Character Witness (10 page)

''
Your Honor.'' Tony Maglio moved in for the kill now that Bob had mortally wounded the opposition. No expressions of professional offense marred his face; his style was the good guy. He grinned openly. The court was his locker room. He snapped his towel Judge Kelley's way.

''
We move that the estate of Lionel Booker be held not liable in this action also. For the same reasons that All Life has expressed, Your Honor. We also believe there are no contested issues here. The estate should have no liability because Lionel Booker did, indeed, provide for Louise Booker as stipulated in the previous ruling. Had Mr. Booker not purchased life insurance, the estate could be charged. However, he did. Therefore, I see no reason why we should be in front of Your Honor arguing the matter.''

''
Three minutes, Ms. Cotter,'' Kelley muttered.

''
Lionel Booker did not contest Louise Booker's request for a life insurance policy to protect her in the case of his death. He sought out All Life, he paid the premiums. That goes to intent, Your Honor. Lionel Booker proved that he intended to provide for my client no matter what. If the insurance company is not liable, then the estate must be. This is based on the previous court's ruling. Louise Booker is entitled to support.''

''
Ms. Cotter,'' Judge Kelley clipped her name off like the end of a good cigar. He smiled. He was ready for another chat. ''How long have you been practicing law?''

''
Eight years, Judge.'' Beside her Louise rolled her eyes and planted her chin on her upturned hand, drumming her nails against her cheek.

''
Still close enough to graduation that you must remember your classes in law school. There was probably one professor who conducted a discussion of state of mind, was there not?''

''
Yes.''

''
Do you remember hearing that it is impossible for a third party to attest to state of mind?'' Kelley was grinning. Sitting high above the proceedings, his comely looks made the sharpness of his lesson something akin to a smiling executioner.

''
Yes.''

''
Then Ms. Cotter, unless you are going to produce a note from the deceased,'' his fingers twisted like a magician, ''call a mystery witness who happened to be in the stall next to Mr. Booker before he did the deed, or call a psychic who will attest to what Mr. Booker had in mind regarding his estate at the day, and dare I say, moment of his death, I would suggest you think twice before going down this road.''

''
But. . .'' Kathleen began.

Judge Kelley raised one finger and waggled it. His clerk passed him another note. This one seemed to amuse him. Kathleen raised her chin. It felt like the Rock of Gibraltar but she managed to keep it up while he did some housekeeping. Louise wiggled in her seat and re-crossed her legs. If movement were words, Louise's would all be spelled with four letters.

''
You blew it,'' Louise whispered. Kathleen's shoulders went back, ready for any slings and arrows. ''Gerry should have been here. That old man's got more on the ball than you'll ever have.''

''
Be quiet, Louise,'' Kathleen begged as Judge Kelley glared at the bad girls in school.

''
I think we're going to have to continue this discussion with the estate of Lionel Booker,'' Kelly said. ''I believe that there is some merit to the case against the estate. Although, without the life insurance policy I imagine the ex-Mrs. Booker will find it less lucrative than she imagined. Legally, though, I don't see. . .

''
Excuse me?''

Those two little words wafted forward from as far back in the courtroom as it was possible to come. The huge seal behind the judge seemed to tip forward as the sweetest voice - sweeter than that of Kathleen Cotter - floated across the expanse of pews and over the shining wood of the bar and into the well to lay itself in front of the man in black.

Judge Kelley squinted though there was nothing to obstruct his view. Tony looked. He didn't exactly turn, but moved his very straight body as if he was taking a ride on a Lazy Susan. Louise flung herself over the back of her chair. Kathleen took two tiny steps and twisted her head. Bob Morton stopped packing his briefcase. The woman who spoke- a woman so very small and delicate that visions of Thumbelina came to mind - appeared to shrink under their scrutiny.

''
I beg your pardon?'' Judge Kelley's voice softened as if he was talking to a child - as well he might be. The woman's long hair was parted in the middle; her clothes were just a bit too big. Her long cardigan sweater hung over her narrow shoulders as if it weighed on her mightily without giving any warmth. She wore no make-up; her eyes seemed nothing more than circles of dark for the lashes were too light to define the shape of them. Her mouth remained a tight and fretful line that was too narrow to make a statement or be considered attractive.

