Chapter 19: A Job and a Jab

Having gone to sleep early, we woke up before sunrise. Letting the young couple sleep, Devi left a gracious note of thanks and we left.

I had an interview early. We headed to the hotel room near the Justice Department and I showered, shaved and put on my most officious suit. Planning to head home after the interview, we checked out and Devi drove me to the building and waited in a nearby lot.

Except for months of inactivity my resume and calm and confident demeanor impressed the three officials: a lawyer, an office manager and a secretary.

"I had a difficult moment," I explained in regards to my unemployment. "After years working steadily, building my resume, improving my circumstance with little time for family, my wife left me taking my sons. That was the first blow, but I kept going, even remarried. But when my boss the King had a violent episode with his new wife and ended up going to the hospital, I ended up a casualty of circumstance as well."

"Why do you think that was?" asked the chubby bureaucrat, an intelligent question I expected.

"I'm not sure to tell you the truth. I knew his new wife. We worked together on rape cases at the crisis center he funded. My wife was her secretary. Of course we knew each other at the office and Beth and I often joined the boss at lunch. He seemed to love her completely and never looked at me like I might cuckold him. I mean Beth is certainly beautiful, but my wife I think is just as beautiful and look at me, a skinny little man nearing middle age. That Devi chose me to be her husband surprised the hell out of me. No way did I think I was in her league let alone Beth's. But whatever happened, he decided to blame me for his wife stabbing him and disappearing. So he let me go. Anyway not used to being cut free—I'm a guy that is used to being busy—I had a lapse of character and my second wife left me. For the first time in twenty years I had no job and no spouse and my kids lived somewhere else. I had never felt so alone and forgotten and disrespected, so I got lost. Thankfully I bumped into Amy Madison and rediscovered my purpose. That case and its success gave me back my life."

"And if it crashes again?" asked the young and ambitious male secretary. Of the three of them, the highest ranking, the lawyer, represented the female gender, although the secretary seemed more feminine. Of the three of them, the tall, big boned broad faced Italian lawyer, womanly in her curves, exuded power and command, mostly silently. I anticipated her questions to be the most cunning. She asked a couple, and they led to positive answers.

"Like I said," answering the secretary, "I worked hard and ambitiously without a break for twenty years. The months I suffered unemployment actually gave me perspective. I realized the importance of balancing the personal with the professional. For twenty years I obsessed over my career to the detriment of my relationships with family and friends. For a few months it was the personal. I feel both can be involved in my life. And that doesn't mean if a particularly difficult case comes along I won't spend every second necessary to succeed. But I'm not hanging my life off that slippery slope. I know I can be something besides just a lawyer. The civil case which got me back into the swing of things shows I can dedicate myself to the work and still have time to work out, study martial arts, be with friends and enjoy life. Also, I feel having perspective has let me get to know my kids again and has reinvigorated my relationship with my spouse. In fact I moved from New York as much to be with my family as to seek employment here or in Prince George's County."

"One last question," began the lawyer. "What do you see yourself doing here?"

"I realize my resume is richer with criminal cases, but I have always enjoyed contract, trade and aspects of business in relationship to law," I answered. "I wrote articles on business law which you may have read during my criminal law career, and my time working with the King I enjoyed immensely. However, being a rookie in your organization, I am willing to be placed at your discretion. I love my profession and will be proud to bring my talents to whatever suits you."

"Thank you, Mr. Solomon. Could you stay a moment? I'd like to talk to you alone," said the female lawyer. The others left. "How much do you know about the workings of the King's corporation?" she asked.

"Uhm, you know there's privilege..."

"I understand. Let me put it this way: Would you characterize what you saw from your legal perspective as above board?"

"If I were to say no, I suppose I might feel nervous. But I guess it would be on the King's head if things looked suspicious. But to tell you the truth, as far as I know, yes. True we made some aggressive moves, but he seemed to expect me to play by the rules."

"Yeah, I believe you. You weren't the hatchet man. And when he fired you, you found it difficult to get hired at anyplace worthy of your talent?"

"Yes Ma'am. I figured he blacklisted me."

"Would you consider that overplaying his card?"

"I certainly would."

"Do you know what I like about you? I mean there's a lot to recommend you. Your admirable record as an assistant DA and a criminal defense attorney shows you're good on our little improvisational stages. I mean just being interviewed here you showed skills at communication, eloquence, confidence, succinctness, and an ability to lure us to your side. But what I think you can bring to the Justice Department may surprise you. I have read many of your articles. I also examined the depositions and trial of your recent civil suit. I scrutinized that specific event because you didn't have the broad resources you had at past jobs and still managed to create a perfect case. It's as if you had a number in your head, and in order to get that number you couldn't overreach your mark or underplay it."

"Amy let me know how solvent Max was and I figured what would keep him that way in order for him to afford paying her."

"Exactly. I don't know if you'll like this, but I'm hiring you as an investigator. I want you to gather information using the resources and various experts here. Most importantly I want you to synthesize the information and form it into a prosecutorial approach."