Page 94 of Devil and the Deep Blue Fish

“I usually don’t have appointments on Thursdays,” he said. “And since I don’t have court, I’m working from home.”

“I know you are,” Galen said. “You’re working on Henry’s case, and not once has either of you two assholes filled me in.”

Ellery winced. “Apologies,” he said sincerely. “There was—”

“Chaos,” Galen said with satisfaction. “Jade has updated me on the chaos.” He chuckled. “So you sent Jackson into the ether, and he rescued a hundred kids? Is that how it went?”

“Eight,” Ellery told him. “And he had Cody’s help. And Jade rescued the one who threw a Molotov cocktail through our window.”

“You should know that the Thornton kid—”

“Killian?” Killian had been at least thirty, Ellery thought in bemusement.

“Yes. Anyway, somebody somewhere is missing a fixer, because he has hired a glazier and repaired our carpet. He said it was in payment for keeping his friend out of jail, but I’m saying, if he doesn’t mind working for the mob, he could find a whole different profession.”

“I think he’d mind,” Ellery said dryly. “He and Lewis seem very earnest.”

“More’s the pity.” And like that, Galen switched topics. “Who are we hiring as our third member?”

“What?” Ellery asked, a little surprised. “You’re worried about thatnow?”

“Yes,” Galen said. “Yes, I am. Because Jade just made four appointments for you for next week and three for me. I’m thinking we don’t need a new partner—we need a partner andtwonew associates. They can share an office. That way while you and Jackson are using the law firm’s resources to save the world on a grand scale, we can have backup to bring in the money.”

Ellery grunted. “I thought that’s whatyouwere for?”

“And I do my part,” Galen informed him. “But truthfully, your ADA friend called me to make sure Henry was okay—”

“Arizona?” Ellery asked in surprise. Arizona Brooks was in her early fifties and one of Ellery’s fiercest adversaries in the courtroom.

But she was also fair-minded and had gone to bat for Jackson and Ellery more than once in the name of what was right as opposed to what politicians thought they could get away with.

“Yes,” Galen said. “And she sounded… hurt. I’ll say it. She sounded hurt that she hadn’t been notified beforehand. And if you people are on that kind of ground with your nemesis—”

“I thought only superheroes got a nemesis,” Ellery said, his mind racing.

“Sure, you think that like you’re not. Anyway, call her up, tell her Henry looks like he may live—”

“Does he?” Ellery asked, because Galen’s sudden topic switches had almost twisted past the thing he’d needed most to know.

Galen slowed down. “Yes,” he said gently. “He does. He’s got a mild fever, but they’re pumping him full of antibiotics, and heseems to be responding. His insides do not seem to be springing any leaks, and things are looking good.”

“Thank God,” Ellery said with feeling. “Okay. I didn’t mean to hurt Arizona’s feelings. I’ll call her—”

“And offer her a job as an associate.”

“She won’t take anything less than full partner,” Ellery told him, surprised. “She shouldn’t!”

“I know that, and you know that, but she’ll be suspicious if you offer it to her off the bat. Anyway—”

“But you said we should have two associates!” he protested. “To share an office.”

“Oh, yes,” Galen said. “The teachers union told Jade they’re moving quarters.”

Ellery’s brain bounced off the floorboards for a moment while he tried to put that together. “I sleep in forone day—”

“Oh, sleep in myass,” Galen retorted. “I know you, Ellery Cramer, and you and Jackson were probably working on the case all fucking night.”

Ellery thought about how they’dreallyspent their night and said, “You got me,” because he did not want to talk about that right now.

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