The Chamber (7 page)

He deliberately took the seat directly across the small conference table from Adam, and held a thin file as if it possessed a deadly secret. E. Garner Goodman sat low in the seat next to Adam, twiddling his bow tie and scratching his beard. When he telephoned Rosen with Adam’s request, and broke the news of Adam’s lineage, Rosen had reacted with predictable foolishness.

Emmitt Wycoff stood at one end of the room with a matchbox-sized cellular phone stuck to his ear. He was almost fifty, looked much older, and lived each day in a fixed state of panic and telephones.

Rosen carefully opened the file in front of Adam and removed a yellow legal pad. “Why didn’t you tell us about your grandfather when we interviewed you last year?” he began with clipped words and a fierce stare.

“Because you didn’t ask me,” Adam answered. Goodman had advised him the meeting might get rough, but he and Wycoff would prevail.

“Don’t be a wise ass,” Rosen growled.

“Come on, Daniel,” Goodman said, and rolled his eyes at Wycoff who shook his head and glanced at the ceiling.

“You don’t think, Mr. Hall, that you should’ve informed us that you were related to one of our clients? Certainly you believe we have a right to know this,
don’t you, Mr. Hall?” His mocking tone was one usually reserved for witnesses who were lying and trapped.

“You guys asked me about everything else,” Adam replied, very much under control. “Remember the security check? The fingerprints? There was even talk of a polygraph.”

“Yes, Mr. Hall, but you knew things we didn’t. And your grandfather was a client of this firm when you applied for employment, and you damned sure should’ve told us.” Rosen’s voice was rich, and moved high and low with the dramatic flair of a fine actor. His eyes never left Adam.

“Not your typical grandfather,” Adam said quietly.

“He’s still your grandfather, and you knew he was a client when you applied for a job here.”

“Then I apologize,” Adam said. “This firm has thousands of clients, all well heeled and paying through the nose for our services. I never dreamed one insignificant little pro bono case would cause any grief.”

“You’re deceitful, Mr. Hall. You deliberately selected this firm because it, at the time, represented your grandfather. And now, suddenly, here you are begging for the file. It puts us in an awkward position.”

“What awkward position?” Emmitt Wycoff asked, folding the phone and stuffing it in a pocket. “Look, Daniel, we’re talking about a man on death row. He needs a lawyer, dammit!”

“His own grandson?” Rosen asked.

“Who cares if it’s his own grandson? The man has one foot in the grave, and he needs a lawyer.”

“He fired us, remember?” Rosen shot back.

“Yeah, and he can always rehire us. It’s worth a try. Lighten up.”

“Listen, Emmitt, it’s my job to worry about the image of this firm, and the idea of sending one of our new associates down to Mississippi to have his ass kicked
and his client executed does not appeal to me. Frankly, I think Mr. Hall should be terminated by Kravitz & Bane.”

“Oh wonderful, Daniel,” Wycoff said. “Typical hard-nose response to a delicate issue. Then who’ll represent Cayhall? Think about him for a moment. The man needs a lawyer! Adam may be his only chance.”

“God help him,” Rosen mumbled.

E. Garner Goodman decided to speak. He locked his hands together on the table and glared at Rosen. “The image of this firm? Do you honestly think we’re viewed as a bunch of underpaid social workers dedicated to helping people?”

“Or how about a bunch of nuns working in the projects?” Wycoff added helpfully, with a sneer.

“How could this possibly hurt the image of our firm?” Goodman asked.

The concept of retreat had never entered Rosen’s mind. “Very simple, Garner. We do not send our rookies to death row. We may abuse them, try to kill them, expect them to work twenty hours a day, but we do not send them into battle until they are ready. You know how dense death penalty litigation is. Hell, you wrote the books. How can you expect Mr. Hall here to be effective?”

“I’ll supervise everything he does,” Goodman answered.

“He’s really quite good,” Wycoff added again. “He’s memorized the entire file, you know, Daniel.”

“It’ll work,” Goodman said. “Trust me, Daniel, I’ve been through enough of these things. I’ll keep my finger on it.”

“And I’ll set aside a few hours to help,” Wycoff added. “I’ll even fly down if necessary.”

Goodman jerked and stared at Wycoff. “You! Pro bono?”

“Sure. I have a conscience.”

Adam ignored the banter and stared at Daniel Rosen. Go ahead and fire me, he wanted to say. Go ahead, Mr. Rosen, terminate me so I can go bury my grandfather, then get on with the rest of my life.

