• Complain

Perri O'Shaughnessy - Unfit to Practice

Here you can read online Perri O'Shaughnessy - Unfit to Practice full text of the book (entire story) in english for free. Download pdf and epub, get meaning, cover and reviews about this ebook. genre: Detective and thriller. Description of the work, (preface) as well as reviews are available. Best literature library LitArk.com created for fans of good reading and offers a wide selection of genres:

Romance novel Science fiction Adventure Detective Science History Home and family Prose Art Politics Computer Non-fiction Religion Business Children Humor

Choose a favorite category and find really read worthwhile books. Enjoy immersion in the world of imagination, feel the emotions of the characters or learn something new for yourself, make an fascinating discovery.

No cover

Unfit to Practice: summary, description and annotation

We offer to read an annotation, description, summary or preface (depends on what the author of the book "Unfit to Practice" wrote himself). If you haven't found the necessary information about the book — write in the comments, we will try to find it.

Its the moment every lawyer fears most One careless moment that threatens careers, reputations, livesFor Nina Reilly, it will change everything igniting a case where her own clients are witnesses against her and where the defendant is Nina herself. One September night in Lake Tahoe when her unlocked truck is stolen, her life changes forever. Gone are her most sensitive case files, complete with the sometimes brutally candid notes she took while interviewing her clients. Its every attorneys nightmare. And now the worst has happened: the secrets are being revealed, one by one, in ways that will cause the greatest harm. As reputations are ruined and people begin to diea chilling pattern of rage and revenge comes into focus. Someone is bent on destroying the lives of Ninas clients and, in the process, Nina Reilly.

Perri O'Shaughnessy: author's other books


Who wrote Unfit to Practice? Find out the surname, the name of the author of the book and a list of all author's works by series.

Unfit to Practice — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Unfit to Practice" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

Reset

Interval:

Bookmark:

Make
Perri OShaughnessy Unfit to Practice The eighth book in the Nina Reilly - photo 1

Perri O'Shaughnessy

Unfit to Practice

The eighth book in the Nina Reilly series, 2002

D EDICATED TO

ALL THE DESPERADOS OUT THERE TRYING

TO PRACTICE LAW ALONE

Prologue A FTER BEING DROPPED OFF at a filthy parking lot underneath a - photo 2***Prologue A FTER BEING DROPPED OFF at a filthy parking lot underneath a gloomy - photo 3

Prologue

A FTER BEING DROPPED OFF at a filthy parking lot underneath a gloomy concrete overpass, Nina Reilly stopped in for coffee at the Roastery on the corner of Howard and Main streets. A river of chilly air flowed through the tunnel-like streets around the skyscrapers of the Financial District. The buildings seemed to lean in at her, threatening. She had her pick of caffeine oases, not that it mattered. She was not here by choice. Any black bile would do.

At the bottom of Howard, the Embarcadero and Bay Bridge buzzed unseen, angry hives of energy. The tall buildings glass reflected the suns intense beams right at her. People glowed like aliens, or so she projected. San Francisco wasnt her city anymore. The town of South Lake Tahoe had sheltered her for the last few years after she left the Montgomery Street law firm where she had begun the practice of law, and the city had become a stranger.

Nina sank into a rattan chair. A young man at the next table, his Chinese newspaper close to his nose, blew steam across his cup.

Women like her, wearing expensive jackets and gold earrings, waited anxiously in line, then carried their medicine right out the door, swallowing on the run.

Where was Jack?

She watched a boy from some cold country, bearing a heavy backpack, lounge against the counter, waiting for his espresso. Next to him a balding man, not very much older but with the suit and briefcase of one who has settled into his life, took an apple from a bowl while the woman behind the counter heated up a muffin. The scent of cinnamon moved through the room, smelling of home, its effect immediate and painful. She thought of Bob, who was staying with her brother, Matt, back in Tahoe. She needed her son beside her but she didnt want to put him through this. It would hurt him too much.

She looked around. Jack should be here by now.

What a strange and terrible day, she thought, taking in the sounds of traffic and the city through the open doors.

Here she sat waiting for her ex-husband, a man she had never expected to see again, but as a result of this six-month-old legal case they had a closer relationship now than when they were married. Jack as a colleague was a savvy, reassuring presence beside her-a much better lawyer than he had been a husband.

Jack blew through the door from Main Street, tossing a raincoat on the chair next to hers. Sorry Im late.

