Ginger snaps, p.9
Ginger Snaps, page 9
told her.
“liz, I don’t know how you’re going to feel about this, so please
listen. I’m not just worried about Doug. I’m concerned for your safety,
too.” I told her that we’d been followed, that Clovis was checking for
bugs in all of our hotel rooms and Micki’s office, and I reiterated the
warnings from Peggy and from Micki’s friend. I explained that Clovis
had arranged for her to have a bodyguard for the next several days.
I was determined to be serious and stern, but failed utterly when
she squealed, “Will he look like Kevin Costner?”
I told her the best we could do was Costner’s sister.
“You know, Clovis is a stick in the mud. The least he could do is
give me a hunk. I don’t mind a bodyguard, but I’m not about to have
a babysitter.”
I laughed, thinking that a babysitter was exactly what we had in
mind.
I asked her to meet us for dinner at seven She could meet her body-
guard and we would map out a strategy. She left for her session with
a massage therapist who was a “genius.” He apparently helped her
get “balanced,” whatever that meant. I saw Clovis slink in—he’d been
hovering around the door waiting for her to leave.
“That woman is going to be the death of me. on the way out, she
called me a wuss and said her bodyguard better be ready to party.”
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“Clovis, liz hasn’t got a single friend in the world right now. Cut
her some slack. What you’re seeing is an act.”
“I’m not so sure. Anyway, I’ve got some things to tend to before
dinner. You need me?”
I waved him away, paid the tab and went back to my room to call
Maggie.
“I thought you’d fallen off the map,” she answered.
I brought her up to date, and she filled me in on Dub’s perfor-
mances on the talk shows.
“He’s making your friend out to be another Bin laden. He also had
a few choice words for you and Micki, calling you as much a part of
Doug’s criminal enterprise as street pushers.”
“Nice. I have a few choice words for him, too, but I’ll save them for
the courtroom. What about the foundation—any backlash?” I knew
that neither Maggie nor Walter would volunteer any rumors of dis-
content, but I was sensitive to the fact that I was the president of their
foundation. lawyers can usually get away with representing bad guys.
It comes with the job description. But foundation presidents don’t
have that luxury.
“None,” she answered. “You know Walter. He’d love nothing better
than to have somebody try to tell him how to run the foundation.
Don’t worry.”
“I do worry.”
“I know. But no one here gives a fig. We know you wouldn’t be in
little Rock if you didn’t have a good reason.”
“That’s the problem. I’m still not sure why I’m here. I haven’t had
enough time with Doug to understand what it’s all about.”
We talked a little about having the plane available to go to okla-
homa City. I asked her to email me a few things I hoped I wouldn’t
need and said I’d call her after the arraignment. I detected a little
melancholy in her voice. Tomorrow would be the first time I’d been
in court as a private attorney without Maggie.
I also called a number at the Justice Department and left word for
an old friend. He returned my call immediately, even though it was
Sunday. I told him what I needed, and he said he’d have it to me by
the end of the day.
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I cleaned up and sank into the sofa for a good while, just thinking.
I wasn’t at all sure I should be part of Doug’s defense. Given Dub’s
attitude, my presence might hurt rather than help. I didn’t sense any
personal danger, but foresaw plenty of surprises. I mulled over what
had transpired so far, but my mind kept wandering back to Angie
and her plea to help Doug. What had she known over four years ago?
What could have been so important? one thing was certain: I wouldn’t
figure it out from this couch.
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D
Clovis and Micki were sitting at a quiet, corner table in the bar, but
neither had a drink, and Micki’s lips were set in a thin line. She gave
me a look that would chill a polar bear.
I pulled out a chair and asked casually, “What’s up?”
“Ask him!” Micki said hotly. “I’m not speaking to either one of you!”
I looked at Clovis. “What happened?”
“She left her office to go to eric’s after we left and spotted a dark
sedan following her. She’s convinced Dub ordered the tail.”
“Well, I don’t see how that’s your fault, or mine either for that
matter.”
“I told her she should have protection when she left the office,
and . . ."
“Hello—I’m right here,” she interrupted, “and I’m not helpless.
I don’t need a guard. And I might just go see Dub myself!” Her leg
bounced angrily under the table.
Ah, jeez—why did everything have to be so hard? Clovis waited
patiently for me to respond.
“look, Maggie hired Clovis to protect me, but you’re the lead dog.
The fact is we don’t have a clue what’s really going on here. We’ve got
a client charged with God-knows-what, a vengeful U.S. attorney, some
crazy Russian mob guy, and now you’ve got a tail. Be reasonable. I
have no idea how to defend Doug without you, and we can’t stop Dub
from tailing any of us. let Clovis do his job. We can’t afford the luxury
of your temper.”
