Edge of Reason Ch. 01

Heather leaned in, pricking her ears.

"You are by far the best lawyer here," he said. "I don't know if you're aware of it, but you are. I follow every case of yours and I am truly impressed by some of the things you pull off. The last thing I want is you leaving, believe me."

"Thanks," she said shortly. Tom reached out and turned a picture frame on his desk towards her. There was a picture of Tom and a black man. Heather surmised that it had been taken twenty years back.

"David Carruthers. He used to be a dock worker back in the early nineties when I met him. He had a rare adenocarcinoma and needed an experimental procedure if he wanted a chance to live. The problem was, his insurance company refused to cover the cost. His case fell through the cracks, right onto my lap. I was a rising star back then, not unlike yourself.

"He was so different. He wasn't smug, rich and entitled like all the other clients who came my way. Here he was, a decent working man who needed a potentially life-saving procedure which he was going to be denied by his insurance company. The insurance company was one of the clients at my old firm, creating a conflict of interest. Everybody I met told me to drop the case, some not so politely."

"But you didn't," Heather said.

"I can't explain why but I clung onto it. I had had enough of defending trust fund jerks. I filed motion after motion and went to every damn deposition the insurance company set up. There was so much time wasted in discovery, trials and the opposition kept getting bogus continuances."

"They wanted David to die before the case got resolved," Heather said from experience.

"Precisely, but I fought through all that bull shit and adversity. I forgot about eating, sleeping and everybody yelling at me to drop this case. It became my obsession. Finally, I won and David got his treatment. Of course, I got fired from my firm for losing the insurance provider as a client."

"Did it work?"

"He walked his daughter down the aisle last month," Tom said with a satisfied smile. "I'm her godfather."

"Is that why you keep his picture on your desk?"

"I keep that picture so that I can look at it as often as I need to. No matter how many scumbags I defend, I can always look up and see that I did something good."

He turned the photo back towards himself.

"Everybody should have a David Carruthers. Everyone who still has a conscience, I mean. That's more than I can say for most of the lawyers in this city."

"So you want me to fight this case?" Heather asked.

Tom smiled and said. "Heather, you are standing on the edge of reason. In front of you is a precipice of untold misery. When you jump, you are going to experience all sorts of emotions and attachments you never knew existed. For once, you are emotionally invested in your client. It's a good person that you're fighting for. Use that to positive energy to fly. But I should warn you, it's a long way down if you can't."

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.

"Have you considered what will happen if you lose this case? Have you even thought about how it will feel like seeing someone you have grown so desperately close to be sent to prison?" he said quietly. "Losing this case will destroy you, Heather. I've seen it before. You will never be the same again. Are you sure you want to take that risk?"

"Yes," she said immediately. Tom placed his hands behind his head and beamed.

"In that case, I grant you carte blanche to do whatever you want. If somebody stands in your way, give them my reference," he said. "There is one thing though, you will need a second chair. Pick anyone you want and I will make sure they are available."

Heather thought it over, mentally evaluating the people she could pick. After a few seconds, the penny dropped and she said the bravest thing in her life.

"I pick you."

"Me?" said an amused Tom. "You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm not."

"Heather, I am the last person you want on this case," he said plainly. "You work in the shadows. My simply being there will put this case in the media spotlight. There's no way you're ready for that."

"I can handle that," she said. "It means little compared to having you as part of the defence."

"What about your client? Will she be okay with this?"

"I'll talk to her, but yes," she said firmly. "You're the only person I can think of who can pull this off."

Tom pursed his lips thoughtfully, patting his fingers on the wood. A few minutes later, he shook his head.

"Can't, sorry. I have this anti-trust case to deal with. I'm not even half-way through the research. Pick someone else."

"I know anti-trust law inside out," Heather said triumphantly. "After my case is over, I will give you all the work product you need that very day itself."

He looked at her determined expression and smirked.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Not a chance."

"Then I don't have another choice. Looks like I'll be fighting my first murder case in years."

"Thank you," said Heather breathlessly. "I'll get the files ready and inform the prosecution that you are taking over."

"The case is still yours, Heather," he said. "All I'll be is second chair."

"Why would you be second chair?" she asked incredulously.

"Because the lead on the case needs to be a woman. You want me in the background, guiding the case, not leading it. If I do, then it becomes about me and not about the plight of your client. We don't want that."

"Fine," said Heather, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She would never get used to the fact that she was going to have Tom Markham as second chair.

"What is our plea?" he asked.

"Temporary insanity." Tom stroked his chin contemplatively for a few minutes.

"But she wasn't temporarily insane and any doctor who says so will obviously look fake," he said. "There might be a backlash from the jury if we try that."

"Then what do we do?"

"Nothing, we just fight the case."

"I don't understand."

He stood up and walked across the table to where Heather stood.

"You know she wasn't temporarily insane. I know it. The prosecution knows it. The judge knows and the jury will know it too. In fact, everybody who watches this case on TV will know it. The thing is, they're going to set Natasha free anyway."

He took a moment to see the priceless bewilderment on Heather's face before he laughed out loud.

"Temporary insanity isn't the reason they will set her free. It's merely the pretext. They are going to want to set her free and all they will need is an excuse."

"Why will they do that?"

"Because they won't have another option. We are going to fight this battle outside court. You have a grieving mother who lost her only son against a sick pedophile who walked free. Give it to our media contacts and watch the public's blood boil. There will be so much public sympathy for her and outrage for the DA's office that the trial will be irrelevant."

Heather's eyes widened. Tom placed his palms on his shoulders.

"Get an immediate trial date. Make the sure the event is fresh in people's minds. Exploit the heartburn every New Yorker will feel for her while it's still fresh. By the time we're done, the ordinary citizen should be so angry at the system that their only regret is not shooting that child-killing sicko themselves. They make up your jury pool."

"Isn't that illegal?" Heather asked, overawed by the plan.

"That's our only shot."

She collapsed back into her chair, overwhelmed by the events of the past half an hour. Her brain hurt from all the information trying to sink in. Tom got on his knees and looked her in the eye.

"You'll have your own picture soon, Heather."

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If you have reached so far, I would appreciate your votes and comments. Private feedback is also welcome. Chapter 2 is the trial itself.