Free Outfoxed: An Andy Carpenter Mystery by David Rosenfelt Page B

miles per hour. He didn’t see any police around, but it was the last thing he would have worried about if he did.
    Up ahead, the two trees that he had watched all these years stood along the road, even sturdier and more powerful than their neighbors. Joseph Westman pressed his foot farther down on the gas pedal and slammed into them head-on.
    In the split second before he died, he prayed the trees would not be damaged permanently, but if they were, they would have died for a good cause.
    Finally, at long last, they had brought Joseph Westman peace.

 
    “The first discovery documents are here,” says Hike, calling from the office. “How do they look?” I ask.
    “They look like they’re still in the carton,” he says. “They just got here.”
    “Okay, I’ll be down within the hour. Maybe you should open the carton.”
    “We got a knife or something? It’s taped up pretty good.”
    “Ask Edna.”
    “It’s nine o’clock in the morning. You think Edna’s here?”
    “I think there’s a letter opener in her top drawer; it’s pretty sharp.”
    “I could cut myself and bleed to death in here before Edna shows up.”
    “That’s always a possibility, Hike, but look at the bright side. You’d miss the alien invasion.”
    I put leashes on Tara and Sebastian to take them for their walk, and as we’re heading out the door, Willie Miller pulls up. He’s got Boomer with him. “You going for a walk?” Willie asks.
    “What tipped you off?”
    He doesn’t bother to answer the snide comment, but instead just starts to walk along with us. Boomer, Tara, and Sebastian all seem fine together.
    “He’s a great dog,” Willie says, referring to Boomer.
    I nod. “Sure is.” I know exactly where this is going.
    It goes there immediately. “I’m thinking, maybe Sondra and I will keep him until Brian gets out. You know, because of how much he loves him.”
    I shake my head. “Not a good idea, Willie. It’s a nice thought, but a bad idea.”
    “Why?”
    “Because he’s not getting out anytime soon. He has to serve the rest of his sentence, then more time for the escape. And if we lose at trial on the murder counts, he’s never getting out.”
    “You’ll win,” Willie says, at once overrating my talents and our chances.
    “Maybe, more likely not. But it doesn’t matter; he’s still in prison for a long time.”
    “So we should place him?”
    “Definitely. Otherwise it’s not fair to him; he should get in a permanent home right away.”
    “Okay,” he says. “I hear you.”
    “Good. You know I’m not going to be at the foundation much, right? I’m sorry about it.” Whenever I’m on a case, the burden of dealing with the dogs always falls on Willie and Sondra, and I always feel guilty about it.
    “That’s cool,” Willie says. “We’re on it.” The next time Willie complains about my not doing my share will be the first.
    I cut the walk a little shorter than usual, because I’m anxious to get down to the office. I’m also dreading getting there, and not just because Hike is waiting for me. The discovery documents we’ve received will begin to lay out the prosecution’s case against Brian. I want to see if there is other bad news in there, in addition to the very bad news we already know about.
    When I arrive, Hike is immersed in the documents. In addition to being a very depressing individual to be around, Hike is also a brilliant attorney. He can inhale information and process it in a logical order, which is what he’s doing now.
    “How does it look?” I ask.
    “Depends whose side you’re on.”
    “Let’s start with our side.”
    “Oh. Then awful. If we take this to trial instead of pleading it out, we should be disbarred.”
    “Our client doesn’t want to plead it out. He’d spend the rest of his life in prison.”
    Hike shrugs. “Whatever.”
    Hike takes me through what he’s learned so far, although we’re just scratching the surface. The actual facts are not as bad as his