“He does not,” says Petra. Then she looks down at his sandals. “He has twelve toes.”

“Six on each foot,” says Boone.

“Gives me sick traction on the board,” Hang Twelve says.

“The strip club is actually immaterial,” Petra says. “Mr. Silver also owns a number of warehouses up in Vista, one of which burned to the ground several months ago. The insurance company investigated and, from the physical evidence, deemed it arson and refused to pay. Mr. Silver is suing for damages and for bad faith. He wants five million dollars.”

“I'm not an arson investigator,” Boone says. “I can put you in touch with-”

“Mr. Silver was having a relationship with one of his dancers,” Petra continues. “One Ms. Tamara Roddick.”

“A strip club owner banging one of his dancers,” Boone says. “Just when you think you've seen it all…”

“Recently,” Petra says, “Mr. Silver broke off the relationship and suggested that Ms. Roddick find employment elsewhere.”

“Let me finish this for you,” Boone says. “The spurned young lady, in a sudden attack of conscience, decided that she couldn't live with the guilt anymore and came forward to the insurance company to confess that she saw Silver burn his building down.”

“Something like that, yes.”

“And you bought this shit?” Boone asks.

Alan Burke is way too smart to put this Tammy babe on the stand, Boone thinks. The opposing lawyer would shred her, and the rest of Burke's case with her.

“She passed a polygraph with flying colors,” Petra says.

“Oh,” Boone says. It's the best he can think of.

“So what's the problem?” he asks.

“The problem,” Petra says, “is that Ms. Roddick is scheduled to testify tomorrow.”

“Does she surf?” Boone asks.

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Then there's no problem.”

“When I tried to contact her yesterday,” Petra says, “to make arrangements for her testimony-and to bring her some court-appropriate clothes I bought for her-she didn't respond.”