Mickey Haller 4 - The Fifth Witness

didn’t feel the strength to rally anymore. I unlocked the door like a prisoner punished with the indignity of letting himself into the room where they give you the needle.
    “Come on in. I guess we’ll get this over with.”
    She came in quickly, my last comment throwing another log on her fire.
    “What you did was despicable. Using our daughter in such an underhanded way.”
    I wheeled around on her.
    “Using our daughter? I did no such thing. Our daughter was put in the middle of this thing and I learned of it only by accident.”
    “It doesn’t matter. You’re disgusting.”
    “No, I’m a defense lawyer. And your good pal Andy was discussing me and my case with my ex-wife in front of my daughter. And then she outright lied to me.”
    “What are you talking about? She doesn’t lie.”
    “I’m not talking about Hayley. I’m talking about Andy. I asked her on the first day she was on the case if she knew you and she said she knew you only in passing. I think we can agree that that is not the case. And I don’t know for sure but I would guess that if we described this situation to ten different judges that maybe ten would consider it a conflict.”
    “Look, we weren’t discussing you or the case. It came up when we were having lunch. Hayley happened to be there. What am I supposed to do, disavow my friends because of you? It doesn’t work that way.”
    “If it was no big deal, why did she lie to me?”
    “It wasn’t a direct lie. It’s not like we’re best friends or anything. Besides, she probably didn’t want you to get into it like you have anyway.”
    “So now we’re qualifying lies on a sliding scale. Some are indirect and no big deal. Don’t worry about those lies.”
    “Haller, don’t be an asshole.”
    “Look, you want something to drink?”
    “I don’t want anything. I came to tell you that you not only embarrassed me and your daughter, but yourself. It was low, Haller. You used something innocent from your own daughter to get an edge. It was really low.”
    I was still holding my briefcase. I put it down on the table in the dining alcove. I put my hands on the top of one of the chairs and leaned down on it as I thought out my comeback.
    “Come on,” Maggie said, baiting me. “You always have a quick answer for everything. The great defender. Let’s hear it this time.”
    I laughed and shook my head. She was so damn beautiful when she was mad. It was disarming. And the bad part was I think she knew it.
    “Oh, so this is funny. You threaten to ruin someone’s career and then can laugh about it.”
    “I didn’t threaten to ruin her career. I threatened to kick her off the case. And no, it’s not funny. It’s just that…”
    “What, Haller? It’s just that what? I’ve been sitting out there for two hours wondering if you were going to show up because I want to know how you could do this.”
    I stepped away from the table and went on the offensive, moving toward her as I spoke. Making her step back and then crowding her into a corner, ending my words with my finger pointing inches from her chest.
    “I did it because I’m a defense attorney and as a defense attorney I have taken an oath to defend my clients to the best of my ability. So, yes, I saw an advantage here. Your good pal Andy—and you—clearly crossed a line. Sure, no harm was done—as far as I know. But that doesn’t mean the line wasn’t crossed. If you jump a fence with a sign on it that says NO TRESPASSING then you are still trespassing even if you jump right back across. So I became aware of this trespass and I used it to my advantage to get something I need to defend my client. Something I should’ve been given as a matter of course but which your friend was holding back simply because she could.
    “Was she within the rules? Yes. Was it fair? No. And one reason you are all hot and bothered about it is that you know it wasn’t fair and that I made the right move. It was something you would have done yourself.”
    “Never in a million years. I would never stoop so low.”
    “Bullshit.”
    I turned away from her. She stayed in the corner.
    “What are you doing here, Maggie?”
    “What do you mean? I just told you why I’m here.”
    “Yeah, but you could’ve picked up a phone or sent me an e-mail. Why did you come here?”
    “I wanted to see your face when you gave an explanation.”
    I turned back to her. This whole thing was a sideshow. I moved in on her and put my hand on the wall