Free The Dead Room by Robert Ellis

right now.”
    He turned away from the window and finally looked at her. She was in a hurry again. All worked up over nothing and shouting orders at him.
    “Who says it’s your case, Brooke?” he asked calmly.
    “I was in court yesterday,” she shot back. “It’s my case. Barnett said so.”
    “That was yesterday, and I appreciate what you did for me.”
    “What are you talking about? I spoke with Barnett last night. He said it’s my case until you’re finished with whatever you’re doing for him. He’s pulling all your cases.”
    Teddy had been in the office waiting for Barnett for more than an hour. When he tried reaching him by phone, he hit his voice mail just as he had last night. Teddy’s anger had subsided, and he was beginning to worry about the man. But now the anger was back. The feeling that he was being used.
    “What time did you talk to him last night?” he said.
    “After eleven. After you didn’t call me back. Now where are the files?”
    She pushed his mail aside and started going through his desk as if it were her own.
    “Please don’t do that,” he said.
    She picked up another file and opened it. She must not have heard him. Teddy stood up, stepping between her and the desk.
    “Get out,” he said.
    She stopped and gave him a look. Her eyes narrowed.
    “This is a favor,” she said. “Who wants a personal injury case anyway? I could care less.”
    “If you don’t care, then stop whining and get out.”
    “I’ve been here longer than you have. I’ve got more experience. Why is Barnett always asking you for help instead of coming to me?”
    “I don’t know, Brooke. I’m not a mind reader. I’m just asking you to leave.”
    He held her gaze, knowing she was seething. When she finally turned and stomped out, he sat back down and sighed in her wake. His head was throbbing, behind his eyes and just below the left temple. He opened his briefcase, grabbed the bottle of aspirin and popped the cap. As he chased the pills down with more hot coffee, he turned away from the door and looked at his office. Even though it was half the size of a partner’s office, he was grateful for the window and at least a partial view of the city. He slipped the bottle of aspirin into his jacket pocket and leaned back in the chair, gazing at the building across the street. He’d give Jones the files, he decided, but only if he had to. Only after he spoke with Barnett. There was still a chance Barnett could handle Oscar Holmes on his own from here on out. Still a chance Teddy could find his way back to the life he had before he stepped into the death house on Scottsboro Road.
    Jill Sykes tapped on the door and gave him an anxious look.
    “He’s here,” she said. “He wants to see you.”
    Teddy followed her into the hall, ignoring his natural attraction for her the way he always did. But as he swept past her, he could smell the shampoo in her light brown hair, the faint scent of her perfume. He caught the spark in her eyes, and glanced at her angular face. She looked fresh, as if she’d slept the whole night through.
    She smiled at him, then wished him luck. He nodded back, starting down the hall to the other side of the floor. When he turned the corner, he saw Brooke Jones exiting Barnett’s office with her tail down. Teddy filed the dirty look away as they passed each other and kept walking.
    He found Barnett seated at his desk going through a three-ring binder. Teddy moved closer, but didn’t sit down.
    “I thought we were gonna talk last night,” he said in an even tone.
    Barnett kept his eyes on the binder, scanning a page quickly, then turning to the next. “Sorry, Teddy. I had my hands full. How bad was it?”
    “About what you’d expect,” he said, “for a cannibal. You want to tell me what’s going on, or would you like me to guess?”
    Barnett finally looked up. Not at Teddy, but at Larry Stokes, co-founder of the firm, peeking in the doorway with obvious concern. Stokes was ten