Show of Evil

'What happened?' Naomi had asked in their first face-to-face interview.

'I decided I wanted to be a lawyer instead of a big pain in the ass,' Parver had answered.

'Why did you apply for this job?'

'Because I wrote a graduate piece on Martin Vail. I know all his cases, from back when he was a defence advocate. He's the best prosecutor alive. Why wouldn't I want to work for him?'

She had had all the right answers. Naomi's reaction had been immediate.

'Dynamite.'

Vail had expected anything but the diminutive, smart, sophisticated, and aggressive legal wunderkind.

'I want a lawyer, I don't want to give some old man on the jury a heart attack,' he had said when he saw her picture.

'You want her to get a face drop?' Naomi had snapped.

When Parver stepped out of the lift and walked resolutely towards his office for her first interview, Vail had groaned.

'I was hoping the pictures flattered her.'

'There's no way to unflatter her,' Naomi had offered. 'Are you still going to hold her looks against her?'

'It's not just looks. This child has… has…'

'Magnetism?' Naomi had suggested.

'Animal magnetism. She is a definite coronary threat to anyone over forty. I speak from personal experience.'

'You going to hold her looks against her?' Naomi had asked. 'That's discrimination. Marty, this girl is the best young lawyer I've ever interviewed. She's a little too aggressive, probably self-protective, but in six months she'll be ready to take on any lawyer in the city. She has an absolute instinct for the jugular. And she wants to be a prosecutor. She doesn't give a damn about money.'

'She's rich.'

'She's well off.'

'Her old man's worth a couple million dollars - fluid. I call that rich.'

'Marty, this young lady reminds me so much of you when we met, it's scary.'

'She's a woman, she's rich, and she's gorgeous. The only thing we have in common is that we inhabit the same planet.'

'You better be nice to her,' Naomi had warned, leaving the office to greet her.

Six months earlier, Parver had tried two cases and blown one. Vail had told her later that she was too tough, too relentless.

'The jury likes tough, they don't like a killer,' he had said. 'You have to tone down, pull back. Study juries, juries are what it's all about. I had a friend we called The Judge who used to say that murder one is the ultimate duel. Two lawyers going at it in mortal combat - and the mortal is the defendant. Excellent analogy. Two sides completely polarized. One of them's right, the other one's wrong. One of them has to perform magic, turn black into white in the minds of the jurors. In the end, the defendant's life depends on which lawyer can convince the jury that his or her perception of the facts is reality. That's what it's all about, Shana, the jury.'

Toning it down hadn't come easily.

'You ready, Miss Parver?' Naomi asked, shaking her back to the present.

Parver scowled at her. 'It's not like it's the first time I ever questioned a murder suspect, Noam.'

Parver was the primary prosecutor on the Darby case but had been in court and missed Darby's first interrogation. Now it was her turn to have a shot at him.

'This Darby is a nasty little bastard. Don't let him push you around.'

Parver smiled. 'Be nice if the creepy little slime puppy tries,' she said sweetly.

'You haven't met Rainey yet. Be careful, he's a killer. A good honest lawyer, but a killer. Don't let that smile of his fool you.'