EIGHT

Cole Turner sat at his desk and looked at the signature on the paper. Gerald P. Dewey. It was a perfect forgery. Not even Mr. Dewey himself would be able to tell the difference. It wasn't identical to the one he had used to practice with. But then no one ever signed his or her name exactly the same way twice. There were always little differences to each signature. Making an exact copy would have tipped someone of that it wasn't the real McCoy.

And the letter itself was a stroke of genius. An innocent letter telling a client that their case was progressing nicely and they expected a positive verdict any day. But the wording was very specific. It implied that a certain judge, who was known for his rather extravagant lifestyle, had agreed to render a specific verdict in exchange for proper compensation.

Cole's job had been to bring this law firm down. To discredit them first and then make sure it close permanently. Getting a judge in on the deal was just an added benefit. In all likelihood the judge was dirty anyway. And even if he wasn't it didn't bother Cole one little bit.

It was March 12, 1958. After graduating college and then law school, Cole had finally obtained his law degree. He had taken the state bar his second year in law school just for practice. Even he had been surprised when he had actually passed. But he completed his three years of law school anyway. He didn't believe in doing things half way.

In August of 1957 he had been hired by a high-ranking demon to bring the law firm down. Disgrace the senior partners first, his employer had said. Then make sure the firm closed permanently. He had never been told why they wanted the firm closed and he hadn't asked. It didn't matter to him. He was being paid very well for this one job. And he was actually enjoying it.

But the law firm of Dewey, Cheetam, and Howe was a very prestigious firm. They were one of the top firms in the state of New York. And they presented a wholesome family image. The best way to bring them down was from the inside. And for that Cole needed to present the same image they had.

Enter one Angela Taylor. He had passed her on the street one day and had marveled at her remarkable resemblance to Angelique. She was beautiful. And she was single. She would make the perfect "wife" for an up and coming lawyer.

After a whirlwind courtship they had married. Then Cole had applied to the firm as an associate attorney. They were grateful to have him. Top in his class at law school and he had been making a name for himself in the process. When they had finally agreed to hire him, he set about with his plan.

It was ridiculously easy. During the day he handled cases for the firm. Nothing big, just enough to prove he was the type of attorney they had wanted. At night he spent going over their books and files. Small notes in the files were enough to raise suspicions. And he had found it very easy to siphon money from the firm. All of it went into a special account that the firm wasn't even aware of.

And of course the "trail" he was leaving led straight back to the senior partners. Breaches of confidentiality, evidence of money laundering, associations with known or suspected crime figures. And the embezzlement that pointed directly at the senior partners. When an anonymous tip was made to the district attorney's office they would certainly investigate. What they would find would be nothing less than scandalous.

And Angela has been the perfect wife the entire time. Keeping his house and fixing his meals each day while he slaved at the firm to earn them a very decent living. She had attended all the proper functions and presented a perfect picture for an affluent attorney.

"Mr. Turner? Your wife is on line one, sir."

"Thanks, Eileen," Cole said, covering the paper he was working on. He picked up the phone and pressed the button for line one. "Well, to what do I owe the honor of this call?"

"Can't a wife just call her husband and say hello?" asked a very cheery voice on the other end.

"I guess there's no law against it. What's up, honey?"

"Jackie called and wanted to make sure we were going to keep an eye on their house while they're out of town. I told her we were going to check on it several times a week."

"Yeah, I know," said Cole. "Gerald mentioned it to me this morning. It can't hurt to have the senior partner ask you to look after his home while he and his family are away on vacation. I think I smell a junior partnership in the works very soon."

"Really? You think he's that pleased with your work?"

"He asked me today if I had any plans for buying a house here. He said it didn't look right for a senior member of the firm to be renting an apartment. He only refers to the partners as senior members. So I'm thinking that while he and Arthur are on their vacation he might bring it up. When they get back they just might have a little announcement to make."

"That would be wonderful. A house of our own. You know I've always wanted that."

"I know. And like I said, it's best to be conservative about something like that. Make sure that things are going the way they're supposed to before we make anything permanent. Don't want to jump the gun."

"Do you want me to start checking the real estate offices? To see what might just be available out there?"

"Let's wait until they get back first. Nothing is certain. I could be misreading him. Mr. Howe is going to be the only senior partner here for the next two weeks. I'd like to make a good impression on him while Gerald and Arthur are away. After all, I'll need the vote of all three senior partners if I'm going to have any chance at a junior partnership."

"Okay, sweetie. Are you going to be working late tonight?"

"Just a little. I have one case I want to wrap up before tomorrow. But I shouldn't be long. Then, when I get home, we can talk about what house we're going to look for. And how many bedrooms we think we're going to need."

"I like the sound of that. I'll see you when you get home. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Cole thought about his wife as he hung up the phone. There was a picture of her on his desk. Ever since they had gotten married she had hinted at having a baby. He knew she would understand his reference to how many rooms their new house would need. He had always been able to put her off about having children. Saying he wanted to make sure he was firmly established before they started considering children.

He couldn't very well tell her that once this assignment was over he'd be gone. She wasn't really his wife. Just a tool he needed for his assignment. And he certainly couldn't complicate matters with a baby.

Not that the idea was distasteful to him. He had always planned to have children one day. Someone to carry on the name of the great Belthazor. And when he did decide to have children he thought the mother would be someone very similar to Angela. Pretty, smart, totally devoted to him. But he couldn't do that to her. She was human. She'd never understand about him being half demon.

Over the months he had found himself actually growing very fond of her. In the beginning she had been simply a means to an end. But in the intervening months he had developed genuine feeling for her. Something that disturbed him. He was a demon. He couldn't be encumbered by the trappings of a mortal life.

That didn't change how he felt. You couldn't choose whom you cared about and whom you didn't. But he had to stay focused on his assignment. Two more days and it would all be over. Tomorrow he would plant a few more incriminating documents in the files. Then, just before closing time, he would make a call to the district attorney's office. An anonymous call.

He knew someone would come to investigate. Probably just a cursory inspection. They wouldn't really expect to find anything. But he had all ready planted the necessary information to arouse suspicions. When the investigator checked the files he would tell them that he'd found something not quite right. That would warrant a more in depth investigation. And the more they dug the worse it would look.

And it wouldn't help matters that the two most senior partners had suddenly decided to take two week's vacation out of the country. It would appear that they were trying to slip out before what they had done came to light.

It was nearly perfect. Their reputations would be permanently stained with the improprieties and down right criminal acts the investigators would find. The money Cole had siphoned from the firms' accounts would be discovered and the firm would have to close. There would be no way to recover from what had happened.

All in all he had done quite an excellent job. A twinge of guilt ran through him. Something he wasn't used to. Poor Angela would also suffer. Oh, they wouldn't suspect her of anything. She was just the wife of one of the attorneys'. But he would be gone and she would never know why. After a while of grieving she'd move on. She'd find someone who would treat her the way she deserved.

And she wouldn't have to worry about money. Cole had more than enough. Their joint account would be more than enough for her to live on. Very soon his assignment would be finished and he knew his employer would be very pleased with the results.

Smiling to himself Cole headed for the files room several sheets of paper in hand. He was nearly finished. Another successful mission completed for the underworld.