Will of Justice_A Legal Thriller

by Peter O'Mahoney

  “No…” Anna shakes her head. “I mean overall, where do we sit in the case? How are we going?”

  “Not good.” He draws a long breath. “A number of things don’t look good for us. The case passed through the levels of trial without much trouble, and while that doesn’t mean that we have lost, it does mean that the evidence against you is solid. The prosecution is one hundred percent sure that they have this one in the bag, and they won’t even negotiate on the deal that they presented you.”

  “You can throw that thought in the bin. I’m not taking any deal. I can’t spend my life rotting away in prison. I’m not a criminal. I told you, I’m innocent.” Anna’s pleading eyes look up at Bill. “You believe me, don’t you?”

  Staring deep into Anna’s eyes, Bill looks for any flinching moment of regret. There is none. “Yes, I believe you, but what I believe doesn’t matter in court. Regardless of whether I think you’re innocent or not, I’m here to get the best outcome for you.”

  Anna slumps back into the meeting room chair. Despite the sun streaming through the open windows of the meeting room in Bill’s office, she feels cold. The fear of becoming incarcerated for the rest of her life weighs heavily on her mind and has prevented her from sleeping for weeks. Her bed has become a battle zone of discomfort and fear. Sleeping on her couch after a bottle of wine has been her only respite.

  Bill sits proudly at the head of the boardroom table, files in front of him, and with Anna to his left. Spread out on the table are numerous folders with information about the impending trial, and Bill has been detailing how they will progress forward.

  “This is what the prosecution has against you, Anna,” Bill says while sliding a file across the desk. “They may present more during the case, but this is their main evidence. This is the core of their case, and it’s what we have to fight against. They will present this as evidence in court, and I need you to be aware of all the information so that you don’t appear shocked at all during the case. How you react in the courtroom will determine whether some of the jury members think you’re guilty or innocent.”

  “Shouldn’t the jury members just think about the evidence? Isn’t that the reason for the trial?”

  “In theory, yes, the jury members should just think about the evidence. But there is a problem with that theory.”

  “What?”

  “Jury members are human, just like you and me. There is a subconscious process that happens when we meet anyone in our day-to-day life. That process is called Unconscious Bias. How the person looks, how they sit, how their shoulders are placed, their facial expressions, and their clothing choices, can change how a person thinks about another person, with or without their logical brain acknowledging it.”

  “You’re saying that people are going to judge whether I’m innocent or not based on how I sit?” Anna says, exasperated.

  “No.” Bill shakes his head. “I’m saying that how you appear throughout the trial will influence a person’s impression of you. The juror’s logical mind will make the decision. However, how you appear will give us a head start.”

  “This all sounds like useless talk to me. I thought you were a lawyer, not a hocus-pocus magician.”

  “Anna, I do what I need to do to win a case. If you walk into that courtroom looking guilty, then we might as well walk away now. We will have no chance to win if you don’t look innocent.”

  “Is it really that important?” Anna asks. “I thought the whole justice system was above judging how a person looks?”

  “How a person looks is crucially important.”

  “What about the old saying of not judging a book by its cover?”

  “Anna, if I walked into a bookstore and none of the books had covers, how could I choose which book to read? Everyone makes judgments based on appearances, and we need to leverage that truth. We want the jury to think that you’re innocent. But most importantly - more important than your looks - you need to keep your temper in check. You cannot appear angry in that courtroom.”

  “Oh…”

  “We cannot even have the slightest snarl coming from your lips, Anna. In the courtroom, you’ll hear things that will make you angry - things that you think are lies - but you cannot, and I repeat, you cannot become angry. If the jury believes for even one second that you have a mean temper, then we can kiss the case goodbye.”

  “I’ll try, Bill. I have struggled with anger my whole life, so I will do my best.”

  “No, Anna. Don’t try. Make it happen.”

  Anna nods in agreement. “Ok. I will control my anger in the courtroom.”

  “For your sake, I really hope you do.” Bill opens another file, sliding it in front of Anna. “Here are instructions on how you need to appear in the courtroom. It tells you how to appear soft for the trial. You need to wear soft colors, soft clothes, and apply soft makeup. I also want your hair out and flowing over your shoulders. I need you to focus on looking sweet and young. The jury will be watching for your reaction to every statement, and they will be watching you very closely. By following these guidelines, you’ll give the jury the impression that you’re soft-natured, and their subconscious mind will process that as innocence. It gives us a head start, but it in no way overrules the evidence.”

  Anna shakes her head as she flicks through the pages on how to dress in court. “If you think it will work, then I’ll do it.”

  “I don’t think it will work, I know it will work,” Bill states confidently. “We need doubt in the juror’s mind, and if they think that you’re soft and calm, then their subconscious will have doubt. That is our starting point and what we will build on.”

  “How do you even know what the prosecution has against me? Don’t they keep it all locked away and surprise you on the day of the trial?”

  “No. Every court trial has a process. It’s called ‘Discovery.’ That process enables the defense teams to look over the evidence that may be presented by the prosecution.”

  “So, what’s your angle then? What’s your big play?”