I just got here myself. We got stuck in traffic coming off the Bay Bridge. How much time do we have?

A few minutes. What time did you leave Tahoe?

Four-thirty. A long, long time before the dawn. She tried to smile back, remembering that attitude is everything. Reinforcements had arrived and she should straighten up.

Jack looked spiffy in his suit, his square jaw scraped clean. Fresh from the blow-dryer, his ginger hair stuck out as if fired by electricity.

Smoothing his hair down with one hand, he read from the green boards. Ill be right back, he said, getting up and walking over to the counter.

Nina watched him sneak in front of a pale office worker, apologizing as if he hadnt seen her, offering to wait in line behind her, but the girl was already bewitched and said, oh, no, you go ahead. Jack had charm, that rare quality that eased the tensions in the courtroom as well as in life. Good. He would need that magnetism over the next few days.

He returned and slurped, careful of his white collar. Then he took her hand. Relax, now. Its just another day in court. His eyes moved over her in a mix of personal and professional interest. I like the suit. You could pull your hair back.

Nina considered the measure of control Jack now had over her, found a barrette in her purse, and pulled her long brown hair back.

We should go in a couple of minutes. Well be more comfortable if we have a minute to settle in before the judge shows up. You look worried. No, you look mad. Mad and worried. Whats up?

Im ready to fight, only who are we fighting? I cant stand this feeling that were being manipulated.

So we use the hearing to find out. We focus on that. Meanwhile, dont get weird on me.

Ill look confident. But dont tell me how to feel. His eyes moved to her hand, where she had bitten a nail down to the quick. She rubbed her lips with her finger, opened her briefcase and withdrew a delicate mirror, then looked herself in the eye. The eye was still brown and showed no panic. Amazing.

Why didnt you come down from Tahoe yesterday? I can see how tired you are, and were just starting. You should have stayed with me in Bernal Heights last night, saved yourself that drive. What did you think I would do? Jump you?

She didnt answer, telling herself, this is not the time. Lack of sleep and the months of tension building to this moment were unfettering them both.

Sorry, Jack said after a moment. The shoes are nice. You look remarkably respectable today. Like someone I might marry. He smiled, and the smile invited her to play along. He always wanted to brush the edge off, smooth things over with humor. Life is folly, his eyes told her. When she didnt smile back, his face hardened and he turned back into Jack the Knife, his lawyer-self. She preferred that. She believed it to be the real him.

His eyes flitted to his watch. Time to go.

They left, hustling although they were still early.

Ninas new briefcase felt heavier with every step. Its contents, tagged paper exhibits, represented months of work. This was the most important hearing of her career. Still, she was not ready. She could never be ready for this.

They moved through a warren of skyscrapers into a dank alleyway. At an outdoor stand, more coffee shot into impatiently jiggling cups. The whole city seemed to be fueled with caffeine, hyper, irritable, on the move. Pushing through double doors, they walked up to a security desk. Good morning. Do we need to sign in? Jack asked.

A friendly black woman eyed their attachs. You going up to the court?

Thats us. Is the judge in a good mood?

You tell me when you see him. Sign in up there, she said. Sixth floor.

The elevator gleamed bronze and silver. They rode up in silence, exited toward a sign that read QUIET, PLEASE. COURT IN SESSION, and laid their nail clippers, keys, and coins on a brown plastic tray before passing through the metal detector. As Nina walked through, the alarm sounded. The attendant, a young man in a starched white shirt, motioned her back. He looked down at her feet. Hmm. No buckles, he said.

She removed her watch and walked through again. Again it rang. By this time other people in a small waiting area to the left, several that she knew, were staring at her. She swallowed and tried to think what in the world she was wearing that would make the thing go off. An underwire bra? No, shed gone for the soft athletic one, invisible under her suit jacket and more comfortable for a long court day. She was already ridiculous. She felt an urge to flee.

Your barrette, Nina, Jack said.

Nodding, she removed it. Her hair billowed out, but she walked through soundlessly this time. The guard smiled at her and handed her the barrette. Sign in here. He pushed a lined pad toward her. Put 9:22 as when you checked in. You dont have to sign out if you leave for a few minutes. Just at the end of the day.

Next page
Light

Font size:

Reset

Interval:

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Unfit to Practice»

Look at similar books to Unfit to Practice. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.


Reviews about «Unfit to Practice»

Discussion, reviews of the book Unfit to Practice and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.