The only good Lawyer

professionalism.”
    Jeppers’s expression changed. “Then I’m truly sorry for my assumption.” He used his right index finger to push the glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. “So, you’re here about Woodrow Gant?”
    “Yes. I’m working with Alan Spaeth’s defense attorney, and it occurred to me that it’d be helpful to know whether there might be someone in your files who had a motive to kill Mr: Gant.”
    “A disgruntled client of his?”
    “Or an angry opponent.”
    “Most lawyers settle any differences between them with paperwork, Mr. Cuddy.”
    “I meant to include opposing clients.”
    Jeppers adjusted his glasses again. “As Heather must have told you, those records are confidential.”
    “I can appreciate that. But Alan Spaeth is going to be on trial for murder and I’ve found other information that suggests he may not have done it.”
    “Still...”
    “Meaning I need a court order to see if there are any potential suspects in your files.”
    “That would be up to you. Or to Mr. Spaeth’s attorney and the presiding judge involved. However; given my... breach of good manners at the beginning of our conversation, perhaps I can save both of us some time. And embarrassment as well.”
    “Thank you.”
    Jeppers’s hand went to his bow tie for a moment. “Air. Spaeth himself came here to file a complaint against Mr. Gant regarding Mr. Spaeth’s wife.” Half-expecting that, I tried not to let my face show Jeppers anything. “What kind of complaint?”
    “Mr. Spaeth behaved in a belligerent manner out front, so Heather referred him to me. It seems your client believed Mr. Gant was having an affair with Mrs. Spaeth. The man was rather insistent about it, too, though long on belief and short on details.”
    “What did you do about his complaint?”
    “Told him it had no foundation.”
    I stopped for a second. “How could you know that?”
    “Don’t misunderstand, Mr. Cuddy. I’m not talking about factual foundation. I mean legal foundation.”
    “Legally, it’s all right for a lawyer to have sex with his divorce client?”
    “The Commonwealth’s attorneys have long been governed by the Code of Professional Responsibility, which for our purposes is divided into aspirational ethical considerations and stricter disciplinary rules. Is it ethical for a lawyer to engage in such an affair? No. Is it a direct violation of a disciplinary rule? No again. Hence, there was no legal foundation upon which we could proceed, even if Mr. Spaeth’s version of the situation was true.”
    “Which it might not have been.”
    The tight smile again, and another adjustment of the glasses. “That’s almost immaterial, don’t you think? Mr. Spaeth’s belief that it was true is the damage I’d bring to his defense counsel’s attention.”
    I thanked Parris Jeppers for his advice, and he called Heather to escort me back out to the elevators.

    “Shit,” said Steve Rothenberg. “You’re sure?”
    “There a reason why this Jeppers at the Overseers would lie to me?”
    The lawyer shook his head. We were sitting inside the client interview room at the Nashua Street jail, waiting for the guard to bring Alan Spaeth to us.
    I’d started Steve off with my last stop, and now I went back to the beginning. “I hit Michael Mantle’s place at the rooming house twice. No sign of him there since late Tuesday of last week.”
    “The night before Gant was shot.”
    “Right. And Mantle hasn’t visited his usual watering holes, either.”
    “Also since that Tuesday?”
    I nodded. “Plus, everybody at the law firm confirms that Spaeth went nuts that day at his deposition.”
    “Ah, yes,” said Rothenberg, a dollop of sarcasm in his voice. “I remember it well.”
    “However, I also got everyone there to admit that Spaeth just yelled, that he never approached anybody physically. And that Woodrow Gant’s brother was the one who had to be restrained.”
    “That’s ‘Grover,’ right?”
    “Grover Cleveland Gant. Though if I’m the prosecution, I think I’d bypass him and put the mother on the stand. She’ll have the jurors standing in line during recess to learn the hangman’s knot.”
    Another shake of the head.
    “On top of that,” I said, “almost nobody has a bad word about the deceased. Good partner as well as good son and brother. His ex-wife says he played around during their marriage, but once Gant’s single, that’s a risk I think the jury would let him run.”
    “Besides, it