Page 12 of The 1 Lawyer

“Stuck my head in for a minute this morning, then came back twice in the afternoon, waiting for my turn in chancery court.”

“How do you think it’s going?”

Mason stirred his martini with the plastic toothpick. He ate both green olives before he answered.

Oh, shit, I thought. Better brace myself.

“You’re getting your ass kicked, Stafford Lee.”

I picked up my bottle and chugged half of it down as he continued the critique.

“Every time I walked in there, the DA was scoring all the points while you just sat in your chair. Pretty poor showing for the dude who’s supposedly the number one lawyer around here. You’re running behind, Stafford Lee. Way behind.”

Mason’s bald assertion put me on the defensive. “Damn, Mason, it’s only the first day. The prosecution has the burden of proof. They call their witnesses first.”

Mason belched softly and repeated, “Way behind.”

He knew how to get my back up. I shook my head in disgust. “What were my options? Dispute that the woman was dead? Claim she hadn’t been pregnant? Explain away that fetus?”

I was starting to get worked up, so it was a relief to see Liz Craig and another young woman shoulder through the bar crowd. When she approached the table, I rose from my seat.

“Oh, Stafford Lee, sit down—you’re too polite! We just wanted to come by and say hi.”

“Ladies, join us,” Mason said.

Liz took an empty chair, but her friend hung back, looking bashful. Liz ignored Mason and directed her considerable sparkle at me.

“Stafford Lee, everybody at the courthouse was talking today about what a great job you’re doing.”

“Is that right?” I asked, glancing at Mason.

Mason rolled his eyes, but Liz wasn’t paying attention to him. “We were on break, and the lobby was so full, we couldn’t even sit down. And people wanted to know if you’d ever lost, and I told them, ‘No, Stafford Lee has never lost a trial. Because he’s the best.’” She paused for breath, smiling her megawatt smile again.

I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t flattered.

Mason checked out her friend, who’d remained standing. “Like to join us?”

She glanced at Liz, then looked down at her phone. “I’d like to, really, but we’re supposed to meet our ride outside. Come on, Liz, or he’ll be mad.”

Liz heaved a sigh. “Gotta go.” As they moved away, she called over her shoulder, “See you tomorrow, Stafford Lee!”

Mason drained the last of his martini. “Scarlett!” he called, raising the empty glass until the barmaid acknowledged the signal. He set the glass down and scowled at me. “Why do you get all the positive attention? The women scamper to you like ants to a birthday cake.”

I laughed. “Mason, you’re imagining things.”

“I’m stating a fact. Is it because you played football? Or do you put out some pheromone? Because I’m better-looking than you, obviously. But you always get the best lawyer groupies. Women must believe that ‘number one lawyer’ bullshit.”

I took the last swallow from my bottle and shook my head. “No groupies for me. I am a happily married man.”

“Damn it, Stafford Lee!”

The voice came from behind me and almost made me jump out of my skin. She was at my elbow before I had a chance to turn around. Her face was pink with anger.

“Drinking again, of course. Where else would you be but in a bar?”

CHAPTER 11

I HADN’T seen my wife in five weeks. Her choice, not mine.

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