Legal Heat by Sarah Castille Page B

a name.”
    James growled. “How about I tell you the joke about the reporter who got his head shoved up an elephant’s ass? Give me the name.”
    “Jimmy Rider.”
    James froze and steeled himself to hide his surprise. “Her boyfriend. Currently in jail. Tell me something I don’t know.”
    “He’s connected to Garcia.”
    “How? You’re dying to tell me. Go ahead.”
    “You haven’t given me anything worth printing.” Keegan tapped his notepad. “I have a deadline. This is going to be in tomorrow’s paper with or without your comments.”
    James racked his brain to think of a way to satisfy Keegan without compromising the case. “There may be third party interest in this one.”
    “A bit obscure.”
    “I have every confidence you’ll figure it out. Come by the station and let me know when you do.” James swung the door closed forcing Keegan to jump out of the way. He pulled away from the curb and rolled down the window. “Hey, Keegan. Don’t forget to bring the popcorn.”
     
     
    “Is that your idea of a first date?”
    Mark looked up, bleary-eyed, as James appeared in front of him and gestured toward Katy asleep in the crook of Mark’s arm. Two o’clock in the morning and the Vancouver Main Street police station was buzzing with activity. He hadn’t even heard James approach.
    “Where have you been?” he snapped. “We’ve been waiting here for hours. Your colleagues wouldn’t let us leave until we gave you a statement. Friendly types. They haven’t said a word to us since we got here. Didn’t even offer us a cup of coffee.”
    James chuckled. “You probably scared them off. Your scowl would unnerve even the hardest of men.”
    Katy stirred in her sleep and Mark tightened his arm around her, pressing her soft, warm body closer to his side.
    “I thought you told me at the bar the other night you had a conflict.” James raised a questioning eyebrow. “You don’t look too conflicted to me.”
    Mark sighed. “I feel conflicted. I would drop the damn case in a second but the client’s work is the only thing keeping the firm afloat.”
    Shouts echoed down the corridor. An intoxicated teenager stumbled toward them seemingly oblivious to the commotion behind him. Seconds later he lay face down on the floor, his hands cuffed behind his back by two angry policemen.
    “What about her?” James didn’t even look over when the teenager threw up in a wastepaper basket. “Can she drop the case?”
    Mark shrugged. “I think her firm gave it to her as a partnership test case. If it was me in this economic climate, I wouldn’t drop it, and I don’t think she will either.”
    “Conflict.”
    “Exactly.”
    James gave him a sympathetic look. “Why did you take her to the apartment?”
    “She’s acting for Val’s boyfriend in a criminal case. I think Val was his alibi, but she didn’t turn up at Katy’s office to sign her statement. Katy came with me in case Val was at home.”
    “I didn’t like that guy,” James said. “I met him a few times when he came to pick up Val. There was something off about him. I never understood why she didn’t throw him out when she found out he was screwing around on her.”
    Mark stroked his fingers along the curve of Katy’s waist. “She lost perspective after he dragged her into the drug scene. Tony was helping her clean up her act. I haven’t told him yet, but he’s going to take it hard.”
    James scrubbed his hand over his face and looked down at Katy. “I’m surprised her firm would give her the case. He’s got some pretty serious charges against him. Apparently he has a reputation for charming women into his bed, roughing them up and then stealing from them. Not someone I would trust around a young, pretty female lawyer.”
    Mark agreed, and he wanted to know which of her partners had given her the case. She deserved to know that her supervising partner wasn’t looking out for her best interests. Plus, he had a few things to say to the