Page 52 of Omega's Fever

“Did you ever see him wear designer clothes?”

“Oh sure,” Tony says. “He just dressed down sometimes.”

“Which designer? Can you describe the clothes?”

Tony’s eyes dart to me. “Uh sure. He had....designer jeans. And one of those shirts. Tommy Hilfiger, I think.” He glances at someone sat in the viewing area. “Also Gucci.”

“You think.” Milo says. “Also Gucci,” he repeats. “Mr Briggs, are you just throwing out names?”

“No.” Tony looks indignant.

“Okay, describe a Gucci item that Mr Hayes wore. Anything would do.”

“Uh...”

“Anything at all.”

“He had....like... he had Gucci shoes.”

“What did they look like?”

“They were... uh... brown and leather.”

“Brown and leather. How did you know they were Gucci?”

“Uh... they... uh... had the little logo thing on the side.”

I have no damn idea whether Gucci puts their logos on theirshoes and it’s obvious that Tony has no idea either.

“What does the Gucci logo look like?”

Tony glances again at someone in the audience. “It’s a G?”

“Are you sure?”

Tony has always been a cocky guy so he evidently decides he might as well run with it. “Yes. He wore them all the time. And all the other stuff.”

Milo rolls his eyes. “Mr Briggs, if I were to show you a selection of designer logos, do you feel confident you could pick out the ones that Mr Hayes wore to flash his wealth? You know, on the days that he wasn’t dressing down.”

“I don’t know all of them.”

“That’s fine. Just the ones that you’re familiar with. The ones that you’re testifying Mr Hayes wore.”

“Uh sure.”

Milo goes back to his table and picks up a tablet. He begins grilling Briggs, showing him logo after logo. When he identifies a brand of dog food as something I wore regularly, Milo puts the tablet down. “No further questions for this witness.”

Tony practically runs from the stand. As he passes the gallery, I see him exchange a look with Joey Vaughn. A look that says he fucked up. That says there will be consequences.

Sutter looks like she’s swallowed something sour.

Melkham lets out a sigh, “Very well. We’ll adjourn for lunch. Next witness from two p.m.”

The gavel falls, and the courtroom erupts in motion. But I’m watching Joey Vaughn, who’s already heading for the exit with his phone out. Reporting back. Telling Cobb that the pretty omega lawyer is a problem.

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Milo