and Jodie would respond to her. There would be a lot of questions and I'd have to come up with a good excuse for hiring an intern without warning them. But there were always problems to deal with. At least dealing with this one would be well worth the effort.
16
Surprise
Paula Waters
When I came to the office the next day Stan was showing a young woman around the office. It was unusual for Stan to give office tours, so I was curious as to who she was and why he was giving her the VIP treatment. When Stan noticed me watching he turned and motioned to me excitedly.
"Oh, Paula. Come here," Stan said. "I want you to meet someone."
I strolled over nonchalantly and smiled.
"Paula, “this is Tehra."
I extended my hand and she shook it warmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said.
"Tehra is going to be my intern," Stan advised, looking back at her and smiling broadly. She met his eyes and a wry smile quickly came and went. I did a double take.
For a moment I was speechless. Stan's announcement was a total shock. He hadn't had an intern in the past and hadn't told me he was considering getting one. I forced a smile. "Really? You didn't mention you were looking for an intern."
"Well, I wasn't, but that new client I mentioned to you, you know, the one who hired us to defend Charlotte Wenzel, he asked if I'd let Tehra intern with us for a year. She wants to be an attorney and would like to get some experience in a law office."
"Is that right?” I said evenly, trying to hide my shock.
"Yes, and since we've got two murder cases going, I figured I could use the help. It will be nice to have someone tagging along to help keep me organized."
That nearly cracked me up. This cute little girl was going to keep Stan organized? Ha! She couldn't have been a day over twenty-five and she'd be nothing but a distraction to him. From the way she was looking at him and hanging on every word, I wondered if she wasn't already infatuated with him. That would spell trouble if it were true.
I couldn't tell her nationality, but I suspected it was Asian or Middle Eastern. Her dress was, well, unusual—something a foreigner my wear not being familiar with the dressy-casual style of the American working woman. She wore no makeup, but was attractive nonetheless.
"So, where did you go to college?" I asked.
Tehra looked over at me. "UTD," she replied softly.
"Oh. Are you from around here?"
"I was born in Grand Prairie."
"Grand Prairie? . . .Wow. You could have fooled me. You don't look much like a Texan."
"No. I guess not. My mother is Greek and my father is Chinese—kind of an odd combination, I guess."
"No, not at all. . . .Well, it was nice to meet you. I guess I'll be seeing you around," I said biting my tongue. As I walked off, Stan and Tehra continued their tour. They were so giddy it was making me nauseated. I couldn't wait to go find Jodie. I wondered if she knew about Stan's new intern. She was in the library doing some research. She looked up when I walked in.
"Good morning," Jodie said.
"Did you hear about Stan's new intern?" I asked.
She shook her head. "No. Not until just a minute ago."
"What in the hell is going on?" I said.
"He didn't tell you he was hiring an intern?"
"No."
"Stan's been acting very strange lately," Jodie said thoughtfully. "First he takes on the Wenzel case when there is an obvious conflict of interest and now he shows up with an intern out of thin air."
"Apparently his new secret client is responsible for the intern as well as Charlotte Wenzel. He seems to be calling the shots for Stan these days."
"Who is this guy anyway?" Jodie asked.
"Stan won't tell me. He says the client wants to remain anonymous."
"But you and he are partners. You have a right to know."
"I agree, but I don't really feel like forcing the issue," I said. "If he doesn't want to tell me who the client is, I'll live with it, but who the hell is this intern?"
"Do you think Rebekah knows about her?" Jodie asked. “I can't believe she's going to be happy about this."
"No. I doubt she does know. At least not yet. Should we call her?"
"No. I suppose not," Jodie replied. "We better let Stan break the news to her. She's going to be upset, though. It took her a long time to get used to me being alone with Stan all day. It was even worse when you came along."
Jodie was right. Rebekah was a jealous woman and she wouldn't like the idea of Stan running around with a twenty-five-year-old intern all day—particularly one as exotic as Tehra.
When I got back to my office, I couldn't concentrate. I was sick about this new girl in the office. Part of it may have been jealousy, I'll admit that, but just as much of it was the suddenness of it all and the odd circumstances of her hiring. There was something going on with Stan that he wasn't sharing with me, or even Rebekah, and that was unsettling.
