First Do No Harm (Benjamin Davis Book Series, Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

1942. It was one of the first pieces I acquired for my private collection. He’s been dead for almost fifty years, so he won’t mind my gifting it to you. If you decide to sell it, be careful. Use the sources I previously provided you.
    I will love and remember your mother, my dear sister, until the day I die.
    Love,
    Uncle Wilhelm
    Lars began to cry. Although Alice made dinner reservations at their favorite Italian restaurant in Nashville, she went to the kitchen to take two steaks out of the refrigerator. There would be no restaurant visit tonight.

CHAPTER FOUR
THE HOOK
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1992
    Benjamin Abraham Davis was not a native Nashvillian. He was a nice Jewish boy, born in Brooklyn, New York, who grew up on Long Island, but he left New York when he was eighteen years old. Nashville had been his home for almost twenty years now. He had come to the city to get his law degree and a master’s degree in business from Vanderbilt University but stayed after meeting his wife and his boss, Morty Steine. He was a Yankee, proud of his distinct New York accent. Davis used the cachet of his accent to his advantage by charming his clients. His charm first won over Morty.
    Davis was a second-semester punk law student when he applied for a clerkship at Morty Steine’s office. To that point, the cigar-smoking Steine was a lone wolf, practicing solo, with the help of his middle-aged secretary, Bella Rosario. Despite its size, the Steine law firm had achieved national prominence, with Morty representing many celebrities, specifically country music artists and songwriters.
    Davis worked diligently with Morty, learning from him, benefiting from his guidance, and ultimately earning his respect and a partnership. Davis became the son that Morty and his wife, Goldie, never had.However, he was smothered professionally by Morty. Despite Davis’s hard work and dedication, Morty got the credit, not only in the eyes of the clients but in Davis’s eyes as well. Davis felt a twinge of jealousy enhanced by his strong need for recognition.
    After working together for almost twenty years, as he explained to his protégé, seventy-two-year-old Morty was retiring to spend as much time as possible with his beloved Goldie, who was dying from stage IV ovarian cancer. Whatever time she had left, he wanted to be by her side. She needed him, Morty confided to Davis, and he knew his clients would be in good hands. He would, however, work a few hours a couple of days a week until he finished up two pending cases.
    Davis was confident that the clients would get excellent service from him, but he was concerned that because of Morty’s charisma and dominance, the clients might elect to go elsewhere for their confidential and personal legal advice. Davis felt he needed Morty’s unconditional endorsement so that the firm’s business would transfer effortlessly. The clients knew Davis and were familiar with his work, but they loved Morty.
    Yesterday was Morty’s last full day at the firm, and tonight Davis and others would honor him for his contribution to the law and to the community. Davis was throwing Morty a retirement party at Hillwood Country Club, where Davis was a member. The club was within walking distance of Davis’s house, although he never had time to play golf. Living in Hillwood, in West Nashville, was not as prestigious as living in Belle Meade, but it was a well-respected neighborhood.
    Davis had invited almost three hundred clients, politicians, and members of the Bar and judiciary.Beyond honoring Morty, it was also Davis’s coming out party from under the shadow of his friend and mentor. He needed to impress the firm’s clientele.
    Davis had flown in a very special toastmaster, retired United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Morty and Marshall fought shoulder-to-shoulder for equality and civil rights in the fifties when Marshall was the general counsel for the NAACP.
    Liza and Davis picked up the Steines at their farm,