The Anonymous Client

2

There was also a letter.

Mr. Winslow: I am in a desperate situation and require your services. The matter is extremely delicate and must be handled with the utmost discretion. Enclosed find a retainer of $10,000.

Steve Winslow read it out loud. He frowned, and looked at the letter again. He looked up to find Tracy glaring at him accusingly. “You did this, didn’t you?” she said.

He stared at her. “What?”

“You did this. Because of the books I read. You did it as a joke. Well, fine. You didn’t know I was giving notice. But after I did, not to tell me … well, it isn’t funny.”

Steve shook his head. “What, are you nuts?”

“No. You did this, right? You put the ten thousand dollars in there.”

“Are you kidding?” Steve said. “I don’t have ten thousand dollars. If I did, I sure wouldn’t put it in an envelope and give it to you.”

“You didn’t?”

“No. Of course not.”

Tracy stared at him. “You mean …?”

“What?”

“You mean it’s real?”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know. It could be counterfeit, but it looks real to me. Frankly, I’ve never seen a thousand dollar bill before.”

“No, no. I mean, someone actually sent this to you.”

“They sure did.”

Tracy’s jaw dropped open. “Holy shit!”

Steve smiled. “My sentiments exactly.”

Tracy’s face was struggling through a myriad of reactions. “But, Jesus Christ. I mean, hey look. I’m sorry. I just thought … I mean, seeing that letter, and-”

“Yeah,” Steve said. “That’s what I would have thought too. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you put that ten grand in there to needle me.”

Tracy could hardly contain herself. “So it’ s real. It happened. Someone just sent you ten thousand bucks!”

Steve frowned. “Yeah.”

Tracy looked at him. “What’s the matter?”

Steve shook his head. This was his day to disillusion her, all right. “I can’t keep it.”

Tracy’s jaw dropped open again. “What?”

Steve held up the letter that had been in the envelope with the money. “Did you read this?” he said.

“Yes.”

“It’s typewritten and unsigned.”

“I know. That’s what makes it so interesting.”

Steve shook his head. “That’s the problem.”

“What is?”

“This is an anonymous letter. An anonymous retainer.”

“Yeah. So?”

“So I can’t keep it.”

“Why not?”

“I’m Sheila Benton’s attorney. I handle her affairs. I can’t take any other case unless I’m sure there won’t be a conflict of interest.”

“Why would there be?”

“I have no idea. But until I know for sure, I can’t accept this retainer.”

Tracy couldn’t believe it. Or didn’t want to believe it. “But that’s ridiculous,” she said. “There isn’t the slightest chance in the world this has anything to do with Sheila Benton. It would be an incredible coincidence.”

“Even if that were true, I couldn’t discount the possibility. But it’s not.”

“Why not?’

“Think about it,” Steve said. “I have no law practice what-so-ever. No one knows about me. The only people who know I’m practicing law at all are people connected with Sheila Benton.”

Tracy’s face clouded. “Oh. But …”

“But what?”

“Oh,” she said in helpless frustration. “You can’t give it back.”

Steve smiled. “Now there you are absolutely right. I don’t know who it came from, so I can’t give it back. Which puts me in a hell of a position. I can’t keep it, and I can’t give it back.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Well,” Steve said. “First thing, let’s find out where it came from. Tell you what. Call the Taylor Detective Agency and see if you can get Mark Taylor on the phone for me.”

“Right away,” Tracy said. She turned and headed for the outer office.

“Hey, where you going?” Steve said.

She turned back in the doorway. “To look up the number on the Rolodex.”

After the hard time Tracy had been giving him, Steve couldn’t resist the shot. “Della Street never had to look up Paul Drake’s number,” he said.

Tracy made a face. “Hey, fuck you,” she said.”

“She never said that either.”