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Adam was puzzled by something. “Why me, Stewart? We have a couple of dozen young lawyers around here who could handle this.”
“Our revered District Attorney specifically asked for you. He wants to make sure nothing goes wrong. As we’re both aware,” he added dryly, “Bobby’s not the most forgiving man in the world. He wants the Parker woman’s hide nailed up on his wall.”
Adam Warner sat there, thinking about his busy schedule.
“You never know when we might need a favor from the D.A.’s office, Adam. Quid pro quo. It’s all cut and dried.”
“All right, Stewart.” Adam rose to his feet.
“Sure you won’t have some more tea?”
“No, thanks. It was as good as always.”
When Adam Warner returned to his office he rang for one of his paralegal assistants, Lucinda, a bright, young Black woman.
“Cindy, get me all the information you can on an attorney named Je
She gri
Everybody knew about her.
Late that afternoon Adam Warner was studying the transcript of the court proceedings in the case of The People of New York v. Michael Moretti. Robert Di Silva had had it delivered by special messenger. It was long past midnight when Adam finished. He had asked Mary Beth to attend a di
Adam turned to the transcript of the deposition that had been taken in Judge Waldman’s chambers afterward.
DI SILVA
:
You are a college graduate?
PARKER
:
Yes, sir.
DI SILVA
:
And a law school graduate?
PARKER
:
Yes, sir.
DI SILVA
:
And a stranger hands you a package, tells you to deliver it to a key witness in a murder trial and you just do it? Wouldn’t you say that went beyond the bounds of stupidity?
PARKER
:
It didn’t happen that way.
DI SILVA
:
You said it did.
PARKER
:
What I mean is, I didn’t think he was a stranger. I thought he was on your staff.
DI SILVA
:
What made you think that?
PARKER
:
I’ve told you. I saw him talking to you and then he came over to me with this envelope and he called me by name, and he said you wanted me to deliver it to the witness. It all happened so fast that—
DI SILVA
:
I don’t think it happened that fast. I think it took time to set it up. It took time to arrange for someone to pay you off to deliver it.
PARKER
:
That’s not true. I—
DI SILVA
:
What’s not true? That you didn’t know you were delivering the envelope?
PARKER
:
I didn’t know what was in it.
DI SILVA
:
So it’s true that someone paid you.
PARKER
:
I’m not going to let you twist my words around. No one paid me anything.
DI SILVA
:
You did it as a favor?
PARKER
:
No. I thought I was acting on your instructions.
DI SILVA
:
You said the man called you by name.
PARKER
:
Yes.
DI SILVA
:
How did he know your name?
PARKER
:
I don’t know.
DI SILVA
:
Oh, come on. You must have some idea. Maybe it was a lucky guess. Maybe he just looked around that courtroom and said, There’s someone who looks like her name could be Je
PARKER
:
I’ve told you. I don’t know.
DI SILVA
:
How long have you and Michael Moretti been sweethearts?
PARKER
:
Mr. Di Silva, we’ve gone all over this. You’ve been questioning me now for five hours. I’m tired. I have nothing more to add. May I be excused?
DI SILVA
:
If you move out of that chair I’ll have you placed under arrest. You’re in big trouble, Miss Parker. There’s only one way you’re going to get out
of it. Stop lying and start telling the truth.
PARKER
:
I’ve told you the truth. I’ve told you everything I know.
DI SILVA
:
Except the name of the man who handed you the envelope. I want his name and I want to know how much he paid you.
There were thirty more pages of transcript. Robert Di Silva had done everything but beat Je
Adam closed the transcript and wearily rubbed his eyes. It was two A.M.
Tomorrow he would dispose of the Je
To Adam Warner’s surprise, the Je
There was something about the case that disturbed Adam. Je
At noon Adam received a call from the District Attorney. “How goes it, Adam?”
“Fine, Robert.”
“I understand you’re handling the hatchet-man job on the Je
Adam Warner winced at the phrase. “I’ve agreed to make a recommendation, yes.”
“I’m going to put her away for a long time.” Adam was taken aback by the hatred in the District Attorney’s voice.
“Easy, Robert. She’s not disbarred yet.”
Di Silva chuckled. “I’ll leave that to you, my friend.” His tone changed. “I hear on the grapevine that you may be moving to Washington soon. I want you to know that you can count on my full support.”
Which was considerable, Adam Warner knew. The District Attorney had been around a long time. He knew where the bodies were buried and he knew how to squeeze the most out of that information.
“Thanks, Robert. I appreciate that.”
“My pleasure, Adam. I’ll wait to hear from you.”
Meaning Je
The cold, harsh words of the transcript were clear-cut, and yet Adam wished he could have heard the tone of Je
There were pressing matters claiming Adam’s attention, important cases involving major clients. It would have been easy to go ahead and carry out the wishes of Stewart Needham, Judge Lawrence Waldman and Robert Di Silva, but some instinct made Adam Warner hesitate. He picked up Je
Adam had been given a responsibility and he intended to carry it through to the best of his ability. He was all too familiar with the long, back-breaking hours of study and hard work it took to become an attorney and to pass the bar. It was a prize that took years to attain, and he was not about to deprive someone of it unless he was cerain there was justification.