Chapter 17

Sitting at his desk, McCoy saw her approach his door through the glass. He smiled and got up to open it for her.

"Good morning." He caught the scent of her perfume as she walked past.

Morgan smiled faintly in return. "Morning, Jack."

She usually wore warm, although conservative colors. McCoy thought the gray sweater trimmed with tiny pink flowers that she was wearing made her look pale.

Setting her briefcase on the couch, she pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it across his desk.

"Here is Mrs. Karinsky's statement. There really isn't anything in it we haven't heard before."

She sat on the sofa and waited while McCoy slowly settled into his chair, reading the paper in his hand. After a few seconds, he said, "Looks pretty simple. I don't foresee any problems. Can I have this for our file?"

"That's the only one I brought, so would you mind copying it?"

"Not at all. Would you like some coffee?"

"No, thank you. I'm not a coffee drinker. It makes me jumpy."

He got up and took the paper with him. "I'll be right back."

When he returned a few minutes later, she was no longer sitting on the couch. Instead, she was standing beside his credenza with her arms folded, looking out of the window.

"Looks like it's going to be a pretty stormy day," he observed. "Not a good day to ride a motorcycle or to run."

Morgan didn't seem to hear him and continued staring out.

He walked to his chair. "Counselor?"

She turned her head to look at him blankly.

"I'm sorry. Did you ask me something?" she asked, turning to walk back to the sofa.

"I was just saying the weather doesn't look like it's going to be very good today." He came from behind his desk and handed the paper back to her.

"No, it doesn't. It's supposed to be even worse by this evening." Taking the paper, she thanked him.

"Surely you don't run when it's like this." Instead of returning to his chair, he sat on the edge of his desk in front of her.

She shrugged as she slipped the paper into a file folder she had taken from her briefcase. "Sometimes. But I don't plan on it today. I knew it was supposed to get bad, so I ran last night."

He wondered if the events of the previous day had something to do with her distracted mood. He wanted to apologize for the angry remark he had made to her the night before, and assure her that his anger had not really been directed at her. But he couldn't quite figure out a way to bring up the subject.

"Morning," Carmichael said from the doorway.

Morgan and McCoy both greeted her as she took a seat on the sofa.

"Sorry I'm late. Traffic was terrible. Some lady cut me off when I was going to turn into the parking garage. I had to make the block and come back." She turned to Morgan. "What brings you here this morning?"

"I forgot to fax Mrs. Karinsky's statement yesterday, so I brought it in."

McCoy reached behind him, picked up the copy from his desk and handed it to Carmichael. "Nothing new."

As Carmichael quickly scanned the paper, Morgan checked her watch. "How long does it take to get to the court building from here?" she asked.

"10-20 minutes," McCoy answered, checking his own wrist.

"I should be going," Morgan said. "Tony is supposed to be bringing Mrs. Karinsky to court since she doesn't drive. I want to speak with her before we start. My other assistant, Ann, is going to meet us there as well. She and Tony are both looking forward to the trial."

Carmichael handed the paper back to McCoy. "If Jack doesn't mind driving alone, I could ride with you." She looked at McCoy questioningly.

Morgan stood up. "Actually, I'm taking a cab. I didn't feel like dealing with traffic this morning. I'm going to catch a ride with Tony or Ann after court."

McCoy had gotten up to file the statement in Fairchild's folder. "Why don't you save cab fare and ride with us?" he suggested.

Morgan started for the door. "That's okay. I'm sure the two of you want to discuss the case. I don't want to intrude."

McCoy glanced at Carmichael. Catching the look, she stood up and smiled at Morgan. "You wouldn't be intruding. All we ever talk about is motorcycles. It would be nice to have a conversation about something else for a change."

Morgan glanced hesitantly from her to McCoy.

"We'd love the company, and we will take it very personally if you turn us down," McCoy assured her with a smile.

Morgan nodded slowly. "All right. I appreciate the offer."

"I'll go get my things," Carmichael said, passing Morgan on the way out of the door.

"We don't have to leave yet, if you're not ready," Morgan said to McCoy.

