Page 96 of The Accomplice
‘Do you have any lemons ? I’d really like some hot lemon water.’
‘We don’t buy lemons,’ said Denise, ‘on account of how they don’t fit in the coffee machine. We got coffee is what we got.’
He said, ‘What kind of coffee is it ?’
Denise had never been asked this before. She knew every one of the filing codes that had to be displayed on court documents for criminal and civil proceedings, she knew the entire criminal and civil procedure rules, basically she was the most over-qualified secretary in Manhattan. She knew everything. She didn’t know what kind of coffee we had.
‘It’s ground coffee,’ she said.
‘Yeah, but is it organic ?’
‘It comes in a plastic pouch.’
‘Where were the beans grown ?’
‘On a coffee plant.’
‘Okay, but like, is it ethically sourced coffee ? Where was the plant grown ? Colombia, Brazil, Indonesia—’
‘I think it was grown out of my asshole.’
‘Denise…’ I said.
‘Do you want coffee or not, Mr. Lake ? I buy it from Target with petty cash.’
‘I’m fine, thank you,’ said Lake.
‘I’ll have some coffee, thank you, Denise,’ said Harry, and he straightened up. Clarence sat at his feet, gazing up at him. He stroked the dog, smiled.
A digital ring tone exploded from the phone, filling the room, and as if the noise itself was electric, everyone sat up, leaned toward the phone. Denise grabbed it off the table.
‘Flynn and Brooks, attorneys at law,’ she said, her expression filled with hope and expectation.
The hope fell out of her face as her shoulders sagged. She rolled her eyes, gave the phone to me and said, ‘It’s Mr. Peltier.’
I took the receiver.
‘Eddie, I’m downstairs. Been buzzing your office door. Has she called ?’
‘Someone go let Otto in,’ I said.
Then, into the phone, ‘We’re buzzing you in now. Sorry, we’re sitting in my office waiting for her to call.’
Denise got up and left. A few seconds later I heard the buzzer, then the door. Then Otto’s thousand-dollar suit and cologne filled the room.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to jam up the phone line. I didn’t want to talk on the phone at all. Not after the FBI had their listening party,’ he said.
‘It’s alright, grab a chair.’
‘No, I’m not staying. I know I shouldn’t really be here considering I’m a prosecution witness.’
‘It’s fine,’ said Harry. ‘Like we said before. As long as we don’t discuss your testimony then there shouldn’t be a problem. How are you holding up ?’
It was only then I noticed the rings around Otto’s eyes. You can’t carry a case like this for so long and not have a personal connection to it. Lawyers, even the cynical ones, can’t help but get invested when it’s someone’s life on the line. That’s what I chose to believe about Otto. I’m sure the thought of the loss of a million dollars in fees was taking a toll as well. She wouldn’t pay up if she was on the run.
‘I’m okay. I just want to know what’s happening. I chose you for the case. I need to know she has someone representing her. She placed her trust in me once. I don’t want to let her down.’
I said, ‘We’re trying to help her. We really are. But we can’t do that when she’s in hiding. She has to come out and face this. We need her, Otto. We’re gambling more than you know. It’s not just Carrie’s life at stake here.’
