mutt had apparently been sleeping with a rich, elderly woman and was bleeding her dry.”
After the witness was excused, the judge called a recess. Boff waited until most of the spectators had filed out, then led Cullen down the aisle toward the defense table. A stocky, mahogany-complexioned man turned, saw them coming, and broke into a smile.
“Chairman of the Boards!” the lawyer said. “What a pleasant surprise….At least I think it is.”
“I’m glad you’re happy to see me, Dave. Not many people are.” Boff pointed to Cullen. “This young man is Danny Cullen.”
“What’s he accused of?” Galloway said.
“Oh, Danny’s not a felon. He’s a professional boxer. A pretty good one, too. Or so he says. Let’s go for coffee.”
Galloway took them to a coffee shop two blocks from the courthouse. As they headed for a booth in the back, a man sitting at the counter turned and shot Boff a look filled with pure venom.
“Who was that guy who looked at you funny?” Cullen asked.
Boff waited until they were seated in the last booth in the back before replying. “A judge,” he said. “He ran the most biased trial I ever saw, yet I still helped the defendant get an acquittal. I don’t know for sure if the judge took a bribe, but he looked pretty pissed about the verdict.”
A waitress with pencils behind both ears brought a coffee pot to their booth and quickly filled their cups. After taking their orders, she left for the kitchen.
Galloway looked at Cullen. “Did the Boffer here ever tell you how he got his nickname in college?”
“No, but I gather it was because he rebounded a lot.”
Galloway pointed to Boff. “We nicknamed this guy Chairman of the Boards because no matter what bounced off the backboard, Frank grabbed it. He was like a human vacuum cleaner. Of course, what Frank probably didn’t mention was one reason he got so many rebounds. Because he was a very dirty player. And quite good at hiding his fouls from the refs.”
“I’m absolutely shocked,” Cullen said.
“I made all-conference three times,” Galloway said. “But only because Frank fed me the lion’s share of his offensive rebounds. He never said why he favored me, because I was far from the best shooter on the team, but I suspect he knew I’d miss more than I made. Which would give him more chances to pad his rebounding stats. Right, Frank?”
Boff nodded. “Guilty as charged. Another reason was that Dave wrote term papers for me and helped me cheat on exams. I wasn’t a great student. My genius only came out later in life.”
Galloway looked at his watch. “Court resumes in forty-five minutes,” he said. “So what can I do for you, buddy?”
Boff put his coffee cup down. “Somebody staged a shootout between the Bloods and the Jamaican Posse. Danny and two trainers got caught in the middle. One trainer was killed, and Danny narrowly missed taking one in the head. The cops, of course, took the lazy way out. They’re calling the incident a drive-by shooting between gangs. They said the trainer was just collateral damage. I don’t for a minute believe that. I’m pretty certain someone used the drive-by as a cover to try and kill Danny.”
Galloway smiled. “You’ve always did have a very low opinion of cops.”
“And you didn’t?”
Galloway laughed. “Yeah, sure. Anyway, I don’t see how I can be of use to you.”
Boff picked his coffee back up, sipped, then put it back down. “I’ll get to that in a minute. First, you need to know that I’m looking for the contractor who set this little charade up.”
Galloway looked surprised at that. “Really? Aren’t you the guy who defends killers? Not hunts them down?”
“Without going into details, let’s just say my wife put me up to this.”
Galloway appeared amused. “Wait’ll I tell the boys. Frank Boff working the righteous side of the street again. That’ll get some laughs.”
Boff frowned. “Dave, for old time’s sake, would you not
After the witness was excused, the judge called a recess. Boff waited until most of the spectators had filed out, then led Cullen down the aisle toward the defense table. A stocky, mahogany-complexioned man turned, saw them coming, and broke into a smile.
“Chairman of the Boards!” the lawyer said. “What a pleasant surprise….At least I think it is.”
“I’m glad you’re happy to see me, Dave. Not many people are.” Boff pointed to Cullen. “This young man is Danny Cullen.”
“What’s he accused of?” Galloway said.
“Oh, Danny’s not a felon. He’s a professional boxer. A pretty good one, too. Or so he says. Let’s go for coffee.”
Galloway took them to a coffee shop two blocks from the courthouse. As they headed for a booth in the back, a man sitting at the counter turned and shot Boff a look filled with pure venom.
“Who was that guy who looked at you funny?” Cullen asked.
Boff waited until they were seated in the last booth in the back before replying. “A judge,” he said. “He ran the most biased trial I ever saw, yet I still helped the defendant get an acquittal. I don’t know for sure if the judge took a bribe, but he looked pretty pissed about the verdict.”
A waitress with pencils behind both ears brought a coffee pot to their booth and quickly filled their cups. After taking their orders, she left for the kitchen.
Galloway looked at Cullen. “Did the Boffer here ever tell you how he got his nickname in college?”
“No, but I gather it was because he rebounded a lot.”
Galloway pointed to Boff. “We nicknamed this guy Chairman of the Boards because no matter what bounced off the backboard, Frank grabbed it. He was like a human vacuum cleaner. Of course, what Frank probably didn’t mention was one reason he got so many rebounds. Because he was a very dirty player. And quite good at hiding his fouls from the refs.”
“I’m absolutely shocked,” Cullen said.
“I made all-conference three times,” Galloway said. “But only because Frank fed me the lion’s share of his offensive rebounds. He never said why he favored me, because I was far from the best shooter on the team, but I suspect he knew I’d miss more than I made. Which would give him more chances to pad his rebounding stats. Right, Frank?”
Boff nodded. “Guilty as charged. Another reason was that Dave wrote term papers for me and helped me cheat on exams. I wasn’t a great student. My genius only came out later in life.”
Galloway looked at his watch. “Court resumes in forty-five minutes,” he said. “So what can I do for you, buddy?”
Boff put his coffee cup down. “Somebody staged a shootout between the Bloods and the Jamaican Posse. Danny and two trainers got caught in the middle. One trainer was killed, and Danny narrowly missed taking one in the head. The cops, of course, took the lazy way out. They’re calling the incident a drive-by shooting between gangs. They said the trainer was just collateral damage. I don’t for a minute believe that. I’m pretty certain someone used the drive-by as a cover to try and kill Danny.”
Galloway smiled. “You’ve always did have a very low opinion of cops.”
“And you didn’t?”
Galloway laughed. “Yeah, sure. Anyway, I don’t see how I can be of use to you.”
Boff picked his coffee back up, sipped, then put it back down. “I’ll get to that in a minute. First, you need to know that I’m looking for the contractor who set this little charade up.”
Galloway looked surprised at that. “Really? Aren’t you the guy who defends killers? Not hunts them down?”
“Without going into details, let’s just say my wife put me up to this.”
Galloway appeared amused. “Wait’ll I tell the boys. Frank Boff working the righteous side of the street again. That’ll get some laughs.”
Boff frowned. “Dave, for old time’s sake, would you not
Similar Books
