'Do you wish you could be more helpful, because as a good citizen it's important to you that justice be done?' I counter.
Laurie drags me off before he can answer, which is a shame, because I could tell he was just about to crack.
On the way out, I keep in charitable practice by dropping a twenty-dollar bill in the March of Dimes canister, and then Laurie and I go our separate ways. She is going to snoop around Oscar's neighborhood, while I'm going back to my office for a meeting. Laurie doesn't ask for Oscar's address, which means she knows where he lives. This is curious, since I know from the police reports that he's only lived there two months. This means that Laurie's knowledge can't come from when she was on the force. Oscar had mentioned in court that she had been near his apartment, watching him. I don't ask her about any of this, and I don't ask myself why I don't ask her about any of this.
The meeting scheduled in my office is one I'm actually looking forward to. It's with Willie Miller, and we are going to discuss the lawsuit I have filed on his behalf against my former father-in-law, Philip Gant, and the estate of Victor Markham.
Victor and Philip committed a murder thirty-five years ago, and then committed another long after to cover it up. They arranged to frame Willie for the second murder, and he spent seven years on death row before he was cleared in the retrial. Philip wound up in jail and Victor took his own life. It was a terrible tragedy for all concerned, especially Willie, but there is one ray of sunshine: Both Philip and Victor were incredibly wealthy.
There is no suspense attached to the winning or losing of this lawsuit, we are going to win. It's a slam dunk, and both sides know it. The only question is how much money Willie will get, and the other side is very concerned about a jury's actions in this regard, since they have asked for settlement discussions. Today Willie and I are going to talk about our position in advance of those discussions.
In the months since his trial, and especially in the first few weeks, Willie became something of a media celebrity. He made the talk show circuit and brought a new twist to it. A street-smart kid who never left the inner city, Willie had no occasion to develop that filter through which most people talk to the media. So in these sessions he was just Willie Miller, and he spoke to interviewers in exactly the same fashion he spoke to friends on the street.
The results were both refreshing and hilarious. Willie interrupted one interview to ask, 'Hey, am I getting paid for this?' He asked another questioner about a female camera operator, and when told she was single, he asked her out on the air. She declined, but changed her mind and accepted after the show.
There were embarrassing moments as well, though Willie never seemed to notice. When asked to compare the current world to the one he left seven years ago, he bemoaned the inflated prices of 'gas and hookers.'
When I get to the office, I walk in on a priceless conversation between Willie and Edna. I pick it up in the middle, but it's immediately clear that Willie has shocked Edna by declaring that he has never seen or even heard of crossword puzzles. She had supposed that there were people in far-off lands, living in caves or trees, who were this deprived. But here, sitting in our office? Impossible.
Willie does not seem the least bit defensive about his admission, probably because Willie is not the least bit defensive about anything. He grudgingly agrees to let Edna attempt to teach him the basics, which only compounds the obvious cultural gap.
'Indeterminate,' she says, looking at the newspaper. 'Seven letters.'
Willie is offended. 'I know how many letters 'inde-' whatever has.'
Edna shakes her head. 'I'm looking for another word for 'indeterminate.' It has seven letters and the third letter is 'u.''
'Why the hell are you looking for it?' he asks. 'You already got that 'inde-' word. Look for one you don't have.'
'The word is 'neutral.''
'I thought you said it had seven letters.' Willie starts counting on his fingers, softly mouthing the letters as he counts. When he finishes, his look is triumphant. 'No way.'
I get a momentary nightmare flash of Willie playing Scrabble with Laurie, and then I break up this conference and bring Willie into my office. Willie is a black belt in karate, but I believe that if I hadn't shown up, Edna would have killed him.
Just before Willie and I start talking, Pete Stanton calls. He has come up as dry as Vince Sanders did in the search for Geoffrey Stynes. He assures me that he's checked everywhere there is to check, which leads to the inescapable conclusion that Stynes was in my office under an assumed name.
This complicates the situation considerably. If he signed the retainer agreement using a false identity, then that agreement has no legal standing. The murkier question is whether this relieves me of the constraints of the privilege. I could research this, but I don't, since right now murky works fine while I figure out what I want to do about maintaining Stynes's privilege.
I decide to split the difference. Without revealing what little I know about Stynes's identity, I will utilize some of the information that I learned from him to help my client. I'm on shaky legal ground, but it's ground I'm prepared to defend if I have to.
I call Laurie and carefully tell her that I have received information about some possible evidence in the Dorsey murder. I describe the area behind Hinchcliffe Stadium in the same fashion Stynes described it to me, and ask Laurie if she could check it out. I further tell her that if she finds anything, she should leave it untouched and call the police.
My feeling is that the evidence may be helpful in demonstrating Oscar's innocence. I will not help the authorities by pointing them to Stynes, but if they get there on their own, I can live with it.
Turning back to Willie, I briefly bring him up to date on the progress of the lawsuit. I tell him that both of the other parties have agreed to be represented by the same attorney, and we are to meet with him later in the week. I also reemphasize that which I've told him at least five times before: Any money that he gets from Philip Gant will in effect ultimately reduce the inheritance of my ex-wife, Nicole. Nicole and I have not spoken since her father's arrest, but it still represents a conflict of sorts for me. It is a conflict about which Willie continues to be unconcerned.
I haven't yet discussed the possible award Willie might get, and a jury decision in this area is particularly hard to predict. Based on my initial settlement discussions, however, I think we could be looking at a five-million- dollar offer, and this is the number I tell Willie.
Willie starts to make a noise that is somewhere between gurgling and blubbering. Whatever he is doing, it is not compatible with breathing, and for a moment I consider whether to call 911. Eventually, he recovers enough to commence gasping.
'Five million dollars?' are the first words he can manage.
I nod. 'But I recommend that you reject it.'
'I should reject it?' He's having trouble processing the words. 'You mean turn it down? Turn down five million dollars?'
'Yes. I think you should hold out for in excess of ten, after my commission.'
'Ten what? Million?' he asks.
I nod. 'Million. We're talking about almost seven years. Isn't your life worth at least a million five per year?'
He slows down, trying to gather his thoughts to deal with what he is hearing. 'Damn straight,' he finally says. 'This is my life we're talking about.' Willie is a really good 'thought gatherer.'
'So we're agreed?' I ask.
'Definitely. We are standing on the same corner, man. Singin' the same tune. Walking the same walk. All the way.'
'Good,' I say. 'One for all and all for one.'
He nods in agreement, then: 'But what if they don't give us the ten?'
'Then we'll get a jury to give us fifteen.'
'My man!' he enthuses, and actually slaps me five twice, so that it will total ten. A while later he gets up to leave, but stops at the door and turns to me. 'You're not bullshitting me, right? I mean, no way you are bullshitting me?'
'No way.' I smile, and then he smiles a hell of a lot wider than I do.
Minutes after Willie leaves, I get a phone call from Dylan Campbell's assistant asking me to meet Dylan in his
