The three of them came in and followed me to the living room.
“Daphne, this is Tina Rivera,” Dice said.
She extended her hand to me. “Hi, Daphne. It’s nice to finally meet you in person. Dice was just telling me about your recent hospitalization. How are you feeling?”
“I still have a way to go, but I’m much better than I was.”
“I came by to drop off something for Dice, but I’m glad you’re here. I left a couple of messages for you, but I didn’t realize you were in the hospital. Could we talk for a few minutes?”
“Of course. Please, have a seat.”
“Would you guys mind giving us some privacy?” Tina asked.
“That’s not necessary. They know all about my divorce troubles.”
“I began working on your case, intending to continue what your other lawyer started. At any time, did you ask him to withdraw the filing?”
“I’m not sure what that means,” I said.
“It means to cancel the divorce.”
“No. Absolutely not. I’m not even sure I knew you could do that. But more importantly, why are you asking?”
“When I looked up your case to see what had been done and what still needed to be done, I discovered that the filing had been withdrawn two weeks after it was submitted.”
“Are you saying my divorce wascanceled?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. And if you didn’t request for the motion to be withdrawn, I’m afraid we might have a different problem on our hands.”
“I’m afraid to ask,” I said honestly.
“Do you happen to know the dates you met with your lawyer? And any bills you received from him?”
I reached for my phone. “Give me just a moment to look in my calendar for the dates. I know I have his invoices saved in my email. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking he canceled your divorce without your consent and continued to bill you for services he wasn’t providing,” she said. “And if that’s the case, I have to report him to the bar association.”
“Here we go,” I said and showed her my phone. “These are the dates I met with him.”
She glanced at her own phone. “Yep. Those last two appointments were after he withdrew the filing. Can you forward the invoices to me?”
“Sure,” I said. “What does this mean for my divorce?”
“We can still proceed with your divorce like we discussed. If I have to file new paperwork, it will be like starting from scratch with the waiting period, but I’m going to speak with one of the judges and see if we can go from the original date since you didn’t authorize the withdrawal. Either way, you’ll get your divorce. It just might take a little longer than we thought. And Ernie McGee is going to have some questions to answer.”
“Are you sure about that? I have enough going on without adding a pissed off lawyer to the mix,” I said.
“Oh, this isn’t the first time Ernie’s been in trouble with the bar association. That’s why I asked you how you came to be his client. He tends to deal with less reputable people. I honestly don’t know how he still has his license. He is definitely one of the lawyers who give the rest of us a bad name. But you don’t have to worry about him. I’m the one who will be reporting him, and between the Blackwings and Mr. Peccati, he knows better than to mess with me or any of my clients.”
“Mr. Peccati? I sold the diner for him. He’s such a nice man,” I said.
“Yeah, a nice Mafia man,” Ink said.
“Mr. Peccati’s association with the Mafia has never been confirmed,” Tina replied.
“I’m glad I didn’t know that when I was working on the diner deal,” I said. “I would have been a nervous wreck.”
“Luca’s just like Phoenix, but in a suit instead of leather,” Ink said. “Now, Lorcan’s a different story.”