Rage of Angels

One of them straightened up. ‘I am.’

‘I have a little job for you …’ Jennifer began.

‘Sorry, miss. Too busy.’

‘This will only take five minutes.’

‘No. Impossible to –’

‘I’ll pay you one hundred dollars.’

The three men stopped to look at her. The chief gardener said, ‘You pay us one hundred dollars for five minutes’ work?’

‘That’s right.’

‘What we have to do …?’

Five minutes later, the gardener’s truck pulled into the driveway of William Carlisle’s estate and Jennifer and the three gardeners got out. Jennifer looked around, selected a beautiful tree next to the front door and said to the gardeners, ‘Dig it up.’

They took their spades from the truck and began to dig. Before a minute had gone by, the front door burst open and an enormous man in a butler’s uniform came storming out.

‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

‘Long Island Nursery,’ Jennifer said crisply. ‘We’re takin’ out all these trees.’

The butler stared at her. ‘You’re what?’

Jennifer held up a piece of paper. ‘I have an order here to dig up these trees.’

‘That’s impossible! Mr Carlisle would have a fit!’ He turned to the gardeners. ‘You stop that!’

‘Look, mister,’ Jennifer said, ‘I’m just doin’ my job.’ She looked at the gardeners. ‘Keep diggin’, fellas.’

‘No!’ the butler shouted. ‘I’m telling you there’s been a mistake! Mr Carlisle didn’t order any trees dug up.’

Jennifer shrugged and said, ‘My boss says he did.’

‘Where can I get in touch with your boss?’

Jennifer looked at her watch. ‘He’s out on a job in Brooklyn. He should be back in the office around six.’

The butler glared at her, furious. ‘Just a minute! Don’t do anything until I return.’

‘Keep diggin’,’ Jennifer told the gardeners.

The butler turned and hurried into the house, slamming the door behind him. A few moments later the door opened and the butler returned, accompanied by a tiny middle-aged man.

‘Would you mind telling me what the devil is going on here?’

‘What business is it of yours?’ Jennifer demanded.

‘I’ll tell you what business it is of mine,’ he snapped. ‘I’m William Carlisle and this happens to be my property.’

‘In that case, Mr Carlisle,’ Jennifer said, ‘I have something for you.’ She reached in her pocket and put the summons in his hand. She turned to the gardeners. ‘You can stop digging now.’

Early the next morning Adam Warner telephoned. Jennifer recognized his voice instantly.

‘I thought you would like to know,’ Adam said, ‘that the disbarment proceedings have been officially dropped. You have nothing more to worry about.’

Jennifer closed her eyes and said a silent prayer of thanks. ‘I – I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done.’

‘Justice isn’t always blind.’

Adam did not mention the scene he had had with Stewart Needham and Robert Di Silva. Needham had been disappointed, but philosophical.

The District Attorney had carried on like a raging bull. ‘You let that bitch get away with this? Jesus Christ, she’s Mafia, Adam! Couldn’t you see that? She’s conning you!’

And on and on, until Adam had tired of it.

‘All the evidence against her was circumstantial, Robert. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time and she got mousetrapped. That doesn’t spell Mafia to me.’

Finally Robert Di Silva had said, ‘Okay, so she’s still a lawyer. I just hope to God she practices in New York, because the minute she sets foot in any of my courtrooms, I’m going to wipe her out.’

Now, talking to Jennifer, Adam said nothing of this. Jennifer had made a deadly enemy, but there was nothing that could be done about it. Robert Di Silva was a vindictive man, and Jennifer was a vulnerable target. She was bright and idealistic and achingly young and lovely.

Adam knew he must never see her again.

There were days and weeks and months when Jennifer was ready to quit. The sign on the door still read Jennifer Parker, Attorney at Law, but it did not deceive anyone, least of all Jennifer. She was not practicing law: Her days were spent running around in rain and sleet and snow, delivering subpoenas and summonses to people who hated her for it. Now and then she accepted a pro bono case, helping the elderly get food stamps, solving various legal problems of ghetto blacks and Puerto Ricans and other underprivileged people. But she felt trapped.

The nights were worse than the days. They were endless, for Jennifer had insomnia and when she did sleep, her dreams were filled with demons. It had begun the night her mother had deserted Jennifer and her father, and she had not been able to exorcise whatever it was that was causing her nightmares.

She was consumed by loneliness. She went out on occasional dates with young lawyers, but inevitably she found herself comparing them to Adam Warner, and they all fell short. There would be dinner and a movie or a play, followed by a struggle at her front door. Jennifer was never sure whether they expected her to go to bed with them because they had bought her dinner, or because they had had to climb up and down four steep flights of stairs. There were times when she was strongly tempted to say Yes, just to have someone with her for the night, someone to hold, someone to share herself with. But she needed more in her bed than a warm body that talked; she needed someone who cared, someone for whom she could care.

The most interesting men who propositioned Jennifer were all married, and she flatly refused to go out with any of them. She remembered a line from Billy Wilder’s wonderful film The Apartment: ‘When you’re in love with a married man you shouldn’t wear mascara.’ Jennifer’s mother had destroyed a marriage, had killed Jennifer’s father. She could never forget that.

Christmas came and New Year’s Eve, and Jennifer spent them alone. There had been a heavy snowfall and the city looked like a gigantic Christmas card. Jennifer walked the streets, watching pedestrians hurrying to the warmth of their homes and families, and she ached with a feeling of emptiness. She missed her father terribly. She was glad when the holidays were over. Nineteen seventy is going to be a better year, Jennifer told herself.

On Jennifer’s worst days, Ken Bailey would cheer her up. He took her out to Madison Square Garden to watch the Rangers play, to a disco club and to an occasional play or movie. Jennifer knew he was attracted to her, and yet he kept a barrier between them.

In March, Otto Wenzel decided to move to Florida with his wife.

‘My bones are getting too old for these New York winters,’ he told Jennifer.

‘I’ll miss you.’ Jennifer meant it. She had grown genuinely fond of him.

‘Take care of Ken.’

Jennifer looked at him quizzically.