“I’ll do it.” The words escape Chris’s mouth before he has time to think it through.
Julia looks over and gives him an openmouthed nod, as if to say, That’s what I’m talking about.
Henry stares past him. The case is out of Chris’s league. He’s still doing lightweight work, drugs and guns. This is a murder case. And not just any murder case. One that will be covered heavily by the media. One that could summon a mob at the courthouse steps.
Chris remembers the media footage of his brother’s arraignment. The throng of angry people holding signs. The disdain and grief etched into the faces of the victims’ parents.
Henry still hasn’t responded to Chris’s offer.
“I’ll do it,” Chris says again, this time with conviction.
“I heard you, Ford.” Henry’s lips are tightened into a thin line. He waits for others to jump in. Hoping that his best lawyer I ever knew speech had meant something to them all.
But the room remains still.
Henry waits an uncomfortably long time for more experienced lawyers to jump in. But they’re the ones with kids and mortgages and college tuition who can’t risk being the next Bart Badcock.
Henry gives a disappointed look around the room.
Then, another voice: “I’m in.”
Chris turns to Julia, who’s making a point of not looking at him. He could’ve hugged her.
Henry’s shoulders sag. Then he says it. “Okay, Chris and Julia, my office. The rest of you, serve justice today.”
CHAPTER 36
Chris stares out the window from the backseat of Henry’s rust-blotched Subaru hatchback.
The courthouse is only a short walk from their office, but dark clouds loom, so perhaps that’s why they drove. Or maybe Henry wants to avoid any journalists staking out the place. Chris sees no reporters out front. The building has a wide staircase that leads up to the porticoed entrance. It’s a small, narrow structure, like an old schoolhouse struggling to look majestic with its columns too close together. Julia sits silently up front next to their boss.
Henry pulls around to the rear of the building. No portico there, just a blocky structure with windows that are too small for the concrete facade. The back contains the holding areas for defendants with windows built small to prevent ill-conceived bedsheet-tying escape calamities.
“Shoot,” Henry says, looking to a news van lingering across the street outside the lot. “The prosecutors haven’t even announced the arrest, but the vultures are already circling. Damn leaks.”
A pack of reporters will soon swarm all sides of the building. And probably the PD’s office too. The press has already established a campsite outside the prosecutors’ office complex, so the lawyers there will welcome the reprieve. Share the love.
After a checkpoint at the garage entry, Henry parks. Chris feels abnormally excited. It’s his first big case. But he’s also anxious. He hadn’t fully considered the media coverage. That the defense team will be featured in newspapers or on the six o’clock news. Chris is merely a supporting member of the cast, someone in the background. Still, if someone recognizes him, it could create problems: Vince Whitaker’s brother defending another accused mass killer.
Before getting out of the car, Henry pauses, as if collecting his thoughts. He twists around so he’s mostly facing Julia but can also see Chris in the backseat.
“A few ground rules,” he begins.
They nod, both wanting to know the rules of engagement. This isn’t one of their usual cattle-call drug prosecutions. It’s a major case, albeit an infamous B-file.
“From the moment you step out of this car, you exude confidence. Your facial expressions, the way you walk, the way you talk, it all needs to project that we’re not worried one spit about this case. Our client is not guilty. No laughing, no smiling. This is serious business and we don’t want it misperceived by anyone.”
They nod again. Henry’s instructions so far are familiar.
“We’ll hopefully avoid any reporters today, but you need to be on alert because they’re crafty. If they shout questions at you while filming, pretend like they don’t exist. Viewers can’t tell if you hear the questions, so don’t say ‘no comment’ or acknowledge them. They’re invisible.”
He looks to the pair for acknowledgment. They nod again.
“Last, with our client, it’s all about building trust and rapport right now. A seventeen-year-old is more likely to take a shine to a younger person rather than to me, so we’ll play it by ear on who takes the lead in the interview.”