Page 115 of The 1 Lawyer
“Goddamn it, Stafford Lee, it’s my problem too. Everything that goes down in your case, I have to live with. Because—as you’ll recall—I represent your codefendant.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Are you?” He stood and looked down on me with a resentful glare. “Do you recall that I took her case on at your request? As a favor to you?” He looked like he wanted to say more. But the office’s front door flew open and banged against the wall, and Jenny called out from the lobby, “I think we’ve got him!”
CHAPTER 92
GOD, I was glad to have Jenny back in the safety of my office. I ran into the reception area, grabbed her, gave her a hug.
Then I stepped back, held her at arm’s length, and studied her face. To my immense relief, she looked like she was fine. Better than fine; she was beaming.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I planted a virus. At least, I think I did.”
Mason joined us in the lobby. He gaped at Jenny. “A virus? You mean a computer virus?”
“Yes! Malware.”
I let out a whistle. I was seriously impressed. “No kidding?”
“Yeah. Raymond is coming by—the kid from the computer store. No telling what will happen, but we’ll see what goes down.”
Mason groaned. “Oh, shit. We’re all going down. Y’all realize this is illegal, right?”
Jenny gave him an eyeroll. “Mason, please. What are you afraid of? It’s not like the Biloxi PD has a cybercrime division.”
“Are you familiar with an agency known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation?” he asked. When the tech kid walked into the office a moment later, Mason was clearly uncomfortable. He made a dash for the door. “I’m out of here,” he said. “See you at the courthouse, Stafford Lee.”
Jenny said, “Stafford Lee, I’d like to introduce my expert consultant, Raymond Plummer.”
My spirits fell when I saw him. The kid didn’t look like any expert I’d ever seen. His shorts drooped down to reveal his underwear, and he hugged an old laptop to his chest. He said to Jenny, “Where are we setting up?”
Jenny pointed him to the conference room. As Plummer headed off, Jenny pulled me aside. “Stafford Lee, Mason’s not all wrong—we’re getting into murky waters.”
I’d already thought of that. And disregarded it. I didn’t have much confidence in the Gen Z dude setting up his equipment in my conference room, but I was desperate for a break. Any kind of break from any source.
“If we run afoul of federal law, the feds will have to stand in line behind Henry Gordon-James to get a piece of me.” I nodded toward the conference room. “I say we give the kid a shot.”
Jenny joined the tech guy, and I locked the entrance and tugged on the doorknob to double-check. If someone interrupted us, he’d have to kick in the door, so at least we’d have some warning.
I heard Jenny talking excitedly to Raymond Plummer, and I strolled back to join them. My spirits were rising, though there was no cause for celebration, not yet. As far as I could tell, my circumstances hadn’t changed. I stepped into the conference room and saw that the tech guy had stationed himself at the far end of the table behind a battered laptop decorated with comic-book-character stickers.
The sight set me back. Was this the man we’d entrusted with a crucial element of the defense? Did my fate rest on his narrow shoulders?
Jenny stood behind his chair, looking at the screen. She saw me, gave me an encouraging smile, and waved me over. “Raymond found public Wi-Fi. Unsecured.”
The kid clicked on the laptop for several excruciating minutes. “Cool. Making some progress,” he said.
I didn’t want to be a sucker and buy into false hope. Maybe that’s why I acted like a jerk. “Hey, Raymond. Is that really your hacking equipment? The old laptop?”
To his credit, the kid didn’t get huffy. Without looking up, he said, “It’s not the hardware that’s important, it’s the software. And also, you know, the skill set of the person doing it.”
Jenny shot me a warning glance. “We know how lucky we are to have your help, Raymond. You’re a pro. There’s nobody better.”
I reserved judgment. There was a long period of silence while the dude played with his laptop with Jenny as an attentive audience.
The stress was giving me jitters. To disguise it, I sat at the table and pretended to work on the cross-exam I’d been composing before Mason arrived. But I was totally faking it. I felt like something was about to explode.