“Mr. Sturmack, may I be frank?”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“You and I have met only this evening; you know little about me or my skills; why do you want me to represent you?”
“Stone, I know a great deal more about you than you think: I know about your record with the NYPD, I know about the major cases you’ve handled, and I know about how you handle yourself”
“You must understand that Woodman and Weld make some demands on my time, and it’s an association I value; I couldn’t undertake to represent you as my only client.”
“Of course I understand that, Stone. I’m not making this offer off the top of my head.”
“You don’t seem the sort of man who would do that,” Stone said.
“You’re right. Understand, a great deal of what I want from a lawyer is his personal skills—the way he handles himself in a situation. I like to avoid litigation when possible, but I like to get my way, too.”
Stone smiled. “All clients do. David, I really don’t think I can give you an answer immediately. Of course, your proposal is extremely attractive, but I think I’d have to talk with Bill Eggers about it, preferably in person, and I expect to be here for another week, maybe longer.”
“Of course. Tell you what: I’m jammed up for the next few days, but I expect to be in New York late next week. Why don’t you and I sit down and talk about it then. I’ll gather some specifics on my current situation, and we can discuss the workload.”
“That sounds very good.” They exchanged cards, shook hands, and rejoined the other guests.
Over coffee, Stone exchanged a glance with Betty Southard and nodded toward the door. She smiled and nodded, and after a moment, he said his goodbyes to his host and left, a minute behind her.
8
Stone pulled into the Bel-Air parking lot and surrendered the car. In the lobby, he had to ask where the bar was. The room surprised him; it was more English than Californian, darkly paneled, with a blazing fire in a handsome fireplace. He found Betty already seated on a small sofa near the fireplace, a waiter hovering nearby; it was only a little after ten, but there were few people in the room.
He sat down beside her and ordered a brandy. “Thanks for coming; I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk more at the party.”
“Oh, it was my job to shepherd Arlene, the journalist, around the place; Vance didn’t want her talking to any one person for too long. He was very nervous about having her there at all; I still can’t figure out why he wanted her, and he wouldn’t tell me when I asked.”
“I’m sure he had his reasons,” Stone said, a little uncomfortable with knowing something she didn’t. “Does he confide in you about everything?”
“Not necessarily; it’s just that I work so closely with him that it’s hard to hide anything.” She smiled. “Say, you were quite a hit at the party.”
Stone squirmed in his seat. “Aren’t they that nice to everybody?”
She shook her head. “Normally, an out-of-town lawyer at a party like that would find himself talking to the wallpaper.”
“So how come I’m so popular?”
“You’re a handsome man they’ve read about in the papers, you’re younger than most of the other men there, and you’re the personal guest in town of their host, who is a major movie star.”
“And what was all that about the screen test?”
“Have you seen the test?”
“Yes. I found it excruciating.”
She laughed. “I saw it in a room with a dozen secretaries who’d heard about it, and there was a heavy scent of vaginal juices in the air.”
“Stop it!” he groaned.
“I believe you really are embarrassed,” she said, surprised.
“The whole thing is humiliating.”
“Forgive me; I’m accustomed to actors, any one of whom would have understood immediately what that test meant to his future in this town.”