Richard Lavine

Perfect Pitch: a Novel Richard Lavine

When Al Morgan, known in his Washington law firm as "the Reptile," is found murdered in his elegant Watergate apartment, nobody is sorry. His harassment of women and his sleazy manipulation of legal matters had repelled everyone, especially Linda Black, the cool aggressive managing partner of the firm. Tony Fortune, the promising young associate being groomed for partnership, found out at age 12 that he had perfect pitch, not just in music but in sizing up people. He knows the real from the fake. Yet he wrestles with the tensions between ethics and ambition in dealing with an important corporate client. Suzanne, a "do-gooder" lawyer who has been going out with Tony, is desperate to raise money to pay off the debts of her mother, an addictive gambler. In a bar, Suzanne meets two con artists, Bobbie Hunt and Curly Mershaw, who might go along with her insider trading proposal. Bobbie, a self-styled hooker with heart, saw Al Morgan as a regular client, which enraged Curly, a psychopathic redneck. Police Lieutenant Scott Duncan and his seductive African-American partner, Sergeant Melody Sharpe, interview all of the above suspects as they explore motives and suspicions. Their own developing liaison and the police milieu they move in provide added interest. One lingering question hovers over them: For all of Morgan's crudity, why did somebody go to the length of killing him? What did Morgan know? And who knew he knew it? The fast-moving dialogue and engrossing flashbacks offer suspense and insight.