  “If you didn’t murder your aunt, then somebody else did.”

  “That’s it?” Anna questions. “That is all you have?”

  “Strange things can happen in a courtroom. The pressure of the spotlight can cause all sorts of people to lose their focus. Even the most stoic of personalities can become lost once they are put on the stand. There is the pressure of having sworn an oath to tell the truth, the pressure of all the eyes focused on your statement and the pressure of my questions. I’ll exploit that pressure, and force the killer to reveal themselves. That is what we’re going for.”

  “Who are your suspects?” Anna leans forward. “It’s one of the veterans, isn’t it? I knew it’d be one of them. They’re creepy men.”

  “What makes you think it was one of them?” Bill enquires.

  “Just a feeling. I always felt like both of them were suspect in some way. When I heard my aunt was murdered, I thought it was one of them.”

  “Which of them would you think is guilty?”

  “Take your pick. It could’ve been either of them. Both of them have the strength to strangle Aunt Jessica. If I was to pick…” Anna looks out the window, the visions of her aunt being strangled come to her mind. For the first time, she imagines the pain and shock that Jessica must have felt when she was being murdered. The tears come to her eyes, and she wipes them away with the sleeve of her shirt. “I don’t know, Bill. It could’ve been either of them.”

  Bill watches the light drain out of Anna’s eyes.

  He wants to tell her that it’s okay and to reassure her, but he cannot bring himself to lie to her. He doesn’t want to give her false hope.

  “I can’t do it, Bill,” Anna whispers. “I can’t go to jail for something I didn’t do. I can’t spend the rest of my life without the freedom of travel. I haven’t even made it to Australia yet. That’s where I was going next. I was going to spend a few months back here with my friends in L.A., and then I was going to s
pend a year traveling through Australia. I wanted to drive in the Outback, and dive in the Great Barrier Reef, and walk through the forests of Tasmania. I had it all planned. I wanted to travel to the land ‘Down Under.’ But my aunt didn’t want that. She didn’t want me to go.”

  “Was she jealous?”

  “Of course,” Anna replies quickly. “She hated the fact that I could go wherever I wanted. She grew up in a time when women couldn’t do what we can now, and I get that. I get that she didn’t have the freedom that I do. But that shouldn’t stop me from doing what I love.”

  “I hope you get the chance to travel to Australia.”

  A pause falls over the room as Anna contemplates her future; her thoughts drifting to a future without travel, without freedom, without choice.

  “We’re done, aren’t we?”

  “Done?” Bill questions.

  “Everything you have said makes it look like we’re not going to win this case. It looks like we’re going to lose.”

  “It is a matter of perspective, Anna. My perspective is different to others.”

  “Perspective? What does perspective have to do with it?” Anna tries to control her frustration. “This should be black and white.”

  “Are you familiar with globes and maps of the world, Anna?”

  “Of course.” Anna looks at him with confusion.

  “Do you ever wonder why they all face the same way up?”

  Anna’s eyes squint as she tries to understand his question. “Um, no.”

  “Most people don’t. But if you were in a satellite in outer space, looking back at the Earth, there is no reference point. Our planet is suspended in space with no orientation. There is no up and down in space. The North Pole could be at the bottom of the Earth, depending on your position in space. The land ‘Down Under’ could be on top of the world. It could be the land ‘Up There.’”

  “What? No. North is always up.” She shakes her head.

  “No. That’s what you have been told your whole life. North is not ‘up.’ That is your perspective, but that isn’t reality. The reality is that the Earth is a spherical body in three-dimensional space with no reference point for up or down. We have merely written North as being up on our maps and globes. Nothing more. East could be up, or West could be up, or South could be up. North as the ‘up’ point on a globe is nothing more than a social construct.”

  “What?” Anna leans forward.

  “Next time you have a world globe in your hands, turn it upside down. That’s what it could look like from space. The direction of up all depends on your orientation when you look at it.”

  “You’re saying that all maps and globes are wrong?”

  “Not at all. They are right, to a certain point, all depending on your position in space. The convention of North-up maps is merely a perspective. When Apollo 17 took the first ever full photograph of our planet from space, Antarctica was at the top, and the North Pole was at the bottom. That didn’t sit well with NASA and the US Government, so they turned the photo upside down to meet our expectations.”

  “Sorry?” Anna shakes her head again. “You’re saying there is a conspiracy to North being up?”

  “Not a conspiracy. Merely a collective perspective. The Earth isn’t any particular way up, and there is no good reason other than a historical superiority complex to think of North as being the top of the world.”

  “Um, wow. I… I suppose that’s right. There’s no point of reference in space. The world could be upside down. That’s amazing.” Anna contemplates Bill’s statement as she leans back in her chair, still shaking her head. “And it’s all very interesting, but what has this got to do with my case?”

  “My perspective isn’t the same as everyone else’s, Anna. I see the world differently. When I see a world globe, I question its orientation. That is how we’re going to win the case.”

  “By saying the world is upside down?”

  “No, Anna. We will win by seeing things differently.”