''
Miss, do you have business before this court?'' Kelley called out.

''
I do, sir.'' Her voice was only a fraction stronger than before.

While they all looked at the woman, one man acted. Kathleen hadn't really noticed him before. He said something to Tony as he sidestepped out of the spectator's pew where he had been sitting. Kathleen wasn't sure it was a muttered curse or an expression of sorrow. She couldn't hear anything more. He was hurrying toward the woman. But she was quicker still.

Instead of waiting for him to reach her, she seemed to anticipate his moves. She side-stepped, ducking around him so that he had to turn and follow her. Hoarse, quick whispers of objections and questions were thrown her way. She ignored them all. Kathleen knew this took a great deal of courage, the same courage it had taken when her father told her she'd never be a lawyer.

''
I don't want anything,'' she called to the judge, waving her little hand as if that would make him understand how sincere she was. The man caught up with her. She turned back to him as he put his hand on her arm.

''
I don't want anything,'' she snapped, instantly embarrassed by her own boldness. Her attention was back on the court, her bovine eyes darting Louise's way. Kathleen could have sworn she saw a flicker of fear behind those eyes. ''She can have it all. I mean it, Judge. Louise,'' she looked directly at the ex-Mrs. Booker, ''I don't want any of it. No money or whatever Lionel had. I'd like to keep the house, but if you want that, too, it's okay.'' She looked at the judge with big, big, frightened eyes. ''Please, judge, just give it all to her.''

''
Mr. Maglio?'' Judge Kelley wanted an explanation but was so fascinated by the woman he never took his eyes off her.

''
Yes, Your Honor. I apologize for this interruption. This is highly irregular. I'll take care of it.'' Tony headed toward the man and the woman, circled both with his long arm and tried to step them backward to the door.

''
Mr. Maglio! What are you doing? This court is not in recess.''

''
Please, Your Honor,'' he called back, unwilling to release the quietly feuding pair. ''I need only a moment to straighten this out, Your Honor. This is Edward Booker, Lionel Booker's brother and executor of the estate. I beg Your Honor for a short recess.'' He was still hurrying them to the door, but Kelley was as curious as any of them.

''
And the lady?''

Tony Maglio shoulders sagged. He would have preferred not to add another iron to the fire, but now he had no choice. He was about to speak when Louise spilled the beans.

''
That's Lionel's wife,'' she drawled.

That's when the little woman started to cry and Judge Kelley called a recess.

CHAPTER FOUR

''
She just wasn't worth talking about, sweetie.''

Here was a new twist; Louise throwing endearments at Kathleen like stones as they stood in the ladies room in the Los Angeles courthouse.

''
Lionel had remarried and you didn't think that was important? You've told me every stupid little thing I didn't need to know a hundred times. In all that time, don't you think mentioning a new wife might have been something I would find interesting?''

Kathleen controlled herself admirably considering the fine line Louise was walking.

''
My problem was with Lionel and my part of his money.'' She jerked her head in the general direction of the hall where the little lady had been shooed by Lionel's brother and the attorney. ''She's a nothing, sweetheart. I don't deal with nothings. I learned my lesson with Lionel. He turned out to be a big fat, sensitive zero. Looking at her makes me sick. It only goes to show how right I was about him. He could have had me. He could have made me happy, and I would have given him everything. But we get divorced and he goes to that wimpy little dishrag. It's insulting.''

Kathleen paced behind as Louise took her own sweet time touching up an already horrendous make-up job. Kathleen wished she had the guts to tell Louise that paint-by-numbers did not make a masterpiece just as slight of build and soft of voice does not a dishrag make.

Then she caught sight of herself in the mirror and looked away just as quickly. She couldn't lie to herself. No matter how well drawn the mask, it was still painted on. Louise hadn't offered the information, but then again Kathleen hadn't asked.

''
Look Louise, you hired me to -.''

