Yaritza entered her apartment with
all the research she had done on Jefferson-Brown after leaving Corday’s office.
She wasn’t quite sure why she’d gathered everything, but for all she knew about
James Plank, which wasn’t much, she figured it was better to be armed with
something. The reporter at the Reading Eagle had been most helpful, especially
since Yaritza promised him a free stay in Vegas if he ever made it out. The fax
had arrived 90 minutes later, and had taken a long time to print. It would be a
working lunch for her, maybe the last working one for a while. If there was
anything she could crack and bring to Corday, the suspension might be
lifted…might. She got herself a cup of coffee, sat on the couch, and began to
read.
Jefferson-Brown had been in operation for 50 years, originating in Reading , Pennsylvania
In 1968, Forrest Jefferson
defended a 23-year-old man who had murdered his own mother and father upon
learning of their impending divorce. The defense won the case on a legal
technicality, and the man walked free. He then tried to go after his family’s
estate, which was estimated to be $800,000. It had been too clear to all that
the young man had killed, despite no conviction, and therefore he was not fit
to receive the money. He tried to hold Jefferson hostage, but it all ended in a
hail of gunfire which took the man’s, and Jefferson ’s,
life, in early 1970.
He left behind a son, Wiley, who stayed in the Reading area, and had a career in law
enforcement. A photocopy of a news clipping dated in 1970 showed two children,
Silas and Nora, aged 4 and 2 respectively, being comforted by their mother at Forrest’s
funeral. There was nothing more in the files about Forrest Jefferson’s son or grandchildren.
Within a year, Jefferson-Brown moved away from the criminal aspect of
the law and into more family practice, taking on divorces, custody battles, and
the resulting financial battles that often followed. The law firm soon took on
a trend of representing mothers and their children, attacking the fathers who
couldn’t or wouldn’t pay the alimony and child support. This was a common case
theme that ran for six years, when the firm moved to Las Vegas in early 1977. There was no clear
explanation in the research of why the firm made such a big move. Yaritza
searched for a case around that time, but there was nothing notable.
The firm struggled in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as divorce in Nevada was often as
common as the quickie marriages. There were documented cases of the marriages
and divorces being within a week of each other. As more families moved into Las Vegas , the divorces
became more difficult, and right up Jefferson-Brown’s alley. After a few years
of taking on criminals again to make ends meet, the firm bounced up again
around 1984, and continued to grow. In 2002, the firm had boasted its biggest
year in cases and fees. Yaritza scanned what there was of case data in Las Vegas , but there was
nothing of note yet. The only interesting item was Dwayne Brown’s retirement in
1997 at the age of 78. He still headed the firm, but left the day-to-day
management to the 2nd-in-command, Ted Clayton.
Yaritza looked through more papers until she came across James Plank. He
had apparently joined the firm in 1987 as a young associate and slowly worked
his way up. He was now a partner. Several cases that made the papers carried
his name, but none were front-page items. Divorce and custody battles rarely
were, and Jefferson-Brown had a tendency to stay clear of celebrities. Interestingly,
Jefferson-Brown had several partners, but nobody except the founders were
allowed to hold the firm’s title.
After looking through several more papers about the firm, Yaritza sat
back and rubbed her eyes. The firm was so clean that it almost disgusted her.
She had about nothing to confront James Plank with. He appeared to be a
ruthless and ambitious lawyer who fought for the moms and their children.
Perhaps that ruthlessness gave him the power to control his wife? She wanted so
badly to find dirt on him, but after a while she sighed in resignation. She’d
go and talk to him, then take her forced vacation.
At 3:00p.m., Yaritza was admitted to James Plank’s office. He was a
remarkable-looking man. At 47, he had a handsome combination of gray and blond
hair. His gray mustache was neatly-trimmed, and he kept his 6’1 frame
well-toned. If Yaritza hadn’t been sniffing out trouble, she might have swooned
over him.
Plank stood at his desk and came around and smiled. “Detective Esteban?
I’m James Plank.” He reached to shake her hand. She took it firmly, letting him
know she wasn’t just a little woman with a little case.
“Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.”
“Well, my morning was busy, but you got a lucky afternoon break, doesn’t
happen often. What can I do for you?”
“Mark Robertson.”
His face darkened just a bit. “I think that’s old enough to be buried.”
“Funny you should say that.”
“What?”
“He’s dead.”
Plank lowered his head. “I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t hate the man.”
“Nobody said you did.”
“But you obviously knew he broke into our home.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to him?”
“He was murdered in the middle of nowhere in Nye County
“All of the county is in the middle of nowhere.”
