Part 16 (2/2)

'And Nathan's dead.'

'I didn't kill him, and neither did Billy Bob. The sheriff said it was an accident.'

'Then neither you nor your client has anything to fear.'

'From what?'

'Not what. Whom.'

'From whom?'

'Me.'

'I thought that went well,' Nadine said. 'Is that what you call stirring the pot?'

'It is.'

'Do you do that often?'

'I do.'

'Has anyone ever taken offense?'

'Define ”taken offense.”'

'Attempted injury upon your body.'

'They have.'

'Was there gunfire?'

'On occasion.'

'How many occasions?'

'A few.'

'Define ”a few.”'

'Seven.'

'People shot at you seven times?'

'Maybe eight.'

His intern sighed heavily. 'So in the newspaper reports, I'll be the ”innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.”'

'I promised to protect you, Ms. Honeywell.'

Sit on a bench in downtown Austin for five minutes and five panhandlers would've already hit on you. Not so in downtown Midland. Law and order-mostly order-prevailed. They sat on a bench outside the Dunn Building, taking a breather before riding back to Marfa. The West Texas wind funneled between the buildings and threatened to blow them over. Pedestrians leaned into the wind, making it seem as if the earth had tilted on its axis. Young men in suits and women in dresses walked past and into the building, apparently lawyers returning from lunch.

'Thomas A. Dunn,' Nadine said. 'The ”A” must be for a.s.shole.'

'Fortunately, it's not a crime in Texas, or we'd have a lot more lawyers in prison.'

'Professor, why didn't you ever practice law? You could've been another Tom Dunn.'

'That's why.'

Book pointed up, as if to the corner office on the twentieth floor.

'I knew that life wasn't for me. Working inside. Wearing suits. Counting my life away by the billable hour.'

'He looks rich.'

'I'm sure he is. Each lawyer chooses the life he or she wants, Ms. Honeywell, just as you will have to choose. I chose a life on a Harley instead of in a Mercedes-Benz.'

'You ever regret that choice?'

'Only when it rains.'

She smiled.

'You could've worked at a nonprofit.'

'It's called teaching law school.'

'Hey, I read about those forgivable loans.'

'They made Twitter?'

'Oh, yeah.'

'Well, I didn't get one.'

'You could've done legal aid for the needy.'

'That's why we're here-to use our legal skills to aid someone in need.'

'But the person in need is dead.'

'So he is.'

'Professor, Tom Dunn is an a.s.shole, but he's right: Nathan's death was an accident.'

'Are you just saying that so I'll take you home?'

<script>