“Oh?”
“Yeah, well, I got married my senior year. I met Audrey at the Westmont,” he said.
The Westmont was Oregon’s most exclusive country club, and Frank and Katherine were members.
“Audrey filed for divorce six months ago. Then this bitch…” Stallings caught himself. “I guess I shouldn’t call her that. Her name is Jane Emery. She’s another analyst. She’d been coming on to me, and we went out a few times. Now she’s gotten me in big trouble.” Stallings shook his head. “My boss told me that they’d have to let me go if I didn’t straighten out this mess.”
Melville frowned. “I’m not following you.”
Stallings leaned forward and looked Frank in the eye.
“We had consensual sex. It was in her place. She invited me up. Now, she’s saying I raped her. They arrested me at my office. It was humiliating. My dad got his lawyer on it pronto, and I’m out on bail, but my dad’s lawyer doesn’t do criminal, and you’re the best.”
“Tell me what happened after you were arrested.”
“The detective was a real asshole. He kept calling me a spoiled rich kid, as if Jane’s family didn’t have big bucks. And he made the cuffs tight, and he threatened me. Said he thought guys who raped women were pieces of shit. He kept on telling me I’d find out how rape felt when I was in the penitentiary. I’ve never been so scared.”
“What did you say?”
“I watch a lot of law shows on TV, so I knew I had to keep my cool and my mouth shut. You don’t have to worry about me. I didn’t rape Jane, and I didn’t say anything that could be used against me.”
“That’s good.”
“So, Mr. Melville, will you take my case, because I really need the best.”
“Let’s talk business before we go any further. Defending a case like this could be very expensive.”
Frank told Stallings what he’d need as a retainer and how much more expensive things could get if they had to go to trial.
“The money’s no problem. Dad’s good for it. You give me a figure, and I’ll have a check to you tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Frank said. Then he took a legal pad out of his desk. “Let’s get going.”
CHAPTER THREE
Archie Stallings was convinced that hiring Frank Melville was one of the smartest things he had ever done. Archie knew that he had been great on the stand and might have won the case on his own, but it was Frank’s cross-examination that closed the deal. By the time Frank finished his cross of Jane Emery there wasn’t a single juror who wasn’t on Archie’s side. Frank had convinced every one of them that Emery had seduced Archie, then lied about the rape so she could take over his accounts at his firm. Archie’s employer must have been convinced too, because Jane was fired a week after the not-guilty verdict, and Archie received apologies and a promotion.
When Frank heard what happened to Archie’s accuser, he was so upset that he stayed home from work for a week. He told the office that he had the flu, but the truth was that he was heartbroken, and he couldn’t tell anyone why.
Archie had hugged Frank when the verdict was announced, and Archie’s father had shaken his hand. Frank noticed that Archie’s mother didn’t seem happy, but he was too busy to give that much thought.
Frank and Archie had gone back to his office to wrap up a few matters, and that’s when Frank’s nightmare began.
“That cross was so beautiful,” Archie said when they were in the office with the door closed. “The bitch didn’t know what hit her.”
Frank didn’t like Archie using that term, but he realized that his client was hyped up after his victory.
“I was disappointed when she didn’t cry. The cunt sure shed plenty of tears when I smacked her.”
“What?”
Stallings smiled. “You know, I wasn’t surprised that I had the jury fooled, but I am really surprised that you believed me. I thought you were smarter than that.”
“You raped Emery?”
Stallings flashed a wolfish grin. “Most definitely. And she wasn’t my first.” Stallings shook his head. “I don’t regret much in my life, but you’ll be shocked when you hear my biggest regret.”
Frank was too stunned to speak.