“You suspect correctly, Mike,” Herbie said. “The truth is, I’m already finding the law something of a grind, because of the sort of work assigned to associates.”

“You mean work that no one else wishes to do?”

“Exactly. I mean, getting Dink Brennan into treatment and settling his gambling debt was fun, in its way, but not something that helps build a career.”

“Don’t be too sure about that,” Freeman said. “I’ll see that Marshall Brennan knows of your role, and you may be sure that he will express his gratitude, and not just to Bill Eggers.”

“That’s kind of you, Mike.”

“Has it occurred to you that Eggers is probably considering you for the role of the new Stone Barrington at Woodman and Weld?”

“It has occurred to me.”

“Stone had a fair deal there, one that paid him a very good income, but one that did not improve his status in the firm. That did not occur until Stone gained us as a client, and further, the Steele Companies, an insurance conglomerate I was able to introduce him to. After that, when he brought his late wife, Arrington Calder, into the firm, a partnership became possible for Stone.”

“I had a sort of general idea about that,” Herbie said.

“But it took him a long time to accomplish that, and if the firm sidetracked you into the kind of services Stone provided them for so long, you might not get as lucky as he did. Strategic Services offers extremely interesting work and much more rapid advancement for the right young people. I suspect that you might be one of those people.”

“I appreciate that, Mike,” Herbie said.

“But go on and work at Woodman and Weld for a little while longer. See if you can gain a promotion to senior associate. That would look very good on your résumé. Then, when you feel the time is right, give me a call, and we’ll see what we can do for you.”

“Thank you, Mike, I’ll give that a lot of thought.”

A little chime rang, and Freeman turned to look at his computer monitor. “Aha,” he said, “young Mr. Brennan is, as we speak, en route to Winwood Farm, and this time, you may be sure he will arrive there.”

Herbie felt enormously relieved. “I can’t thank you enough, Mike.”

“Tell you what, Herbie,” Freeman said, “since we were able to wrap this up so quickly, I won’t bill Woodman and Weld for our services. Why don’t you call Bill Eggers and give him the good news? Use the phone over there.” He pointed to a coffee table.

Herbie went to the phone and called Eggers.

“Hello, Herbert,” Eggers said. “This had better be good news.”

“Bill,” Herbie replied, “Dink Brennan is on his way back to Winwood Farm.”

“Well, that is good news! How did you manage it?”

“I don’t think I need to go into the details, Bill. Suffice it to say that everything you asked me to do has been done, and in very short order. And I have to tell you, I don’t appreciate the threat implicit in your earlier statement.”