Page 10 of Devious Roses

“If he was doing what he was doing for decades, probably hundreds,” Cirie pipes up. Her ginger-tinted barrel curls sway as she shakes her head.

“I’m grateful I don’t have to do PR for his ass anymore. It made me sick to my stomach. But my old agency refused to turn him down.”

“Good thing we’ve formed the Adams & Jean-Louis Group now.” I shoot her a smirk.

The three of us begin talks about ordering delivery for lunch from the local Indian restaurant. Cirie is circling our picks off the brochure menu and phoning in our order when the front doors to the office open.

We each look up expecting a potential client, or even Carlos back early from his vacation. Both guesses are wrong.

District Attorney Brenton Polk waltzes through the door. He’s a man so long and lean that he must get his suits specially designed, giving professional basketball players a run for their money in terms of height. But the perplexing thing is how slim he manages to be—his gangly neck and pointy elbows and knees are trademarks of his, along with an unusually hooked nose.

He abruptly stops several feet into our office and puts on a feigned look of surprise, like he had no clue he’d find us here.

“Hello Ms. Jean-Louis,” he says. “Ms. Adams… or is it Mrs. Mancino these days?”

“I was under the impression you were aware that, professionally, it’s Ms. Adams.”

“Ah, yes. In your private life, you’re Mrs. Mancino, mafia boss wife. Can’t have that criminal association interfere with your legal business, eh?” he asks with a nice-nasty kind of smile.

I flash him one of my own. “Yes,almostlike you suddenly stopped wearing that Neptune Society ring the moment the truth came out about the organization. Some would say that was also very convenient.”

“Yes, very. Did I just see Sasha Newton leave your office?”

“Ms. Newton left over twenty minutes ago. Is that your admission you’ve been keeping an eye on our office, DA?” I ask, matching his passive aggressive energy.

I’m familiar with men like him; I’ve dealt with them for years as ADA. He’s trying to exert dominance over the situation. Inmyplace of business. Something I refuse to let stand regardless of his position.

He rolls his lips together as if on the brink of laughter. “I was outside placing an important call. I thought I’d stop by to give forewarning… considering we have been colleagues in the past. But, first, you should know Ms. Newton is unreliable. There’s a reason no other attorney in the city would touch her allegations.”

I glare at him. “Well, lucky for her, I will.”

“She has quite the rap sheet for coming from such a prestigious family. Drug possession. Prostitution. Accessory to burglary.”

“That doesn’t make her any less of a sex abuse victim, DA.”

“Sure. In theory. Did she also mention the part about a prior attempt to extort Joseph Bernstein and her grandfather?”

Now, I fumble. I let my surprise flicker, however briefly, into my expression before recovering. “Any information disclosed to me is attorney-client privilege. You are well aware of that. What I’m more curious about is why it seems you’re defending a man you’re supposed to be prosecuting.”

“Who says I’m defending him?”

“You’re certainly attempting to discredit one of his sex abuse victims—”

“Almost as perplexing as your connection to Salvatore Mancino, Ms. Adams,” he interjects louder than me. His nice-nasty smile spreads so that even his golden brown eyes seem to shine. He looks from both Medjine and Cirie and then at me. “Actually, I really do think I’ll refer to you as Mrs. Mancino from here on out. Tell me, what are your plans for the day he’s held criminally responsible for the atrocities he’s committed?”

“I have no idea what you’re on about—”

“The late Mayor Adams—you may be familiar with him—wanted criminal charges brought against Mr. Mancino,” he explains in cruel delight. “The investigation into Ralph Mirra’s murder has been placed on hold in recent times. We are lifting that pause. It is now an active investigation.”

Despite the fact my heart’s pounding, I play it off with indifference. Folding my arms across my chest, I give a neutral shrug. “I’m not sure what you expect me to say, but good luck with your investigation, DA.”

Polk turns to go. “The one in need of luck is your husband, Mrs. Mancino. You’ll be hearing from my office very soon.”

3

salvatore

After dealingwith the petty drama between the Giancolas and Kozlovs and the car that almost hit me kamikaze style, I make it home minutes before six, wondering if I beat Delphine. We both had busy days; there’s a chance I might’ve made it home before she did. Making it into the hall, I discover I’m wrong. She’s home first.

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