The Nominee

by Alan P Woodruff

  There was a sad, distant quality to White’s voice when he responded. “You might be right. The ghosts seem to come more and more often.”

  It wasn’t necessary for him to describe his inner turmoil as more than that. She knew what he meant and how it affected him. As he extended his aimless stroll around the room, he continued to give voice to his buried thoughts. “Cases aren’t just about finding the truth anymore.”

  “I know. You’ve let them become battles of you against the government. You’re more interested in beating the government than in winning for your client.”

  “I’m doing what every defense attorney does. I make the government prove its case.”

  “You know you’re doing more than that. You’re putting the government on trial.”

  “Damn it! They should be put on trial!” White’s voice was filled with venom.

  “Lucius…” Leslie paused, trying to pick her words carefully. She knew how painful it was for him when his ghosts returned. “Prosecutors can only make the case that the law and the facts allow.”

  “Prosecutors aren’t the only problem. The agencies that make the rules, and the other agencies that claim to be enforcing the rules, are just as guilty. They also have to follow the law.”

  “But the law isn’t always that clear. Things aren’t always black and white.”

  White sat quietly on the edge of the bed, breathing deeply as he let his feeling about the government subside. “Tell that to my father,” he said in a melancholy voice to an imaginary listener from his long-ago life.

  A lone tear began forming in the corner of Leslie’s eye. She knew what White was feeling, just as she knew that there was little she could do about it. Usually, the demons appeared only as memories, often painful but still manageable. But there were times when, with increasing frequency, the demons emerged as uncontrollable compulsions.

  “David Parker isn’t your father. You don’t even know if David’s disappearance represents a real case… or that the government has anything to do with it.”

  “No. The facts don’t tell me any of those things.” He turned slowly. “But my guts are screaming loud and clear. If something has happened Parker, the government is either behind it or is going to have an interest in our efforts to find him. Either way, there’s going to be a clash between us.”

  Leslie slid further under the covers while considering whether she should say what she was thinking. She knew there were times when White’s compulsions got in the way of what he wanted most. Winning was what he was paid to do. Beating the government was what he now lived for. But that wasn’t how he had always been. Maybe, she thought hesitantly, the quest for justice, and his peace of mind, had become a victim of his private vendetta.

  “Lucius…,” she said.

  “Yes.”

  “Lucius, have you considered the possibility that Horse’s friend has disappeared because he wanted to?”

  White sat down beside her on the bed. “What are you thinking?”

  Leslie hesitated, the troubled look on her face indicated that she wanted to ask a question whose answer she didn’t really want to know. Finally, she said, “What if Horse’s friend has done something that he’s running away from? What if that’s why he didn’t call Horse?”

  White’s answer came more swiftly that she expected, as if he had already asked himself the same question. “Then he needs a lawyer. He needs me. But it doesn’t change what we have to do. Before I can help him, we have to find him.”

  “But is that really what you want… or what you need to do?”

  White left the bed and walked slowly toward the open window where he again stood, breathing the cool night air.

  Leslie left him alone with his thoughts until he turned and started back to the bed. “What will you do if the government has nothing to do with David’s disappearance? Will finding him, and defending him, if necessary, be enough?”

  White returned to the bed and laid down beside her with his head on the pillow, but his eyes were still wide-open. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.”

  Leslie reached out and held White’s hand. She had other questions, but she knew that this was not the time for them, just as she knew that White was probably not ready, or able, to answer them.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Alan Woodruff was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He holds bachelor and master degrees in chemical engineering (Virginia Tech), a doctorate in administration (Harvard), a law degree (Florida State) and a post-graduate degree in tax law (Univ. of Washington).

  Prior to going to law school, Alan was a researcher and consultant to local, state, federal and international agencies and organizations and the founder and CEO of multiple companies.

  As a lawyer, Alan has twenty years of experience as a trial attorney. He has more than fifty published articles and professional papers and is the author of one legal reference book.

  Alan lives on the southeast coast of North Carolina. He can be reached through the ‘contact’ page of his website at www.alanpwoodruff.com.