Page 41 of Goodbye Girl
“Stop right there. Not another word. Here’s the plan. I’m going to find you a lawyer in London. They’re called solicitors.”
“Fitting. I knew a prostitute who called herself a solicitor.”
“This is no time to joke. Actually, it might be a barrister. I don’t know. I don’t practice law in England, and it’s five o’clock in the fucking morning. I’ll get you a lawyer with a British accent, and then I’m flying over there as soon as I can. You got it?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t talk to anyone. Not to the police, not to another detainee, not even to yourself.”
Jail messed with the mind, and Jack had known inmates to incriminate themselves by talking aloud to no one.
“I don’t talk to myself,” said Theo.
“And now would be a terrible time to start. The next person you hear from will be your London lawyer. Do you know what police station you’re in?”
“Charing Cross.”
“Okay. Just sit tight.”
“I’m definitely not going anywhere.”
Jack said goodbye and ended the call. He took a seat on the rim of the bathtub to try to remember exactly what Theo had told him about London. Meet up with Amongus. Spread some love from Imani to some guys in MAP. “Kidnapping” didn’t make any sense.
He opened a travel app on his phone and booked the first available nonstop to London, departing Miami at 4:55 p.m. He was scrollingthrough his contacts, looking for the friend or colleague most likely to have the name of a London lawyer, when his phone vibrated with an incoming email. It was from his assistant. The subject line read, “Call me as soon as you get up!” He dialed her cell.
“Bonnie, are you in the office already?”
“Been here all night for the Freedom Institute. Last-minute death appeal.”
Jack recalled those days. “I saw your email. Is this about Theo?”
“No. A package came by courier for Saturday delivery. It’s from Jennifer Ellis, marked ‘urgent.’ I scanned the documents for you. They’re attached to the email I sent.”
“I’ll read them later.”
“But it says ‘urgent.’”
“Bonnie, I’ll look at them later. Jennifer sent them right before she called and told me the case is on hold.”
“Jack, I don’t trust her. I’ve been up all night. I’m on my tenth cup of coffee, and I don’t need another fire drill today because there’s something in there that you didn’t see until it’s too late. Look at the documents!”
About once a year, Bonnie hit the breaking point. She was there.
Jack gave the electronic file about ten seconds of his attention, scanning through copies of text messages between Imani and Shaky. “Sex, sex, and sex. More of the salacious nonsense Judge Stevens doesn’t want to hear about, and that for some reason Shaky’s lawyer thinks is more embarrassing to my client than hers. Done. I looked.”
“What should I do?”
“File it away and get a shot of penicillin. I’ll call you from London.”
“London?”
“Long story.” He said a quick goodbye, and there was an immediate tap on the bathroom door.
“Jack, is everything okay?” asked Andie.
With parents of a certain age, Andie was one of those people who thought a phone call before dawn could only be horrible news. Jack opened the door and said, “Nobody died.”
“Thank God. Who were you talking to?”