“Definitely. There are the whispering phone calls in the other room that abruptly ends when I come into the room. And of course there are the late night meetings with clients; that type of thing.”
“Before we go any further, we need to find out exactly what Scott is doing and with who he’s doing it with, and then we’ll discuss what you want to do with the information.”
No longer was there any thought about sending Mrs. Panthea Daniels to Gibson. In addition to being the best divorce lawyer at the firm, Gibson also specialized in fucking every female divorcee that came through his door.
Marcus wanted her for himself.
“How do we go about doing that?” Panthea asked, smiling as if his interest was the best news she’d had in years.
The more Panthea smiled, the more he wanted her. Why should Gibson have all the fun? “I know an investigator I use sometimes. I have a meeting with him later this afternoon. If you like, I could ask him to look into it.”
“That’s fine. Is there any information that you need from me?”
“Right now I have all the information I need. The investigator’s name is Garrett Mason. He’ll be in touch with you.” Marcus looked at his watch and stood up. “He’ll have some more detailed questions to ask you about your husband and his activities.”
“Since you're standing up, I’m going to assume that you're finished with me,” Panthea said as Marcus came around from behind his desk.
Marcus stopped. “As I said, I have all the information I need for the time being, and I do have another appointment,” he said politely.
“I’m sure you do. But suppose I’m not ready to go?”
Marcus looked at Panthea and his entire facial expression changed. She stood up and laughed a little.
“Got ya,” she said softly and stepped toward Marcus. “Don’t worry. I’m not a stalker.”
She looped her arm in his, and they started for the door. Marcus reached for the knob.
“I’m just a woman who likes to have fun,” Panthea said as they strolled arm in arm toward the elevator. Marcus didn’t say a word until he reached the elevator and extended his hand.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Daniels.”
“You as well, Mr. Douglas. I’ll expect Mr. Mason’s call,” Panthea said and stepped on the elevator.
“I’ll be in touch,” Marcus said.
“See that you do,” Panthea replied as the doors closed.
When Marcus turned around, Janise was staring at him and smiling. “What?” he asked as he approached her desk.
“She’s very pretty, but she’s no Carmen Taylor,” Janise said as he continued into his office.
“That’s a closed case, Janise. Let’s keep it that way. Send Mr. Baker in when he gets here.”
3
Marcus closed the door to his office and returned to his desk to prepare for the next appointment. He fumbled through some papers, and then put them down. He leaned back in his chair.
“Carmen Taylor,” he said out loud.
He had met Carmen the day after the Ferguson trial ended. She was the victim’s sister, and the defendant Roland Ferguson was her brother-in-law. Once Ferguson was acquitted, Carmen demanded justice.
“A little bit of justice for my sister, Mr. Douglas. That's what I'm asking for,” she said. “If Roland didn't kill her, fine. Somebody did! What bothers me is that nobody is interested in finding out who did.”
Together, Marcus and Carmen began their own investigation, not the case that the prosecution presented, but into her sister’s dark and sometimes extremely sexual past. The investigation led the pair into a world of drugs, prostitution, money laundering, and murder, which the police seemed unwilling to pursue. Along the way, Marcus and Carmen found something in one another.
“Carmen Taylor, you’re really beginning to interest me.”
“That's good, Marcus Douglas, because you began to interest me some time ago.”