“And if he’s executed?” Rosen asked in the direction of Goodman.

“We’ve lost them before, Daniel, you know that. Three, since I’ve run pro bono.”

“What are his chances?”

“Quite slim. Right now he’s holding on by virtue of a stay granted by the Fifth Circuit. The stay should be lifted any day now, and a new execution date will be set. Probably late summer.”

“Not long then.”

“Right. We’ve handled his appeals for seven years, and they’ve run their course.”

“Of all the people on death row, how’d we come to represent this asshole?” Rosen demanded.

“It’s a very long story, and at this moment it’s completely irrelevant.”

Rosen made what appeared to be serious notes on his legal pad. “You don’t think for a moment you’ll keep this quiet, do you?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe hell. Just before they kill him, they’ll make him a celebrity. The media will surround him like a pack of wolves. You’ll be discovered, Mr. Hall.”

“So?”

“So, it’ll make great copy, Mr. Hall. Can’t you see the headlines—LONG-LOST GRANDSON RETURNS TO SAVE GRAMPS.”

“Knock it off, Daniel,” Goodman said.

But he continued. “The press will eat it up, don’t you see, Mr. Hall? They’ll expose you and talk about how crazy your family is.”

“But we love the press, don’t we, Mr. Rosen?” Adam asked coolly. “We’re trial lawyers. Aren’t we supposed to perform for the cameras? You’ve never—”

“A very good point,” Goodman interrupted. “Daniel, perhaps you shouldn’t advise this young man to ignore the press. We can tell stories about some of your stunts.”

“Yes, please, Daniel, lecture the kid about everything else, but lay off the media crap,” Wycoff said with a nasty grin. “You wrote the book.”

For a brief moment, Rosen appeared to be embarrassed. Adam watched him closely.

“I rather like the scenario myself,” Goodman said, twirling his bow tie and studying the bookshelves behind Rosen. “There’s a lot to be said for it, actually. Could be great for us poor little pro bono folks. Think of it. This young lawyer down there fighting like crazy to save a rather famous death row killer. And he’s our lawyer—Kravitz & Bane. Sure there’ll be a ton of press, but what will it hurt?”

“It’s a wonderful idea, if you ask me,” Wycoff added just as his mini-phone buzzed somewhere deep in a pocket. He stuck it to his jaw and turned away from the meeting.

“What if he dies? Don’t we look bad?” Rosen asked Goodman.

“He’s supposed to die, okay? That’s why he’s on death row,” Goodman explained.

Wycoff stopped his mumbling and slid the phone into a pocket. “I gotta go,” he said, moving toward the door, nervous now, in a hurry. “Where are we?”

“I still don’t like it,” Rosen said.

“Daniel, Daniel, always a hard ass,” Wycoff said as he stopped at the end of the table and leaned on it with both hands. “You know it’s a good idea, you’re just pissed because he didn’t tell us up front.”

“That’s true. He deceived us, and now he’s using us.”

Adam took a deep breath and shook his head.

“Get a grip, Daniel. His interview was a year ago, in the past. It’s gone, man. Forget about it. We have more pressing matters at hand. He’s bright. He works very hard. Smooth on his feet. Meticulous research. We’re lucky to have him. So his family’s messed up. Surely we’re not going to terminate every lawyer here with a dysfunctional family.” Wycoff grinned at Adam. “Plus, all the secretaries think he’s cute. I say we send him south for a few months, then get him back here as soon as possible. I need him. Gotta run.” He disappeared and closed the door behind him.

The room was silent as Rosen scribbled on his pad, then gave it up and closed the file. Adam almost felt sorry for him. Here was this great warrior, the legendary Charlie Hustle of Chicago law, a great barrister who for thirty years swayed juries and terrified opponents and intimidated judges, now sitting here as a pencil pusher, trying desperately to agonize over the question of assigning a rookie to a pro bono project. Adam saw the humor, the irony, and the pity.

“I’ll agree to it, Mr. Hall,” Rosen said with much drama in his low voice, almost a whisper, as if terribly frustrated by all this. “But I promise you this: when the Cayhall matter is over, and you return to Chicago, I’ll recommend your termination from Kravitz & Bane.”

“Probably won’t be necessary,” Adam said quickly.

“You presented yourself to us under false pretenses,” Rosen continued.

“I said I was sorry. Won’t happen again.”

“Plus, you’re a smart ass.”

“So are you, Mr. Rosen. Show me a trial lawyer who’s not a smartass.”

