A Murder of Crows Page #3

Well, he's got no will,

and since he has no next of kin,

his possessions will go to the state.

Why? Is there something

we should know about?

Nope. Nope. Just wondering.

OK.

Night.

Good night.

I submitted the manuscript to 5 houses.

The first to call back

was devrie publishing.

I had an appointment with

the owner of the company.

Janine devrie.

Lawson Russell.

I thought they would like the book,

but I had no idea I would

get this kind of reception.

I've never been treated

with such deference,

not even by clients

who were in deep sh*t.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Thanks.

How are you doin'?

You should never

underestimate the power of art.

I'll take it.

I'll take it.

The New York times book review...

"a brilliant indictment of

the criminal justice system,

"probably the season's

best literary offering.

Mr. Russell is a star

of the first magnitude."

Kill a few lawyers,

you're bound to be popular.

You're on your way, buster.

They loved you.

Trust me. This is just the beginning.

You're going to be a very rich man.

It's just hard to believe all this.

It's amazing.

I knew it would make a fortune

before I even finished it.

Yeah?

How could you be so sure?

Made me wet.

Donna, do I have any messages?

Thanks.

It isn't much.

But I call it home.

Very nice.

Intimate.

Daddy built it for me.

He must have loved you.

Yes.

Very much.

He gave me everything I ever wanted.

Lucky girl.

There are 15 bedrooms.

Just enough.

The book hit the New York times

best-seller list at number 6.

Janine had already ordered

a second and third printing.

I ignored the fact that the book

was condemned by the aclu,

the American bar association,

and the trial lawyers association.

I was having way too much fun.

And the name?

Clifford...

2 fs...

Dubose.

Dubose?

Yeah. D-u-b-o-s-e.

Got it. Got it.

It's a great book, man.

Thanks. I love it.

All right.

"Best wishes." Nice.

Poetic.

Hey.

Hi.

What's the name?

Make it out to Jenny.

Jenny.

I really loved it.

I can't wait to read the next one.

Neither can I.

Whenever you're ready,

I want to talk to you about an advance.

You make me rich, I make you rich.

It's a perfect deal.

Hello, Lawson.

Pope!

What are you doin' here?

Well, you see, my friend wrote this book,

and I thought I'd come by

and get him to sign it for me.

This is my publisher.

Janine devrie, Elizabeth pope.

Hi.

Hi. Nice to meet you.

Elizabeth is an attorney.

Excuse me.

It's good to see you.

You, too.

You look well.

Thanks.

Hope you enjoy it.

I already did.

You read it already?

You hated it.

I thought it was dark.

It is.

I never thought of you

writing anything like this.

I mean, it seems somehow

incongruous to me.

Surprised you again.

It's just that I didn't

expect anything like this.

That's all.

But, hey, congratulations.

I'm very impressed.

OK, good luck to you, Lawson.

Nice meeting you.

Take care.

Let's get together.

By all means.

It was like I could feel myself falling,

losing touch with the one

decent thing in my life.

It was then that

the magnitude of what I'd done

came home to me.

There would be no next book.

I was a thief.

Now, there's a sight:

A lawyer with his hands

in his own pockets.

I forgot.

You're not a lawyer anymore.

You're a big-time writer now.

What? Did I miss a little book signin'?

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Damn.

And I went and bought my own copy

and everything.

Heh...

Thurman.

Who let you out of your cage?

Didn't you hear?

I'm a free man.

I was acquitted.

Isn't America great?

Well, where else could a disbarred,

self-righteous...

Piece of sh*t mouthpiece like you

ride around in a rolls Royce?

Are you attacking me?

No, no, wait a minute.

You only attack women,

or is that when you try

to have sex with them?

I forget. I don't know.

Keep laughin', smart ass.

You're gonna get yours.

In spades.

You know, thurman, from the list

of the most despicable

human beings on this planet,

you're at the bottom.

It was a revelation, representing you,

'cause it was then that I realized

that I couldn't sink any lower.

That's sweet.

Hello, pussycat.

Is this your latest?

Ho...

Affirmative action.

Well, I'll leave you two alone.

Good night.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Hey...

Don't forget to whip it.

Do you know him...

Are you coming?

No, thanks. I'll walk.

Welcome back, detective.

Thanks.

How you doin', cliff?

Worse.

God damn it.

Dubose.

Yo.

No, I just walked in

the door this minute.

Jamaica was beautiful, man.

Yeah. As a matter of fact,

I did buy some land down there.

That's right, for when I retire.

Since we're on the subject now,

I quit.

OK, OK. You're home.

OK, no casualties.

It won't be long.

We'll be movin' to the island.

Then you'll have fresh fish every day.

You're gonna love it.

What are you doing here, cliff?

Couldn't sleep?

Of course I can sleep.

I can do any f***in' thing I want.

I'm finished programming.

I was just...

Shut the f*** up.

Can you work these machines?

Y... yeah.

Sit down.

Can you access files

from the other police departments

in the surrounding states? Yes, sir.

Can you access those files

as per victims' occupations?

Yes, sir. I...

Then type in there "lawyer."

Lawyer?

That's right. Lawyer.

Start with Mississippi...

Biloxi.

M-I-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i.

All right, bring it on.

Lawson Russell?

Who wants to know?

I do. I'm the motherf***er

you've been playin' with.

Hey!

Hey!

Get his left one.

What's goin' on?

You're goin' downtown.

On what charge?

Arrogance.

OK.

Right this way.

Now, watch your head.

Read him his rights

and fasten his seat belt.

I had no idea what was going on,

but when you're guilty,

you expect the worst.

Yes. Billy ray.

Hello, Lawson.

Guess you already met detective dubose.

Yeah. I offered him a breath mint,

but you know how he is.

Want to tell me what's goin' on?

No.

But it's my job.

It's about your book, Lawson.

What about it?

Well, it seems it's all true.

What?

It's all true.

All 5 of the murders in

your book really happened,

just as you described them,

right down to the last detail.

All of the victims were lawyers.

All of the deaths were

listed as accidents or suicides,

except for the first one,

which appeared to be

a failed robbery attempt,

and all of the murders are connected

by a single motive...

Each of the victims

had just won a major legal victory

for an unsavory client,

just as you describe in your book.

That's impossible.

I mean, it's some kind of coincidence.

I'm afraid it's not.

See, we're not talkin' about

similarities here, Lawson.

We are talkin'...

About exact details of each crime,

details that were never

released to the press.

I mean, minute details, man,

right down to the color of the car.

We are talkin' about things

only the victims

or the killer could've known.

So I need to ask you, Lawson,

where did you get all of the information

for your book?

My legs went numb,

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