Read Against All Enemies for Free Online Page B

buyers were waiting for him when he pulled into the driveway. He hurried to unlock the door and the couple marched in. They took a great deal of pleasure in finding fault with everything and the woman loudly announced they had to be crazy even to be making an offer. Sutherland dutifully followed them from room to room as they trashed every improvement Beth had lavished on the house. The man fancied himself a building inspector and declared it would never pass a structural inspection. Finally, Sutherland pulled the realtor aside. “These are the buyers from hell,” he told her. “They wouldn’t know a good deal if it bit them in the ass.”
    “Oh, they know a good deal,” she assured him. “That’s why they’re here.”
    The couple wandered back. “Why does a single man like you,” the woman asked in a nasally voice, “need a big place like this?”
    Sutherland smiled at her. “Well, ma’am, what with all the registered sex offenders living in the neighborhood, it’s a perfect location for orgies.” The inspection was over.
     
     
    It was late afternoon when he arrived back at G Street and the D.A.’s office was emptying out. Someone had moved his furniture out of the men’s room and into the hall. He decided that it was all he was going to get and collared a janitor to help him lug the desk, files, and bookcases back to his office. He took time to reorganize his desk drawers and files. Then he turned his attention to the bookcases, dusted the shelves, and arranged the books in proper order.
    The D.A. paused as he passed by on his way to a fundraiser for a state legislator who had gubernatorial ambitions. “Hank, the next time I call a staff meeting, be there. We’ll talk about it in the morning.” He jerked his head and was gone.
    “Screw you and the horse you rode in on,” Sutherland muttered under his breath. What’s the matter with you? he wondered. Why the sudden hostility? He’s always been a prick . Like most successful lawyers, Sutherland was constantly going over lost ground and replaying past events. It was a trait of the trade that often led to success in the courtroom. But now it only drove him deeper into his frustration. His personal life was shaking apart and he couldn’t control it. He sat down, leaned back, and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he was fully awake. He wasn’t sure how it came to him, but it hit him with all the force of a revelation. The more he thought about it, the more logical it became. Why? Wrong question. Why not? He opened his laptop computer and opened a new directory labeled BOOK . Now he needed a title. Slowly, he typed:
     
     
    N ONE C ALL I T J USTICE
by
Henry M. Sutherland
     
     
    He was going to write the great exposé of the American legal system.
     
     
    Sutherland was vaguely aware that it was morning when the phone rang. It was the woman from the hospital. “Oh,” she said, startled that she didn’t get his voice mail. “Gus passed away about an hour ago. I thought you would want to know.”
    “I’m really sorry,” he said. He heard his own voice and it sounded trite and routine. “Thank you for calling.” He tried to sound more human. “Please forgive me, but I didn’t remember your name and was too embarrassed to ask.”
    A long pause. “I’m Louise, her sister.”
    Sutherland cursed himself for not remembering. Louise was the identical twin of Gus Perkins’s murdered daughter. Sutherland had a near-photographic memory and could recall printed pages in their entirety. Yet he was terrible when it came to matching faces with names. “Louise, if there’s a memorial service or funeral, please call me.”
    “Thank you, Mr. Sutherland. I will.” She hung up.
    “All right,” Sutherland muttered to himself. His life was getting back into focus. He returned to the outline he was working on and savored the twist he was giving to the section on judges. Jane Evans hovered over him in spirit as he worked his way through the assorted characters