Night Magic (21 page)

"I was talking about Clayton, not making any
inferences by omission."

"But if the shoe fits, eh? I can understand
if you think of me as a no good snake."

"How is Karen by the way?" Savannah bared her
teeth in an imitation smile.

"Sadly, not too well. Lately her performance
has been less than brilliant to say the least. The lady has had
some unfortunate setbacks."

"Oh, how terrible for her."

"Now, now. It's unworthy of you to be unkind.
Still, she did fumble some important assignments for several of our
biggest clients. Seems she just can't handle the work."

"Aw, too bad. And after all the trouble she
went through to stab me in the back to get those assignments."
Savannah wore the first genuine smile since they had been
together.

"Listen, I swear to you I had no idea she
would pull something like that."

"Come on, the only way she could have known
about my work and the file names in my computer is if you told
her." Savannah snapped.

"Sure we talked about work, but I didn't tell
her anything about your file names. She's a computer whiz. It never
occurred to me that she was using working late with me as an
opportunity to dig into your files?"

"Then why didn't you tell Clayton the truth
when I was on the hot seat? No, you let me take the fall because
you were protecting her."

"I didn't find out until after you had
resigned. When you made that accusation, it got me to thinking. You
remember how wrapped up I was in Smith vs. Walton, et Al. Karen was
helping me with the research. I would never do anything
intentionally to hurt you, sweet. You know that." Devin leaned
across the table. As he reached for her hands, she drew away
placing them in her lap.

Savannah wanted to believe him. She did
recall how immersed he was in a big suit the firm was handling.
Devin had been a good friend to her for so long at a time she had
really needed one. Maybe she had jumped to conclusions.

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't
bust her little scam with Clayton."

"I had no proof, just a suspicion. Please
believe me; I would never have let her pull that stunt if I had
known." Devin stared at her with an earnest, anxious
expression.

"Well, you know what they say about blessings
in disguise. I needed to come home. I was thinking of establishing
my own practice anyway. In fact, I have gotten very interested in
consumer and environmental law," Savannah said

"Not much money in crusades for the
underdog."

"Fighting for environmental safety isn't a
lost cause anymore, Devin. There have been more and more judgments
against big business when they were caught polluting. Communities
aren't willing to take whatever gets handed to them. Even poor
people have stopped being intimidated by the notion of going up
against large corporations. And government officials and
politicians are listening to them."

"Sure, but don't count out the influence of
the Batton Chemicals of this world. Right now the federal and state
regulations are a mish mash in certain areas. They can be
contradictory or enforced inconsistently."

"Is that what you're going to argue? Batton
Chemical complied in good faith so it's not their fault that the
feds and state bureaucrats haven't gotten their acts together? Come
on."

"What I'm saying is this self-righteous act
coming from Simmons won't wash."

"The people who have to live near these
plants are scared, and judging from the environmental nightmares
that we are waking up to every day they have a right to be.
Thousands of barrels of toxic chemicals dumped in empty fields or
dumped into rivers. Tons of waste released into the air. The big
companies will get away with whatever they can to avoid giving up
their huge profit margins."

"Listen, I didn't ask you out so we could
debate environmental issues or talk about this case. Let's just say
you believe in your cause and I have a responsibility to defend my
client. Now tell me; how are you doing really? I've missed you."
Devin leaned across the table, his voice a husky whisper.

"Devin, you were a good friend to me at a
rough time in my life. Maybe we could have become more once, but
now--"

"But now you've decided to punish me for
Karen. It was no heavy love affair. Just one those things that can
happen when a man and a woman spend lots of time alone working
together."

"You don't owe me an explanation. We didn't
have anything romantic between us, and we sure didn't have any
understanding that we wouldn't see other people."

"After you left, I realized that you meant
much more to me than a friend. Let's give it a try, sweet. We were
so good together as friends, think of what we could have as
lovers." As he spoke, Devin moved to the chair next to her. He
began to stroke her arm lightly.

