The Last Innocent Man

He stood up and she followed. He held open the door and she started to leave. They were close. Within inches of each other. His hand poised on the doorknob, the scent of her all around him. He wanted to hold her. She sensed it and pretended not to notice. The moment passed and he opened the door. When she was gone, he sat at his desk without moving for a long time.

3

David had not slept well. There had been clear skies and a bright slice of moon, and he had watched the stars from the darkness of his living room when he found he could not sleep. What was there to it? A woman he had slept with one time. Why should she matter, when none of the others he had taken to bed had mattered? He knew he would not find the answer with logic, the lawyer’s tool.

What should he do? The answer was obvious. Get out. Obvious on paper, that is. But not in his heart, where the decision was being made. And it was not all that obvious, anyway, because one factor muddied everything over. What if Larry Stafford was innocent? Charlie Holt had told him that Jennifer said she had been with her husband the night Darlene Hersch was murdered, and Jennifer had told him when they were walking to his office from the court-house that Larry was innocent. Stafford had said it too, and David believed him. On the other hand, was the man who had cuckolded the defendant the best man to represent him?

David had to give that a lot of thought. Now that he had found Jennifer, he did not want to let her go. He wanted to know if there was anything more possible between them. He had sensed that possibility when they had parted at his office.

Did he want the case because of Jennifer? Did he care about Larry Stafford at all? If it was just Jennifer, he knew he would have to give it up. But it wasn’t just Jennifer, David told himself. If Larry Stafford was innocent, David could not stand by and see him convicted. There was more to this case than just a chance to see Jennifer again. Hadn’t he felt the excitement when Charlie Holt had told him that Stafford might be innocent? David thought about Ashmore and Gault and Anthony Seals. When their cases had concluded, he had felt a sense of guilt, not pride. This was a case he could be proud of. He was the best criminal lawyer in the state and one of the best in the country. It was about time he started using his abilities the way they were meant to be used.

THERE WAS Anote from Monica in his message box the next morning. An indictment had been returned, and a date for the arraignment had been set in circuit court. David made a note to himself to set a time for a bail hearing. The first thing he did when he reached his office was call Jennifer Stafford. She answered after the first ring.

“I’ll represent Larry if you want me to.”

“Yes,” she answered after a brief pause. “Thank you. I was afraid you wouldn’t… Larry is very high on you. We talked about it yesterday evening.”

“You didn’t tell him I was thinking about not taking the case?”

“Oh, no. He doesn’t know anything about us.”

There was silence on the line.

“You haven’t…?” she started.

“Of course not.”

There was another pause. Not an auspicious beginning. They could not relax with each other.

“Larry said that you have his appointment book at home,” he said.

“I think so. I’ll look.”

“I’ll need it as soon as possible. And the fee,” he added, feeling uneasy about asking her for money.

“Of course; Charlie told me. I’ll go to the bank.”

Again, dead air. Neither of them knew how to fill the space.

“I’ll let you know when the bail hearing is set,” David said, unwilling to let the conversation end.

“Yes.”

“And don’t forget the book. It’s important.”

He was repeating himself.

“If…if I find the book, should I bring it down this morning?”

Did that mean she wanted to see him? He felt very unsure of himself.

“We can set an appointment.”

“I could leave it with your secretary. If you’re busy.” She hesitated. “I don’t want to bother you. I know you have other cases.”

“No. That’s all right. If you find it, come down. I’m pretty open this afternoon, and I have to talk to you anyway for background.”

“Okay. If I find it.”

They rang off. He leaned back, breathed deeply, and composed himself. This was no good. There was too much adrenaline involved. He wasn’t thinking straight. Like some high-school kid with a crush. Stupid. When he felt he had himself in hand, he dialed Terry Conklin, his investigator.

“How you doing, Terry?”

“Up to my ass. And you?”

“Same thing. That’s why I called you. I have a real interesting one. It’ll probably take a lot of your time.”

“Gee, I don’t know, Dave. I hate to turn you down, but I just picked up Industrial Indemnity as a client, and I’ve had to hire another guy just to handle their caseload.”