Part 40 (1/2)

He smiled, pleased. ”Yes, that would be it. I regret the plea bargains, but sometimes acquittal is too much to hope for.” The smile faded as he lifted the pages. ”As for why Morgan is giving you this...” He flipped to the first page. ”Ah.”

”James thought he'd provide a little background information on Ricky. Except it's not on Ricky. It's on the Saints.”

”Because there's nothing he could dig up on Ricky other than his a.s.sociation with the club. He's never been charged with an offense. He's had a couple of traffic violations, but I was able to successfully argue that they were based purely on the fact that he was driving a Harley and wearing a club patch. Ricky knows the value of a clean record.”

”So what's in this other...” I flipped open the thicker file and saw the cover sheet. ”Oh.”

Gabriel didn't even seem to bend down to read it. ”Yes, that would be mine. It appears Morgan had a little more luck there.”

I closed the folder and handed it up to him. ”Shred it. And if you want to retaliate with the McNeil business you mentioned, go ahead.”

That same pleased smile he'd given when I complimented his defense record.

”Did you think I'd read it?” I said.

”Perhaps, but I didn't expect you to suggest retaliation.” He pulled his chair over and sat with the folder on his lap. ”I want to ignore him. He's making that increasingly difficult, though.”

”Sorry.”

Gabriel opened the file. ”As for this...” He skimmed the top sheet. ”True.” He set it on the desk and checked the next. ”Not true.” He started a second pile and checked the third. ”Not entirely true-there is a basis in fact, but the primary accusation is wrong.”

He began another pile, in between the two. He continued through the stack. When he finished, the three piles were about equal. He leaned back in his chair.

”There. Go ahead. Take a look.”

I shook my head. ”Will Evans tried the same thing.”

”And as long as you a.s.sociate with me, there will be someone who thinks it's his duty to tell you exactly how horrible I am. Whoever Morgan hired to investigate me was certainly thorough. Every charge I've ever heard is here. I will rest easier if we get this over with. Clear away the rumors. Render the ammunition useless.”

I looked at him, pulled over the first pile, and began reading.

What did I find in those piles? Nothing worse than I'd heard. Nothing worse than I suspected. I knew Gabriel had a juvenile record for pickpocketing. I also suspected he'd continued picking pockets, along with other methods of theft, through his teen years, to support himself. He just got better at hiding it.

There were accusations of a.s.sault. Some true; most not. Again, what I'd expect. I'd seen Gabriel use his fists, but he was more comfortable intimidating with his size, as he'd done with James. There was an accusation of murder. He scoffed at that.

”Killing a business rival?” he said. ”It suggests I need to eliminate an opponent to defeat him.”

”Terribly insulting,” I said.

”It is.” He paused. ”Also, untrue.”

A large chunk of the file concerned his activities during college. How he paid for his degree. The rumors were that he'd dealt drugs or run an illegal gambling ring.

”I'm going with gambling,” I said. I checked the piles. ”Ooh, I win. Wait. Bookmaking and usury, too? So you ran the gambling ring, took bets, and lent money?”

”You know I hate hiring help.”

I laughed. The drug dealing accusations were in the ”lies and d.a.m.n lies” pile. As I expected.

The biggest part of the file dealt with Gabriel's business activities. Accusations of blackmail, extortion, bribery, intimidation ... The list went on. The only one that he denied was judicial bribery. As for the rest ...

”If I did those things as often as they claim, I'd never have time to actually practice law.”

”That's why you hired me.”

A faint smile. ”Perhaps.” He waved at the guilty-as-charged pile. ”I've done them all. Just not nearly in the quant.i.ty suggested.”

That left traffic violations-guilty-and a paternity suit. The latter was in the d.a.m.n-lies pile.

”It was a setup,” he said. ”I was defending one of two men charged with a series of bank robberies. They'd turned on each other. The opposing lawyer sent a young woman to seduce me in hopes of getting my files.”

”Ah. Honey trap. Let me guess. She couldn't get the files, so the other lawyer tried blackmail instead, claiming you'd gotten the girl pregnant.”

He glanced at me.

”Ouch,” I said. ”I think I just got frostbite from that look.”

”I am hardly foolish enough to fall for seduction in the first place.”

”Hey, I never said you fell for anything. It's a freebie. No reason not to take advantage.”

”Not unless I have a shred of dignity. I'm not that desperate, Olivia.”

”And again, I didn't say that. But okay, so you didn't sleep with her, and she still claimed paternity. I'm guessing it didn't get far.”

”It did not. It was merely an attempt to embarra.s.s me professionally. I spoke to my opponent-the one who sent the girl-and suggested it would be very embarra.s.sing if I persuaded his wife to have the baby's DNA tested against his. He convinced the young woman to withdraw the suit.”

”I'm amused by the fact you were more offended by that accusation than the murder one.”

”I'm not disallowing the possibility that I could commit murder, under extreme circ.u.mstances. But falling into a honey trap? Unknowingly fathering a child? Absolutely not.”

”Noted. That's it, then. All your sins laid bare.” I leaned back. ”I can reciprocate if you like. I stole a Dr Pepper when I was twelve.”

His brows shot up in mock horror.

”It was an accident,” I said. ”I was distracted and thought I'd paid. I still felt bad.”

He shook his head. ”I suppose you smoked a cigarette once, too.”

”Twice. I had a wild youth, but I've overcome it. The only things I've done recently are lying to witnesses, trespa.s.sing, breaking and entering, and shooting people. All in the last six weeks, roughly coinciding with when I met you.”

”A coincidence.”