Chapter 5

Eugene was at Jarrod's townhouse when his older brother came home, looking exhausted. "Paper," Jarrod said. "Too much reading. I'm for the Green Man. How about you?"

Eugene said, "I'm ready."

"No dinner in tonight, Mr. Barkley?" Charles asked.

"No, Charles," Jarrod said. "You can head on home as soon as we're out the door, and have a good day off with your family tomorrow. I'll see you again Monday morning."

Charles nodded.

Jarrod took the stairs, a weary one at a time, but when he came down in a clean shirt and better suit, he looked refreshed. He and Eugene were out the door almost before Charles could wish them good night.

Saturday night. The Green Man was already getting to be crowded but Donna spotted them come in and nodded toward a small table toward the back. They took it, and she was beside them right away. "The usual drinks, gentlemen?" she asked.

Eugene nodded, but Jarrod said, "No, I think I'll have a little red wine with my dinner tonight."

"What the green man? No scotch?" Donna asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Just some red wine and big fat steak," Jarrod said. "And 'what the green man'? Is it San Francisco bars tonight?"

Donna shook her head. "You're way off, Mr. Barkley. A steak for you too, Mr. Barkley?" she asked, looking at Eugene.

"Why not?" Eugene asked.

"Rare for both of you?"

They both nodded.

As Donna walked away, back toward the bar, Eugene said to Jarrod, "You really get into this game, don't you?"

"I always like to win, no matter what I'm playing," Jarrod said. And sighed. "Which is why this case of mine is driving me crazy."

"Don't think about it now," Eugene suggested. "Put it out of your mind and things might click better for you tomorrow. That's what I do the night before an exam – I put it all away."

"I used to do the same thing," Jarrod said. Then he happened to look up and see something. "Oh, my."

Eugene tried to look. "What?"

Jarrod sighed. "The fellow at the bar talking to Sandy. Don't you recognize him?"

Eugene looked closer. He was looking at his back, but then he slowly realized he had looked a lot at that back a few days ago. "That's the lawyer opposing you in your case right now."

Jarrod nodded. "Elliot Switzer. I'd like to go over there and throttle him for all the surprise testimony he's stirring up."

"Better not," Eugene said. "You'll miss your steak and lose the game when they run you out of the bar."

"You're right," Jarrod said.

It took a few moments, but Donna came back with their drinks, saying, "We're pretty busy tonight. Things might move a little slower."

"We're not in any hurry," Eugene said. "Are you and I still on for tomorrow afternoon?"

Donna smiled and nodded. Then she said, "Your friend Mr. Switzer is there at the bar. Did you notice?"

"I noticed," Jarrod said. "But he's not my friend. Does he come here often?"

"Now and then," Donna said. "He's never talked to me much or taken a guess at my game. But I know who he is. I saw him sign a tab once. He's the opposing counsel in that Bolen trial of yours, isn't he?"

"He is," Jarrod said. "I wonder what he's talking to your uncle about."

"All I heard was a complaint about the whiskey," Donna said. "Mr. Switzer doesn't seem to be in a very good mood tonight. I'll be back with your dinner as soon as it's ready."

She went off again and went about waiting on her other customers. Jarrod kept glancing up at Switzer. "Well, for a man with complaints about the whiskey, he's drinking it. He just had his glass refilled."

"You need to quit watching him, Jarrod," Eugene said. "You'll be giving yourself an ulcer."

Jarrod did try to stop looking at Switzer, and as soon as their steaks came, he did turn his attention to his food. It was good. It settled his stomach and his nerves. He glanced up at Switzer once or twice and found him talking idly with someone new at the bar. Then he saw Switzer walk out of the saloon. Jarrod wondered if Switzer had seen him. He didn't act like he had.

Donna checked on them again, asking how the food was.

"Very comforting," Jarrod said, "especially now that Mr. Switzer is out of my sight."

"Did you hear him say anything interesting over there?" Eugene asked.

Jarrod gave him half a glare, but Donna said, "No, I've been too busy to pay attention."

She went on her way again, and the Barkleys kept eating. Then something happened to attract Jarrod's attention. The man Switzer had been talking to finished his drink and left, but in a moment Donna had grabbed something from the bar and followed him out the door. In just another moment, she was coming back in, but she looked unhappy, puzzled. She was a few steps in before she looked up at Jarrod and decided to come over.

"What is it?" Jarrod asked right away.

Donna bent closer. "That fellow who just left – he left his cigar case at the bar so I chased him down with it. He was out there on the corner, talking to Mr. Switzer again. They said something about your case – I heard the name Bolen."

Jarrod raised an eyebrow. He hadn't seen the man in the courtroom. He had never seen him before at all. "Maybe he's a newspaper reporter."

"His name was written in full on his cigar case," Donna said. "A. J. Bonaventure."

Jarrod shook his head. He didn't know the name.

But Donna seemed to. "Mr. Barkley, I need to talk to you privately, I think. Not here."

"Can you come by my office tomorrow?" Jarrod asked.

Donna shook her head. "I don't want to run the risk of being seen going in there. May I come by your house after we close tonight? I know it'll be late, but this is very, very important, I think."

"I can come back here," Jarrod said.

Donna shook her head again. "I don't want to risk being seen here with you later either. Please, let me come by your place, just after 2. I know that's late but it's less likely somebody would follow me there."

Jarrod was more concerned about something else. "Donna, what's the urgency? What's frightened you?"

"A. J. Bonaventure," she said. "I know who he is, but I don't want to talk about it here. I know where you live, Mr. Barkley. I've seen the address on your bill."

"I'm a little concerned about you walking there that late at night alone. Why don't we just stay here until your quitting time, then look like we're walking you home?"

"No, I'd rather we weren't seen together," Donna said. "Please – let me just come to your place later. I live in a boarding house in the same direction as your place. I'll pop in there and it will just look like I've gone home as usual, if anyone happens to be watching. I can leave again and come to your house and if someone is still watching and they don't see you let me in – well, you know what they'll think."

Jarrod knew. Donna seemed determined. Jarrod relented. "All right. We'll be waiting up for you."

Donna went back to work, but it was clear she had to force her relaxed nature back into her demeanor. Eugene found his stomach clenching. "You don't know who this Bonaventure guy is?" he asked his brother.

"No," Jarrod said. "But Donna seems to."

"I don't like the idea of her being out alone that late if she's worried about this guy."

"I don't either, but she doesn't seem to want to risk being seen with me in public, and that would extend to you. We'll go with her on this, at least for tonight. She's no fool. She's smart. We'll follow her lead for now."