Deadly Satisfaction Read Online Free PDF Page B

chilled bottle in hand, Charlene returned to her place on the couch just in time to hear the evening anchorwoman’s voice as she began the broadcast with the breaking news segment. This was the moment Charlene had been stressing over all afternoon. As soon as Vivana’s face appeared on the screen, Charlene’s breathing became shallow. Unlike when she was in the salon earlier today, she didn’t have to curtail her reactions, and she could take more time to fully digest what was being said.
    Charlene listened closely, paying careful attention to every word coming out of Vivana’s mouth, but more important, her lawyer’s. Charlene knew from firsthand experience that Vivana was a loose cannon who was subject to say and do just about anything. The woman had no impulse control, which had made it very easy to frame her. But Vivana’s attorney was a different matter, because she was the complete antithesis of her client. Leslie Sachs was composed, direct, purposeful, and above all, she was very smart and extremely careful. Leslie was so smooth in her approach that people never felt her bite until after they were bleeding. She was skilled and ruthless, and she never took a case unless she knew she could win. This knowledge made Charlene more afraid than ever.
    Charlene had first met Leslie more than thirty years ago when the two of them had worked together at a prestigious, good ol’ boy law firm in downtown Birmingham. Leslie had been a mousy, timid young woman who didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the rising stars at the firm. Charlene had been the only first-year associate who’d befriended Leslie, partly because she felt sorry for the woman, and partly because being the only African American associate on staff, Charlene knew what it was like to feel like an outsider. The two women formed a bond and they looked out for each other.
    Leslie’s timid streak came to a halt on a hot summer night that ended in murder. She’d been working late with one of the senior partners, and he’d invited her into his large corner office for a drink to ease the tension of their long workday. One drink turned into five, and friendliness turned into unwanted advances. By the end of the night the senior associate was dead, and Leslie had blood on her hands.
    Leslie had made what everyone had thought was the colossal mistake of representing herself in the murder case. But it turned out to be the best move the timid young woman could have ever crafted. She successfully argued her case, was acquitted of all charges, and became a legal star. She’d been successfully representing accused killers ever since.
    By the time the five-minute interview was over, Charlene had drunk half the bottle of wine and her nerves were even more frayed than before. Neither Vivana nor Leslie had said much, and that was what made Charlene’s heart race. She knew this was Leslie’s strategy—bait the hook and then reel in the fish. Leslie knew her client was innocent; otherwise she wouldn’t have taken Vivana’s case, and that meant she knew that the real killer was still out there, and that they were probably watching the interview for clues—just as Charlene was doing.
    Charlene pressed the power button on the TV, turning it into a black slate of silence so she could think. “I need another drink,” she said as her unsteady hand struggled to pour more wine into her glass. She was about to guzzle the chardonnay when she was startled by her ringing cell phone. She looked at the caller ID and nearly dropped her glass when she saw Leslie Sachs’s name flash across the screen.
    Charlene temporarily stopped breathing as her lungs filled with panic instead of air. A million thoughts raced through her mind, but the one thing she knew she had do to was snap out of her haze and answer Leslie’s call. She took a deep breath and pressed the Answer button. “Hello, Leslie,” Charlene