“What area are you talking about? It would have to be something our firm is competent to handle.”
“Are you a good criminal defense attorney?”
“I do okay.”
Chesterfield gestured toward the wall where Robin’s diplomas were displayed. “I see you’re an Eli. I’ve heard that it is incredibly difficult to gain admission to Yale’s law school, so you are both brilliant and modest, a charming combination for someone in your profession.”
“I love flattery, Mr. Chesterfield, but, unfortunately, we won’t be able to take on your case. I can give you the names of some excellent intellectual property attorneys.”
“I’ve decided that I want your firm to represent me.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Chesterfield held up his right hand and pulled his sleeve up to his elbow. He turned the hand so she could see the palm and the back. Then he said, “Abracadabra.”
When he rotated his hand again, a check appeared.
Chesterfield laid it on Robin’s desk. “If Regina thought enough of you to make you a partner, I know I can trust you to handle my affairs. All I’m asking is that you keep an open mind. Research the patent question for me, then decide what you want to do. This check is for five thousand dollars made out to your firm. Put it in your trust account. If you decide you can’t represent me, return the balance after deducting your fee for this meeting and for any research you might do on my behalf.”
Five thousand dollars was a decent retainer, but Robin had doubts about whether it was ethical to take the magician’s money.
Chesterfield seemed to read Robin’s mind. “I can see you have concerns, so I’m willing to sign a document in which I state that you have fully informed me about your lack of experience in the field of patent law and that I am retaining you despite this fact.” Chesterfield made a business card appear out of thin air and handed it to Robin. “I’m staying in town for a few days. Give me a call when you’ve reached a decision.”
As Chesterfield stood up to leave, Robin thought of something. “You said Miss Barrister represented you many years ago. What type of case was it?”
“One she was definitely competent to handle,” Chesterfield said. Then he walked out of Robin’s office.
As soon as Chesterfield left, Robin walked to Mary Stendahl’s office. Mary had been Regina’s secretary and was the only person in the office who had been with Regina from the time she started her practice until she retired.
Stendahl was one of those women who look great with gray hair. Though she was in her late sixties, she looked ten years younger, and she kept in the tip-top shape she had to be in to keep up with six grandchildren by hiking and mountain climbing.
“Did you see the man who just left?” Robin asked.
“No.”
“He said that Regina represented him when she was in her late thirties. You were with her then, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m curious about the old case.”
“What’s the man’s name?” Stendahl asked.
“Robert Chesterfield. He’s a magician.”
Stendahl’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my goodness! Robert Chesterfield. I definitely remember that case. He was charged with murder. Actually, it might have been more than one.”
“What can you tell me about the case?”
“Not much. I started as a receptionist, so I didn’t know the details. I do remember that it got a lot of publicity, but if you want the inside scoop, you’d better talk to Regina.”
“Would we still have the case files?”
Mary thought for a moment. “We might. If we did, they’d be in the basement in storage.”
“Can you check to see if they’re there?”
“Do you want them now?”
“There’s no rush. We’re probably not going to represent him. I’m just curious.”
Robin left Mary’s office and headed for the coffee room, preoccupied with thoughts of Robert Chesterfield. She loved magic, and the idea of representing a professional magician excited her. But she was also aware of the rules of ethics that governed her profession. It was a no-no to take on a client when you weren’t competent in the area of law in which they needed help, and Robin didn’t know a damn thing about patent law.
Robin was so preoccupied by thoughts of Robert Chesterfield that she started to pass Jeff Hodges’s office without looking in. The firm’s in-house investigator was six two with long, shaggy reddish blond hair, green eyes, pale freckled skin, and a face covered with telltale scars that were reminders of the injuries he’d suffered in an explosion in a meth lab when he was a police officer.
When Robin joined the firm, she had wondered about the origin of the scars and Jeff’s limp. The more she got to know Jeff, the more she found herself attracted to him. Then someone tried to kill her. In the aftermath, she asked Jeff to make love to her. Jeff had turned her down gently. He told her that it was her adrenaline talking, and reminded her that office romances were a very bad idea. Robin appreciated Jeff’s gallantry, but there was a mutual attraction they couldn’t ignore. After another life-and-death situation, they had made love. Jeff had moved in with her a few months ago.
“You were up and out early,” Hodges called to her.
Robin stopped. “I went to the gym. I needed to cleanse my system after last night’s drunken orgy.”
“You call a few beers and a roll in the hay an orgy? You’re betraying your small-town origins.”
“Hey, we had tons of orgies where I grew up.”
Jeff laughed and Robin remembered Chesterfield.
“You have a second?”
“For you, always.”
Robin walked into Jeff’s office and plopped down on one of Jeff’s client chairs. “I just had a really weird experience,” she said. Then she told Jeff about the magician’s visit.
“Do you know anything about the Chesterfield case?” she asked when she was through.
“That was way before I joined the firm. Are you going to try and get him his patent?”
“I don’t think I should. I feel like I’d be asking for a malpractice suit. Although, I must admit I’m tempted. I love magic, and it would be really cool to know the secret behind one of these amazing illusions.”
“You should watch that television show. You know, the one where Mysterioso, the magician in the mask, reveals how famous magic tricks are done.”
Robin flushed with anger. “I hate that show and I think Mysterioso is disgusting. He’s ruining the fun of millions of people by destroying the wonder other magicians create.”
“Whoa. Why don’t you tell me what you really think?”
“Giving away the secret behind a magician’s tricks should be a criminal offense.”
“Sorry I brought it up.”
Now Robin blushed. “No, I’m sorry I went off. I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up, but that guy really pisses me off. Anyway, I’m going to wait to talk to Mark before I decide if we should turn down Chesterfield.”
“Are you going to ask Regina about the case she handled for him?”
“I was planning on visiting her today. I can ask her this afternoon.”