Chapter 1

I snapped the battered briefcase shut after throwing the last of my files into it. My eight-year run as an ADA was over. The new District Attorney had let us all know our services were no longer needed. I could tell that things were going to go south as soon as the campaign started. Robert “don’t call me Bob” Ross was looking at a possible Attorney General run in the next four years and had made a deal to jump to Lansing if he should lose. To say his reelection campaign was lackadaisical would be an understatement. This left me as the last remaining team member that had put away the “Rape Brigade”. That case was a career maker for everyone but me. I had written most of the briefs and fact checked most of the leads. As the newest team member, I got all the shit assignments, but I worked my ass off to help put those monsters behind bars. It felt so good to hear the guilty verdicts roll in. It was also satisfying to see Andrea, the poor woman who blew the whistle on them, break down and cry with relief as they were sentenced to life in jail with no possibility of parole.

I grinned in remembrance of the thought that I was on my way. I even thought of myself as a wonderkid, after all my very first case was a headliner win. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. I found that while we were all trying to put away bad guys, we weren’t all on the same team. All the mobile attorneys had great conviction rates. Of course, most of them offered plea deals that were too good to pass up, but it counted as a conviction. Since I tended to stay to the letter of the law, my conviction rate was average at best. As I was boxing up my stuff, I now saw that I had been naive. I truly thought that the law was supposed to protect people. I really thought that if I did my job well things would turn out for me, I would be recognized. Maybe eventually I could use my record on crime to make a run in the political arena. But it was not to be. I now got to go tell my wife I was unemployed. Oh well, I had enough name recognition to get into a decent law firm specializing in riparian rights. With Michigan having so much water, specializing in water rights was almost as lucrative as specializing in mineral rights in Texas. I wouldn’t be taking criminals off the street, but I guess I could find some comfort in stopping developers from abusing our coastline.

On the drive home I thought about my wife, Heather. We had been together for ten years next April. She had her master’s in marketing and was the true star of her company. I thought ruefully about how our careers were going in different directions. I was going to be at the bottom of the ladder in a new firm at age 32 and she was rising to the level of junior vice president. I was so damn proud of her, but I admit I was a little jealous also. She had been making more than me for the past couple years and to her credit she never once mentioned the disparity in our incomes.

I was wondering what was on her mind recently. She had been pensive for the last six months, staring out into space at odd times. I knew her well enough to know she was contemplating something major. Of course, I had been in my own head also, trying to finish up cases in the two months before the regime change. I also knew she was going to have to figure it out on her own before she decided to tell me. Yes, my mind thought she could be having an affair, but I quickly dismissed it. We had talked at length about cheating. Both of us were of the opinion that if we found someone else, we would tell the other one and divorce before sleeping around. Lord knows it would hurt but at least we would be honest with one another. She was sitting in the kitchen of our McMansion when I got home. I could tell by the look on her face that she had something to discuss. She gave me a wan smile and started.

“Ben, I have the opportunity to grab a senior VP position, but it means I have to move to Toronto. I already accepted it and am leaving in two weeks. I am also asking for a divorce. I still love you, but I feel we have changed from the people we were when we got married and it is time to acknowledge it and move on.” she said in a rush.

My heart went from ecstatic to broken in milliseconds. Hours spent in the courtroom had given me the ability to compartmentalize and think on my feet, so I was glad that I was able to keep a neutral expression on my face. I took a breath and moved past her to the fridge to grab a beer.

“First congratulations on the promotion. I know how hard you work for the company and I am glad that they recognize you for it. Second, what the hell is this about a divorce? I know things have been difficult lately, but this is coming out of left field. I feel the need to ask the obvious question. Is there someone else?” I asked.

Tears were forming in her eyes.

“No Ben, there is no one else. Frankly there won’t be anyone for a while since I have to get myself situated and established in Toronto. The reason I want a divorce is because I need to focus on my career and I need someone who wants to advance with me. Ben you are a great guy and an excellent lawyer, but you are content where you are. I am not knocking that, it just doesn’t line up with the path I want to take. Please tell me you understand,” she pleaded.

“So, I am not successful enough for you anymore. I think I get it, marrying a guy who just made national headlines with a big win makes sense if you are climbing the corporate ladder, after seven years the money and prestige didn’t materialize so you are dumping the dead weight,” I replied bitterly.

