<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Bert Walder - The Retired Lawyer</span></div><br/><br/>Los Angeles, California<br/>The Abandoned Warehouse<br/><br/>“Thanks, kid,” Bert mumbled as a coffee was handed to him. He placed it on the table beside him.<br/><br/>Emotions. They always got in the way, messed things up, turned everything on its head. He tried to not watch as Alexandra stepped out from the room, turning his attention instead to the case beside him, fumbling with the latches to get it open, his cup of coffee abandoned on a nearby table. This case was going to be a powder keg of emotions and people were going to find it hard to keep their heads straight. Bert knew it, but something made him hold his tongue. For the moment, anyway.<br/><br/>“There...er... was an autopsy done,” Bert said as he produced a brown paper folder from his case and snapped the latches shut again. “Probably because of Silverman’s connections, but I think it was a rush job, more of a formality. I was thinking maybe we should get someone to look at…”<br/><br/>He paused before he said ‘the body’. It seemed too flat, too distant. Almost an insult to the man he knew. Bert scratched his nose to cover up the pause.<br/><br/>“… Mr. Silverman again. I know a guy down south who owes me a favor…” His eyes flicked up to Evelyn. “… or you could look at him. Assuming you can stop swaying and stand still for long enough.”<br/><br/>Bert flicked through the folder to make sure it was all there before offering it to Evelyn. “To be honest,” he continued, “I think the only way this report is going to be useful is if you use it to wipe your ass.”<br/><br/>He turned to Claude. “I mean, Jesus Christ, Baldwin. Did the PD deliberately put their greenest officers on the case, or are you all that incompetent?” The words slipped out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about them.<br/><br/>Emotions. They mess everything up.