Page 54 of The System

“Well, I’m working on it. And I really am busy here, Kieran. I can’t push her to take this deal, but I don’t think I can take this to trial, either.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that, ethically, I can’t keep pushing this deal on her just because I can’t take the case to trial, but I can’t take this to trial, Kieran. We just got this massive case, and it’s millions if we win. The firm has asked all partners to drop their pro bonos to first-year associates. I haven’t done that yet, but I’m getting pressure from the senior partners. They don’t think this case is worth anything anyway, so they want me to drop it altogether and refer Marin to the PD’s office.”

“Diego, she needs a good attorney.”

“I know. This is my job, though, Kieran. I don’t have much of a choice. I’ve already talked to Marin about it, and she said she’d just get a public defender.”

“You already talked to her about this?”

“She’s my client,” Diego reminded again. “I’m going to meet with the assigned PD and transfer everything we have to them as soon as I can. I’m sorry. I think this is for the best, honestly. It’s been really hard, trying to balance this case with everything else I’ve got going on, and, at the same time, I’m also seeing you everywhere, and I can’t have you because you don’t want me anymore. You try having a client who looks just like the ex-wife you’re still in love with.”

“Oh, Diego,” Kieran said on a sigh. “You’re not still in love with me. You just don’t know how to be a single man in your mid-thirties. Build that game room and movie theater in your house. Enjoy being a bachelor for a while. You’ll meet the woman who wants the kind of life you do soon enough. If it makes you feel any better, when you do meet her, I’m sure I’ll be a little jealous.”

Diego laughed a little and said, “You will?”

“Yeah. I mean, she’ll get a gym, a pool table, and a movie theater in her house,” she joked.

He laughed again and said, “I suppose so.”

Kieran bit her lower lip then and asked, “Are we okay, though?”

“I just need to not see you for a while.”

“Okay,” she said. “I understand that, and I’ll leave you alone.”

“I’ll make sure the PD gets everything we have, okay?”

“I’d appreciate that,” she replied.

CHAPTER 17

“Diego dropped the case?” Carina asked.

“I guess. It just appeared on my desk this morning. He was doing it pro bono, and without that, she couldn’t afford an attorney,” the public defender, now-assigned to Marin’s case, explained. “I haven’t met with my client yet, but Diego told me there’s a deal on the table.”

“What about Kieran?”

“The sister?” the PD asked and looked down at his notebook. “Right. They’re twins.”

“Yes, she’s Marin’s sister. She’s not paying for Marin’s attorney herself now that Diego has dropped out?”

“I don’t know. I guess not, if I’m sitting here talking to you about a deal. I’ve reviewed what I could so far, but I’m still playing catch-up. There’s a deal, right?”

“Yes, there is. She’s turned it down, though, from what I understand.”

“Is there a ticking clock?”

“Well, I don’t want to do all the trial prep if she’s going to take it at the last minute, so yes, let’s say there’s still a clock. I’ll give her one more chance to take manslaughter and ten years. I won’t argue if she’s out in five. Probation for the next five to fill out her sentence, but if she’s out on good behavior, I’m willing to reduce the probation period to two years. There were mitigating circumstances. That’s the best she’s going to get anywhere. You know that.”

“So, five in and two on probation if good behavior?” the PD checked and took a note. “That’s a pretty good deal.”

“I know. I agree. But Marin May doesn’t want to take me up on it. She told Diego no, so you have an uphill battle.”

“Will this sister help me convince her?”

“I doubt it. Kieran doesn’t want her to take it, either. She thinks Marin is innocent.”

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