Free Motion to Dismiss by Jonnie Jacobs

teetotaler, is it?"
    Marc sucked his cheek, looking more amused than chastised. "I'll apologize, how's that?" He took the card from Grady's grasp. "Byron Spencer. God, with a name like that, the guy should have been a poet. Maybe journalist is the closest he could get."
    "The sooner you apologize, the better," I said. "And try to sound sincere."
    "Am I ever anything but?"
    Grady looked at his watch. "Well, this was fun, boys and girls, but I've got to be going. I told Nina I'd be home before dinner."
    "You're leaving? I thought we were going to talk about the case." That was the only reason I'd agreed to come. I was having a hard time fitting into Grady's schedule.
    "I've got a handle on it. We can talk in a couple of days, okay?"
    "Why not now?"
    "Let's let the dust settle first."
    I wasn't sure what dust he was talking about, and I wasn't sure I'd have any better luck pinning him down in the future. As I watched him leave, I wondered once again how I'd ended up defending Grady Barrett on a rape charge.
    Without asking me, Marc hailed the waitress and ordered another drink for both of us.
    "So, do you think I'm a prick too?"
    "Sometimes."
    He grinned. "And the other times?"
    If the truth be told, I didn't know what to make of Marc. And it wasn't just his behavior tonight. At times I felt myself drawn to him despite our past history. There was a chemistry between us I couldn't ignore. But other times he made me slightly uneasy. It was almost as though the face Marc presented to the world were artfully contrived to hide the real man beneath the skin.
    I decided to sidestep the question. "Are you always that uptight about the press?"
    Marc shrugged. "I guess I'm nervous about this offering. The talk in the investment community has been favorable so far, but that can change overnight." He frowned. "Which reminds me. I'll be in New York for a couple of days talking with investment bankers. You think you can manage the fort without me?"
    I couldn't tell from his tone whether the question was posed in jest or not. Either way, I didn't think it warranted much of an answer.
    "I figured as much," Marc said, reading my look. He gave me a disarming smile. "You seem to have things pretty much under control."
    "Thanks."
    "I like that."
    "What?"
    "A woman with a brain." He angled closer and spoke softly. "It's very sexy."
    "You're verging on prickhood again."
    He moved back to his own part of the table and grinned. "I'll work on fixing that."
    When I got home, I checked the spiral notepad by the phone, where Bea and Dotty left my messages. There was one from a woman I'd worked with at Goldman and Latham, one from the gardening service, and none at all from the person whose name I most wanted to see there.
    It wasn't that Tom never called me. He had phoned probably four or five times since I'd come back to Berkeley. Our conversations were always affable, and irritatingly light. Loretta, the springer spaniel I'd inherited from my father, provided safe ground for discourse. She was staying with Tom while I was away, and he recounted her antics for me at length. He filled me in on news of Silver Creek as well, and the people we knew in common, but he took pains not to mention Lynn unless I asked. And then he'd say something vague, like she's trying hard to make it work .
    What the hell was that supposed to mean? The reconciliation had been her idea. The more important question, to my mind, was, what was Tom feeling? Unfortunately, feelings were something he didn't talk about much. Which I suspected was one of the reasons Lynn had moved out in first place.
    I was running late Monday morning, so I didn't read the paper until I got to the office. Not that I made the connection even then. The article was short, on the inside page of the second section. A woman had fallen to her death from the deck of a home in the Oakland hills. No name or address was listed, and I gave the story only a passing glance, mentally adding it to the growing tally of