Pulling his coat from the clothes rack in the corner, he said, "We're ready." As he began to put it on, he asked, "Did you bring a coat?"

"No, I forgot." She gripped the back of her neck. "But it isn't that cold out yet."

"It will be later." He stopped, looking down at her. "I have a suit jacket you could borrow."

"Thanks, but I'll manage." She turned to walk to the door as a man approached.

"Adam. I'd like to introduce you to someone." As the older man stepped into the office, McCoy said, "Calea Morgan, this is Adam Schiff."

Morgan held out her hand. "Mr. Schiff, it's an honor meet you. I've studied your career; it's quite impressive."

Schiff took her hand. "And it's all true. I have the gray hair to prove it," he said with a smile. "Jack has told me something of your career as well, although now that I've met you, I find it difficult to believe of someone so young."

Morgan smiled and slowly shook her head. "I have my share of gray hair as well. But I pull them out and pretend they aren't growing back."

"I had to stop doing that quite a few years ago," Schiff quipped, running his hand over his sparsely covered head. At Morgan's quiet laugh, he continued, "I met one of your former partners, Michael Lockhardt, a dozen or so years ago. He was quite an attorney. I hear he's a judge now."

"Yes sir, he is. It was a privilege to work with him. He's a very patient person. He gave me quite a lot of guidance when I was first starting out. I think I gave him some gray hair of his own."

Schiff smiled. "I doubt that he minded." He turned as Carmichael appeared with her coat and briefcase. "Well, don't let me keep the three of you from your jobs." He took Morgan's hand again. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Morgan. You can come back and visit me anytime."

She gave him a warm smile. "Thank you. I'd like that."

As Schiff headed for his office, the others made their way to the elevator.

McCoy regarded Morgan thoughtfully once they were inside. "You know, Adam Schiff is not an easy person to charm, Counselor."

Her eyebrows arched. "I was just thinking about how charming he was. I enjoyed talking with him. He seems like a very nice person."

Carmichael rolled her eyes. "You don't work for him."

Morgan gave her a half-smile. "No, thank goodness, I work for myself."

***On the way to the criminal courts building, Morgan opted to sit in the back seat where she grew quiet, speaking only when spoken to.

Once McCoy had parked, the three began walking the block and a half to court. As they approached the intersection, Carmichael and McCoy discussed an attorney they had seen in the parking lot. Morgan walked beside them, watching the sidewalk and seeming to listen without joining the conversation. But when Carmichael and McCoy stopped, she didn't notice and kept walking.

With one long stride, McCoy reached out and caught her by the arm as she was about to step off the curb. She looked up in surprise.

"Why don't we wait for the light," he suggested, sounding amazingly calm despite the pounding of his heart.

Morgan looked at the traffic moving a few short feet in front of her. "I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention." She looked back up at McCoy. "Thanks."

He released her arm, searching her eyes. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine." Carmichael was standing next to McCoy, looking at Morgan worriedly. "I'll be more careful," she assured them both.

When the light changed, they started across the street. A step behind Morgan, Carmichael gave McCoy a quick pat on the back.

***Mrs. Karinsky's testimony was slow but thorough. Her vivid description of the man she saw on the day in question left the jury smiling. Even though she wasn’t present for the line-up, she readily picked Latham's picture out of a set of eight mug shots.

It seemed to McCoy that Morgan was dragging the questioning out, giving undue attention to minute details, but he saw no reason to object. When it was finally his turn, his questions were precise as usual, and he finished by thanking the elderly woman sincerely, even offering his arm as she stepped down from the witness stand.

When Judge Rivera requested that Morgan call her next witness, she stood up. "Your Honor, my next witness is Mr. Latham and I anticipate my questioning of him to be quite lengthy. Due to the early adjournment today, I respectfully suggest that I postpone calling him until tomorrow morning."

The judge looked at the clock. "Does the prosecution have any objections to Ms. Morgan's request?"

"None, Your Honor," McCoy responded.

"Very well. Court is adjourned until tomorrow at 9:00 A.M."

As soon as the jury was dismissed, Morgan spoke briefly to Fairchild before he left. Her two assistants came to stand beside her.

