Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Dawson?”
His head snapped up, and he pulled an AirPod from an ear and tossed it on the desk. “Shit. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Have you been here all night?”
He nodded. “My case is about to explode.”
“The one that sent over a revised witness list yesterday? Fanning?”
Dawson blew out two cheeks full of air. “I did some digging. Turns out one of them is the president of a small bank in the Bahamas, and the other is my client’s first wife.”
“I take it that’s not good?”
“It’s an extortion case—at least that’s what the main charge is. There are also a few smaller ones that have less bite. The biggest thing in our favor was that the government couldn’t find the money my client was supposedly collecting, though apparently his ex could. I swear, the DA’s office should put ex-wives on the payroll. They can find shit better than any investigator I’ve ever met.”
I smiled, but it didn’t sound good for Mr. Fanning. “How much did they find?”
“More than seven million. All because his ex wanted him to pay for half of their son’s summer camp. He refused, so she took him to court and let him tell the judge how broke he was. Big mistake. You never piss off a woman who knows where you used to hide the bodies. Now he not only has to pay for a hundred percent of his son’s camp, he’s going to wind up serving twenty years for extortion.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Can you make Mr. Fanning take a deal? I spoke to him on the phone last night, and he’s still refusing. I told him to come in this morning after he’d had some time to think about it. I’m hoping the new information that’s come to light has sunk in, and he’ll think better of wanting to go to trial.”
“Will they even give him a deal now?”
“They offered eight years when he was first indicted, which he scoffed at. I’m friendly with the DA who’s trying the case, so I called him early this morning. The offer is now twelve. And it’s only open until five PM today.”
“Can I make you some coffee or something?”
“If you don’t mind, that would be great. I need to hit the head and wash up before Mr. Fanning shows. He should be here any minute.”
“No problem. If he’s here before you’re done, I’ll stall him.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” He walked to a cabinet and pulled out a dress shirt on a hanger. On his way back to his desk, he stopped and sniffed the air.
“Do you have something coconut on?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep. You asked me that the other day. I think you have coconut on the brain. I’ll go make that coffee.”
I’d barely had time to press start on the coffeemaker before I heard the clank of the front door. I walked out to the lobby and found a short, balding, unassuming man with Coke-bottle glasses. This couldn’t be the extortioner, could it? “Can I help you?”
“Dawson Reed, please.” He nodded. “Name’s Jack Fanning.”
Not what I expected, but okay. I put on a friendly smile. “Please have a seat. Dawson is just finishing up a call. He won’t be too long. Can I get you a coffee or something in the meantime?”
“Black.”
Man of few words… “Of course. I’ll be right back.”
On my way to the break room, I popped my head into Dawson’s office. He was shirtless, the top of his pants was open, and his belt was unbuckled. My eyes snagged on the happy trail that ran from his belly button into the waistband of his underwear.
Dawson smirked. “Good to know.”
“Good to know what?”
He shook out a folded undershirt and pulled it over his head. Tucking it into his pants, he zipped up. “That your date didn’t go the distance last night.”
“What are you talking about?”
He pulled on the dress shirt and started to button. “If you were full, you wouldn’t look hungry.”
My nose wrinkled. “You’re really an ass, you know that?”
“So I’ve heard a few times.”
“More than that, I’m sure.” I rolled my eyes. “Mr. Fanning is here. I’m bringing him coffee now.”
“Thank you. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
Mr. Fanning chugged the hot, black coffee like it was a water bottle and he’d just run a marathon, then handed me back the empty cup. “Thanks.”
I didn’t really have anything to do today, so I figured I’d stick around to see how things turned out. After I delivered the man of few words to Dawson’s office, I took a seat at my desk and worked on a petition I hadn’t had time to finish before I left yesterday. One paragraph in, the yelling started. I couldn’t help but overhear.
“You told me I had a good chance of getting off!”
“And you told me you had no assets other than the ones the feds had frozen.”