''
I hired Gerry, honey.'' She flicked at her eyelash and Kathleen's face burned as red as the lace bra that peeked from under Louise's turquoise top. Louise had met her mark, she'd hit below the belt.

''
You hired O'Doul & Associates. For the time being, I am the associate and Gerry assigned me to your case because he knew I could handle it.'' Kathleen stopped pacing and took her share of the blame. ''I should have stuck with my original gut feeling and advised you not to pursue this matter.'' Louise raised a well plucked eyebrow and Kathleen's guilt trip was over. ''As a woman I should have told you I thought you were greedy and ungrateful.''

''
But you didn't, did you?''

Louise was done. She turned around slowly and planted her flat behind on the square sink. An incredible amount of cleavage heaved toward Kathleen as Louise Booker crossed her arms. The red lace was now well hidden. ''Okay, Sister Kathleen, let's talk.''

''
We've talked enough. If you won't give me information that will help then I don't know what you want to talk about.''

''
Sure you do, honey. Let's lay our cards on the table, clear the air, bare our breasts.'' Louise chuckled wickedly but her amusement didn't last as long as Kathleen's embarrassment. ''I gave you plenty of chance to do that these last few weeks. From the minute Gerry joined us at the hip, I was ready to give you the benefit of the doubt. I figured if the old man thought you had it then you did. But what I saw that first day, and what I saw in that courtroom, just proved what I figured out the first time I laid eyes on you. You're an okay package, and Gerry O'Doul may be your uncle, but you haven't got half the balls, or the brains, he has.''

''
If that is meant to shock me, you're wasting your breath.''

''
I don't want to shock you. I want to clue you in so you don't go on thinking you're cut out for the big leagues.'' The door opened. Both women looked toward the young black woman who did a double take at Louise, then hurried into a stall. Kathleen moved closer, but Louise didn't care who heard her. ''I know what I want. I figured, if nothing else, you'd do your best to please Gerry and get it for me. Or maybe you'd try your hardest because you had some pride. But now you're trying to weasel out of your responsibility by telling me it's my fault you're not going to win. Hey, where were you when I was talking? I gave you what I had, and you didn't even do me the courtesy of asking me questions. We lost because of you.''

They heard the toilette flush and the stall door opened just as Louise wrapped up.

''
Baby, all was lost long before that little broad showed up. You look good in your own way, but get you out there in the ring and they KO you without lifting a finger. You don't have style. You don't have a mouth on you. You're not even quick on your feet. Your arguments sounded like a grocery list. You got all quiet when you should have stood up for me. I had to try and save myself in there. So I'll just go on back to Gerry, tell him he takes this thing on or I take my business somewhere else. I believe in this. I need an attorney who does, too.''

''
It has nothing to do with faith. What I needed was a case with merit,'' Kathleen muttered.

''
A good lawyer doesn't need merit. They need brains and you had enough time before this hearing to use yours. Gerry didn't need to know about that woman to get me the insurance policy; you shouldn't have needed to know about her to get me the benefits. Admit it, that mouse doesn't mean anything.''

Louise was wrong, Kathleen was sure, but she wasn't exactly sure why. Kathleen turned on her heel, pretending nature called, and walked into a stall. She locked the door and sat down on the stool, fully dressed, to think.

When the answer came to her, Kathleen flung open the door triumphantly, forgetting to pretend she had gone into the stall for any other reason than to hide.

''
Of course it's important. She wants to give. . .'' Kathleen looked right, ''. . .you,'' she looked left, ''. . .everything.'' Triumph turned to defeat. Louise Booker was gone. Resigned, Kathleen hitched her briefcase and followed her client. ''The woman wants to hand over the estate. We probably wouldn't even be here if we knew that.''

In the hall Kathleen didn't see Louise but she spied the second Mrs. Booker halfway down the very, very long hall. Kathleen started toward Lionel's lady who seemed to be trying to argue with Lionel's brother. Her tiny hands moved quickly: his expression was earnest and frustrated. No matter how benevolent her opponent, the woman was obviously loosing the battle.