  CHAPTER 15

  By midafternoon on the day before the trial, Bill is redrafting his opening statement over and over, trying to create the perfect combination of words for maximum impact. He understands the importance of delivery, the need to use the right words, at the right times.

  As he begins to talk to himself, rehearsing his opening lines, his office door bursts open.

  In surprise, he looks up, but when he sees the lean, tall figure standing in the door frame, he groans. It’s the only way this man ever enters his office.

  “Taylor,” he grunts.

  “Sorry, Bill,” Kate says as she stands behind the well-dressed man. “He just—”

  “It’s alright, Kate. I wouldn’t expect Taylor to enter my office any other way.”

  Kate nods, takes another look at the tall man, and then returns to her desk. Bill refocuses on the paperwork in front of him; his pen hovering over the first paragraph of his opening statement.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?” Taylor Reaper stands defiantly in the frame of the doorway, waiting for a response.

  Bill takes a moment, then lifts his eyes from his paperwork and calmly states, “I assume you have a drama and you would like to discuss that drama with me.”

  “This is more than a drama,” Taylor states again and strides over. He stands at the edge of Bill’s desk, arms spread wide, then leans on it, staring down at Bill in an attempt to intimidate him.

  “You have a new tie,” Bill comments about Taylor’s new red accessory.

  Taylor sighs, shakes his head, unbuttons his suit jacket, and places himself comfortably in the chair opposite Bill’s desk. He crosses one leg over the other, leans back, places his hands in his lap, and sighs again. “I have never liked your office. Never. I think it’s too bright to do any real thinking in here. I can see why you don’t generate as much business as I do.”

  Taylor Reaper is one of California’s finest, and best dressed, defense attorneys. He started his own firm in the late twenties, and over the past ten years, he has grown that firm into a juggernaut of a business. He holds himself in high regard and expects everyone else to do the same.

  His talents of defending clients are only matched by his talents of generating high-paying clients.

  “Have you come to lose another case?” Bill quips. He knows that comment gets under the skin of Taylor Reaper.

  “You got lucky last time, Bill. You got lucky.”

  The only three losses Taylor has ever experienced as a lawyer has been in Civil Court, against the intellectual power of Bill Harvey. And that fact couldn’t frustrate Taylor more.

  “Get to the point, Taylor. I charge by the minute.”

  “I’m not looking to hire a lawyer, you pompous bastard,” Taylor growls.

  “Then what is it that you want?”

  “Your trial has called one of my clients to the stand.”

  “Who?”

  “Thomas Feeble.”

  Bill raises his eyes in a show of slight surprise. He puts his pen down, staring directly at Taylor. “That’s very interesting. I’m surprised that he can afford your fees.”

  “I’ve managed the Feeble account for many years. Thomas Feeble is set to inherit a lot of money over the next few months. His mother is almost ninety years old and has a terminal disease. We have been advised that his mother has been given only one month to live and currently, the estate is all going to Thomas Feeble. I’ll be managing the transition of that estate.”

  “And no doubt taking your fair share of the money.”

  “Of course.” Taylor smiles in approval. Money is his goal in life, and he’s proud of that fact. The more money he can make, the prouder he is.

  “It must be a lot of money if he has you walking into my office. I’m surprised that you didn’t send one of your underlings here to try and intimidate me.”

  “The estate has a lot of money, yes. Inheritance seems to be the theme of the case, as well.”

  “I don’t
have time to trade barbs with you, Taylor. What do you want?”

  Taylor takes a moment before responding. He’s trying to exert some control in the face of the only man who has his measure in court. “What are you going to ask my client on the stand?”

  “I’m going to ask him about his cats.”

  “Don’t play games with me.” Taylor leans forward in the chair. “What are you going to ask him?”

  “I’m going to ask him what he witnessed on the day that the murder occurred. That is how defense trials work. If someone claims to have witnessed an event, then they will need to state that in court, and then they will be cross-examined by the defense. I’ll ask him about his witness testimony.”

  “You need to treat him well.”

  Bill leans back in his chair when a moment of realization hits him. “Thomas Feeble has come to you because he’s on the stand and he will be alone. That scares him, doesn’t it? He’s hiding something, so he came to you to ask for him. In turn, you came here to try and intimidate me. That is very interesting.”

  “What he’s hiding isn’t what you think.” Taylor calms down, and his voice has a touch of heart.

  “And what is he hiding?”

  “Nothing to do with this case.”

  “I’m sure that is what he has told you, but I’m not sure that I believe it.”

  “Tread easy on the stand.”

  “No. If that man wants to make a statement to the police about the death of Jessica Lempare, then he must be prepared for what happens next. I suggest that if you want to protect him, then you need to prepare him for the cross-examination.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of. Your cross-examination. You’re the devil when it comes to these things. I’ll prepare him for a cross-examination, but I’m afraid that you’ll rip this fragile man to pieces in the courtroom.”

  “I’ll do what this case needs.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Taylor stands and buttons up the jacket of his stylish suit. “Just watch where you step. That’s a warning from me. I’m not a man you want to mess with. And if you mess with Thomas Feeble, then you mess with me. You don’t want to do that, Bill.”