Final Exam: A Legal Thriller by Terry Huebner Read Free Book Online

loyalties.   Ben appreciated this fact and found a way to work around it without ever forgetting it.   She sat down opposite Ben on the bench that served as the guest chairs in Ben’s office.   “So, tell me, what happened?”  
    Ben sat back in the chair and took a deep breath.   “Well, it appears that our Megan is being questioned regarding the death of one of our former law professors.”  
    “You mean that guy in the paper?”  
    “That’s the one.”  
    “What did she say?”  
    “Well, not too much.   I really don’t think it’s anything.   They just wanted to get some facts.   We don’t even know how he died.   They found her name on something in his office.   Probably nothing.”  
    “So that’s what you told her?”  
    “Yeah.   I told her I didn’t think it was going to amount to anything.”  
    She noted that he wasn’t making eye contact, unusual for him.   “But you don’t really believe that, do you?” she said suspiciously.   He didn’t answer.   Scott Nelson.   Homicide detective.   He merely looked at her, a gaze which spoke volumes.   “Holy shit,” Nancy said.   “Does she want to hire you?”  
    Ben nodded.   “If she needs to, I suppose.”  
    “And you think she’s going to need to, don’t you?”  
    Ben paused.   “Is Phil going to come in today?” he asked avoiding the question.  
    “I doubt it,” she answered.   “He’s got redistricting meetings all day downtown.   You can probably catch him on the cell phone if you want to badly enough though.”  
    Ben nodded getting to his feet.   “I’ll go over to the other side to talk to Casey.   I’ll be back.”  
    “A murder case,” she said to herself as Ben walked by.  
    As he reached the door, he turned, “Nance?”   She turned to face him.   Ben simply put his forefinger across his lips in the universal symbol for silence.   She nodded.
    Ben was the last one left in the building that night.    He looked at his watch and yawned.   It had been a long day and he was tired.   He got up and walked downstairs and grabbed a beer out of the fridge in the kitchen.   It had been one of those days where he had been busy from the time he got into the office, yet what he had accomplished didn’t seem to amount to much.   Some days it seemed as though he could work for twelve hours straight and only bill for six.   Other days, far less frequent, he could work for six hours and bill for twelve.   Ben liked those days better.  
    He had Court in the morning in Wheaton and needed to get his stuff together before he could go on home.   As he took a long swallow of his beer, he couldn’t get Megan Rand out of his mind.   He couldn’t possibly fathom what evidence the police could have that caused them to link Megan Rand with the death of Daniel Greenfield, however that may have occurred.    
    He thought back to the day he first met Meg and Fran.   It was late August of 1989 when the Class of 1992 at the Chicago College of Law began law school.   Their first class was Property with Professor Gordon Hyatt.   Their second class was Criminal Law with Daniel Greenfield.   When Ben got to the classroom on the 4 th floor of the old building on Wacker Drive, many of the seats were already taken.   Greenfield hadn’t arrived yet and the students were milling about and engaging in quiet conversation.   Ben saw a seat on the aisle at the end of the second row and sat down.   A few minutes later, Megan Rand and Fran Fischer came in together.   Ben did not know either of them.   Meg took the lone empty seat next to Ben, while Fran took a seat in front of them in the first row.   It was apparent that the two women knew each other.   After a moment of small talk, Fran introduced herself.   “Hi.   I’m Fran Fischer.   This is my friend, Megan Rand.   We went to undergrad together.”  
    “Nice to meet you,” Ben said quietly with a nod.  
    A few minutes later, Professor