The Perfect Block

“Nice to meet you, counselor,” Hernandez replied with a tone that suggested he wasn’t being entirely sincere. “I’m sure your client will tell you that we’ve been nothing but gentlemen prior to your arrival.”

Missinger nodded.

“They’ve just been reconfirming stuff,” he said quietly.

“That’s right,” Hernandez agreed. “But now that you’re here, Mr. Kolson, we’d love to get a little clarity on some timeline-related matters.”

“You’re welcome to try. But I reserve the right to advise Mr. Missinger to refuse to answer anything I think is out of bounds. And I will pull him if I deem it appropriate. Mr. Missinger wants to help get to the bottom of this horrible event. I trust it won’t be a witch hunt.”

“Of course, not,” Hernandez said, pretending not to be troubled by the very developments he was concerned would happen.

“Give us a moment to confer, privately, would you?” Kolson said.

“Sure,” Hernandez said. “We’ll be back momentarily.”

A few seconds later he and Trembley stepped into the observation room and looked at Missinger huddling quietly with his lawyer.

“We’re not going to get anything out of this guy,” Hernandez said, dispirited. “His lawyer is going to advise him not to answer anything of consequence. When we go back in there, he’s going to shut down every path we take.”

“Maybe not,” Jessie said, still studying the screen.

“What do you mean?” Hernandez asked.

“This Kolson guy isn’t a criminal lawyer. He may be putting on a good show but he’s the corporate attorney for Ecofund Investment Partners, Missinger’s hedge fund.”

“Does it really matter?” Trembley asked. “He’s still not going to let us start peppering his client with probing questions.”

“No,” Jessie agreed. “But Kolson’s legal obligation is ultimately to the fund, not to Missinger personally. If we can get Missinger to believe that his interests and his attorneys aren’t aligned, maybe he’ll say something useful.”