Mickey Haller 4 - The Fifth Witness

white, which was strange for a guy living a block from the beach. I dropped the folded document in his lap.
    “What is this?” he said, slapping it onto the floor without even unfolding it.
    “It’s a subpoena and you can throw it on the floor and choose not to read it but that doesn’t matter. You’ve been served, Donald. I have a witness and I am an officer of the court. You don’t show up tomorrow at nine to testify and you’ll be in jail on a charge of contempt by lunchtime.”
    Driscoll reached down and grabbed the subpoena.
    “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re going to get me killed.”
    I glanced over at Cisco. We were definitely on to something.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “I’m talking about that I can’t testify! If I come anywhere near that courthouse they’ll kill me. They’re probably watching this place right fucking now!”
    I looked again at Cisco and then back down at the man on the couch.
    “Who is going to kill you, Donald?”
    “I’m not saying. Who the fuck do you think?”
    He threw the subpoena at me and it bounced off my chest and fluttered to the ground. He jumped from the couch and started to break for the open door. The blanket fell and I saw he was wearing only gym shorts and a T-shirt. Before he made it three strides Cisco hit him with his body like an outside linebacker. Driscoll caromed into the wall and fell to the floor. A framed poster of a girl on a surfboard slid down the wall and the frame broke on the floor next to him.
    Cisco calmly bent down, pulled Driscoll up and walked him right back to the couch. I stepped over to the door and closed it, just in case the wall banging brought out a curious neighbor. I then came back to the living room.
    “You can’t run from this, Donald,” I said. “You tell us what you know and what you did and we can help you.”
    “Help me get killed, you assholes. And I think you fucking broke my shoulder.”
    He started working his arm and shoulder like he was warming up to pitch nine innings. He grimaced.
    “How’s it feel?” I said.
    “I told you, it feels broken. I felt something give.”
    “You wouldn’t be able to move it,” Cisco said.
    Cisco’s voice had a threatening tone to it, as if there would be further consequences if the shoulder actually was broken. When I spoke, my voice was calm and welcoming.
    “What do you know, Donald? What would make you a danger to Opparizio?”
    “I don’t know anything and I didn’t say that name—you did.”
    “You have to understand something. You have been served with a valid subpoena. You show up and you testify or you stay in jail until you do. But think about this, Donald. If you testify about what you know about ALOFT and what you did, then you’re protected. Nobody will make a move against you because it would be obvious where it came from. It’s your only move here.”
    He shook his head.
    “Yeah, obvious if they did it now. What about in ten years when nobody remembers your stupid-ass trial and they can still hide behind all the money in the world?”
    I didn’t really have an answer to that one.
    “Look, I’ve got a client on trial for what amounts to her life. She’s got a little boy and they’re trying to take everything away from her. I’m not going to—”
    “Fuck off, man, she probably did it. We’re talking about two different things here. I can’t help her. I have no evidence. I’ve got nothing. Just leave me the hell alone, would you? What about my life? I want to have a life, too.”
    I looked at him and sadly shook my head.
    “I can’t leave you alone. I’m putting you on the stand tomorrow. You can refuse to answer questions. You can even take the Fifth if you’ve committed crimes. But you’ll be there and they’ll be there. They’ll know they’ve got a continuing problem with you. Your best bet is to spill it all, Donald. Put it out there and be protected. Five years, ten years, they’ll never be able to do a damn thing to you because there will be a record.”
    Driscoll was staring at an ashtray full of coins on the coffee table, but he was seeing something else.
    “Maybe I should get an attorney,” he said.
    I gave Cisco a look. This was exactly what I didn’t want to have happen. A witness with his own attorney was never a good thing.
    “Sure, fine, if you’ve got a lawyer, bring him. But a lawyer is not going to stop the forward progress of this trial. That subpoena is bulletproof, Donald. A lawyer will charge