The older son, John Coluzzi, 45, is chief operations officer of the company and known for his hands-on experience in the construction trades. He supervises the building of strip mall projects that are the main source of the company’s revenue. But it is the younger son, Marco Coluzzi, 40, who insiders say will ascend the throne. Marco, a graduate of Penn State and the Wharton School of Business, serves as chief financial officer and is said to exert a great influence over the company’s extensive business affairs.
Insiders report that this family feud will have to be resolved soon, with Coluzzi Construction’s $11 million bid for a new waterfront mall hanging in the balance.
Judy considered it. This must have been the feature article that Frank had mentioned to her. She hadn’t noticed any rivalry between the brothers at the arraignment, but her assessment of their personalities wasn’t far off. Marco was the brains, and John was the brawn. Judging from how vicious John could be, Judy was betting on him to become president. Murder was a good way to succeed in business. She skimmed the rest of the article.
“You survived a car bomb and the press?” asked a voice, and Judy jumped. It was Bennie, but that was still a cause for alarm. Judy straightened up in her chair. “I was just reading about the case.”
“Me, too.” Bennie entered the office with a pile of newspapers and took the seat across from Judy’s desk. She was dressed in jeans and a casual white cotton sweater, but her features were anything but relaxed. Her blue eyes crackled with intensity, and her manner was alert and energized. Her long, usually unruly hair was wrapped in a knot and tamed by an oversized tortoiseshell barrette. “Did you see today’s paper?”
“I’m boycotting.”
“Don’t. You’d be surprised what you can learn about your own case from the paper. And what you can plant there.” Bennie plopped the stack on Judy’s desk, almost catapulting her coffee cup. “The car bomb’s the lead story. Did you call your parents? They’re in California, right?”
Judy had to think about it. “No, they’re on sabbatical, in France.”
“You can still call them. They have phones in France. Snotty phones, but phones just the same.”
“I don’t need to call.”
“Wrong again,” Bennie said firmly. “If you don’t, I will. They’re your parents.”
“Okay.” Judy knew Bennie’s mother had passed away recently and she’d never met her father, so she didn’t make any parent jokes. She picked up the newspaper on top, which was a tabloid. BOMBS AWAY! screamed the block headline. She set it aside. “So, am I fired?”
Bennie looked surprised. “Of course not. Why would I fire you? It’s not your fault somebody wants you dead.”
Judy blinked. “Am I off the case?”
“Do you want to be?”
Judy didn’t have to think twice. The Coluzzis had tried to kill her car. “No way.”
“Good. Then it’s still your case. You know the client and you’re much too smart. But I’m on the case with you.”
Judy wasn’t sure she liked the sound of it. “You mean, you want to work the case with me?”
“Yep.” Bennie nodded. “I’m your associate. For one time only.”
“Why?”
“Simple. I don’t want you to get hurt, Carrier.” Bennie got up abruptly and clapped her hands together with finality. “Now, let’s get in gear. I got the gist of the case from the papers, but why don’t you fill me in?”
“From the beginning?”
“Yes, and don’t leave out the grandson. Murphy told me all about him.” Bennie smiled crookedly, but Judy didn’t.
“Murphy should mind her own business.”
“It’s my business, remember? And I’m not in love with your new love affair with the client’s grandson.”
“There’s no love affair, for God’s sake. And it’s not unethical or anything.”
“No, it’s just bone-headed.”
“You’re getting way ahead of the facts, Bennie,” Judy said, so she filled her boss in on the details of the case since the arraignment, including the fact that she was attracted to Frank. Bennie scowled at the obvious imprudence of the situation, leaning against Judy’s doorjamb with her arms folded. By the time Judy finished, Bennie looked positively cross. “Are you pissed because of Frank?” Judy asked her.
“No, Frank is a distraction. I’m pissed because of the way you talk about this case. You want to work it or not?”
“I do, I just told you.”
“Then wake up! You’re acting like a victim, which is the best way to make sure you become one. Get it together! Fight back!”
“Against who?”
“The Coluzzis, who else?” Bennie put her hand on her hips. “Haven’t you been listening?”
“What should I do?”
“What should we do. We’ll think of something.” Bennie began to pace back and forth, her step lively even in the small office. Judy figured it was because she wore running shoes, not clogs, and considered getting herself a pair. Suddenly Bennie stopped pacing. “I’m hearing a lot about bombs and car chases and guns. What does that have to do with law?”
“Nothing. It’s chaos.”
“Clearly.” Bennie’s jaw set in determination. “The Coluzzis are outlaws. Their weapons are nonlegal. They destroy property. They kill people.”
“Right.”
“And we are distinctly out of our element in the nonlegal world, right?”
“Right.” Judy had to agree.
“It knocks us off balance, and scares us, right?”
Judy got a little excited. “Right!”
“It even depresses us, I see.”
“Okay, enough.” Judy smiled, and so did Bennie.
“Well, it’s no different from any other conflict, even litigation. We have to stop playing their game. We have to bring this battle onto our turf. We have to fight with our weapons.”
“Which are?” All Judy had was a red editing pencil. It wasn’t even good lipliner.
“The law, of course!”
Judy deflated instantly. “The cops aren’t doing anything—”
“I didn’t say the cops. You’re a lawyer, Carrier.” Bennie leaned over the desk. “Strike fear! Create a scene! Bust some chops! And if they holler, don’t let ’em go. Twist ’em, baby!”
Judy was thinking maybe Mrs. D had been right, that Bennie was the devil. “How?”
“Sue the bastards!”
“For what?” she asked, bewildered.
“For what? Think, Carrier. They planted a car bomb on you!”
“The cops say they can’t prove anything.”
“As a criminal matter, they can’t. But the same circumstantial evidence can be used in a civil suit, and the standard of proof is lower. Sue ’em civilly, for tort!”
Judy nodded. It was possible.
“They destroyed your client’s home! You just gonna take that? What kind of lawyer are you? Sue ’em civilly for the damages! We’ll subpoena the whole goddamn neighborhood. That’ll make a stink. Make them take the time to fight you, and get your profile higher, so they’ll be less inclined to strike again. Fight them on all fronts. What else you got?”
Judy took heart. “They killed those pigeons. I’m sure there’s an animal cruelty statute in Pennsylvania. It might even be criminal, and the press would be terrible.”
“There you go! It ain’t a home run, but it’s all good. Nobody likes bird-killers. Remember those jerks who killed the flamingos at the zoo?” Bennie’s eyes glittered. “Now. The Coluzzis are also businesspeople. Coluzzi is one of the biggest builders in the construction industry.”
“A sixty-five-million-dollar company.” Judy was remembering the newspaper article.