“Of course, I’m sure you can find another lawyer who will do it for less, and you’re free to retain anyone you wish. At the moment, all you owe me is a thousand dollars.” Stone watched the man think. He didn’t mention that he knew of the altercation outside Elaine’s some months before, and he thought that Van Fleet might be guiltier than he was admitting.

“All right, that’s acceptable,” Van Fleet said finally. “I’ll give you a check for ten thousand dollars right now.”

Stone nodded and watched while Van Fleet wrote the check. They shook hands. “I’ll call you as soon as I find out which assistant DA your case has been assigned to, and after I’ve had a chance to talk to him.”

“Good night, then, and thank you again for coming down here and getting me out.”

Stone watched the man walk to his van and drive away, then he caught a cab uptown.

Later in the week, Stone visited the offices of the district attorney and found the assistant DA assigned to Van Fleet’s case. She was a rather plain young woman named Mendel. She offered him the other chair in her tiny cubicle, then flipped quickly through the file.

“Your client is a potentially dangerous man, Mr. Barrington,” she said. “If the police had not arrived on the scene, chances are this young woman would have been raped.”

“Come on, at a traffic light?” Stone said derisively. “This was nothing more than a quick grope, and the girl encouraged it.”

She glanced at the file again. “Your client had been drinking.”

“But he wasn’t even over the limit for driving, was he?” Stone asked, taking a stab. “And what was the girl’s blood-alcohol content?”

Mendel snapped the file shut. “I can’t discuss that.”

“Come on, Ms. Mendel, the police didn’t even test her, did they? How is that going to look in court?”

“I might be able to reduce to simple battery,” she said. “Your client, as a first offender, wouldn’t do any time. I’d recommend counseling and community service.”

“How long have you been on the job?” Stone asked.

“That’s not relevant to this discussion,” she replied primly.