Riptide (Sam McRae Mystery 3)

A long silence. I fought the urge to lecture her on the wisdom of oversharing information.

“I’m sorry, Sam,” she said, finally. “I didn’t realize at the time I gave her your card that we’d end up disagreeing about the fee or that the group would be so divided. That was dumb.”

“Look, don’t beat yourself up over it, okay?”

“It just pisses me off, because I’m supposed to be the spokesperson for the group on this. Now, how can we work together effectively if Ariel is going behind my back? I could kick myself.”

“Linda, if I had a dime for every mistake I’ve made, I’d retire and move to the Bahamas. Think of it this way. We’re really at an advantage.”

“In what way?”

“The next time Ariel calls, I’ll know exactly where she’s coming from. She won’t know that I know.”

Linda laughed. “Thanks, Sam. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

“Nonsense. All in day’s work for an attorney,” I said. “Rest easy, Linda. Let me worry about handling Ariel. Assholes are my specialty.”

If only I had known then that I was taking on a case with way more assholes than one person could ever hope to handle.