“That makes sense.”
“Of course it does, but you’d be surprised how easily law enforcement violates it. In Lucas’s case, they got a tip he was selling drugs, but I didn’t see any notes of surveillance on the premises, shady dudes coming and going, nothing that would justify them going into the apartment. Just some vague comment from a CI, which wouldn’t be enough for a warrant. The arresting officers simply went and knocked on his door—they had no warrant, no probable cause. How did they know he had drugs?”
“Uh, I dunno.”
“Me neither.” His eyes narrowed. “But I’m sure gonna find out.”
My brain exploded. “Son of a bitch, Bailey. But…so…what the hell does all that mean?”
“It means that without probable cause they had no right to even be in the apartment. The fact that they found drugs is secondary to the defendant’s right to no unreasonable search and seizure.”
“English, please.”
Bailey folded his arms. “They had no right to enter the apartment. Lucas said no, but they said they had probable cause and went in anyway.”
“But he did have drugs.” I scratched my head. “They found a whole bunch of shit he was selling.”
Bailey huffed a sigh. “That’s the problem. We know he’s a bad dude. But the law has to protect bad people as well as good. I know he was selling drugs, and you know it, but the police must follow the rules, like all of us. Their search has to be legal, and from what I’m seeing so far, it wasn’t. They didn’t have probable cause to go to his apartment in the first place.”
“Damn. I can’t believe Ambrose was right all along.” All his bitching had paid off. “But I don’t understand. Grady’s a great attorney, and he looked through the same stuff you did. How come he didn’t see this?”
“The law has many different specialties, and Grady’s is family law. He might’ve assumed the police did the right thing. I did too at first, but something didn’t feel right.”
“So you do criminal law?”
He shrugged. “I’m a general practitioner. I do family, real estate closings, estates and trusts—although nothing too complicated—and some criminal. It’s how I’m able to stay solo. Anything I can’t handle with my resources, I refer to firms and get a fee from that.”
“And you don’t mind that you gotta suck up to the hot-shot firms?”
Clearly annoyed, he stuck his finger out. “I don’t suck up to anyone. It’s a symbiotic relationship. I refer cases to them for a fee, and many times they send their smaller matters to me and I get new clients that way. It’s business, Keston. Remember the first time I saw you at the club? You should’ve had your business cards there. Think of it like this. If you’re busy and can’t fit someone in and they don’t wanna wait, wouldn’t you refer them to someone else you knew?”
“Hmm.” I rubbed my chin. “I guess. I just never thought lawyers did that.”
“Oh, we lawyers do all kinds of things.” A cunning light kindled in Bailey’s eyes. “Come home with me, and I’ll give you a more intimate lesson in search and seizure.” He fisted my sweater and settled his mouth over mine. A hum of pleasure escaped me, and I allowed him to walk me backward toward the desk. I was about to suggest we forget going all the way uptownand instead head to my place, when the lights in the shop came on.
“Keston? You still here? Forgot my phone.”
I sprang away from Bailey, who stumbled backward. “Shit. That’s Ambrose.” I gazed at Bailey—his disheveled shirt and tie and his kiss-swollen lips left no doubt as to what we’d been doing. The scent of sex lingered in the air. “He can’t know what’s going on.”
Red patches slashed across Bailey’s cheeks. “Why not?”
A shadow darkened the lights from behind me, and anticipating trouble, I turned to see Ambrose standing there, arms crossed, a tight smile playing on his face.
“Yeah, Keston. That’s what I’d like to know. Why not?” He glanced at Bailey, who stood silent. “Wait a second. You’re that lawyer.” Ambrose’s lips thinned to a white line. “I bet he lives on the Upper West Side, right? Were you guys at the Seventy-second Street station this morning?”
My heart sank as Bailey nodded. “Yeah, why?”
“’Cause Keston swore he wasn’t there, kissing a guy on the 2 train platform. But it was you, wasn’t it?”
Hurt-filled blue eyes met mine. “Why would you lie to your friend about us?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Bailey
I’d always heard the phrase, “The tension in the room was so thick, you could cut it with a knife,” and now I watched it come to life before me. Keston locked gazes with Ambrose, even as he spoke directly to me.
“I’ll explain later, Bailey.”
