'Not without appropriate adult supervision,' another lawyer responded.
The flirting banter in the room made me uncomfortable. I glanced at Julie, who didn't seem upset by the innuendos. Mr. Carpenter turned to Vince.
'Your turn.'
Vince selected the file on the left and opened it.
'State v. Brown,' he said. 'Operation of a motor vehicle at excessive speed while racing and improper muffler.'
'A racer!' one of the lawyers called out. 'Where was he arrested?'
'At 10746 Abercorn Street.'
'That's near the new mall,' the lawyer replied. 'He and his buddies were probably dragging between stoplights.'
Mr. Carpenter spoke. 'Russell, since you're such an expert on street racing in Chatham County, I want you to work with Vince.'
'Do I get to drive his BMW?' the lawyer asked.
'Only with proper adult supervision,' Mr. Carpenter replied.
Several people laughed. Mr. Carpenter looked at me.
'That leaves you, Ms. Taylor.'
'Without a choice or a chance!' one lawyer called out.
I took the file from the managing partner and opened it. There were multiple sheets of paper filled with charges. The number of counts was overwhelming. At first, I suspected that I'd gotten some kind of serial criminal by mistake. But as I read the charges, I realized each count was identical except as to location of the offense.
'State v. Jones,' I said, quickly turning the pages until I reached the final one. 'Twenty-four counts of trespassing. Mr. Jones illegally tied up his boat for the night at twenty-four private docks.'
'Allegedly,' Mr. Carpenter said. 'Not necessarily illegally.'
'Yes sir,' I replied, although it seemed hard to imagine twentyfour instances of honest mistake or sudden emergency.
'Who would be a suitable mentor?' Mr. Carpenter asked as he looked around the room. No one raised his hand. I glanced at Zach, whose eyes were lowered like a schoolboy trying to avoid the teacher's gaze.
'Sounds like a first cousin to an admiralty case,' Mr. Carpenter said. 'A lower-level type of piracy on the high seas. Mr. Mays, I want you to help Ms. Taylor.'
Zach raised his head, and I studied his reaction. He had a fixed expression that appeared to be a cross between a forced smile and a grimace. I returned to my seat. General conversation resumed in the room.
'Thanks for helping,' I said to Zach.
'I'm a man under authority,' he replied.
Mr. Appleby left the table. I leaned forward. 'Are you upset with me for mentioning your homeschool background?' I asked in a whisper. 'I didn't mean to embarrass you.'
Zach shook his head. 'No, there's just a lot of pressure with my workload. I didn't need another project on my desk.'
'I'm sorry. I won't ask for much help.'
I left the table and went to the restroom. No one else was there. I stood in front of the mirror. Challenges surfaced by the minute at the law firm. I wasn't convinced that I hadn't embarrassed Zach Mays. I washed my hands and lightly touched a wet paper towel to my cheeks and forehead.
When I returned to the dining room, everyone was getting ready to leave. Zach and Mr. Appleby were near the door. I started to go to them, but heard Julie call my name.
'Tami!'
I turned around as she came up to me.
'Your case sounds like a lot of work,' she said. 'Do you think you'll have to interview the owners of every dock where your client tied up his boat?'
'I haven't thought about it,' I replied.
'I'd subpoena every one of them,' Julie said. 'Rich folks don't want to show up in court, and if they don't testify it will knock out a count.'
I held up the folder in my hand. 'I suspect at least a few of these people would make an appearance, and the punishment for two counts probably wouldn't be much different than for twentyfour.'
'But you may be able to wear down the prosecutor and get your client a good deal.'
I wasn't interested in a strategy session, but when I looked back to the door Mr. Appleby and Zach were gone.
'Ned says we may raise a Halloween defense for my client,' Julie continued. 'We could claim he was delusional and believed every day is Halloween. The water-meter outfit was his costume of the day.'
'You haven't talked to the client yet.'
Julie laughed. 'I'm kidding. I wouldn't ask him to lie, but Ned has a great sense of humor. This firm isn't nearly as stuffy as I thought it would be.'
Several more lawyers came over and introduced themselves. Julie received most of the attention.
'Is there a firm directory?' Julie asked as the crowd thinned. 'I won't be able to remember everyone's name.'
Vince patted his laptop. 'I have that information in a file.'
Julie put her arm in his. 'We've only been here half a day, and already I don't know what I'd do without you.'
Ms. Patrick joined us. 'That went nicely,' she said. 'I'm glad you were all able to be here.'
'Yes ma'am,' I replied.
On the return trip to the office, Julie talked nonstop from the backseat while Vince and I sat in silence. She repeated several stories told by the lawyers at her table.
'Did you hear anything interesting?' she asked as we pulled into the firm parking lot.
'Just a few comments from Mr. Braddock about the project I'm working on,' Vince said. 'Nothing that would interest you.'
'Tami?' Julie asked.
'Mr. Appleby wanted to talk about homeschool education,' I said as Vince parked the car.
'Yeah, it took courage to mention that,' Julie said. 'It was way outside the box. What was his reaction?'
'Positive. His family had a private tutor when he lived in Africa as a boy.'
'Cool.'
Julie got out of the car and walked rapidly toward the office. Vince lagged behind, and out of courtesy I stayed with him.
'Did you have offers from other law firms?' he asked as we walked across the parking lot.
'No, I was surprised when I got the letter from Mr. Carpenter.'
'What were you going to do?'
'Work as an eviscerator in a chicken plant.'
'Cutting open the chickens?'
'Yes. How did you know?'
'The Latin root of the word.'
I laughed. 'Do you type in Latin?'
Vince smiled slightly. 'No, but I'd like to learn more about homeschooling from someone who went through it and became academically successful.'
'Why?'
We reached the front of the office. He opened the door for me.
'I like to learn, especially from a person with strong convictions. Maybe we could go to lunch?'
'I'm sure they will have other events on the schedule.'
We reached the hallway. Vince turned toward Mr. Braddock's office suite.
'Thanks for the ride,' I said.
'You're welcome.'
I stopped by Mr. Carpenter's office. His secretary had made copies of the documents in the Folsom divorce file.
