Equivocal Death Read online

  shortly. “You’re going to have to handle this without me.”

  3

  After Madeleine hung up, she looked reflectively at Kate. “So 4

  where were we?” she said.

  5

  Damn. Kate had been sure that the meeting was near an end.

  6

  She blinked against the harsh winter light that poured through the 7

  plate-glass windows and tried to gather her thoughts. She hadn’t 8

  slept well last night — postvacation fatigue coupled with Thorpe 9

  case adrenaline — and today she was feeling the effects.

  10

  “I was saying that the threshold question is whether the plaintiff 11

  welcomed Chuck Thorpe’s advances. Obviously, that’s a factual is-12

  sue.”

  13

  “Obviously.” Madeleine’s lips curved softly. Again, Kate thought 14

  of the smiling sphinx. A winged creature with the head of a 15

  woman.

  16

  Madeleine had stood up and was walking away from her desk, 17

  toward a floor-to-ceiling bookcase across the room. Kate turned to 18

  watch as she scanned the shelves briefly, then pulled out a large 19

  paperback. Heading back to her desk, Madeleine handed the vol-20

  ume to Kate.

  21

  “You might want to take a look at this,” she said. “For back-22

  ground. Historical interest.”

  23

  Kate glanced at the book. Sexual Harassment of Working Women 24

  by Catharine A. MacKinnon. She was momentarily dumbfounded.

  25

  Catharine MacKinnon was probably the nation’s most well known 26

  feminist legal scholar. She’d also been a prime mover in the anti-27

  pornography movement, one of its earliest and most vigilant ac-28

  tivists. Hardly inspirational reading for a lawyer defending Chuck 29

  Thorpe.

  30

  “I read some of MacKinnon’s work in law school,” Kate said, try-31

  ing to muster an air of detachment while she figured out where this 32

  was leading. “It’s interesting, but . . . doesn’t she say that sexual re-33

  lations between men and women are never consensual?”

  ort 34

  “Something like that.” Madeleine smiled. She did not seem in-reg 35

  clined to continue.

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  E Q U I V O C A L D E A T H

  2 5

  In the silence that followed, Kate’s eyes scanned the room. As a 1

  general rule, partners’ suites were dense with signs of their private 2

  lives — family photos, mementos from past victories, children’s 3

  artwork. However, this human detritus was notably absent from 4

  Madeleine’s office. Hanging on the back wall was a single abstract 5

  oil — a vibrant composition of blues, greens, and orange. If they 6

  shared nothing else, Madeleine and Carter seemed to share a taste 7

  for the modern. Though since Madeleine was younger and a 8

  woman, Kate found her choices less surprising. Was it Madeleine 9

  who’d shaped Mills’s taste?

  10

  Aside from the painting, the only other item on the ivory walls 11

  was a black-and-white photograph behind Madeleine’s desk. A 12

  rugged coastline, waves cresting against huge rocks. Kate found 13

  herself staring at the image. She sensed Madeleine watching her.

  14

  “That’s a wonderful picture,” Kate said. She wasn’t sure what to 15

  say next.

  16

  Madeleine’s face softened as she turned to look at the picture.

  17

  “A good friend of mine took that many years ago,” she said. “I’ve 18

  always had it with me.” Then she looked back at Kate.

  19

  “How long have you been at Samson & Mills?”

  20

  The question caught Kate off guard. “Just over a year, I guess.”

  21

  Abruptly, Madeleine stood up. As if she’d reached some sort of 22

  decision. Circling her desk, she came up alongside Kate’s chair.

  23

  Leaning forward, she grasped her shoulder. “You need to be very 24

  careful.” Her green eyes glittered. Her fingers dug into Kate’s flesh.

  25

  “There are things —”

  26

  Again, the phone rang. After a brief hesitation, Madeleine re-27

  leased Kate’s shoulder and went back to her desk.

  28

  “Yes, Carter?” This time, Kate could hear nothing from the 29

  other end of the line. Madeleine’s head was bowed. Kate couldn’t 30

  make out her expression. She felt a sharp tingling sensation on her 31

  skin where Madeleine’s hand had been.

  32

  Moments later, the call was over. Madeleine seemed once again 33

  preoccupied as she pulled open a drawer and began to rifle through 34 sh

  its contents. When she spoke, she didn’t look up. “There’s some-35 re

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  2 6

  A M Y G U T M A N

  1

  thing I need to take care of,” she said. “We’ll have to finish this 2

  later.”

  3

  w

  4

  1 p.m. It was time. He’d put it off as long as he could. Any further 5

  delay and he might not reach her. Of course, he’d logged on to 6

  Samson’s computer network to check Madeleine’s calendar. That 7

  was a daily practice. Click in. Click out. He knew she was in for 8

  the afternoon. Conference call on some boring Micro-Net matter 9

  at three. A new client prospect at four.

  10

  He picked up the phone, punched in her number.

  11

  Breathe in, breathe out. Everything will be fine.

