Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon(25)

    Maybe Dad had the right idea after all. Maybe I did need to do my own investigating. At least if the police were misguided enough to focus on Rob as a suspect.

    I’d worry about that later. Meanwhile, the first order of business was to keep Rob from saying anything stupid or incriminating to the police. Anything more than he’d already said.

    I groped in my purse for my cell phone and the notebook-that-tells-me-when-to-breathe, as I called my combination to-do and address book, looked up a number, and dialed frantically. I breathed a sigh of relief when a familiar voice answered.

“Liz! Thank goodness I got you! Where are you?”

“The police told us we could all go home, so I was just getting into my car. What’s wrong now?” she said, sounding tired. Sounding, in fact, as if she were trying very hard not to reveal her irritation, and failing miserably.

“I think they’re planning to arrest Rob for the murder,” I said. “At any rate, they’re taking him down to the police station. He needs a lawyer. Could you - “

“I’m a corporate attorney, remember? I do contracts and stuff. I’d be worse than useless; I don’t know anything about criminal law. Half the programmers around here know more about criminal law than I do, thanks to the damned game.”

“Yes, I know, but - “

“For that matter, Rob’s a lawyer, and he invented the damned game, which means he’s forgotten more about criminal law than I’ll ever have any reason to learn. So - “

“Yes, and who was it who said that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client?”

    A pause. Then a sigh. “I don’t know. I could look it up for you.”

“I’d rather you went down to the police station to keep Rob from doing anything really stupid until we round up a good criminal lawyer to help him. I could try, but they’d only keep me cooling my heels outside. They’ll have to let you in because you’re a lawyer. Besides, he wouldn’t pay the slightest attention to what I told him, but he might listen to you.”

    She sighed again. “Okay,” she said. “Can do. Sorry I vented on you; it’s been a long day.”

“I know, and I’m not making it any shorter.”

“I’m off, then; get that criminal lawyer down there as soon as you can.”

“Any ideas who it should be?”

“Afraid I don’t know the local talent yet. Which is stupid; I should have had someone lined up. I mean, sooner or later, L should have known that a key employee would need a defense attorney; it happens occasionally even in the most normal firms - “

“And it was even more likely to happen in a whacked-out place like this?”

“Well,” she began.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I know who to ask. Go put a lid on Rob in the meantime.”

    I hung up, and this time I called a number I knew so well I could dial it in my sleep.





    I was in luck; Michael answered on the third ring.





“Hey, great timing; we just finished the ritual sacrifice scene and broke for lunch,” he said. “I have an idea that will take your mind off all the horrible stuff that’s been going on. Want to have a virtual date?”





“A what?”





“I got the idea from Walker - he does it all the time when he’s on location or something. We figure out a restaurant chain that has a branch here and in Caerphilly.”





“Probably either Pizza Hut or McDonald’s,” I said.





“Or maybe not a chain,” he said without missing a beat, “maybe we just both go to the restaurant of our choice, and we can call each other on our cell phones and talk to each other while we order and wait for our food and eat. Ta-da - a virtual date.”





“And this is Walker’s idea of a date? Do you think this could be at least part of the reason Walker’s girlfriends keep dumping him after a couple of weeks?”





“Actually, I hear they find the virtual dates rather sweet; it’s the real ones that kill things. I have it on good authority that he likes to read them his fan mail.”





“Ick.”





“In bed.”





“Double ick,” I said. “I know he’s been your buddy since you were both on the soap opera together and you feel grateful that he helped you get the role on his show, but given Walker’s track record, let’s do a rain check on the virtual date thing. Anyway, I need to ask you something.”





“Ask away, angel.”