"No, Devin. It's too late for that." Savannah
moved away from him as far as she could without changing chairs.
She didn't want to draw any more attention them.

"Honorè. That was fast. Even in Shreveport
you didn't want to get serious. He must be one smooth operator to
puncture your armor."

"He isn't a so-called smooth operator."

"Really? He works for Batton Chemical. He's
going to testify that the company you want to put out of business
isn't so bad after all. All that and he gets next to you? He's got
something special."

"Yes, he does. He's got integrity and heart."
Savannah stared down at the plate of food she hadn't touched.
Suddenly she felt wrong. In the wrong place, with the wrong
man.

"Well, judging from the dreamy look you get
in your pretty brown eyes at the mention of his name, it's
official." Devin moved back to the chair across from her.

At that moment the waitress came to clear the
table and give them the check. Savannah tried to pay for her half
of the dinner, but Devin insisted on paying for everything.
Savannah observed him closely. Was it her imagination, or was there
a fleeting look of anger on his face that he quickly disguised
right at the instant that he moved away from her minutes before.
Maybe it was, because he was smiling and chatting about mundane
things as easily as though they were the best of friends.

As they turned on the street to her house, He
slowed the rental car. Devin turned down the radio that was playing
jazz. The music had been a backdrop to the casual conversation
Savannah had labored to keep up during the agonizingly long twenty
minute trip back to Beau Chene.

"I want you to know that the old cliché holds
true for us, we can still be friends. I mean that. My only concern
is that he makes you happy." He put the car in park behind a dark
vehicle in front of Savannah's house.

"I'm glad, Devin. Thank you for
understanding. I didn't want to have this hostility between
us."

"For what it's worth, if you ever need me
I'll be there." Devin gave her a firm hug.

As Savannah got out of the car, her heart
thumped when a tall masculine figure emerged from her house. The
porch light switched on and she breathed a sigh of relief. It was
her father, not Paul.

"Poppy, you scared the life out of me. Is
anything wrong? Whose car?" Savannah pointed to the mini- van that
resembled Paul's until the light from the porch revealed it to be a
different make and color.

"Gralin, he stopped by to get some of your
research. I'm sure glad you showed up finally. He's in the den with
all your stuff trying to find something on some case in your files
and I ain't much help." Antoine swung the door wide for her to
enter.

"Let me put my jacket up, and I'll be
there."

"Sure, baby. Uh, so you went out with that
lawyer." Antoine followed her into her bedroom instead of returning
to the den.

"Yeah, he didn't say much of use to us
though. He's too slick, guess I should've known. But he did hint at
one strategy he might be taking. I want to discuss it with Gralin
and Simmons."

"Uh-huh. Paul, he don't mind this?" It was
clear that Antoine's question was not about the case.

"Mind how?"

"Ain't you two courtin' kinda heavy? I mean,
you out with some other guy, he gone be real mad."

"Poppy, I can't believe
this. That is so out-dated to think that I have to check with Paul.
He knows that Devin and I were friends. He also knows that there is
nothing wrong with my having dinner or lunch with an old
friend
." Savannah's
throat felt tight as she uttered those words.

"If you say so, cher." Antoine went down the
hall.

"Who you think you foolin', lil' gal?" Tante
Marie stood in the door, her arms folded across her bosom.

"Now, Tante Marie, don't you start in on me.
I already went through this with Charice and now Poppy." Savannah
had forgotten the down side of being in a small town. Your
relatives and friends were close enough to not only know all of
your business, but to stick their noses into it, too.

"That man gonna be fired up when he find out.
Goin' out with a good-lookin' lawyer. Yessir, things gone heat up
round here."Savannah was about to defend herself when the twinkle
in Tante Marie's eye brought her up short.

"You're something, you know that? You're
getting the biggest kick out of this. Well, I hate to disappoint
you but, Paul is cool with me seeing Devin." Savannah lifted her
chin passed her aunt to go to the den.

