, then Justin asked her, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m on probation again. It’s seems like I always am, doesn’t it? But this time McGregor means it. In more ways than one,” she added with a self-conscious laugh.
“Unbelievable,” Justin muttered. “They should be kissing your feet, not trying to control you. Don’t they know how great you are?”
“To be fair, they’ve given me a lot of slack.”
“They don’t deserve you,” Justin retorted with unexpected vehemence. “Maybe we both should just chuck it all and run away together.”
“Huh?” Kristie’s stomach knotted. “Are you that worried about the verdict?”
“Nah. I’m innocent, so it’ll come out fine. But meanwhile…” His tone grew pensive. “The thrill has gone out of this gig for me, Essie. I never thought I’d say that, and it’s probably temporary. So just forget I said anything.”
The spinner bit her lip. Until now, Justin Russo had loved his work more than anyone she knew. He thrived on the danger, the heroic opportunities, the romantic possibilities….
“Obviously I screwed up this time,” he was admitting. “But you haven’t done anything wrong. The fact that they don’t appreciate you—”
“They appreciate me. They just want me to start following protocol. And I’ve decided they’re right. And,” she added, trying for a lighter tone, “I’m not just saying that because I know the monitors might be listening to this call.”
Justin’s chuckle sounded forced. “Don’t get in trouble on my account. I’m doing fine here. Just forget I called. I won’t bother you with this anymore.”
“I’ll keep looking at Suzannah Ryder’s background,” she assured him. “If I find something negative, I’ll call. And if you need anything—anything at all—please let me know.”
“Sure, Essie. But for now I’d better get going. I don’t want to keep my new lawyer waiting.”
“Right. Okay, good luck.”
She winced when he said, “’Bye” and hung up without giving her a chance to say anything further. She was actually tempted to call him back and make him promise to contact her at least daily.
Then a video popped up on her monitor, distracting her completely. It was a recent film of Suzannah Ryder handling—or rather, attempting to politely terminate—a news conference on her recent appellate court success. Even with the graininess of the footage, the attorney’s smile was amazing, just as Justin had described—confident yet vulnerable.
“The Court of Appeal’s opinion is pretty blunt in its criticism of Judge Taylor,” a male reporter was observing. “Do you think there should be an investigation of his heavy-handed tactics? Maybe even a recall?”
“Judge Taylor is one of our finest jurists,” Suzannah assured him. “I don’t think there’s a member of our legal community that doesn’t respect and admire him. The appellate court’s comments are specific to this particular trial and shouldn’t be taken as a general criticism. Or even as a criticism at all. These things are complicated,” she added with another, warmer smile. “It’s the reason I don’t generally practice criminal law. I leave that to the real pros, like Defendant Driscoll’s new attorney, Tony Moreno.”
A barrage of questions erupted, but Suzannah held up her hand and insisted, “That’s all, folks. Have a good afternoon.” Then she dismissed them with a friendly wave, and while a few reporters made halfhearted attempts to ask follow-up questions, most of them cooperated.
Kristie nodded, pleased with what she saw. This Ryder woman had poise as well as brains. In fact, she was the consummate professional in her perfectly tailored suit and medium heeled shoes, not to mention the casual, easy-care style in which she wore her chin-length curls. If the rest of her background check came out as well as this, Justin had definitely picked himself a winner.
Assuming, of course, that he was able to keep his hands off her.
And assuming, further,