PROLOGUE
Tobias
“Now those guys have gone far and will only get bigger.” My best friend, Franklin Alexander, pointed the whiskey in his hand to a ragged group of young men sitting at the edge of the pool.
“Who are they?” I said.
“Banshee,” he said.
“Band what?”
“Banshee. That’s their name. Indiana Dys’s kid Jersey is their guitarist.”
“Wait. Those are the guys that sangEver?”
“Yup.”
Franklin had been my best friend for the past thirty years. He was my freshman roommate in college. Later, I was the best man at his wedding and then the lawyer for his divorce. Between the nuptials and the divorce, his daughter, Jacine was born.
Jacine was the ostensible reason we gathered here. She just graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School, an accomplishment he’s boasted about for months. He strutted insufferably when he came from the graduation ceremony in Boston, and planned all summer for this party.
“Hey, Indiana,” said Franklin holding out his arms to one of his clients, Indiana Dys, father of the young Jersey Dys he had earlier pointed out to. The aging rocker was one of Franklin’s first clients and stuck with him all these years.
Indi gave him a huge bro hug. “Great party,” he said.
“Thanks, man.”
“Where’s that daughter of yours?”
“She’s in the house getting her bathing suit on.”
“I never understood it,” said Indi. “Two strips of fabric and it takes them hours to get ready.”
Franklin clapped his hand on Indi’s shoulder. “I suspect that if we understood women, we’d be married.”
Indi chuckled. “I get your point.”
“You know Tobias Marshall, right?”
“Sure,” said Indi sticking out his hand. “You’re Franklin’s lawyer.”
“Actually, I’m on retainer for Alexander & Wells.”
“Yeah,” said Franklin. “Someone had to give him a job.”
“Hmmm,” I replied. “I see a marked increase in billable hours if I have to defend you against a slander suit.”
“How does that work, again?” said Franklin. “I slander you, and you charge me to defend my firm against your suit? Is that even ethical?”
Indi looked at us with incredulity until he realized we were joking. Then he scoffed. “Where’s that old dog, Wells?”
“He’s on vacation,” said Franklin too easily. He took a sip of his whiskey after he told this lie, one of many he’s had to tell to cover up for that ass Wells.
In truth, Wells stopped being a viable part of the company a few years ago. The details on that I can’t talk about, but Wells agreed to leave the business in Franklin’s hands while he took his cut. Franklin, despite his ruthless business sense, is a decent man. Which is why he agreed to represent Indi’s son’s bandBanshee.
“Oh, well. Is Jersey here?”
“He’s at the edge of the pool with his friends.”
