The Convenient Wife
by Kelly

chapter 34

"She said no?" Jack exploded in disbelief.

"It's not gonna happen."

"Why the hell not? Sonny's kicked her to the curb. It looks to the
world like he's taken up with his former lover again. Why the hell
wouldn't Carly salvage her pride and self-esteem and help us put the
bastard behind bars where he belongs?"

"Because she has no pride or self-esteem," Ric snapped. "She won't do
it, Jack. She'll plead the fifth if I try to get her on that stand.
And I can't repeat what she told me when she was half-drunk on the
phone at two or three am. It's hearsay. No matter how angry Carly is
at my brother, she's not gonna send him to jail. Disgrace him, yeah.
Humiliate him, sure. But send the father of her kids to the big
house? No way."

"Then we won't win this hearing today. There's really no way to prove
they married to mess with the case unless Carly Corinthos testifies
to that fact."

Ric turned his solemn black gaze to Jack, completely unfazed by his
words.

"Lansing, why the hell are you so calm?"

"Because all is not lost. We don't need Carly."

He tossed a file onto the desk and looked directly at Jack. "That was
pushed under my door a few nights ago by some helpful soul. With
what's in that file, we can damage Alexis' credibility with Sonny so
badly that the two of them will fall apart at the seams. He loves
her, Jack. I know it as surely as I know my own name. And I'm going
to rip that love away piece by piece today. And when he has no one to
trust…no one to turn to…he'll shut down like the little megalomaniac
he is. And then we'll have him."

Jack examined the file; his whole face changed. He looked up at Ric
with a new respect and maybe just a tinge of wariness. "Remind me
never to piss you off, Lansing."

His face devoid of emotion, Ric nodded. "I'll do that."

***

"Your Honor, it's clear to me that Mr. Corinthos married just to keep
the government from questioning his wife about the hit on AJ
Quartermaine. It's just the latest abuse of the law for a man who has
made a career of such crimes."

It was amazing how many lawyers were in love with their own voices,
Judge Marion Long mused. She eyed the federal prosecutor's cocky
stance as he rattled off the third paragraph of his wordy opening
statement. One would have thought the man was standing in front of
the Supreme Court arguing about the Bush-Gore-Florida fiasco. It was
just a preliminary hearing, for Pete's sake.

Since it had been such a hurriedly scheduled action, all the relevant
parties sat tensely in a small room usually reserved for depositions
at the back of the courthouse. It was the perfect setting: intimate
enough for Marion to observe the players closely and formal enough to
keep them all just a little bit on edge. She leaned back in her
chair, steepled her hands against her chest and eyed each of them
with the thoroughness of a chemist observing lab rats in an
experiment.

Jack Grayson was staking his professional rep and his career
advancement on bringing Corinthos down, that much was clear.

Justus Ward…he'd appeared before her once maybe twice before. Earnest
enough for a lawyer. Knew his stuff. Came prepared.

Ric Lansing sat in the background, his eyes on the wall, the carpet,
and his hands alternately. But his eyes kept darting back to Ms.
Davis-Corinthos every few moments when he thought no one was looking.
Someone had a bad case of misplaced affection there…

But the Corinthoses were the real sight to behold. The infamous
Sonny, the mobster, as smooth as they came, handsome as the devil
himself. Guilty of 90% of the charges leveled against him in the
past, she was sure. But he never broke a sweat. Always cruised to
freedom aided by a high priced attorney…usually the one at his side
now.

Alexis Davis…tough cookie…a Cassadine…well-bred and well-educated…but
she was as taut as a high wire. She constantly sought the reassurance
of Sonny's gaze. And he gave it freely. It was an almost unconscious
act for the both of them. And once, Marion noted, Sonny grabbed his
wife's hand. Not in an obvious or showy way, but unobtrusively. He
simply took it and held it gingerly against his thigh, giving her a
small smile that made the woman's whole body relax in the chair
beside him.

There was genuine connection there, Marion decided. Though to what
degree it went, she could not tell.

Grayson neared his fifth paragraph of monologue and the jurist's
patience dissolved.
"Jack, I have a short attention span," she cut in dryly. "Either get
to the point or I'll throw this out right now."

The prosecutor stared at her dumbfounded for a beat, and then quickly
recovered. "Your Honor, I can bring a boatload of people in here to
testify that prior to this wedding, Mr. Corinthos was the sworn enemy
of Ms. Davis," he avowed. "They were at each other's throats since
her sister's death at the hands of a Corinthos rival."

"And that proves exactly nothing, Your Honor, " Justus
interjected. "I mean, how many couples do you know that have overcome
difficulty in a personal relationship and found their way back to
each other? We can't legislate romance."

"Eloquently stated, Mr. Ward, and quite true," Judge Long
replied. "But their timing does seem a bit too convenient."

Grayson, seeing an opening, hopped all over it. "You're absolutely
correct, ma'am. If you look at the date of the wedding ceremony and
the rushed nature of the arrangements, it is obvious that the two of
them are committing a fraud."

"It's only obvious to me that they wanted to be together as soon as
possible," their lawyer countered. "And knowing what Mr. Corinthos
was soon to face in court, perhaps they wanted to be wed and face it
together. Again, you can't legislate romance."

Grayson rolled his eyes. "Still, the government finds it awfully
interesting that Mr. Corinthos evaded prosecution yet another time by
marrying the principal witness in an action against him, one Caroline
Benson Corinthos. Was that romance, too, or do I see a pattern of
fraud?"

"Is this true, Mr. Ward?"

"The FBI never proved fraud when my client married his ex-wife,
Carly," Justus argued. "The two of them had known each other for
quite some time before they wed. And after all, they remained married
for years and even have two children from their union."

"So it appears that their marriage was—on some level—genuine," Marion
stated, looking down at a stack of paperwork on the table in front of
her. "As for the current union, the marriage license is legal.
There's documentation here from the priest in San Rafael who did the
deed. No argument there, Mr. Grayson?"

The prosecutor shook his head. "No, Your Honor."

"Then Mr. Ward has bested you on every single point you brought up
today. Listen, in the interest of time, let's cut to the chase. I'd
like to speak to the newlyweds myself…if counsel approves."

Justus grew tense. "Your Honor, this is highly irregular—"

Marion held up her hand to forestall him. "Before you blow a gasket,
counselor, I only have one question. Let's start with Ms. Davis. You
are an officer of the court. Is it your testimony that this marriage
to Mr. Corinthos is genuine and a union based on love?"

Justus lay a hand on her arm and whispered, "She can't make you
testify or incriminate yourself."

Judge Long gave a wry smile. "Mr. Ward, you are well worth your
retainer. That's true. But why would your client NOT want to defend
her marriage on the record?"

Marion watched Sonny take a deep breath and hold it while his bride
seemed about to pass out beside him. When no response was forthcoming
from either, the judge asked again. "Alexis Davis, do you love your
husband?"

chapter 35