“Actually, I think it’s ‘do and die.’ That was the point of the poem. They didn’t have the choice to do or die. They had to do and die.”
“So you know your Tennyson. I like ‘do or die’ better. The point is, did Lisa Trammel kill Mitchell Bondurant? I really don’t know. She says she didn’t and that’s good enough for me. If it’s not good enough for you, then I’ll take you off this one and put you back on foreclosures full-time.”
“No,” Aronson said quickly. “I want to stay. I’m in.”
“That’s good. Not many lawyers get to sit second chair on a murder case ten months out of law school.”
She looked at me, eyes wide.
“Second chair?”
I nodded.
“You deserve it. You’ve done some really good work on this.”
But the light quickly faded.
“What?”
“I just don’t know why you can’t have it both ways. You know, give unbridled effort in your defense but be conscientious about your work. Try for the best outcome.”
“The best outcome for who? Your client? Society? Or for yourself? Your responsibility is to your client and the law, Bullocks. That’s it.”
I gave her a long stare before continuing.
“Don’t go growing a conscience on me,” I said. “I’ve been down that road. It doesn’t lead you to anything good.”
Ten
After spending most of the day setting up the office I didn’t get home till almost eight. I found my ex-wife sitting on the steps leading up to the front deck. Our daughter wasn’t with her. In the past year there had been several encounters between us that did not include Hayley and I was thrilled by the prospect of another. I was dog-tired from the day’s mental and physical work but I could easily rally for Maggie McFierce.
“Hey, Mags. You forget the key?”
She got up, and just from her stiff posture and the way she dusted off the backside of her jeans all businesslike I knew something wasn’t right. When I got to the top step I moved in for a kiss-just on the cheek. But she immediately made an evasive maneuver and my suspicion was confirmed.
“That’s where Hayley gets it,” I said. “The old duck and roll when I give her a kiss.”
“Well, I’m not here for that, Haller. I didn’t use my key because I thought you might consider it some sort of conflict of interest if you found a prosecutor in your house.”
Now I got it.
“Yoga today? You saw Andrea Freeman?”
“That’s right.”
Suddenly, I didn’t feel the strength to rally anymore. I unlocked the door like a prisoner punished with the indignity of letting himself into the room where they give you the needle.
“Come on in. I guess we’ll get this over with.”
She came in quickly, my last comment throwing another log on her fire.
“What you did was despicable. Using our daughter in such an underhanded way.”
I wheeled around on her.
“Using our daughter? I did no such thing. Our daughter was put in the middle of this thing and I learned of it only by accident.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re disgusting.”
“No, I’m a defense lawyer. And your good pal Andy was discussing me and my case with my ex-wife in front of my daughter. And then she outright lied to me.”
“What are you talking about? She doesn’t lie.”
“I’m not talking about Hayley. I’m talking about Andy. I asked her on the first day she was on the case if she knew you and she said she knew you only in passing. I think we can agree that that is not the case. And I don’t know for sure but I would guess that if we described this situation to ten different judges that maybe ten would consider it a conflict.”
“Look, we weren’t discussing you or the case. It came up when we were having lunch. Hayley happened to be there. What am I supposed to do, disavow my friends because of you? It doesn’t work that way.”
“If it was no big deal, why did she lie to me?”
“It wasn’t a direct lie. It’s not like we’re best friends or anything. Besides, she probably didn’t want you to get into it like you have anyway.”
“So now we’re qualifying lies on a sliding scale. Some are indirect and no big deal. Don’t worry about those lies.”
“Haller, don’t be an asshole.”
“Look, you want something to drink?”
“I don’t want anything. I came to tell you that you not only embarrassed me and your daughter, but yourself. It was low, Haller. You used something innocent from your own daughter to get an edge. It was really low.”
I was still holding my briefcase. I put it down on the table in the dining alcove. I put my hands on the top of one of the chairs and leaned down on it as I thought out my comeback.
“Come on,” Maggie said, baiting me. “You always have a quick answer for everything. The great defender. Let’s hear it this time.”
I laughed and shook my head. She was so damn beautiful when she was mad. It was disarming. And the bad part was I think she knew it.
“Oh, so this is funny. You threaten to ruin someone’s career and then can laugh about it.”
“I didn’t threaten to ruin her career. I threatened to kick her off the case. And no, it’s not funny. It’s just that…”
“What, Haller? It’s just that what? I’ve been sitting out there for two hours wondering if you were going to show up because I want to know how you could do this.”
I stepped away from the table and went on the offensive, moving toward her as I spoke. Making her step back and then crowding her into a corner, ending my words with my finger pointing inches from her chest.
“I did it because I’m a defense attorney and as a defense attorney I have taken an oath to defend my clients to the best of my ability. So, yes, I saw an advantage here. Your good pal Andy-and you-clearly crossed a line. Sure, no harm was done-as far as I know. But that doesn’t mean the line wasn’t crossed. If you jump a fence with a sign on it that says NO TRESPASSING then you are still trespassing even if you jump right back across. So I became aware of this trespass and I used it to my advantage to get something I need to defend my client. Something I should’ve been given as a matter of course but which your friend was holding back simply because she could.
“Was she within the rules? Yes. Was it fair? No. And one reason you are all hot and bothered about it is that you know it wasn’t fair and that I made the right move. It was something you would have done yourself.”
“Never in a million years. I would never stoop so low.”
“Bullshit.”
I turned away from her. She stayed in the corner.
“What are you doing here, Maggie?”
“What do you mean? I just told you why I’m here.”
“Yeah, but you could’ve picked up a phone or sent me an e-mail. Why did you come here?”
“I wanted to see your face when you gave an explanation.”
I turned back to her. This whole thing was a sideshow. I moved in on her and put my hand on the wall right next to her head.
“It was bullshit arguments like this that wrecked our marriage,” I said.
“I know.”
“You know it’s been eight years? We’ve been divorced as long as we were married.”
Eight years and I still couldn’t shake her.
“Eight years and here we are.”
“Yes, here we are.”
“You know, you’re the trespasser, Haller. You jump over everybody’s fences. Come in and out of our lives whenever you want. And we just let you.”
I slowly leaned in closer until we were breathing the same air. I kissed her lightly and then harder when she tried to say something. I didn’t want to hear any more words. I was finished with words.
PART TWO.The Hypothesis of Innocence
Eleven
The office was closed and locked for the evening but I was still in place at my desk, prepping for the preliminary hearing. It was a Tuesday in early March and I wished I could have opened a window to let in the cool evening breeze. But the office was hermetically sealed with vertical windows that did not open. Lorna hadn’t noticed that when she’d inspected the place and signed the lease. It made me miss working out of the backseat of the Lincoln, where I could slide a window down and catch the breeze whenever I wanted.