Free J.D. Trafford - Michael Collins 02 - No Time to Die by J.D. Trafford Page A

alcohol, he continued.
    “You’re not capable of doing half the stuff I do for this company, so get off my back.”
    Brian bit his tongue. He knew it was true.
    They were twins. They were connected, but different. They instinctively looked out for one another. That was how it had always been. When they were kids, their dad had been too busy running Jolly Boy to have much to do with them and their mother had been too busy with her tennis pro. So they had relied on each other growing up. Now, with their dad gone and their mother moved away, it wasn’t too different.
    Brian looked at his brother and tried another approach.
    “I appreciate what you do, but it’s getting complicated and you’re starting to get a little sloppy.”
    Dylan shook his head. He shot his brother a dismissive look.
    “We’re fine.” Dylan threw his napkin down on the chair, and then got up to see what was taking so long with his omelet.
    When Dylan was out of earshot, Brian mumbled, “We’ll see.”
     
    ###
    Harrison Grant eventually arrived. Once upon a time, Jolly Boy had been the client he milked for 40 percent of his annual billables. Back then, he would’ve walked on broken glass to keep Jolly Boy as a client, despite Dylan McNaughten’s increasingly crass and erratic behavior.
    Now, however, Grant had bigger clients. He was bringing cases to trial and winning. His reputation was growing.
    Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they fired him , Harrison thought. Things were getting tricky. Every business walks a thin line between ethics and illegality. Being unethical was fine, but breaking the law could result in everybody going to prison.
    “ Where have you been?” Dylan pushed his plate of half-eaten omelet away. “I got things to do.”
    “ Things?” Harrison smiled. “Like what? I thought your brother was the one with the job.” He sat down at the table.
    Brian appreciated this little jab at Dylan. He gave Harrison a pat on the back, and the attorney’s tardiness and inflated billable hours were momentarily forgiven.
    “You wanted to meet with us?”
    “ I did.” Harrison directed his attention at Brian, ignoring Dylan’s tantrum. “I got word today from a contact that the do-gooder lawyer identified the body.”
    “You said they wouldn’t be able to identify it,” Brian said to Dylan accusingly.
    Dylan shook his head.
    “ I said they probably wouldn’t be able to identify it. No guarantees.”
    They all sat for a moment.
    Silence.
    Nobody wanted to say anything further. Brian thought of all the spy movies and cop shows featuring tiny recording devices. Keep up the wall , Brian thought. Deny everything .  
    Dylan, on the other hand, took the silence as an opportunity to finish his drink.
    Harrison raised his hand.
    “ There’s nothing for Jolly Boy to worry about,” he said. “You didn’t do anything, so there’s no link. Legal liability requires a link. No link, no liability and without liability there are no damages.”
    “Nor should there be any connection to Jolly Boy,” Brian added, thinking about the recording devices. He looked directly at his brother, and then continued with a loud, clear voice for the benefit of all of the imagined recording devices. “Jolly Boy had nothing to do with this person. He was merely an employee.”
    Dylan shook his head. They were all being stupid, overreacting. He could fix this.
    “So why are you telling us this? Do me and Maus gotta knock off this lawyer chick?”
    “ No,” Harrison said. He didn’t appreciate the mess that Dylan was making for him. Dylan thought it was just a game, but Harrison was forced to advise him.  Harrison cleared his throat.
    “ Do not knock off any person or any thing.”
    Brian added, “Because nothing needs knocking off.”
    Harrison continued.
    “ I’m telling you this so that you can be prepared for the press inquiries,” Harrison ticked through the basics of an appropriate response. “Express condolences. Admit that you only