Sins of the Flesh. Fern Michaels

bellowed.

      “For Daniel to call,” Rocky bellowed back. “Look, if you want me to come up with some cockamamie story, I can do that; we lawyers are real good at cockamamie stories because we get them from clients all the time.”

      “I’ll settle for the truth; try that on for size,” Reuben grated.

      “Why don’t we try this on for size,” Rocky said. “You don’t like me and you don’t like what I come from; ditto for Jerry. You and Daniel came up the hard way, and anyone who isn’t cut from the same bolt of cloth is no damn good. Well, let me tell you something, Mr. Fairmont. Jerry and I graduated in the top 3 percent of our class right along with Daniel. Believe it or not, we do have brains and we use them from time to time. I consider Daniel a friend, as you do. I know, I accepted a long time ago that you’re first with Daniel. Jerry and I are poor seconds compared to you. All through law school all Daniel did was talk about you and what a great guy you were. He would have died for you, did you know that? He would have goddamned died for you if you asked it of him. Do you remember all that money you used to send him; did he ever tell you what he did with it? No, I bet he didn’t. He loaned it to us, me and Jerry. Of course, we always paid it back, but the bulk of it was given to other students who had piss to live on. He used to say he felt guilty taking so much from you. I’ll bet you five hundred dollars you didn’t know he waited on tables for his own spending money. Did you ever see the…the fucking ledger he kept for you? Ah, even behind those dark shades I see you don’t know about it. Well, here, Mr. Hollywood, take a look at this!” Rocky said, pulling an accountant’s ledger from one of the desk drawers. “All the money you sent him, the spending money, the tuition, the gifts; they’re all recorded, and do you see the next column? Those numbers represent what he paid out to, let’s say, lesser fortunates because he knew you wouldn’t take a penny in paybacks. That third column is the money he earned waiting tables. That big red zero at the bottom of the third page means the debt is paid in full. Here’s the book on torts. Sit on it, read it, chew it up, I don’t give a shit, but I gave my word to Daniel I would handle this office, and I can’t do it with you sitting here glaring at me from behind those damn glasses. The waiting room is all yours!”

      “That was a wonderful testimonial, and I thank you for it. Now tell me where the hell Daniel is or I’m going to punch your fucking lights out right now!” Reuben said, standing up, towering over Rocky.

      “Try it,” Rocky almost shouted, “and I’ll have your ass in jail in five minutes.”

      “Is that any way to talk to a client?” Reuben drawled, trying to keep his temper in check.

      “You aren’t my client!”

      “Sure I am. Irene,” he bellowed, “come in here! Take this hundred dollars and enter it in the books. I’ve just hired Mr. Rockefeller to handle some business for me. And when you record it, mark down the time.” Reuben looked at his watch. “I gave it to him twenty minutes ago. I want a receipt, too.” Three minutes later Reuben pocketed his receipt.

      “Where were we? Oh, yes, I was going to punch your lights out and you were going to land my ass in jail. Now, where’s Daniel?”

      “Okay, okay, but you damn well better tell Daniel you beat it out of me. Get comfortable, because you aren’t going to like any of it. And before you start threatening me, just remember that this is the way Daniel wanted it…. You want a drink or something?”

      “No, I don’t want a drink. I want to know where Daniel is.”

      “Daniel’s in France. At least we hope he is. That woman you both knew in Paris, Mickey, she called Daniel on the Fourth of July and asked him to go over there and help her bring someone here to the States. Jerry and I tried to talk him out of it, but you know Daniel. He said he owed her part of his life and he had to go. We told him to call you, but he said this…this trip had something to do with you and he couldn’t tell you. We got him over there on one of our planes, at least as far as England, and from there he was taking a Red Cross plane to someplace close; hell, I don’t know where, it was sort of a momentary thing, whatever would be best when he set down. We haven’t heard a word since. We gave him all the cash we could scrape up, and Jerry gave him a bag of diamonds. Look, you would have done the same thing we did if he’d asked you. We offered to go along, but he said it was something he had to do himself. Now, that’s all I know.”

      Reuben digested the information, his heart thundering in his chest. “There’s a war going on. How could you let him go?” he asked in a sick voice.

      “Mr. Tarz,” Rocky said, sounding equally disturbed, “a team of Clydesdales couldn’t have prevented him from going. We tried to talk him out of it, begged him to call you, but he was determined. If we hadn’t helped him, he would have found someone else. For the first time in our lives, Jerry and I took advantage of our families and got him the plane and made the connections for him. At least we had a little control. I wish to God he hadn’t gone. We should have heard something by now,” he finished uneasily.

      “I don’t believe he…what if…” Reuben’s voice trembled with shock at Daniel’s behavior and the possible ramifications. God!

      “Is it Mickey he’s bringing back?” he asked in a whisper. It would make sense for Daniel to go to Mickey’s aid; anything else was sheer folly on his part.

      “I don’t think so. Jerry and I tried to figure it out after Daniel left, but we couldn’t come up with anything. None of us knows who he’s supposed to be bringing here. Someone this Mickey wants kept safe and someone you obviously know.”

      Rocky rose from his position behind the desk. “Tarz, I know the sun isn’t over the yardarm yet, but I feel like a drink, and you look like you could use one. What say we bury the hatchet, at least for now, and drink our lunch. There’s a pub three doors away.”

      “I’ll buy,” Reuben said, getting to his feet.

      Rocky knew it was the closest he would get to an apology, and he accepted the offer good-naturedly. “Irene, we’ll be at the pub,” he called out. “You come running if there’s word from England or Daniel. Call Jerry and tell him to join us. The hell with business. By the way, Tarz, do you want your hundred dollars back?”

      Reuben shook his head. “Hell no. I still might decide to flatten your keister, and if I do, it’ll look better if I’m your client.”

      “Then you’re paying for all the drinks,” Rocky grumbled.

      “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Reuben mumbled as they made their way out of the office.

      It was 11:35 when they walked into Stella’s Pub. Jerry joined them at 12:05. By one o’clock the three men had finished off their third pitcher of beer, to Stella’s dismay, at which point Jerry opened his briefcase, took out a quart flask, and set it on the table. “This, gentlemen, is the finest of fine liquors. It’s in this flask because it eats through glass. My daddy got it from a grateful client moons ago. Kentucky moonshine with the kick of a mule. Two hundred proof, maybe more. Stella, we need some ice water over here!”

      Their first toast was to Daniel, their second to the Kentucky moonshiner, their third to Stella, and the fourth and fifth were for the Washington Monument and the White House.

      “If anyone lights a match, the three of them will blow up,” Stella hissed to the bartender.

      “It’s empty,” Jerry said, peering into the flask.

      “You’re rich, buy another one.” Reuben guffawed.

      “Champagne, Stella, your finest!” Rocky demanded.

      “Two bottles,” Jerry echoed.

      “Three!” Reuben yelled, not to be outdone by the Harvard boys.

      Rocky hiccoughed. “What we need are three virgins. Stella, we—”

      “We don’t have any,” Stella shot back. Reuben snorted drunkenly. It sounded like a good way to end an afternoon.

      “On the count