'That's how you put it? It sounds like a sentence from the federal antidiscrimination laws.'
'In so many words or less.'
'Maybe I'll get the truth from Vince at lunch.'
Julie held up her hands. 'Just leave me out of it. I need a social director more than you do.'
18
MIDMORNING, MYRA DEAN CAME INTO THE LIBRARY AND summoned Julie to a meeting with a prospective client in the main conference room.
'Bring a blank legal pad and a pen,' Myra said. 'You won't say anything. Mr. Carpenter wants you to take notes while he conducts the interview. It's a new client who is the money guy behind a huge real-estate deal that is heading toward litigation. He's checking us out, and Mr. Carpenter will be putting on a full-court press to get the business. Rich clients like to know they have a bigger army of lawyers and staff than the people on the other side.'
'Will I be the only person taking notes?' Julie asked. 'Vince is so quick on the computer. I might miss something important.'
'No,' Myra replied. 'I'll be there too. You're my backup.'
After they left the library I stood up to stretch and take a break. Julie's tough exterior was showing cracks. While in college, I'd led several girls to faith in Christ. Some of them came from religious backgrounds. Others were crying out for help from a pit of sinful despair. But I'd never had the chance to pray with a Jewish person. There was a buzz on the phone extension located in the library and a female voice spoke into the room.
'Tami Taylor, please pick up on line 127.'
I pushed the three buttons. 'Hello,' I said.
'It's Zach. Can you take a break?'
'That's what I'm doing right now.'
'Good. Come to my office.'
The phone clicked off without giving me a chance to reply. Zach was definitely more abrupt in his conversations at the office during the week than on Saturday at the beach.
Upstairs, people were walking back and forth carrying papers, folders, and documents. Everyone was busy and no one paid any attention to me. I walked down the hallway to Zach's door and knocked.
'Come in,' he called out.
I opened the door and peeked in. Zach was on the phone with his hand over the mouthpiece. He motioned for me to sit down.
'I understand,' he said, removing his hand, 'but I haven't had a chance to talk to our client. The judge isn't going to make me go to trial a couple of weeks after he assigned the case to our firm.'
Zach listened for a moment. 'Just because the jail log shows that Tami was there early last week doesn't constitute effective assistance of counsel. We haven't filed the standard pretrial motions or learned the names and addresses of any of your witnesses.'
There was another pause.
'Yes, it will help if you open your file and allow us to review everything you have, but that's just the beginning. We'll need to do our own investigation.' Zach turned toward his computer. 'Yes, I'm available tomorrow afternoon, but I need to check with Tami to confirm her schedule. The main reason Judge Cannon assigned the case to our office is so she could gain courtroom experience, even if it's limited to preliminary matters.'
Zach pushed a button and changed the computer screen from a calendar to his mailbox.
'Right,' he said. 'I appreciate the pressure you're under. We'll consider the offer and discuss it with Mr. Jones.'
Zach hung up the phone. 'Good morning,' he said.
'I'm not sure,' I replied. 'That conversation didn't sound like a good way to start the day or the week.'
'Don't worry; we'll sort through it in a minute. Did you talk to your parents?'
'Uh, just my mother.' I tried to put a hopeful look on my face. 'I told her how nice you've been to me and that we had a lot in common. I mentioned your homeschool background and that you're well respected in the firm.' I stopped. 'It's very awkward repeating this to you.'
'I'm not trying to embarrass you. I respect you.'
'I told her that too.' I sighed. 'She's going to talk to my father, but she thinks we shouldn't take any steps toward a personal relationship until they have a chance to meet you.'
'Did you make it sound more serious than I intended?'
I stared at Zach for a second, not sure whether to cry or run out of the room. My face must have revealed my feelings.
'No, that was wrong,' he added. 'Can you forget that last sentence and back up to the part about me respecting you?'
'I'll try.'
'Thanks. Would it be okay for me to talk to them?'
'I wondered about that,' I admitted. 'But not until I hear from my father. I don't want to manipulate them.'
'Of course, they taught you to appeal to authority, not rebel against it.'
'Exactly,' I replied in surprise.
'It's good training for becoming a lawyer. Including the case of State v. Moses Jones,' Zach replied, tapping a folder on his desk. 'That was Ms. Smith, the assistant DA. Her call was routed to me instead of you. The bottom line is that she wants to fast-track State v. Jones and bump it up the trial calendar. Several of the complaining homeowners are going to leave town for the summer and don't want to be held hostage as witnesses for a trial. I guess they have homes in the mountains so they can escape the malaria on the coast.'
'Malaria? Are you serious?'
'A hundred years ago, it was a big problem.'
'Whether a few people are here or not shouldn't matter,' I said. 'There are twenty-four counts. It would still be a minority.'
Zach flipped open the folder on his desk. 'How closely did you read the charges?'
'What did I miss?'
Zach ran his finger down the sheets of paper in front of him while I fidgeted.
'There are twenty-four counts but only five different physical locations,' he said after a minute. 'Think about it. Jones was looking for a convenient hookup for his boat, not a change in scenery. He wouldn't have sought out a different dock every night.'
'I missed that.'
'And I'm no criminal law expert, but the first rule of an admiralty case is to carefully read the documents. It's the same for any area of the law. Check out the paperwork.'
'I'm sorry.'
'Just learn the lesson.'
'What did Ms. Smith say about a plea bargain?'
'I'm getting to that. A few of the rich folks on the river want Jones removed from polite society. Each count carries a sentence of up to twelve months plus a one-thousand-dollar fine. If you laid those end to end, Moses Jones could be in jail the rest of his life.'
My jaw dropped.
'But no judge would lock him up and throw away the key,' Zach added. 'The DAs initial offer is six months in jail followed by three years on probation with no monetary fine.'
I thought about Moses sitting in the interview room breathing through his few remaining teeth. In spite of my mother's fears, he didn't seem to be a huge threat to society.
'That sounds harsh. I mean, he didn't steal or damage anything.'
