A Matter of Life and Death Read online

  Jeff laughed. Then he leaned over and kissed Robin.

  “You’re the best,” he said.

  “Yes, I am,” she answered with a big grin.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  When I do a Q&A at a book signing, I am often asked how I got the idea for my book. In the first section of A Matter of Life and Death, Robin Lockwood represents a man who is going through a sex change operation on a charge of prostitution. Transgender issues have featured prominently in the media in recent years, but I came in contact with them as a young lawyer in the 1970s when I represented a man who was transitioning to a woman who was charged with prostitution. One of the leading experts in the field was an Oregon doctor. His testimony was the key to getting a not guilty verdict.

  To defend my client, I had to learn what a person who changes his or her sex goes through. It’s quite an ordeal, and I developed a lot of sympathy for people who go through the procedure. When I decided to revisit my case in this book, I contacted Amy Penkin at the Transgender Health Program at OHSU. She brought me up to speed on the changes that have occurred since the 1970s. I really appreciate the time she took to meet with me.

  Later in A Matter of Life and Death, Robin cross-examines a fingerprint expert. In September of 2019, the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association held a seminar on forensic science. Gentry Roth of Mach 1 Forensics gave me a lot of the information about fingerprint identification. Thanks, Gentry, for taking the time to tell me what I needed to know to write this trial scene.

  Dr. Don Girard and Dennis Balske, dear friends, also helped me with my research.

  As always, I am extremely grateful to Jennifer Weltz, my agent and first reader, and to the terrific team at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency.

  My books are always joint endeavors, and my brilliant editor, Keith Kahla, gets a lot of the credit if you thought A Matter of Life and Death was an enjoyable read. If you didn’t, the fault is mine alone. I also want to thank Hector DeJean, Martin Quinn, Sally Richardson, Alice Pfeifer, Ken Silver, David Rotstein, Chris and Sara Ensey, and everyone else at St. Martin’s for their fantastic support.

  Finally, I want to thank my fabulous wife, Melanie Nelson, for making me happy every day.

  ALSO BY PHILLIP MARGOLIN

  Heartstone

  The Last Innocent Man

  Gone, But Not Forgotten

  After Dark

  The Burning Man

  The Undertaker’s Widow

  The Associate

  Sleeping Beauty

  Lost Lake

  Worthy Brown’s Daughter

  Woman with a Gun

  Vanishing Acts (with Ami Margolin Rome)

  Amanda Jaffe Novels

  Wild Justice

  Ties That Bind

  Proof Positive

  Fugitive

  Violent Crimes

  Dana Cutler Novels

  Executive Privilege

  Supreme Justice

  Capitol Murder

  Sleight of Hand

  Robin Lockwood Novels

  The Third Victim

  The Perfect Alibi

  A Reasonable Doubt

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PHILLIP MARGOLIN has written over twenty novels, most of them New York Times bestsellers, including Gone But Not Forgotten, and the previous novels featuring Robin Lockwood, The Third Victim, The Perfect Alibi, and A Reasonable Doubt. In addition to being a novelist, he was a longtime criminal-defense attorney with decades of trial experience, including a large number of capital cases. Margolin lives in Portland, Oregon.

  Visit the author’s website at

  www.phillipmargolin.com, or sign up for email updates here.

  or find him on Facebook at

  www.facebook.com/PhillipMargolinAuthor.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Part One. The Oldest Profession

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Part Two. No Holds Barred

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Part Three. A Matter of Life and Death

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Part Four. The Farm

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Part Five. The Wages of Sin

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Phillip Margolin

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group

  A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. Copyright © 2021 by Phillip Margolin. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

  www.minotaurbooks.com

  Cover design by Jonathan Bush

  Cover art: judge © Comstock/Getty Images; wooden wall © Stockbyte/Getty Images

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-1-250-25842-7 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-250-25843-4 (ebook)

  eISBN 9781250258434

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].

  First Edition: 2021

 

 

 
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