"Sure, Miss Priss. That's why you jumped two
feet when your papa stepped out the front door before I turned on
the light." Tante Marie chuckled as she followed her.

"He startled me because I wasn't expecting
him to appear so suddenly."

"Yes, Lord."

Savannah was about to continue her defense
when Gralin rose to meet her carrying a long sheet of computer
paper. They quickly got into reviewing particular precedent setting
decisions that he had hopes would aid Simmons. To her chagrin,
Tante Marie and Poppy left the room whispering together and
throwing backward glances in her direction.

"What's that about? They're not worried about
the case, I hope. I really think it's going to be close. With a
little hard work it could easily tip in our favor." Gralin peered
over his glasses as he pulled a large law book to him.

"No, unfortunately they're meddling in my
personal life right now."

"It's good they have a distraction." Gralin,
engrossed in his reading, did not notice Savannah's mouth fly open
in amused amazement.

Before long they were both shuffling papers
and pausing to discuss complex legal questions. Checking her watch,
Savannah was surprised to find that two hours had passed. It was
clear that Gralin would spend the night combing through every book,
every bit of paper. She yawned loudly several times as a cue, but
he didn't even look up. The direct approach was going to be
necessary.

"Gralin, it's late. Let's finish this some
other time." Savannah said.

"Hum? Oh, right. I'm sorry. I got so wrapped
up that I didn't think that I might be imposing." He smiled
sheepishly. Packing his briefcase with some of the papers, he
prepared to leave.

"It's okay. This is something that could
affect our lives in a big way. It's no wonder you are working so
hard." Savannah got his short coat out of the hall closet.

"It means more to me than that. I've lost my
mother and oldest sister to cancer. You know what they call this
area? Cancer Alley. Six months ago my wife found a lump in her
breast. Thank God they were able to remove it and it didn't show up
in her lymph glands. I'm not willing to lose anyone else dear to
me. I just can't accept that it's some fluke the cancer rates are
so high around here."

"I know." Savannah could think of nothing
else to say. She had been speaking about the effects from the
viewpoint of a distant observer. She had forgotten that many had
been touched tragically.

"Anyway, things are going to slow down with
Mardi Gras coming up. Probably Judge Duplessis will call a recess
at least until the Monday after Ash Wednesday."

"That's right. He's the king of the Krewe of
Aurora. Every year during Mardi Gras, he stops any case he's
presiding over." Savannah laughed. This wasn't unusual since most
people in south in Acadiana felt the same way. Few things were so
important that indulging yourself before Lent did not come
first.

"Thank you for putting up with me for so
long. I'll get in touch with if I need anything else." With a wave,
Gralin hopped into his van and drove off. Savannah was lost in
thought as she checked the doors and turned off the lights before
retiring. The sound of movement in the kitchen drew her there.

"I figured you was gonna have to throw Gralin
out. He is some intense when he gets going." Poppy sat at the
table, a glass of milk and a slice of Tante Marie's sweet potato
pecan pie in front of him.

"He's a good man who has a solid reason to be
so intense about this case in particular."

"I know." Antoine paused and nodded, a far
off look on his face for a few seconds.

"Look at you, raiding the pie pan late at
night. How you keep your boyish figure is a mystery." Savannah
kidded him out of his blue mood.

"Yeah, I just know how to pace myself. Which
by the way is something you oughta do with that Devin fella, cher."
Antoine wiped a few crumbs from his mouth.

"We talked it out, Poppy. Devin is ambitious,
he can be devious, but I really think he got taken in by Karen.
Besides, I learned my lesson. I intend to keep my eyes open to that
one even so."

"And LaShaun, you can handle her too I
suppose?" Antoine rinsed the saucer and glass in the large
sink.

"Tante Marie shouldn't have worried you with
that silliness. It's nothing. LaShaun been pulling mean tricks on
me for years and I've survived."