She got angry.

“DAMMIT Ben that is not what I am saying,” she yelled. “Yes, I thought you were on your way up but that is because I knew you are a damn good lawyer and a damn good guy. If you really want to know what the problem is, it’s that you are too black and white. Do you know how hard it has been for me to watch you scuttle your career because you won’t bend even one inch to a potential ally? I know you know don’t want to play the politics, but it is stupid to ignore the fact that politics are played.”

“So you are leaving me because I am too stupid to play the silly little games when we should be focusing on doing our jobs and prosecuting criminals? I am sorry if I take my job of getting criminals off the street seriously,” I shot back.

“THIS is your problem Ben,” she said in a calmer voice. “You want to tilt at windmills. You want everyone to clap and pat you on the back when you get maximum sentencing for the mayor’s kid. Both of us know that you could have plead him down and still been within the sentencing guidelines. That is just one example. Here is one more recent, you knew you were going to get pushed out after the election. Did you even call Hank?”

“Cass, you know damn good and well I didn’t. Once his law firm took on the civil case against the police department, I wasn’t gonna go work for them. You forget I saw the body cam footage; the kid was still pointing his weapon at the cops even after he got shot. There was no way that Jenkins could have known the gun was fake. Jenkins unloading his clip was the proper response at the time with what was known.” I said, trying to keep my temper.

“So don’t take that case! They are already working on it so you wouldn’t be asked to join the team. You could take any other of their cases and gotten paid good money while making a name for yourself. But you don’t even call! You take a job with Grimm and Straus fighting over water rights for what will probably be a pay cut,” she said.

“Cass, this is a good fight, those developers are not only trying to close down the public access to the beach, but they are also pushing for bull dozing the dunes and building right up to the waterline. I can help stop them.” I told her.

“Ben, those are my newest clients. My bringing the Madison group into the fold is what gave me the final push to grab the VP slot. This is what I mean. I love you Ben, it kills me to see you shoot yourself in the foot constantly. If you were happy, I would be happy for you, but I know you’re miserable. I also know you literally CAN’T change. If you could have you would have by now. We need to both move on with our lives, Ben. You need to find what makes you happy and I need to do the same. We love each other but we aren’t making each other happy.” she said.

That was a kick to the gut. I have loved Cassandra since our first date, to realize that I wasn’t making her happy hurt physically. I took a few deep breaths.

“Babe, let me call Hank, I’m sure I can still get in with him. I’m sure I can grab some cases that will work for me. I know I have been miserable lately, but I didn’t realize I was making you unhappy babe, I just want you to be happy,” I told her as I started choking up.

She started crying also.

“Ben, I want you to be happy also, that is why I am leaving and we are going to go our separate ways. You would be miserable working for Hank. I think you are going to be miserable working for Grimm also but that’s another argument. I have spent the last seven years trying to figure out what I need to do to make you happy and successful and I have failed. You have to figure this out for yourself. I love you Ben, I really hope you find what you’re looking for but it’s not going to be with me. This is the part where I say I hope we can be friends or at least that you don’t hate me, but...” she said softly. She got up and walked out of the room.

The settlement was more than fair. Basically, all she was asking for was some clothes, some pictures, and her retirement account. She left me her Lexus, the house, my retirement and everything else. A little snooping found out that she would have company Bently and penthouse suite. Along with the five-figure signing bonus, she was gonna be okay. I thought briefly about trying to get spousal support but decided against it. Let’s face it, I was already a putz, did I need to have my wife paying my bills as well?

The next six months I took special delight in throwing up every roadblock I could on the beachside development. The Madison group probably wasn’t all that evil, they just wanted to build some high-end condos on the beach and keep the locals out of sight. Really, they just wanted to make a few bucks. I was on them like a honey badger. Every time the contractor sneezed, I had a motion for him. I especially delighted in bringing in experts to state that the blue fringed spring toad could possibly come back to the area and a quarter mile section right in the middle of the development was the perfect habitat. After they fought their way through that I hit them with a clause in the building and use restriction from 1910 that required a seven out of twelve majority from the city council to adjust building codes. Since they had cut the committee down to nine members in the 60’s they couldn’t get the required numbers. I did everything I could do and eventually won.