The Lawyer's Lawyer

CHAPTER Thirty-One



The story that the police and the state attorney might have conspired to convict Thomas Felton was not only the lead story on the local news at six, it was the only story. The state attorney had a spokesperson, the police department had a spokesperson, the sheriff’s office had a spokesperson—and the message was the same: Thomas Felton was guilty as charged, and his lawyer was just blowing smoke because the execution was near.

“They’re not saying very many flattering things about you, Jack,” Henry said. They were in the living room of the condo. Henry had just arrived back from Miami. Jack had told him he might need him to run down some leads during the next two weeks. Jack was on the floor doing some stretching exercises. He’d just come in from his run.

“I’m crushed,” Jack said. “I want so much to be liked by the media. After all, they are the truth seekers, aren’t they?”

“It all depends on how you define truth. If it’s synonymous with circus, then you’re right. They are the circus seekers. They’re looking to make a circus out of this thing.”

“It’s what they do,” Jack replied.

“Well, you’d better be careful, my friend. They’re going to work people into a lather and somebody just might come looking for you. Do you have that Sig Sauer with you this time?”

“I do.”

“Good. Keep it loaded and keep it handy.”

“You know, Henry, sometimes I think you’re a little too paranoid.”

“If I wasn’t so paranoid, one of us wouldn’t be here right now.” It was the second acknowledgment between them concerning the sniper on Jack’s running route.

Just then there was a hard knock on the front door, followed by several harder knocks.

“I’ll get it,” Henry said.

Jack knew that Henry was probably armed, but he never saw the weapon. Henry checked the peephole to make sure some whack job wasn’t out there with a gun in his hand. Then he opened the door.

Danni walked right in, not even waiting to be invited.

“Where is he, Henry? And don’t tell me he’s not here. I saw his car in the parking lot.” She was standing in the open area between the living room and the kitchen right by the dining room table but she didn’t see Jack on the floor.

“And it’s great to see you, too, Danni,” Jack said, sitting up.

“That’s not funny. Jack, how could you do this? How could you represent a cold-blooded killer like Felton and at the same time accuse Sam Jeffries of being a crooked cop?”

“I didn’t accuse Sam Jeffries of anything. I just told the judge he was the cop who testified about the murder weapon. That’s it.”

“That’s it? Didn’t you tell the judge that the knife wasn’t the murder weapon?”

“I did.”

“So you merely inferred Sam Jeffries was a liar.”

“The judge made that inference, I didn’t.”

Jack was still sitting. He considered getting up but decided he was safer on the floor. I don’t think she’ll kick me when I’m down.

“You still haven’t answered why you’re representing that piece of garbage.”

“Look, I know why you’re upset and it’s certainly understandable considering all that you went through.”

“You have no idea,” Danni said.

Henry was standing on the sidelines watching. He knew what was going on even if the two of them didn’t.

“You’re probably right but let me tell you why I’m here. You know I work for Exoneration. They were assigned this case. Ben Chapman, the director, called me and Henry to Tallahassee and asked me if I’d represent Felton. I was very reluctant to do so for a lot of reasons but I agreed to at least look at the file. Once I did and saw the injustice that had occurred, I couldn’t let it go.”

“For what it’s worth, Danni, I agreed with him,” Henry added, seeing that Jack might need a lifeline.

“It’s not worth anything, Henry, and that’s not a personal statement aimed at you. It’s not worth anything because the man is guilty and he needs to stay guilty until he’s dead.”

“I won’t say this in court because I don’t have to and because I don’t have the evidence to prove it, but from where I’m sitting, that man, Thomas Felton, was set up,” Jack said.

“Jack, do you know what this community went through ten years ago? Do you have any idea what Sam Jeffries went through personally? What Hannah and I went through? You can’t unleash this vicious killer on this community again. You just can’t do it.”

“Danni, it’s not about me. I’m just a lawyer. The law gives Mr. Felton the right to counsel when he’s about to be put to death. If it weren’t me, it would be somebody else. And I hate to say this because I do understand what this community has been through, certainly not as much as those who lived here, but I didn’t plant a knife in the bushes and claim it was the murder weapon.”

“You’re not just some lawyer, Jack, and you know it. And don’t try and hide behind the law. You have a choice. I’m asking you—don’t take this case.”

“It’s too late, Danni. It really doesn’t matter who is representing Felton at this point. The cat is out of the bag. This judge or an appellate court is going to have to deal with the facts whether I’m presenting them or somebody else is.

“Part of me wants to do what you ask simply because you are the person making the request, but I can’t.”

“You mean you won’t.”

“If I had known how personal this situation was to you and Hannah, I probably would not have even looked into the matter. However, I took on this responsibility. I can’t shrink from it at this late stage.”

Danni stood there ramrod straight in silence, her arms locked across her chest for what seemed like an eternity. Jack wanted to bridge the gulf between them but he didn’t know how.

“Damn you, Jack,” she finally said as she headed for the door. “And Judge Holbrook is not going to give you a new trial. You can bank on that.”

Then she was gone.