“True. I saw that a few days ago.”
“So why exactly do you need to see me?”
“I had a talk with your wife.”
“My ex-wife.”
“Yes. She told me all about your arrangement with her. Rather strange.”
Plank broke into a smile, an icy one. “This is my private life you’re
getting into, and it has nothing to do with Mark Robertson, not anymore. As to
the arrangement, Celestina agreed to it.”
“If she leaves, she leaves with nothing.”
“Yes. Under the circumstances, I think she’s lucky. Until the Robertson
affair, I had never cheated on her. She was good at that all by herself.”
“Doesn’t sound like a loving marriage.”
“In this town, it was as close to one as one might expect. Can we cut
this discussion short? I’m sorry, but I don’t like talking about that period in
my life.”
Yaritza smiled. “I’m sorry, too. I hate to admit it, but we’re running
into a brick wall in the case, and I’m afraid this visit is grasping at
straws.”
Plank’s eyebrows went up in admiration. “I almost never hear a cop say
that. At least you’re honest. So, you were hoping to get a confession?”
“No, just background that might help me look someplace else.”
“Such as?”
“Maybe your version of the night Mark Robertson broke in.”
“My version is in the police file, Celestina had nothing to add. There
is something I can tell you, wouldn’t exactly solve your case, though.”
“What’s that?”
“I said I didn’t hate Mark, but I did hold a grudge, and used that
during his divorce.”
“I don’t follow.”
“I represented Nikea.”
“Really, now! Mrs. Robertson didn’t share that.”
“Yes. You seem surprised.”
“Well, I’ve talked to her on more than one occasion, and she never
mentioned it.” In the back of her mind, she remembered Corday saying Nikea met
briefly with Celestina. “Must have slipped her mind. How did the wife feel
about that?”
James shrugged. “I don’t know how she feels about anything, and I don’t
care. Anyway, after the divorce, I made sure there was a fair custody
arrangement. Representing the lesbian was as far as my grudge went.”
“You caught on to that, too?”
“Yeah. She met Celestina once with anger, and later on tried to seduce
her.”
Yaritza froze for a moment, feeling a twinge of humiliation, and lots of
anger. Her face turned a dark red. Plank narrowed his eyes. “You all right,
Detective?”
“Fine. I’m just realizing that Ms. Robertson isn’t being very truthful.”
Plank frowned in understanding. “Look, it was a dark time in all our
lives. After the divorce of the Robertson’s, I forgot and forgave Mark. He was
being used, and my rage got the better of me.”
“I see. Well, I read that you are a partner here.”
“I am, thank you.” James beamed with pride. “Just happened within the
past year.”
“Mr. Brown must think highly of you.”
“Well, I guess maybe he does,” James said hesitantly. “I don’t know him
well.”
“All the time you’ve been here, you hardly saw him? He only retired less
than ten years ago.”
“Well, by the time I became a partner, he was pretty much out of the
day-to-days. I know he approved my partnership, but that’s a paper-signing
thing. We shook hands, had a lunch with the other partners, but that was it.”
“I see. Well, I’m just showing I did research before coming here.”
The icy smile returned. “You were hoping for dirt, weren’t you?”
“If you had a flimsy case like mine, wouldn’t you?”
The smile froze. “No, that’s not how I do things.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply-“
“Detective, when I fight for a client, I go balls-out, but I don’t go
looking for things that aren’t there. Like you just said, you did your research
before coming here, but you came unarmed. You know why? There’s nothing there.
It was a wasted visit.”
“Oh no it wasn’t.”
“I think it was.”
“You ever have an opponent volunteer something that you could use for
your client?”
“Rarely.”
“You volunteered something.”
“What, that I represented Nikea….or her trying to seduce my wife?”
“Both.”
“But
will that solve your case?”
Yaritza looked down,
embarrassed. “Maybe not, but any inconsistency right now gets me going.”
James sighed. “Look, Detective, I don’t mean to get angry or lecture
you. I just really like the past to stay there. You coming in to make me relive
it is, well, disturbing and very upsetting. Kind of ruins what started out as a
good day, you know?”
“I know. And with that, I’ll get out of your hair.”
“I appreciate that. Oh, one thing.”
Yaritza turned as she neared the door. “Yes?”
“If and when you let Nikea seduce you, remember you are not her first
conquest and will not be her last. I know the woman well. Good day.”
Yaritza nodded slowly, the red returned to her face. She looked at him,
his face wasn’t really registering contempt, but actually a small bit of
sympathy. She couldn’t figure him out. She left the office quickly, and waited
until she entered the elevator before she cried.
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