I followed him into an empty conference room and we took seats across from each other. I laid my file down the table in front of me and silently ordered myself to focus. He sat back in his chair and studied me for a moment. The tension in the room was thick.
“So, you want me to make you an offer, huh,” he said finally.
“Only if it’s a good one. She’s an elderly woman and a sympathetic defendant.”
“Not too elderly to lie in wait in the bushes.”
“Don’t you mean the shrubbery?” I asked and his eyes narrowed.
“You do realize that you lost your Motion, right?”
“I can always appeal,” I said calmly.
“Well, then I feel it’s my duty to the federal court system to resolve this,” he said and turned to look out the window. “Besides, you fought hard; I guess you earned it.”
“Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself. Keep working on it and you might have a future at this,” I replied and he turned back to me with look in his eyes that said he wasn’t sure whether he was annoyed, amused or turned on. It might have been all three.
“Just out of curiosity, are there more of you Roths out there or is it just you two?”
“We have two older sisters, but they aren’t attorneys.”
“What a shame.”
“And there’s my sister-in-law of course. I believe you know her intimately.”
“Briefly. Like six years ago,” he said. “I have no lingering desire for your brother’s wife, I assure you.”
“Duly noted. Getting back to Agnes …”
“Okay, you want a deal, I’ll give you a deal. If you can convince Ms. Fishbein to give up her life of crime, I’ll withdraw the charge.”
“You’ll actually withdraw it all-together?”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it?”
“Okay, I’ll agree.”
“That’s very generous of you.”
“I figure I’ll go easy on you. This time.”
N. M. Silber 