Tides of Truth [02] Higher Hope (35 page)

“Tell me who,” the girl on the phone replied when she knew I was on the line.

“I can’t in three words. What was your memory verse last week?”

“‘For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth. By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You.’”

The words washed over me. No poetry could be more beautiful.

“That’s wonderful, Ellie. Where is that?”

“Psalm 71:5–6. Emma and I liked it, too. We used it to practice our calligraphy. It made it so easy to remember.”

“Are Mama and Daddy there?”

“No.”

“How’s Mr. Callahan doing?”

“He’s going to be okay. Daddy said he was stiff, but should get better.”

“Amen,” I said with relief.

“You sound like a preacher.”

THE FOLLOWING MORNING I was working alone in the library. The door opened and Gerry Patrick entered. I immediately sat up straighter in my chair.

“Mr. Carpenter wants to see you in his office. Zach is already waiting there.”

I swallowed.

As a homeschooler I’d never been summoned to the principal’s office, of course, but I suspected this was how it felt. I walked a step behind Ms. Patrick, too numb with apprehension to ask her a question. I brushed my hair behind my ears, knowing it would immediately fall back into place. Mr. Carpenter’s secretary didn’t look up as I passed—the reaction of a bystander not wanting to have eye contact with the condemned.

Zach was sitting across from Mr. Carpenter’s desk. Both the senior partner and the young lawyer had serious expressions on their faces. Ms. Patrick sat in a chair behind me in the corner.

“Sit down,” Mr. Carpenter said to me. “I asked Gerry to be here since she has administrative responsibility for you as a summer clerk.”

I scooted my chair away from Zach’s before settling in.

“Primary responsibility for this problem lies with Zach,” the older lawyer began. “But you also played a part.”

“Yes, sir,” I managed weakly. “But the whole thing has been com-pletely innocent. There hasn’t been anything improper—”

“Would you call not following my instructions proper conduct?” Mr. Carpenter asked, his voice rising.

“No, sir.”

“And you have to learn to take responsibility for your mistakes.”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry and apologize. I should have come to you before now.”

“You knew?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why didn’t you contact me yesterday or first thing this morning? Did you think I wouldn’t learn about this?”

“No, sir. I knew you would eventually find out.”

Zach turned to me. “How?”

“You knew, too,” I responded with a puzzled expression. “We were together.”

Mr. Carpenter, his eyes blazing, turned toward Zach. “This is making me wonder if we have a more serious problem than failure to follow instructions. Explain yourself.”

Zach pulled his ponytail before he spoke. “Mr. Carpenter, I’ve told you everything. I don’t know how Tami found out about any-thing else.”

I kept my voice as level as possible. If nothing else, I could try to divert the attack away from Zach. I was expendable. I looked directly at Mr. Carpenter.

“I understand that you’re upset because Zach and I visited my parents for the weekend and went to Hilton Head together for a few hours this past Saturday. But it isn’t as it appears. We’re different. Both of us.”

“What?” Mr. Carpenter asked.

I motioned over my shoulder at Ms. Patrick.

“Ms. Patrick said the firm frowned on dating between lawyers and summer clerks. Only we’re not dating. It’s just a way to get acquainted that has my parents’ approval. The closest we sat to each other was at Sister Dabney’s church.”

I heard an explosion of laughter and turned to see Ms. Patrick with her hand over her mouth.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Carpenter,” she said.

I glanced quickly at Zach and Mr. Carpenter. Zach was trying to suppress a grin. Mr. Carpenter appeared bewildered.

“Why are we here?” I asked.

Zach spoke. “Because we left Reverend Dabney’s church before she held a congregational meeting to discuss the Paulding lawsuit.”

“She was praying for people,” I said. “That’s usually the last thing to happen.”

“I know,” Zach said, “but not this Sunday. A new employee of Paulding’s company was also visiting the church. He’s a laborer who didn’t know anything about the lawsuit but stayed and reported what happened to Paulding when he came to work this morning. Apparently Reverend Dabney made some inflammatory remarks that would have helped us if we’d gotten them on the recorder.”

“Oh,” I replied, looking at Mr. Carpenter. “So Zach and I aren’t in trouble for fraternizing?”