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I finally sat down, now in a bit of a huff myself. We all thought about
it for a minute as I calmed down.
“Clovis, is this Dub’s doing?”
“Well, I guess it could be. But why? What would be the point? At
any rate, I’ve asked Paul to be on stand-by.”
“Where’s Paul right now?” I asked.
“He’s waiting outside to stop Micki before she does anything to
Dub she’ll regret.” Micki was having a hard time holding her frown.
“okay, I’m sorry, you’re right, I’m through pouting. I guess we do
need to talk about this. But first, I need to call eric. I’ll be right back.”
I looked at Clovis. We raised our glasses in silent relief, the tension
slowly dissipating.
“The wildcat sure has her claws out.” Clovis said, using his nick-
name for Micki. Needless to say, neither of us used it in front of her.
I said, “Don’t let that bravado fool you—she’s worried. Probably
more about Debbie than about herself. She’s also worried how eric’s
going to react.”
Clovis asked, “You don’t seem too surprised. You thought this might
happen, didn’t you? What tipped you off?”
“If this case is simply about Doug growing pot, why the hard line by
the Feds? Why have they denied him access to his attorney, whisking
him off to oklahoma? Why is Dub involved at all? A simple drug case
is a matter for a rookie U.S. attorney or the locals. What on earth
is the terrorist charge about? Shoot, it looks like they want to lock
Doug up and throw away the key. There’s got to be more to it than a
backyard full of marijuana, and Micki is the one person who stands
in their way. When you knock a team’s ace pitcher out of the game
early, you clearly have a better chance of winning. Someone is trying
to rattle her, throw her off her game. Maybe it’s not the Feds; maybe
it’s someone else. Dub’s good for a lot of big talk, but why would he
have Micki followed? even he’s not that dumb.”
“I don’t know—he hasn’t shown much between his ears so far.”
“oh, I know he’s a weasel, but I have a hunch it’s not him. If Doug
really is dealing, both the competition and his accomplices have
good reason to make sure he doesn’t talk or that no one believes
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him if he does. Micki’s a damn good lawyer and the local traffickers
know it.
“Then again, maybe whoever had her followed is completely off
our radar. Maybe it’s that guy Novak. Micki’s clearly worried about
him. Doug is probably safe with the Bureau of Prisons, but Micki’s
another story. She’s got to be reasonable about needing protection.”
“Maybe eric can make her see the light.” Clovis deadpanned.
Micki walked back into the bar with liz at her side, and we quit
laughing. liz looked cool and collected, almost a different woman.
She had pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and wore ink dark,
straight-leg jeans, a linen jacket over a silk blouse, and sandals. Heads
at the bar still turned, but this time to admire pure class.
We rose to greet them, and liz kissed me lightly on the cheek, whis-
pering, “I’m balanced.” I had no idea what her massage therapist had
done, but I was ready to put him on the payroll.
“Where’s my bodyguard, Clovis? I hear the boys are all chicken. So
where is she? I hope she likes dancing and staying out all hours of the
night. I’m ready to party.” The vamp could return in a blink of an eye.
I guess we all looked worried. liz punched Clovis on the bicep.
“You need to lighten up, good looking. Seriously, where is she?”
“She’s outside with Paul.”
“Shit, Clovis,” Micki frowned. “It makes absolutely no sense to have
them sit outside. What if some kind of a bad guy is camped out in
here? Besides, we want to meet her. Please ask them to join us. Paul can
drive me to eric’s tonight, but that’s as far as it goes. I refuse to let Dub
Blanchard intimidate me. Understood?” She looked directly at Clovis.
“Understood.” Clovis glanced at me. I shrugged.
Clovis punched in a text to Paul, and before long he was intro-
ducing us to liz’s new chaperone, Moira Kostov. Clovis had told me
that Moira’s parents and grandparents had emigrated from Hungary
during the Cold War. Now in her thirties, she’d grown up in Nashville
where she’d been a good student and a better jock, swimming and
playing tennis. She went to Michigan on a swimming scholarship and
joined Detroit’s police force right after graduating. A bad divorce,
Detroit’s economy, and Clovis’s job offer had brought her to little
Rock just a few weeks ago.
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Paul wore thicker glasses than my friend Woody, but looks can
be deceiving. He’d been a champion wrestler in college and was an
expert in martial arts. last year Clovis had told me, “If I had a child,
I’d rather have Paul protecting her than anyone else I know.”