"Hold on a minute. I have to make a call," she said, pulling a cell phone and business card out of her briefcase. She walked to the end of the defense table, turning her back on the others.

Alvarez shook McCoy's hand and introduced him to his co-worker, Ann Saunders, a pretty young woman with short black hair and small dark rimmed glasses. McCoy in turn introduced both of them to Carmichael.

Although he wasn't trying to eavesdrop, McCoy noticed Morgan's phone conversation was becoming easily overheard.

"Mr. Duncan. I will give you one guess as to which of your clients did not show up in court today for questioning."

After a brief pause, she continued, "I do hold you responsible. As you will remember, you wouldn't allow me to speak with your client personally. And as an officer of the court, you assured me you would serve him with the subpoena yourself. I suggest you find him and impress upon him the seriousness of a contempt charge. I expect to see him in court tomorrow morning, well before 9:00 A.M."

After another brief pause, she said a little more forcefully, "I don't think I will have any trouble at all obtaining another warrant for Mr. Latham, or convincing the ethics committee to take a closer look at the way you practice law. If I haven't heard from you or your client by 3:00 this afternoon, I will assume those consequences are acceptable to you both."

McCoy glanced at her as she turned around and placed the phone back in her briefcase, along with her other belongings.

When she joined the others, she was still frowning slightly.

"Mr. McCoy invited us all to go to lunch with him and Ms. Carmichael," Alvarez told her eagerly.

She looked around. "Where is Mrs. Karinsky?"

"She went to the ladies' room," Saunders answered.

"I want one of you to take her out to lunch, my treat." As her two assistants exchanged wary looks, Morgan added, "I don't care which, but one of you is going to smile politely when she returns, take her somewhere for a nice lunch, and then drive her home." As the two continued eyeing each other, she sounded more annoyed. "Flip a coin if you have to, but make your decision now."

To Carmichael and McCoy's amusement, Alvarez fished a quarter out of his pocket, and turned to Saunders. "Call it," he said, tossing it into the air.

"Heads."

He slapped the coin onto his arm and showed it to her, breaking out into a broad grin.

"Sorry," he said insincerely.

The young woman glared at him, as Morgan shook her head and pulled a wallet out of her briefcase. "I swear sometimes the two of you make me feel more like your babysitter than your employer." Handing Saunders some cash, she said, "You should have plenty of time for lunch, and still be able to make Rivera's lecture after you drop Mrs. Karinsky at her building. And maybe you should go make sure she didn't get lost on her way back here."

The remaining four walked out together and entered the elevator. When they emerged, Alvarez walked beside Carmichael, talking animatedly.

Morgan followed, walking quietly beside McCoy. He slowed a bit and allowed the other two to get a few steps ahead. "You dodged a pretty big bullet with Rivera, regarding Mr. Latham."

She shook her head slowly. "I held my breath so long, I thought I was going to faint. I don't think he would have let me slide two days in a row." She gave him a sideways glance. "I was really hoping you would ask Mrs. Karinsky some of your totally irrelevant questions, so I could make several lengthy objections. But you were pretty easy on her."

"If you had warned me, I would have."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "Really?"

"Sure. We've all been in that situation before. You can't always predict what a witness will do."

He heard her sigh. "Well I should have been able to predict this one. I had a bad feeling the minute I walked into the courtroom this morning and he wasn't there. I kept thinking he would show up, but I should have done something about it right away. I'm usually better prepared."

"You did seem a little preoccupied this morning," he offered.

She huffed out a breath. "Oh, I'm sure that explanation would have satisfied Judge Rivera."

They had reached the doors leading out to the wide white columns at the top of the steps. As Alvarez opened the door ahead of them, icy wind forced its way inside.

McCoy held the door for Morgan and then followed her through. The clouds were low and threatening, making it appear to be much later in the day than it actually was.

When they reached the bottom of the steps they quickly split up, with Morgan joining Alvarez, after McCoy gave them brief directions to the restaurant.