  12

  “Madeleine Waters’s office. How may I help you?” He recog-13

  nized the voice of Carmen Rodriguez, Madeleine’s secretary. So far 14

  so good.

  15

  “I’m calling from Chuck Thorpe’s office. Mr. Thorpe has had a 16

  slight change of schedule. He’d appreciate it if Ms. Waters could 17

  meet him an hour earlier than planned. At seven instead of eight.”

  18

  Good. Take control. Remind her that you’re the client. You set the 19

  terms.

  20

  “Just one moment. Let me check with Ms. Waters.” He heard 21

  the click of the hold button. And then the interminable wait.

  22

  Say yes, say yes, say yes.

  23

  Finally, another click. Carmen Rodriguez was back. “That will 24

  be fine. Ms. Waters will meet Mr. Thorpe at seven o’clock at Or-25

  mond.”

  26

  “Thank you. Mr. Thorpe very much appreciates the accommo-27

  dation.”

  28

  “You’re quite welcome.”

  29

  Yes.

  30

  w

  31

  Kate leaned against the doorway of Andrea Lee’s office, waiting 32

  for her phone call to be over. Kate could barely make out the top 33

  of Andrea’s sleek black hair, bobbing rhythmically behind the ort 34

  stacks of Federal Reporters and Westlaw printouts piled high on her reg 35

  desk. But her emphatic tones were unmistakable.

  9
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  E Q U I V O C A L D E A T H

  2 7

  “This is outrageous,” Andrea declaimed. “We’re absolutely enti-1

  tled to see the customer service files. If we don’t have them by to-2

  morrow, we’re filing a motion to compel.”

  3

  Kate grinned at the familiar scene. Born in Hong Kong and 4

  raised in New York, Andrea was a one-woman rebuttal to the myth 5

  of the retiring Asian woman. They’d met as summer associates and 6

  bonded during their first year of work when they both ended up on 7

  a nightmarish document review on one of Martin Drescher’s cases.

  8

  As the two most junior lawyers on the team, Kate and Andrea had 9

  put in more than their share of all-nighters, drinking gallons of cof-10

  fee and sending out for endless amounts of sushi, pizza, and Chi-11

  nese food. Both of them had billed upward of ninety hours a week 12

  during that insane six months. They’d also become fast friends.

  13

  Now, as if sensing Kate’s presence, Andrea glanced up. Her eyes 14

  widened, and a broad smile broke across her face. Signaling to Kate 15

  to wait, she returned to her caller.

  16

  “I think we’ve said about all there is to say, Tim.” Andrea’s fea-17

  tures once again reflected an icy intransigence. “We know your po-18

  sition. Now you know ours. I have a meeting.”

  19

  As she slammed down the phone, and jumped up to hug Kate, 20

  the familiar grin reclaimed her face. Kate returned the smile, 21

  amused by her friend’s seamless shifts from power lawyer to gal pal.

  22

  She wondered if she did the same thing herself.

  23

  “You look great!” said Andrea, releasing Kate from a quick em-24

  brace. “Can’t wait to hear about the Caribbean. Ready for lunch?”

  25

  “Yep.” Kate glanced around the sunlit room. Except for the 26

  view — Andrea’s windows faced directly west, looking over the 27

  Hudson River — their offices were identical. But while Kate’s 28

  walls were bare except for her Harvard diploma, Andrea’s were 29

  covered with colorful posters of the far-flung places that she loved 30

  to visit. Kate saw that a raging Chilean river now occupied the 31

  place of honor to the right of Andrea’s desk.

  32

  “The Futaleufu,” Andrea beamed. “Some of the best white wa-33

  ter in the world. We’re going in February. It’ll be summer down 34 sh

  there.”

  35 re

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  A M Y G U T M A N

  1

  “We” referred to Andrea and her husband, Brent, an investment 2

  banker. While both held high-powered corporate jobs, they were 3

  perennially broke due to their endless appetite for wilderness adven-4

  ture. Andrea made no secret of why she stayed at Samson: money 5

  pure and simple. Money to travel and pay off her law school loans.

  6

  “Better you than me,” said Kate. “From the looks of things, I’d 7

  stay afloat three minutes tops.”

  8

  “Foolish girl. You’d love it if you’d give it a try.” Andrea grabbed 9

  her purse. “Shall we?”

  10

  11

  12

  The noise level in the cafeteria had already reached a steady din by 13

  the time Andrea and Kate, lunch trays in hand, headed toward a 14

  corner table. It was the usual scene. Tables of slick-haired young 15

  men, ties tossed over their shoulders. A few scattered clusters of 16

  women, mainly secretaries and other support staffers.

  17

  “Return to GQ Central,” Kate whispered to Andrea, who re-18

  sponded with a short laugh.

  19

  “How do you explain the shortage of females at this firm?” Kate 20

  asked, after they had settled into their chairs. “There must be five 21

  men for every woman. What was the count for last summer’s asso-22

  ciate class? More than sixty guys and only eight of us, right?”

  23

  “Well, it’s a little like this at any white-shoe firm,” said Andrea.