“That’s a fancy word choice for whatever you’re doing in your personal lives. But right now I’m upset because you missed an opportunity to obtain valuable information in pending litigation. One of the mistakes lawyers often make is giving up just before they uncover a key piece of evidence.”

“I wanted to stay—,” I started, then stopped. “But only because I was interested in seeing what happened to the people receiving ministry. I wasn’t thinking about the case.”

“Which is another lesson,” Mr. Carpenter said. “Don’t get side-tracked. I’ve attended sporting events with clients or other lawyers and had to block out the game so I could concentrate on business. It’s the same principle.”

“Yes, sir. I’m sure it’s the same on the golf course.”

“Yes.” Mr. Carpenter raised his eyebrows. “Do you play golf?”

“No, sir, but it seemed analogous.”

“Right.” Mr. Carpenter put his fingers together in front of his face. “And while you’re both here, I don’t think it’s a good idea for associates to date summer clerks. You should get to know all the lawyers in the firm, not pair off like two kids at summer camp.”

“Yes, sir.”

“So, are you and Zach dating?”

I took a deep breath.

“No, sir. We’re courting.”

Mr. Carpenter shook his head. “That’s an archaic word to go with your fraternizing.”

“Yes, sir, but the important thing is that we’re not violating any firm policies. Wherever I am, I always try to obey the rules.”

Mr. Carpenter turned to Zach.

“What do you have to say?”

“Tami is right. We’re spending time together but not dating. I intended to talk to you about it. We’ve been so busy I hadn’t gotten around to it. I encourage her to take advantage of every opportunity to interact with the other attorneys for the reasons you mentioned.”

Mr. Carpenter looked past me. “Gerry, do you want to wade into this conversation?”

I didn’t turn around but felt the skin on the back of my neck tingle.

“Tami has some unusual ideas,” the office manager replied crisply. “I’ve been taking a wait-and-see approach. This needed to be mentioned. I accept Zach’s explanation.”

“Okay,” Mr. Carpenter said to Zach. “Keep it casual and don’t monopolize her time.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And at some point you’ll need to interview Jason Paulding’s employee. Do it before we take Dabney’s deposition.” Mr. Carpenter sat back in his chair. “That’s it. At least Gerry got a good laugh out of this meeting.”

Once we were away from Mr. Carpenter’s office, Ms. Patrick chuckled.

“I know that wasn’t an act,” she said to me, “but it was probably the best thing you could have done. Mr. Carpenter couldn’t chew you out after I lost it.”

“I was worried, especially after I heard about the problems Maggie Smith had when she clerked for the firm.”

Ms. Patrick’s eyes widened. “You know about that?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I don’t blame Maggie for that problem. She’s a fine woman and, from what I’ve heard, is doing a good job at the district attorney’s office.”

Ms. Patrick left Zach and me.

“Whew,” I said. “Was he really mad?”

“He wasn’t happy. I’ve not worked much with him, and this case hasn’t made me want to volunteer for more assignments. Mr. Appleby is more even-tempered, even when we’re under pressure to put together a big deal. I’m going to stick to admiralty work.”

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

Instead of reassuring me, Zach merely shrugged and left me standing outside the library door.

I WORKED ALONE through lunch, worried the whole time that Zach was upset with me about the Dabney case, again. Julie returned in the middle of the afternoon.

“Did you elope over the weekend?” she asked as she dropped a file folder on the table.

“No,” I responded more lightly than I felt, “but we went for a motorcycle ride to Hilton Head on Saturday.”

“Scouting out the honeymoon suite, I’m sure. I’d expect the two of you to plan everything down to the last detail.”

“Then we went to church together.”

“That sounds romantic. Bernie Loebsack and I used to hold hands in synagogue until our mothers found out and wouldn’t let us sit next to each other.”

“I don’t think hand-holding would have gone over very well at Sister Dabney’s church.”

“You went there?” Julie’s jaw dropped open. “That’s like walking into the lion’s den.”

“We had no choice. Mr. Carpenter ordered us to go.”

Julie sat down at the table and listened. She winced when I told her about the morning meeting with Mr. Carpenter.

