A Murder of Crows Page #2

I'm serious!

So what are your plans?

Are you gonna sit up in here and stew?

I'm gonna go down to key west.

My father kept a house there.

Hell, I might even write a novel.

I'm as smart as John Grisham.

Lawson...

Is there anything I can do?

You can hop up on the desk for me.

What are you laughing at?

You know, if only you asked nicely.

I don't know what you want me to say,

but I'm the best.

Pride goeth before destruction

and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Too late.

I'm already falling.

That's what's so sad.

You haven't fallen at all.

Been in the Florida keys

for almost 13 months.

Was nickel and diming as a fishing guide,

mostly to take up the time

and avoid writing my book.

But business was slow.

Mr. Russell.

Hello.

Hello.

My name is marlowe.

I spoke to you on the telephone earlier.

That's right. That's right.

Hello, Mr. marlowe.

Hello.

So you're interested in fishin'?

That's why I'm here.

Great. Come on aboard!

Mr. marlowe...

This must be the place.

Yes.

It's quite lovely.

How long we got ya

in key west there, sir?

Permanently.

I've just moved here.

I only recently retired from teaching.

See, my wife passed on.

We don't have any children,

and this place has always held my fancy.

The old man and the sea and all that.

Well, here's your pole, sir.

All right.

Low down like that. We're gonna float

on the tide right into those flats.

So you can just cast out this way

and let the boat just drift right on in.

All right.

Ho ho!

You're up a little bit there.

I feel like a professional.

There was something

very odd about Mr. marlowe.

I couldn't put my finger on it.

Had no idea it was fate come calling.

Chuckie.

Hearty dark, sir.

You got it.

And a daiquiri for me, please.

Anybody's favorite.

My father used to carry a pocket watch.

Very distinguished.

I... actually, this is quite a special one.

Listen.

Well, that's great.

Yes.

Here you go, gentlemen.

God bless you. Nice.

Well, here's to new friendships.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Well, sir, tell me.

Have you always been a fishing guide,

Mr. Russell?

No. It's kind of a hobby.

I'm working on a novel.

Really?

Yes, sir.

That's wonderful.

Before that, I was an attorney.

My.

And you've given that up?

So to speak.

Do you realize that there are more people

in law school right now

than there are lawyers?

Is that right?

It's a fact. For every engineer

they graduate from university,

they graduate 50 lawyers.

$25 billion in liability suits last year.

That's preposterous.

They're parasites.

They're bloodsuckers. That's my opinion.

Gee, Chris, I get the feeling

you don't like lawyers.

If it weren't for lawyers, dear boy,

we wouldn't need lawyers.

We drank and talked

for the rest of the evening.

Mr. marlowe was a hoot.

It was the most interesting

night I'd spent

with my clothes on in over a year.

Good night, Chris.

Yes, good night.

In the end, though, I was happy

to get away from him.

He was so rabid about lawyers,

he left me with a queasiness in my gut

like a feeling of dj vu

or mild food poisoning.

Forget it. I'm not selling the townhouse.

My father bought that house.

Sell the rest of the stock.

Book's coming along fine, Harry.

My next question is,

how much am I paying you?

The stock. Right.

There's an old saying...

Money talks.

The only thing I ever

heard it say was good-bye.

I had to try to generate some income.

Been working on this

damn book for over a year.

Writing, my friends, is hard.

Chris.

Lawson. I hope I'm not intruding.

No. Please, come in.

Thank you. Please.

I simply had to come by to talk with you.

You mind if I sit down for a moment?

No, of course.

Thank you. Have a seat.

You OK?

Yes, I'm fine.

It's just the heat.

Could I have a glass

of water or something?

Sure, sure. Thank you, sir.

Our conversation yesterday

was quite inspiring.

I simply had to come by,

talk with you.

Thank you.

Brought you something.

Right there.

That's better.

That's a novel. My first.

A novel? Yes.

I only recently finished it.

I'm such a coward,

I haven't told a soul

that I've written it.

I was wondering if you could read it

and give me your impressions.

Well, I'm no expert.

No. I...

I think you'll understand this.

It's about lawyers.

I'll read it.

All right. Thank you.

Now, I want your honest opinion.

You'll get it.

Good. All right, then.

Thank you, sir.

You can rest a bit. You don't have to...

No, I'm fine.

But I tell you,

I'll be at the pub later

if you're so inclined.

And, take your time with this.

There's no rush.

I want you to, digest it all.

OK.

Thank you, sir.

Let me get the door for you.

You are kind.

All right.

Thank you.

Happy reading, my friend.

A murder of crows.

Inside the title page

was a quote from William Shakespeare:

"The first thing we do

is kill all the lawyers."

The book was about lawyers,

all right... 5 of them,

all highly paid defense attorneys

working in major Southern cities,

all with very rich clients

who were guilty...

Very nasty bad guys

who deserved to be put away.

All acquitted.

But instead of going after the bad guys,

the killer decides

that it's the lawyers

who need to be punished,

so he knocks 'em off one by one.

Each murder was elaborately

planned and perfectly executed

to appear as a suicide,

accident, or botched robbery.

The writing was a revelation,

a masterpiece of suspense.

And that title...

I learned that a group of crows

is called a murder,

like a flock of seagulls,

an exaltation of doves,

or a covey of quail.

A murder of crows.

Quite simply, the book was brilliant.

Sh*t!

Chuckie!

Hey, Lawson.

Hey. Remember that old guy

I was drinking with last night?

Yeah. Have you seen him?

Yeah. He was in here earlier.

Said he wasn't feeling

well, then he split.

OK. Thank you.

Excuse me.

Roger that.

Excuse me. Yes. Is everything OK?

You a border here?

No. I'm just visiting a friend.

What happened?

Well, it appears an old man

had a heart attack.

It wasn't Mr. marlowe, was it?

"Mr. marlowe." Yes, it was.

Is he OK?

I'm afraid not. He's... he's died.

I just... i just talked

to him this afternoon.

Yeah, I know. It's a shame, isn't it?

You know him a long time?

No. I just met him yesterday.

I took him fishing.

I understand he was new in town.

Yeah. That's what he said.

I mean... I don't know much.

He used to be a teacher,

and he moved here.

He retired here.

You know where he retired from?

No. He didn't say.

Well, the landlady said that he told her

he didn't have any family.

That's right. Right, right, yes.

His wife passed away recently.

See, I've seen that

happen a million times.

First one spouse goes,

then the other one doesn't last a year.

Are there gonna be any services?

No. They'll probably

cremate him in the morning.

You could light a candle at St. Andrews.

OK. Thank you.

Yeah.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, detective?

Detective...

Goethe.

What are they gonna do with his things?

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