'What I'm about to do is fire you and tell you to get out of my sight,' Mr. Carpenter exploded. 'Now move aside!'
Zach and Vince stepped back at the sound of Mr. Carpenter's voice. I held my ground. The river had been crossed. All that mattered was protecting Moses.
'Do whatever you want to do about my job, but I'm not going to abandon my client.'
Mr. Carpenter turned to Moses. 'Mr. Jones, has Ms. Taylor told you she's a lawyer?'
'No sir, she always be saying she's not a real lawyer, but she sure enough got the grit to be one.'
'I'd say she has grit where she should have brains,' Mr. Carpenter replied sarcastically.
'You can insult me, Mr. Carpenter,' I replied, my own eyes flashing. 'And you can fire me. But Judge Cannon signed an order authorizing me to represent Mr. Jones, and that's what I intend to do.'
Mr. Carpenter glared hard at me for several seconds until a sneer turned up the corners of his mouth. 'Ms. Taylor, I want to be totally clear about this situation. Are you refusing to let Mr. Jones talk to me unless you are present?'
'Yes sir. And I'm telling him that he doesn't have to talk to you at all if he doesn't want to.' I looked down at Moses. 'In fact, I'm advising him not to answer any questions or provide information about recent or past events now or at any time in the future.'
'That's quite comprehensive,' Mr. Carpenter replied.
'Yes sir. That's what I intend.'
Mr. Carpenter nodded his head. 'Very well, I have a few things to say to you.'
I stood up straight. I had no intention of slouching in the face of the firing squad.
'First, Oscar Callahan told me you were a young woman of exceptional conviction and personal courage. Nice sentiments, but I had no idea how firmly rooted those qualities are in your character. Fearlessness in the face of intense pressure can't be taught; it is forged in the trials of life. Second, I never dreamed that a summer clerk would take representation of a client so seriously that she would risk losing a job and damaging her entire career to maintain zealous though misplaced advocacy. I have no doubt that you will someday be an outstanding lawyer. Third, you have earned the right to know why I want to talk to Mr. Jones.'
'It doesn't matter what you say-' I began, aware I was being manipulated.
'Tami! Let him finish,' Zach interrupted.
'And I don't mind Zach and Vince staying if those are the terms you set for me. Why don't we all sit down?'
Without waiting for an answer, Mr. Carpenter pulled up a chair and sat across from Moses. My mind reeling, I sat on the bench beside Moses. Mr. Carpenter gestured with his hand, and Zach and Vince sat down. The older lawyer looked at Moses.
'Mr. Jones, I'm going to tell you some things, but I don't want you to say anything to me without Ms. Taylor's permission.' He looked at me. 'Is that agreeable?'
Mr. Carpenter was a cagey man seeking a way to gain control of the situation through flattery and deceit.
'No sir. Talk to me first.'
Mr. Carpenter's jaw tightened, but he kept his composure. 'Very well. My father was a businessman here in Savannah. People described him as `colorful,' which is a euphemism for a criminal who has enough money to buy his way into respectability.'
The senior partner's candor shocked me.
'Many years ago while I was in college, his niece, a little girl named Lisa Prescott, disappeared and was never found. Our family always suspected foul play, but the police never found her body or identified a suspect. Through some of his criminal connections, my father heard a rumor that Mr. Jones knew something about Lisa's disappearance. According to information in a file kept by my father, Mr. Jones was questioned at least once but denied knowing anything. Now you know why I took such an interest in this case. Moses Jones isn't a name easily forgotten, and when Sam Braddock and I pulled out the old records, we realized the connection. We didn't even know if Mr. Jones was still alive.' He looked directly at Moses. 'We're all getting older, and once and for all, I want to know the truth.'
Moses turned to me. 'What you be thinking, missy?'
Mr. Carpenter's matter-of-fact recitation of the facts threw me completely off guard. His approach bore none of the threatened pressure.
'What are you going to do if Moses doesn't want to talk to you?' I asked, stalling for time.
'Keep working on what my father started. That's more important than anything he could tell me.'
'What do you mean?'
'Not only did we lose Lisa; her parents died a year later in an automobile accident. The double tragedy was the catalyst for change in my father's life. He stopped being `colorful' and moved into legitimate business activities in which he made a lot more money than he ever did on the shady side of the law. Lawrence Braddock helped him go straight. Together, they set up the Lisa Prescott Foundation.'
'Foundation?' I asked in a subdued voice.
'Yes. Lisa's mother, Ellen, was my father's baby sister. Her husband didn't have any surviving family, and everything passed to my father under their wills. He didn't touch a penny of the money, but established a charitable foundation that has given away millions to children's causes in Georgia and South Carolina. Sam Braddock and I have served on the board of the foundation for more than thirty years.'
'Why didn't you tell me anything about this?'
Mr. Carpenter raised his eyebrows. 'Why should I? You were representing Mr. Jones in a trespassing case.'
'But why did you want to talk to Mr. Jones alone?'
'I wanted to push him hard for the truth.' Mr. Carpenter rubbed his hands together. 'However, that won't happen since his attorney has demonstrated a tenacious ability to frustrate my efforts at communication.'
'Do you believe Mr. Jones was responsible for Lisa's disappearance?'
'I don't know; the notes in the file mention a rumor that Mr. Jones found her body. The rest is a mystery I'd like to solve. Will you allow me to question him?'
I looked at Zach and Vince. Neither one spoke. I turned to Mr. Carpenter. 'Only if it is considered an ongoing part of the attorney/ client relationship between Mr. Jones and Braddock, Appleby, and Carpenter.'
Mr. Carpenter hesitated. 'So that I will be bound by the attorney/ client privilege and couldn't disclose the information obtained to the police. That's finesse.'
'Agreed?' I asked, ignoring the compliment.
Mr. Carpenter nodded. 'Yes.'
'And I'll ask the questions first,' I continued. 'It will go a lot smoother that way; then you can follow up.'
'But you don't know what to ask,' the older lawyer protested.
'Just listen. You can evaluate my effort.'
FOR THE NEXT THIRTY MINUTES, I guided Moses through his story. When he described Lisa's injuries after he discovered her on the riverbank, I glanced at Mr. Carpenter, whose eyes were red and moist. The lawyer wiped away tears when Moses told about the simple burial in a watery grave. For the first time since Mr. Carpenter blocked our exit from the courtroom, I allowed myself to relax. The tension flowed out of my shoulders.
Moses concluded with the two times Floyd Carpenter tried to talk to him, and the reason he kept his mouth shut. Mr. Carpenter pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes for at least the third time.
'I'm sorry,' Moses said. 'But I be too scared to say nothing to your daddy.'
'I understand,' Mr. Carpenter replied.
I spoke. 'Is there anything else you remember about what happened to Lisa?'
'No, missy. That be it.'
'Mr. Carpenter, do you have any questions?'
The lawyer bowed his head for a moment. 'Do you know the place where you laid her in the water?'
'Yes sir.'
'I know she's not there, but could you show it to me sometime?'
'Yes, boss man.'
'And did you ever hear any rumors or stories of why she was left on the riverbank or how she got there that evening?'