“It’s hard enough for one of us to beat Vinny out of a job without getting a demerit on our record.”

“I’m not competing with Vince.”

Julie rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers in my face. “I’m out of your life for three days, and you’re in a fantasy world.”

“I’m not sure I want to work here even if they offer me a job,” I said, then quickly added, “but please don’t say that to anyone.”

“I already knew that. It’s why I invited you to lunch with Maggie Smith.”

“But I don’t think I want to be an assistant district attorney either. If you’d asked me about it before the summer, it would have made sense. However, after representing Moses Jones, my thinking about that type of work is confused, too. I’d never want to represent a guilty person, but it would be terrible to prosecute someone who was innocent.”

“I’m not talking about being a prosecutor,” Julie answered, lowering her voice. “Maggie is thinking about leaving the district attorney’s office and starting her own firm.”

I stared at Julie for a second.

“What would that mean to you and me?”

“She’s looking for someone who can invest the start-up capital in return for an instant partnership share.”

“I don’t have any money.”

“But I do, or at least my father does. He would pony up the coin. I think it would be neat having my name on the letterhead of a Savannah law firm the day I pass the bar exam. Maggie would make the switch to private practice, and I could specialize in divorces. There’s always room for a woman attorney willing to represent other women in domestic cases.”

“Have you talked to your father about this?”

“Enough to know that he doesn’t think it’s a good idea, but I haven’t really gone to work on him. He hasn’t turned me down for anything I really wanted since the eighth grade.”

“Where would I fit in?”

“You’d be our associate.”

I chuckled for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. As I laughed, the tension flowed out of my body. I ended up close to tears and wiped my eyes.

“What’s so funny?” Julie asked. “Are you too good to be an associate?”

“No, just not that desperate. I’d rather work in a chicken plant than try to get guilty people off or help break up marriages. If you and Maggie Smith want to start that kind of a law firm, I won’t try to talk you out of it, but I’m holding on to my belief that being a lawyer will hold a higher goal for me.”

“That’s arrogant,” Julie said, her jaw set.

I knew I’d hurt her feelings.

“It’s nice of you to even consider me,” I added.

“Don’t go there. It’s condescending,” Julie said curtly. “But please keep this conversation between us. I’ll do the same for you.”

We spent the rest of the afternoon in icy silence. I regretted laughing, but the idea of a three-woman law firm with me as the third wheel seemed so funny at the time. Now, both Zach and Julie were upset with me. Later in the day I thought about Sister Dabney, who had probably been served with the complaint. She wasn’t aware of my involvement in the lawsuit, but once she was, she would be mad at me, too. I shut down my feelings and focused on brain talks.

I spent the rest of the week on a tight schedule, balancing work during the day and taking Flip to see Mrs. Fairmont in the evenings. The barrier between Julie and me lowered but didn’t disappear. Zach took seriously his promise to Mr. Carpenter that I should interact with other lawyers in the firm and set up two lunches for me with mid-level partners I’d seen only in passing. Zach didn’t come to the lunches, which were all business—my studies, interests, goals, and the future opportunities at the firm.

On Thursday I contacted the Paulding Development Corporation employee who had been at Sister Dabney’s church. His name was Jorge Rivera. I didn’t let him know Zach and I had been there, too.

“How did you choose the church?” I asked.

“My parents went to a tent meeting years ago when Sister Dabney and her husband were in Texas. Sister Dabney called my mother out by name and gave her a message that changed her life.”

Several weeks before I would have been instantly curious. Now it didn’t surprise me at all.

“How did you find out she was in Savannah?”

“I was with a demolition crew working not far from the church and saw her name on the sign out front. I had to find out if it was the same person. Is her husband dead?”

“I’m not sure, but I know they’re divorced. Tell me about the congregational meeting this past Sunday.”

“I was about to leave when she said they had church business to discuss. She said Mr. Paulding had hired some crooked lawyers to sue her and that God’s judgment was going to fall on all of them.”

“Okay.” I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “Did she describe the type of judgment?”

“No, but she quoted some verses about God’s wrath against the wicked.”

“Anything else?”