“Herb got to you in the jail, did he? He must be relentless.”
“He said that when he sees a story he stops at nothing. Remember that little girl who lived for a week on the side of the mountain with her dead father after he crashed off the road? He got her a TV movie.”
“That’s impressive.”
“I know. He’s very successful.”
“Yes, you said that. So did you make some sort of agreement with him?”
“Yes. He’ll put all the deals together and we split everything fifty-fifty after his expenses and he gets the bail money back. I mean, that’s only fair. But he’s talking about a lot of money. I might be able to save my house, Mickey!”
“Did you sign something? A contract or any sort of agreement?”
“Oh, yes, it’s all legal and binding. He has to give me my share.”
“You know that because you showed it to your lawyer?”
“Uh… no, but Herb said it was standard boilerplate. You know, legal mumbo-jumbo. But I read it.”
Sure she did. Just like when she signed the contracts with me.
“Can I see the contract, Lisa?”
“Herb kept it. You can ask him.”
“I will. Now did you happen to tell him about our agreements?”
“Our agreements?”
“Yes, you signed contracts with me yesterday at the police station, remember? One was for me to represent you criminally and the others granted me power of attorney to represent you and negotiate any sale of story rights so that we can fund your defense. You remember that you signed a lien?”
She didn’t answer.
“Did you see I have three people out there, Lisa? We’re all working on your case. And you haven’t paid us a penny so far. So that means I have to come up with all their salaries, all their expenses. Every week. That’s why in the agreements you signed yesterday you were giving me the authority to make book and film deals.”
“Oh… I didn’t read that part.”
“Let me ask you something. Which is more important to you, Lisa, that you have the best defense possible and try to defy the odds and win this case, or that you have a book or movie deal?”
Lisa put a pouting look on her face, and then promptly deflected the question.
“But you don’t understand. I’m innocent. I didn’t-”
“No, you don’t understand. Whether you’re innocent or not has nothing to do with this equation. It’s what we can prove or disprove in court. And when I say ‘we’ I really mean ‘me,’ Lisa. Me. I’m your hero, not Herb Dahl out there in the leather jacket and Hollywood piece sign. And I mean that as in piece of the pie.”
She paused for a long moment before responding.
“I can’t, Mickey. He just bailed me out. It cost him two hundred thousand dollars. He has to make that back.”
“While your defense team goes hungry.”
“No, you’re going to get paid, Mickey. I promise. I get half of everything. I’ll pay you.”
“After he gets his two hundred grand back, plus expenses. Expenses that could be anything, it sounds like.”
“He said he got a half a million for one of Michael Jackson’s doctors. And that was just for a tabloid story. We might get a movie!”
I was on the verge of losing it with her. Lorna had a stress-release squeeze toy on the desk. It was a small judge’s gavel, a sample of a giveaway she was considering for marketing and promotional purposes. The name and number of the firm could be printed on the side. I grabbed it and squeezed hard on the barrel, thinking of it as Herb Dahl’s windpipe. After a few moments the anger eased. The thing actually worked. I made a mental note to tell Lorna to go ahead with the purchase. We’d give them out at bail bond offices and street fairs.
“Okay,” I said. “We’ll talk about this later. We’re going to go back out there now. You are still going to send Herb home because we are going to talk about your case and we do not do that in front of people who are not in the circle of privilege. Later, you are going to call him and tell him he is not to make any deal or move without my approval. Do you understand, Lisa?”
“Yes.”
She sounded chastised and meek.
“Do you want me to tell him to leave or do you want to handle it?”
“Can you handle it, Mickey?”
“No problem. I think we’re done here.”
We stepped back into the living room and caught Dahl as he was finishing a story.
“… and that was before he made Titanic!”
He laughed at the kicker but the others in the room failed to show the same sense of Hollywood humor.
“Okay, Herb, we’re going to get back to work on the case and we need to talk with Lisa,” I said. “I’m going to walk you out now.”
“But how will she get home?”
“I have a driver. We can handle that.”
He hesitated and looked to Lisa to save him.
“It’s okay, Herb,” she said. “We need to talk about the case. I’ll call you as soon as I get home.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Mick, I can walk him out,” Lorna offered.
“No, that’s okay. I have to go to the car anyway.”
Everyone said goodbye to the man with the peace sign, and Dahl and I left the condo. Each unit in the building had an exterior exit. We walked down a pathway to the front gate on Kings Road. I saw a delivery of phone books underneath the mailbox and used one stack to prop the gate open so I could get back in.
We walked out to my car, which was parked against a red curb in front. Rojas was leaning on the front fender, smoking a cigarette. I had left my remote in the cup holder, so I called to him.
“Rojas, the trunk.”
He pulled his keys and popped the rear lid. I told Dahl there was something I wanted to give him and he followed me over.
“You’re not going to stuff me in there, are you?”
“Not quite, Herb. I just want to give you something.”
We went behind the car and I pushed the trunk all the way open.
“Jeez, you got it all set up back here,” he said when he saw the file boxes.
I didn’t respond. I grabbed the contracts file and pulled out the agreements Lisa had signed the day before. I moved around the car and copied it on the multipurpose machine on the front seat. I handed the copies to Dahl and kept the originals.
“There, read that stuff when you have a few minutes.”
“What is it?”
“It is my representation contract with Lisa. Standard boilerplate. There’s also a power of attorney and a lien on any and all income derived from her case. You’ll notice that she signed and dated them all yesterday. That means they supersede your contract, Herb. Check the small print. It gives me control of all story rights-books, movies, TV, everything.”
I saw his eyes harden.
“Wait just a-”
“No, Herb, you wait a minute. I know you just shelled out two hundred big ones on the bond, plus whatever you paid to get to her in the jail. I get it, you’ve got a huge investment riding on this. I’ll see that you get it back. Eventually. But you’re in second position here, buddy. Accept it and step the fuck back. You make no moves or deals without talking to me first.”
I tapped the contract he was staring at.
“You don’t listen to me and you’re going to need a lawyer. A good one. I’ll tie you up for two years and you won’t ever see a dime of that two hundred back.”
I slammed the car door to punctuate the point.
“Have a nice day.”
I left him there and went to the trunk to return the originals to the file. When I closed the lid I noticed that I could still see the shadow of the graffiti. The spray paint had been removed but it had permanently marred the gloss of the car’s finish. The Florencia 13 still had its mark on me. I looked down at the license plate on the bumper.
IWALKEM