Blood Brothers by Rick Acker Page B

civil or criminal convictions and no record of professional discipline. He and his wife collectively have investments with a total market value of roughly one and a half million dollars, which probably generate an annual income of around forty thousand. They also receive roughly one hundred thousand dollars a year from a large structured settlement in which Corbin shares under a contingent-fee agreement. They have no debt aside from credit-card balances, which they pay off monthly.”
    “No debt at all?” interjected Karl. “That’s unusual.”
    “It is,” agreed Geist. “That settlement I mentioned also paid Corbin a two-million-dollar lump sum six months ago. He and his wife paid off their mortgage and all their other loans and invested the rest.”
    “That’s also around the time he won that case involving the Chechens, right?”
    Geist nodded.
    “Were those flukes?” Karl continued. “What’s his reputation as a lawyer?”
    “Corbin practices law alone. He shares offices with his wife, and the two of them use a single secretary. He has a good reputation, but he has handled mostly nickel-and-dime cases. One partner at a large firm said that Corbin didn’t have the resources to handle a major case.”
    “That’s useful to know,” replied Karl. He jotted down a note to pass this information along to his lawyers. “What about his personal background?”
    “He’s the third child of a Chicago banker and grew up moderately well-off. He played football in high school and made good grades there and in college. He got mostly Bs and Cs in law school, but he got straight As in courses like trial advocacy and moot court.
    “He met his wife, Noelle, in college, and they married after his second year in law school, while he was a summer associate at the law firm of Beale & Ripley. They offered him a job when he came back from his honeymoon, and he took it.
    “After seven years at Beale & Ripley, he went out on his own last year. Shortly after that, he took on a case involving biological weapons. It received extensive media coverage and led to the breakup of a large terrorist cell.”
    “I’m familiar with it,” replied Karl, who had run a Google News search on Corbin. “Anything else I should know about Mr. Corbin?”
    “If there is, our searches didn’t uncover it.”
    “All right, what about his wife?”
    “As you already know, she’s an accountant, who shares offices with her husband. She may have chosen her profession because she comes from a financially troubled family. Her father went through bankruptcy twice, and the family moved frequently because of money problems. Her mother worked two jobs, and both Noelle and her brother went to work when they reached sixteen, probably to help support the family.”
    “How was she able to afford college?” Karl said.
    “She was valedictorian of her high school class and received a partial scholarship. She also worked part time all four years.”
    “I’m impressed. Say, Alex, how much would it cost to have you say no if someone ever asked you to investigate me?”
    Geist smiled. “I get that question a lot. I’ll send you my standard fee chart.”

    Half an hour later, Sergei’s phone rang.
    “Hello, Sergei,” said a man’s voice—familiar, but Sergei couldn’t quite place it. “It’s Alex Geist.”
    “Hello, Alex,” Sergei replied in surprise. “What can I do for you?” He hadn’t spoken to Alex the Ghost for several years. Geist was an international intelligence and counterintelligence specialist who had worked for the CIA and military intelligence for decades before retiring and entering the half-life of consultancy. He had advised several foreign governments and a number of multinational corporations, including two that Sergei had investigated while he was at the Bureau. The Ghost’s advice must have been good, because the FBI had come up dry in both investigations, despite the strong suspicions of the investigating team. Sergei had