Short Straw Read Free Page B

home this morning, before he came to the courthouse.”
    “The man must have been stark raving.”
    “If so, nobody noticed, certainly not me,” the judge said. “Now Jimmy solved his own problem by eating his gun, but he didn’t solve mine.”
    “And what’s your problem, judge?”
    “Jimmy had three cases scheduled for trial in my court over the next six weeks: one fellow with half a dozen charges of burglary against him, another for repeated domestic abuse, and a triple murder. All were court-assigned. My guess is they’ll all eventually plead out, but we haven’t gotten around to that yet, and the public defender’s office is overwhelmed at the moment, so I’m going to appoint you three hombres to the cases, and I’m not in the mood to take no for an answer. Everybody got that?”
    Nobody said anything. This was an annoyance that came up from time to time, and since all three lawyers regularly tried cases in O’Hara’s court, they weren’t inclined to annoy him by begging off.
    The judge reached into his pocket and came up with three toothpicks. He broke one in half, an end off another and left the third whole. Behind his back he rearranged them, then held them up so the ends were visible. “Pick a straw, each of you.”
    The two lawyers on the sofa each took one, concealing them, then Eagle took the remaining one. Then they held them up.
    “Enrico,” the judge said, “you got the long straw, so you get the domestic abuse, so to speak; Dan, the medium straw and the burglar is yours; and Ed, you got the short straw. Boys, the burglar and the wife beater are in the city jail; Ed, your triple murderer is in the local hoosegow.” He handed each of them a file. “There are their particulars. I’ll expect to hear from you early next week on whether you want to go to trial.”
    Shit, Eagle thought. He didn’t want to think about this right now. “Thank you so much, judge,” he said.
    The judge got to his feet. “And let’s keep the hours down, boys; I don’t want you busting my budget.”
    Eagle shook the hands of all three men, and they left.
    Betty came in. “What did the judge want?”
    “He’s dragged me into a triple homicide,” Eagle replied.
    “Oh, was one of them Barbara?”
    “Nope.”
    “Too bad.”

Five
    E AGLE ARRIVED AT SANTA CAFÉ ON TIME AND FOUND Wolf Willett already at the bar, sipping bourbon. Eagle ordered a Laphroaig, his favorite single-malt Scotch.
    “I don’t know why you drink that stuff,” Wolf said, nodding at the amber liquid in Eagle’s hand.
    “Nectar of the gods,” Eagle replied, “unlike that Kentucky horse piss you drink.”
    “It’s the patriotic thing to do,” Wolf replied, raising his glass. “Unlike that foreign camel sweat you imbibe. How’d the party go today?”
    “The way it was supposed to, I guess,” Eagle said.
    “You don’t sound too happy about it. Or is it the thing with Barbara that’s got you down.”
    “Jesus, Wolf, I was in love with the woman, really I was.”
    “I was in love with Julia, too, right up to the moment when she tried to kill me and take my money. At least, Barbara didn’t try to kill you.”
    “Maybe she did. She put Ambien in my wine last night; I found the bottle in her bathroom, empty. Maybe she didn’t use enough; maybe she forgot to refill the prescription.”
    “You didn’t see this coming, then?”
    “I guess that’s what really pisses me off. I pride myself on being able to read people, but man, I didn’t read her.”
    The head waitress came to the bar. “Your table is ready, Mr. Willett, Mr. Eagle.”
    They got up and followed her into the next room, where she seated them by the fireplace. The aromas of piñon smoke and good food filled the space. They ordered dinner and a bottle of wine.
    “Are you going to put the cops on her?” Wolf asked.
    Eagle shook his head. “She hasn’t broken the law, just me.”
    “She steals what, a million two? And that doesn’t break the law?”
    “She was