Moira was dressed in a navy blue pants suit and white blouse that
looked at least five years out of date. Her shoulder holster was in plain
sight beneath the jacket, and she wore black athletic shoes. You almost
expected a badge. Her coal black hair was pulled back into a severe
knot, and her almond eyes were dark green and very serious. She
wore little make-up: a little blush and lip-gloss accented her strong
cheekbones and generous mouth. Her grave handshake impressed
me, and she seemed, well, she didn’t seem like a cop. I was fascinated
with this paradox of a tough former Detroit policewoman who had
such a soft smile and a softer voice. Paul pulled out a chair for her,
and they both sat down.
liz was direct. “You think you can keep up with me?”
“Yes, Ma’am, I think so.” Moira replied evenly, and liz exploded.
“I’m not a ‘ma’am,’ I’m liz, and I wouldn’t count on it.” Clovis
glanced at Moira with an “I told you so” look.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Ma’am . . . I mean liz. It’s going to be hard
at first. Your husband was one of my professors at Michigan.”
“You went to Ann Arbor? You knew Doug?” liz raised her eyebrows
in apparent disbelief.
“Well, not exactly. I was one of several hundred in his basic chem-
istry class. He was a wonderful teacher, always had time for any of us
even though the class was huge. I’m sure he wouldn’t remember me.”
“Small world,” I commented. “Moira, we all go by our first names.
I’m Jack. I hope both Clovis and Paul have told you how we work: if
you have a thought or idea, speak up. We’re in a strange situation.
Clovis has already told you that Micki and I have both been followed.
I don’t know how much he told you about liz and why she needs
protection.”
“I’d like to hear myself,” liz said pointedly.
“If Doug was involved in selling drugs, his partners or his competi-
tion might think liz knows more than she does and decide, well—to
keep her quiet. If the arrest isn’t about drugs, whoever is behind it
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may want to use liz to get at Doug. Right now, none of us knows
exactly what happened, and we need to keep liz safe.”
“Jack, the drug charges are bullshit. Doug wasn’t selling mari-
juana!” liz jumped in. “I don’t know about that other stuff, but I’ve
been married to him for almost thirty years. All Doug cares about are
molecules, the Razorbacks, and, to a lesser degree, me. You’re sup-
posed to be our lawyer, our advocate—how can you think Doug was a
dope dealer?”
Before I could answer Moira put a gentle hand on liz’s arm and
said, “liz, Jack doesn’t believe any of that. He’s here to defend Doug.
I was Dr. Stewart’s student, and I’d believe the President of the Uni-
versity of Michigan was selling dope before he was. Jack’s telling me
all this so we’ll both understand why you need me. I was a beat cop
in Detroit and saw dope deals every day. The U.S. attorney’s behavior
doesn’t make sense, and it’s up to Jack to get inside his head. He can’t
do his job if he’s worried someone’s going to harm you. I’m here to
make sure that doesn’t happen.”
liz looked at me and back at Moira. “Thank you. I get pretty pro-
tective when it comes to Doug.”
Micki glared at me. “You have every right; the thought of a body-
guard is very unsettling.”
I felt like an ogre. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so direct in front
of liz. Maybe I was the one being overly protective, but I didn’t think
so. My instincts told me there was a lot more to this mess than ginger
snaps.
As the waiter handed us menus, I complimented Clovis for adding
Moira to his team. She’d stepped in with liz at the right time, already
beginning to build trust. I caught myself watching Moira as they spoke.
“Was she here during Woody’s hearing?” I asked Clovis in a whisper.
“No. She was in Detroit until just a few weeks ago. She was a real
find. She went straight from school to patrolling the streets. I’m lucky
she needed a job and was willing to come to little Rock. Her creden-
tials all check out. What you see is what you get.”
During dinner we talked about tomorrow’s logistics. Micki would
take the lead, I’d keep quiet. This strategy went against my grain but,
given Dub’s animosity, was absolutely the right thing to do. Micki and
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I hoped to meet with Doug early, but we doubted we’d have enough
time to do more than get him into a clean suit when he walked off the
plane.
The judge for tomorrow’s arraignment was the Honorable Wade
Houston. A former FBI Agent and assistant U.S. attorney, he’d been on
the bench for eight years, his views and rulings consistently both con-
servative and pro-government. He believed in a “rocket docket”—no
delays in hearings or trials. The government was usually given tremen-
dous leeway in presenting its case, while many a defense lawyer threw
up his hands after the first day. We were not only going up against the
power of the U.S. Government; we were also facing a “hanging judge”
as far as granting defense motions and sentencing. Micki said most
defense lawyers who drew Judge Houston usually called the prosecu-