After I'd gotten over the shock of Tehra joining the firm, I called Paul Thayer to get him started on a background check of the Almatech CEO. While I waited on the phone he did a preliminary computer check.
"Let me see. T. Robert Stout is the President and CEO of Almatech Life Systems, Inc. According to this short biography, he graduated from Harvard Law School in 1969, served in the air force for twenty years when he retired and joined Almatech in 1989. He became president and CEO in February 1992."
"That was about the time the secret project went out for bids. If he was so well connected with the military, I wonder why Almatech didn't get the contract."
"I don't know," Paul said, "but I'll find out."
I told Paul all that we had learned about Chester Brown and Almatech and what additional information we needed him to dig up. He said he'd have it for me in a few days. Before he hung up I asked him about Tehra.
"Paul, did you know Stan was hiring a new intern?"
"What intern?"
"Tehra, I think is her name."
"No. I don't know anything about it."
"Okay, just curious. Stan will tell you about it, I guess. Call me when you have anything."
After hanging up the phone I went looking for Bart for his take on the situation. Maybe Stan had told him about Tehra, but I doubted it.
17
Price Cut
Stan Turner
Over the weekend Tehra and I went apartment hunting. With the help of the classified section of the Dallas Morning News we were able to find a nice two bedroom apartment about ten minutes away from the office. It was right on the way to work, so it wouldn't be any trouble for me to pick up Tehra each morning. There was a Denny's close by too, in case we wanted to have breakfast before work.
I told Rebekah I had hired a new intern, but I was afraid to tell her much more in fear of alarming her. My concern turned out to be unfounded, however, as my announcement that I needed to work over the weekend on the Charlotte Wenzel case, elicited no more than a shrug from her. She said she had to take Marcia shopping for school clothes, so she wouldn't be home anyway.
While Tehra and I were out shopping for furnishings for her new apartment, I showed her around Dallas and reacquainted her with the geography of the area. She was amazed at how it had changed, but still remembered much of it. On Sunday I felt guilty about missing church and she sensed the tension. She asked if something was wrong.
"We usually go to church on Sunday," I said. "Do you worship a God on Tarizon?"
"Yes, there are many religions on Tarizon. I favor the Prophet Sandee."
"Sandy?"
She nodded. "Sand . . . ee, Sandee Branh, the Savior of our planet who united all the nations together and brought us, peace, liberty and justice. At least that's what they teach us."
"Why, you don't think it's true?"
"I believe in Sandee, but I'm not so sure the Central Authority always follows his teachings."
"Oh, so Tarizon is just like Ea
rth—politicians have used the church for their own purposes?"
"Yes, the politicians and purists are constantly fighting for control of the church, unfortunately the politicians usually prevail."
"But, you can debate freely about it?"
"Yes, we are free society and are protected by the Supreme Mandate."
"The Supreme Mandate?"
"Yes. It's a little like your constitution but it was written entirely by Sandee Brahn. He took it to the nations of Tarizon and the people ratified it."
"He took it to the people singlehandedly?"
"He and his followers. Some claim God dictated it to him and he was just the scribe."
"Really? That's fascinating," I said shaking my head.
We talked for hours about our lives on Earth and Tehra's life on Tarizon. She was easy to talk to since I didn't have to worry what I told her. She seemed very open to me as well and I felt very connected to her even though we'd only known each other for a few days. She sighed when I told her it was time to bring her back to her hotel.
"I hate to go back to my room alone," she said. "You sure you don't want to join me?"
"I would love to, but I can't," I said with genuine regret.
The disappointment in her eyes almost obliterated my resolve. I looked away quickly. "I'll help you move into your apartment next weekend. You'll feel better when you have a place of your own."
When I got home Sunday night Rebekah had little to say to me as usual. She didn't seem to care about what I was doing anymore. For the first time in my life I felt uncomfortable in my own home. If it wasn't for the kids I'd of packed a suitcase and left right then. If only I could tell her the truth that would change everything.
On Monday morning I left early to pick up Tehra for work. We stopped for a