***While waiting for their food, Alvarez took the opportunity to ask more than a few questions. He seemed to direct most of them to Carmichael, listening carefully to each of her answers. McCoy noticed that Morgan said little, sipping her hot tea quietly. And when their food arrived, she mostly picked at her soup and bread.

"When you call Mr. Latham tomorrow, what happens if he takes the Fifth?" Alvarez asked Morgan.

It took a few seconds for her to realize that he had asked her a question, and then he had to repeat it.

She took a sip of water before answering. "If he refuses to answer one question, that doesn't mean I can't ask him others. And when someone is reluctant to answer, it makes the jury wonder why. They will most likely draw the conclusion that he has something to hide, which will further raise doubt in their minds as to my client's guilt. Whether he answers my questions or not, I can use him to achieve my purpose."

"The jury could just as easily conclude that his being there was a coincidence, Counselor," McCoy suggested.

"After all the other evidence I've presented, that isn’t likely," Morgan retorted, a little of her usual spark returning.

"The evidence still points to your client as being the only one with motive and opportunity, not to mention the weapon. I think the jury will focus on those facts, especially after my closing statement."

"Not after my closing," she said confidently, looking McCoy in the eye.

He gave her a slow smile, glad to see her less distracted.

But when Alvarez asked Carmichael another question, Morgan seemed to withdraw once again. She didn't say anything more until Alvarez finished his meal and began eyeing hers.

"Are you going to eat that?" he asked.

She pushed her bowl toward him. "No, you can have it." Sitting back, she rubbed her neck. "Abbie, do you have anything for a headache?"

"Not with me," Carmichael answered.

Alvarez finished a bite of soup and asked Morgan casually, "Did you eat breakfast? You know you always get headaches when you don't eat."

She gave him a half-annoyed look. "Yes, Mother, I ate breakfast." Then with a sigh she added, "But I seem to remember skipping dinner last night. In the toss-up between eating and sleeping, the bed won." She watched her assistant take a bite of bread. "I have some aspirin in my briefcase. In exchange for eating my lunch, you have to go get it for me."

He nodded. "Okay."

After a couple more bites, he glanced at Morgan. She raised her eyebrows and looked at him expectantly.

"Oh. You mean now," he said, placing his napkin on the table and getting up. "Excuse me," he smiled, and headed for his car.

Morgan turned to Carmichael and McCoy. "I really appreciate your patience with all of his questions. His curiosity can be a little overwhelming sometimes, but he's really eager to learn."

"No problem," Carmichael said. "I think he's cute."

"Unless you want him to follow you home like a puppy, I suggest you not let him hear you say that. I think he's a little taken with you," Morgan advised.

Carmichael flashed a bright smile. "I guess he is a little young for me." Excusing herself, she got up, adding to McCoy, "If you see the waitress, tell her I'd like some more tea."

As Morgan took a drink of water, McCoy said, "For someone who opted to sleep rather than eat last night, you look a little tired."

She avoided his intense eyes. "I didn't sleep well."

He decided to take the comment as the opening he had been looking for. "I hope that didn't have anything to do with what I said to you when we talked last night."

She looked at him questioningly.

He pushed his plate aside and leaned toward her on his arms. "I didn't mean to take my anger over what happened yesterday out on you."

McCoy saw Morgan's jaw tighten as she studied the table. When she looked back up, her expression was cool.

"Will you be ready to close by tomorrow afternoon?"

He let out a little breath. "Am I not even allowed to bring it up in order to apologize?"

She met his gaze unwaveringly, remaining silent.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," he said quietly, as Alvarez returned to the table.

"Am I interrupting something?" the younger man asked.

Morgan turned from McCoy to her assistant, holding out her hand for the aspirin bottle. "Not at all. Mr. McCoy and I were just talking about closing arguments." She popped a tablet into her mouth and took a drink of water.

When the check was paid and everyone had thanked McCoy for his generosity, all four got up to leave.

"I take it we're not going to run this evening," Carmichael suggested, as they made their way out.

Morgan shook her head. "I'm going to try to get home at a decent hour tonight."

Once outside, they parted company quickly, choosing not to linger in the growing cold.