'Moral aspects of the adversary system of criminal justice. To what lengths can a lawyer go, and to what extent do we hold him accountable? It was starting to get interesting, but then they took questions from listeners, and that always reduces everything to the lowest common denominator, which is generally pretty low.'
'And dreadfully common.'
'All the same, he was hell on wheels in court this morning. You know what Samuel Johnson said. 'When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.' '
'Great line.'
'Isn't it? I'm surprised the capital punishment people haven't dragged it out as evidence of the efficacy of their panacea for the world's ills.'
'I hope you're not getting ready to make a speech.'
'No, but I might haul out Dr. Johnson next time I do. Our boy Adrian seemed pretty well bodyguarded.
Your doing, I understand.'
'Not really. I made a couple of strategic suggestions and gave him a number to call.'
'He says he's wearing body armor.'
'He's supposed to be,' I said, 'and I wish he'd keep his mouth shut about it. If a shooter knows you're wearing it, he'll go for a head shot instead.'
'Well, Will's not going to hear it from me. Of course, we don't know who Will is, do we?'
'If we did,' I said, 'he'd cease to be a problem.'
'For all you know,' he said, 'I could be Will myself.'
'Hmmm. No, I don't think so.'
'What makes you so sure?'
'His letters,' I said. 'They're too elegantly phrased.'
'You son of a bitch. He does have a way with words, though, doesn't he?'
'Yes.'
'Almost makes a man want to get a letter from him. Here's something I'm not proud of. You know my immediate reaction when I saw the open letter to Adrian?'
'You figured it should have been you.'
'Now how the hell did you know that? Or am I more transparent than I ever thought?'
'Well, what else would you be ashamed of?'
'I didn't say I was ashamed. I said I wasn't proud of it.'
'I stand corrected.'
'It's true, though. You remember how many actors it takes to change a light bulb?'
'I heard it but I forget.'
'Five. One to climb the ladder and four to say 'That should be me up there!' Trial lawyers aren't all that different. In this case, my friend, you could say I've been auditioning for the part my whole professional career. Who's the most hated man in New York?'
'Walter O'Malley.'
'Walter O'Malley? Who the hell… oh, the cocksucker who moved the Dodgers out of Brooklyn. He's dead, isn't he?'
'I certainly hope so.'
'You're an unforgiving son of a bitch, aren't you? Forget Walter O'Malley. Who's the most hated lawyer in New York?'
'If that's another joke, the answer is they all are.'
'The answer, as you well know, is Raymond Gruliow.'
'Hard-Way Ray.'
'You said it. I'm the one with the most loathsome clients, the ones you love to hate. Wasn't it Will Rogers who said he never met a man he didn't like?'
'Whoever it was, I'd say he didn't get out much.'
'And he never met my list of clients. Arab terrorists, black radicals, psychotic mass murderers. Warren Madison, who only shot half a dozen New York police officers. Who did Whitfield ever defend who can compare to Warren Madison?'
'Richie Vollmer,' I said. 'For openers.'
'Warren Madison's as bad as Richie Vollmer. You blame the system for Vollmer's acquittal. For Warren, you have to blame the lawyer.'
' 'He said humbly.' '
'Forget humble. Humility's no asset in this line of work. You know the Chinese curse, my friend? 'May you be represented by a humble attorney.' You think our friend Adrian's going to be all right?'