“Real cute. Enjoy the Cayhall case, Mr. Hall, because it’ll be your last bit of work for this firm.”

“You want me to enjoy an execution?”

“Relax, Daniel,” Goodman said softly. “Just relax. No one’s getting fired around here.”

Rosen pointed an angry finger at Goodman. “I swear I’ll recommend his termination.”

“Fine. All you can do is recommend, Daniel. I’ll take it to the committee, and we’ll just have a huge brawl. Okay?”

“I can’t wait,” Rosen snarled as he jumped to his feet. “I’ll start lobbying now. I’ll have my votes by the end of the week. Good day!” He stormed from the room and slammed the door.

They sat in silence next to each other, just staring across the table over the backs of the empty chairs to the rows of thick law books lined neatly on the wall, listening to the echo of the slamming door.

“Thanks,” Adam finally said.

“He’s not a bad guy, really,” Goodman said.

“Charming. A real prince.”

“I’ve known him a long time. He’s suffering now, really frustrated and depressed. We’re not sure what to do with him.”

“What about retirement?”

“It’s been considered, but no partner has ever been forced into retirement. For obvious reasons, it’s a precedent we’d like to avoid.”

“Is he serious about firing me?”

“Don’t worry, Adam. It won’t happen. I promise. You were wrong in not disclosing it, but it’s a minor sin. And a perfectly understandable one. You’re young, scared, naive, and you want to help. Don’t worry about Rosen. I doubt if he’ll be in this position three months from now.”

“Deep down, I think he adores me.”

“It’s quite obvious.”

Adam took a deep breath and walked around the table. Goodman uncapped his pen and began making notes. “There’s not much time, Adam,” he said.

“I know.”

“When can you leave?”

“Tomorrow. I’ll pack tonight. It’s a ten-hour drive.”

“The file weighs a hundred pounds. It’s down in printing right now. I’ll ship it tomorrow.”

“Tell me about our office in Memphis.”

“I talked to them about an hour ago. Managing partner is Baker Cooley, and he’s expecting you. They’ll have a small office and a secretary for you, and they’ll help if they can. They’re not much when it comes to litigation.”

“How many lawyers?”

“Twelve. It’s a little boutique firm we swallowed ten years ago, and no one remembers exactly why. Good boys, though. Good lawyers. It’s the remnants of an old firm that prospered with the cotton and grain traders down there, and I think that’s the connection to Chicago. Anyway, it looks nice on the letterhead. Have you been to Memphis?”

“I was born there, remember?”

“Oh yes.”

“I’ve been once. I visited my aunt there a few years ago.”

“It’s an old river town, pretty laid back. You’ll enjoy it.”

Adam sat across the table from Goodman. “How can I possibly enjoy the next few months?”

“Good point. You should go to the Row as quickly as possible.”

“I’ll be there the day after tomorrow.”

“Good. I’ll call the warden. His name is Phillip Naifeh, Lebanese oddly enough. There are quite a few
of them in the Mississippi Delta. Anyway, he’s an old friend, and I’ll tell him you’re coming.”

“The warden is your friend?”

“Yes. We go back several years, to Maynard Tole, a nasty little boy who was my first casualty in this war. He was executed in 1986, I believe, and the warden and I became friends. He’s opposed to the death penalty, if you can believe it.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“He hates executions. You’re about to learn something, Adam—the death penalty may be very popular in our country, but the people who are forced to impose it are not supporters. You’re about to meet these people: the guards who get close to the inmates; the administrators who must plan for an efficient killing; the prison employees who rehearse for a month beforehand. It’s a strange little corner of the world, and a very depressing one.”

“I can’t wait.”

“I’ll talk to the warden, and get permission for the visit. They’ll usually give you a couple of hours. Of course, it may take five minutes if Sam doesn’t want a lawyer.”

“He’ll talk to me, don’t you think?”

“I believe so. I cannot imagine how the man will react, but he’ll talk. It may take a couple of visits to sign him up, but you can do it.”

“When did you last see him?”

“Couple of years ago. Wallace Tyner and I went down. You’ll need to touch base with Tyner. He was the point man on this case for the past six years.”

Adam nodded and moved to the next thought. He’d been picking Tyner’s brain for the past nine months.

“What do we file first?”

“We’ll talk about it later. Tyner and I are meeting early in the morning to review the case. Everything’s
on hold, though, until we hear from you. We can’t move if we don’t represent him.”