what I’m talking about, Mr. Beale?”
“I’m glad I never had to make that choice. Besides, I’m a different person now than I was then. I think I can only answer for what I’d do now. What would you do?”
“What would I do now?”
“What would you do now,” Charles asked, “if you had to make a choice like that?”
She said flatly and firmly, “I would turn it down.”
“I hope I would, too.” Then, just as firmly, he said, “Please tell me about Patrick White.”
It was hard to tell what was going on inside her.
“We’ve been friends a long time,” she said, not so firmly.
“A professional relationship?”
“We met at a Bar Association luncheon the first year I was in Congress. He became my unofficial advisor on judicial matters.”
“And you were friends?”
“We were kindred spirits. For both of us, the Law, and the legal system, was our lives. And occasionally, Mr. Beale, for social gatherings, a lady may appreciate a gallant escort. Even me.”
“Even you.” Charles sighed. “Then I especially convey my regrets.”
“It is very regrettable.” She was especially grim.
“But I take it you still communicate?”
“We still have a few things in common, even now.”
“You mentioned that on the telephone,” Charles said. “I understood there was some connection between you and Mr. White, and I think also John Borchard and Derek. Mr. White described a bill that Mr. Borchard wanted to pass through Congress.”
“The Sentencing Reform Act. Yes, that is part of the connection between us all.”
“Mr. White was against it, but you allowed it through your committee.”
“Another compromise, Mr. Beale. I’m not proud of it. Patrick White was very disappointed.”
“But you had to make a difficult decision,” Charles said.
“It went against my values and it still troubles me very much.”
“What could you do about it now?”
Karen Liu took her time to answer. “That law makes it difficult for judges to use their own judgment. It’s very hard on people convicted of crimes, and those are the people I want to help.”
“Hey, boss.”
Charles was startled, more than usual; but Karen Liu nearly hit the roof, far from her head though it was.
“Angelo,” Charles said. “Good morning.”
“Do you want for me to go to any of the places today?”
“You could call and see if any are open on Saturday. Congresswoman, this is Angelo, my employee. Angelo, this is Congresswoman Liu.”
Angelo’s eyes shifted slightly to notice her. Karen Liu’s reaction was more substantial. She stepped across the room, her hand stretched forward, her eyes full on him. Angelo was not sure for a moment what to do.
He drew back first like a cornered animal. Then, perhaps not consciously, he bared his teeth and tightened his shoulders, ready to fight.
Karen Liu didn’t flinch. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, “Mr…?”
“Acevedo,” Charles said. “You can shake her hand, Angelo.”
He surrendered, very stiffly, and Charles watched.
“I am very glad to meet you, Mr. Acevedo,” she said. “What do you do here for Mr. Beale?”
“Whatever he says to do.” The voice was as hard as the hand.
“Angelo,” Charles said, “you could ask Mrs. Beale to call any places on the list if you want. If none of them are open, just wait until Monday morning.”
“On Monday morning is my probation meeting,” he said.
“Oh, yes, of course we’ll do that first.”
Angelo nodded, barely, and stepped back onto the bottom step. Only several stairs up did he have a safe enough distance to turn his back on them.
“Probation?” she said. Her intense stare was now fully back on Charles.
“Just a formality,” he said.
“You go with him? Is he under your supervision?”
“Well, yes. It’s a long story.”
She thought for a few seconds. “What do you think of having someone under your control?”
“He’s not under my control.”
“I understand probation. If you are his supervisor, you have a lot of control.”
“I don’t like having control over someone else. It goes against my nature.”
“Not everyone is like that. Please tell me the long story.”
“I’ll make it short,” Charles said. “Let’s see, it was last summer. I was walking home from the Metro station one night, fairly late, and I was on a dark street, and I met Angelo.”
The congresswoman frowned. “And he was Hispanic, and dressed roughly, and he seemed threatening to you.”
“Well, actually, he was holding a knife and he told me to give him my wallet.”
The frown softened. “All right. Go on.”
“So I did give him my wallet, and when I got home, I called the police. That was more out of civic duty. I wasn’t hurt and it wasn’t much money, and it was a good reminder to be more careful.”
“What did your wife say?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell her.”
“You didn’t tell your wife that you’d been held up?”
“I just said I’d lost my wallet. But then the police called back the next morning and said they’d found him. Then I had to tell her. We went down to the police station, and there he was, under arrest.”
“For armed robbery? Why isn’t he in jail now?”
“Actually, I found out who was assigned as his lawyer, and I talked to that person, and we went to the Alexandria Probation Office and worked out a proposal for the judge. Dorothy and I offered for Angelo to stay here and work for us and we would supervise him for the term of his probation.”
The frown had softened all the way to bewilderment. Karen Liu was as expressive as John Borchard, even with a much smaller area to work with.
“Why?”
“That might be harder to answer.” Charles smiled. “It certainly wasn’t to gain power over him.”
“You said last week that you preferred mercy,” she said. “Now I understand what you meant. Some people might say they prefer mercy, but not many would put their money where their mouth was.” She shook her head. “And the judge let you do it. There was no gun involved? Just a knife?”
“It was a very big knife.” Charles laughed. “I was scared silly.”
“How has he been as an employee?”
“There were a few adjustments, of course. He’d never had a job. But he lives in the attic now, and he’s figured out some basic handyman skills, and he’s our night guard and maintenance man and courier.”
“You’re turning his life around, Mr. Beale.”
“He’s doing it himself.”
“How long is his probation?”
“Three years. We’ve finished the first six months. He has to provide satisfaction as an employee, keep us informed of his location, stay away from former associates, not break any laws, of course, and report to his probation officer every month.”
Karen Liu seemed satisfied. Charles was released from her gaze, and his eyes wandered.
“Hey, boss.”
“Yes, Angelo.”
He was still and silent as usual, framed once more in the stairway door. His rooted stance seemed to show