  24

  Her eyes narrowed as she studied a colorful concoction of rice noo-25

  dles and bean sprouts that she’d spooned off the salad bar. Samson’s 26

  latest foray into Asian cuisine. “We don’t eat this cold — why 27

  would you? ” she muttered. “Why do they even bother? Each dish is 28

  more preposterous than the last.”

  29

  “Kitchen diversity. So you’re practically the only Asian associ-30

  ate. At least the cooking can be pluralistic.”

  31

  “Good point.” Andrea shoved the salad aside and picked up her 32

  cheeseburger. “Who needs noodles anyway? You want to know 33

  what I really think?”

  ort 34

  “About noodles? ”

  reg 35

  “No, about the woman thing. It’s to keep costs down. Samson 9858_01_003-152_r5hb.qxd 9/28/00 3:57 PM Page 29

  E Q U I V O C A L D E A T H

  2 9

  offers great maternity benefits. Four months of paid leave. Looks 1

  great when the firm gets written up in American Law. Very progres-2

  sive. Very PC. But what would happen if half the associates were 3

  actually taking it? Need I say more?”

  4

  “Hmm. Isn’t that just a little bit cynical?”

  5

  Andrea raised her eyebrows in mock horror. “Oh my God, how 6

  can you say such things about me?” She popped a french fry into 7

  her mouth.

  8

  “Then again,” Kate said, “you could have a point.” She turned 9

  to her own cheeseburger, took a large bite, and chewed. “Did you 10

  get away at all over the holidays?”

  11

  “Nope. I’m saving up all my vacation for February. I’ve put in for 12

  three weeks,” Andrea said absently. She was looking over Kate’s 13

  shoulder. “When is that girl going to get married?”

  14

  “What are you talking about?”

  15

  “Behind you. Angela Taylor. She’s showing off that ring again.

  16

  It’s her sole topic of conversation. That and Ally McBeal. ”

  17

  Kate craned her neck to look at Angela Taylor. She was wearing 18

  a sleek navy suit that set off her preppie good looks. Her left hand 19

  was extended for appraisal by another young lawyer of similar type 20

  and vintage. “I don’t get it,” Kate said. “She went to law school at 21

  Yale. Clerked in the Southern District. It’s strange, isn’t it?”

  22

  “Not really,” said Andrea. “Just because you’re smart doesn’t 23

  mean you can’t be superficial. Angela Taylor has it all. Hey, speak-24

  ing of weddings, guess who else is getting hitched.”

  25

  “Who?”

  26

  “Susan Deveraux.”

  27

  Kate stared at Andrea. Susan Deveraux was a senior associate 28

  and one of a handful of Samson attorneys known to be openly gay.

  29

&nbs
p; She was a fixture at on-campus recruitment events, where even the 30

  most competitive law students sometimes clung to vestiges of an 31

  early idealism, demanding that firms show diversity in their hiring 32

  practices.

  33

  “You mean she’s . . . marrying a woman?” Kate asked.

  34 sh

  “Nope. A guy. A lawyer for Dewhurst Securities.”

  35 re

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  A M Y G U T M A N

  1

  Kate stared at Andrea uncomprehendingly.

  2

  “Hey, it’s not so complicated, Kate. Susan’s up for partner next 3

  year. Get it? The fiancé’s just the latest stage of a transformation.

  4

  Come on, you must have noticed. First she lost the short haircut.

  5

  Then she went blond. The wedding was only a matter of time.”

  6

  Kate sat back in her chair as the pieces fell into place. But An-7

  drea was already moving on. “Hey, I got an e-mail from Collins yes-8

  terday.” Craig Collins was a former colleague, an associate who’d 9

  left the firm a few months back to start a judicial clerkship.

  10

  “Does he still like clerking?” Kate asked.

  11

  “Loves it. Says that when you get rid of both the partners and 12

  the clients, it’s amazing how much better the profession gets.”

  13

  Kate giggled. “Makes sense to me.”

  14

  Andrea picked up another french fry. “So how are things on the 15

  WideWorld watch? That’s quite a case you’ve got.”

  16

  Kate sneaked a hand toward Andrea’s plate for a fry; she’d re-17

  solved to skip the added calories today but now regretted her deci-18

  sion. She chewed ruminatively, her eyes lingering on a large and 19

  indifferent painting on the opposite wall, a run-of-the-mill land-20

  scape that reflected both great diligence and an utter absence of 21

  native talent. There were canvases like this all over the building, 22

  prominently hung in out-of-the-way rooms and hallways, a conces-23

  sion of sorts to familial pressures. Partner-wife art, Andrea called it.

  24

  “Say, what do you know about Madeleine Waters?”

  25

  Andrea leaned the side of her head on a hand. “Not a lot,” she 26

  said. “Just the rumors about her and Mills. I’ve been wondering 27

  about her myself.”

  28

  “Why’s that?”

  29

  “The last few days, I’ve been doing some work again for 30

  Drescher.”

  31