“They’re still investigating, so they couldn’t tell me much that isn’t already public knowledge, but I thought talking to someone less biased about the case wouldhelp me make a decision.”
“Did it?”
“No. I... I mean, first of all, I don’t defend these kinds of cases.”
Park’s heart fluttered. Jackson was going to say no. How the hell would Park get through this without him? “I know, but—”
“I did once prosecute them, and I know the law. I’ve already got some paralegals doing the research, even, because apparently I can’t help myself.”
“So you’ll take the case.”
“I didn’t say that. I don’t do this kind of thing normally, but it’s within the scope of what Icando, so if I do say yes, I’ll do my best to defend you.”
“All right. But you’re not saying yes.” Jackson’s hesitation was killing him. He understood Jackson’s reluctance, but he was going to need some sort of commitment either way so they could either plan his defenseor Park could figure out what the hell else to do.
“Jesus, Park. You can’t just waltz back into my life after, what, five years? You can’t expect me to drop everything to help you. I have other cases I’m working on right now. I certainly don’t need your money.”
Jackson’s tone cut into Park. His voice sounded so icy, Park barely recognized that this washisJack speaking. “No, I realizethat.”
“I want to sleep on it. I’ll decide one way or the other in the morning.”
Park closed his eyes and tried to think of something that would persuade Jackson, some happy memory from their past he could remind Jackson of, some seductive thing he could say. Park had quite a bit in his arsenal, but he felt a bit of preemptive guilt at the thought of trying to manipulate Jackson.
“All right. Sleep on it. But you didn’t call just to tell me that, did you? Because you said you needed a day, so I didn’t expect to hear from you until tomorrow anyway.”
“Yeah. I... I don’t know. I don’t know how I can get past what happened between us, because I’ll tell you, it’s hard to even look at you, if I’m honest.”
Park had known better than to think he could just show up at Jackson’sdoorstep and expect Jackson to drop everything to help, because they didn’t have that kind of relationship anymore, but he’d been hoping to avoid a big emotional discussion, which he just didn’t have the bandwidth for with everything else going on. But perhaps being frank was what would bring Jackson on board. Jackson was, if nothing else, unfailingly honest. “It’s a bit of a catch-22, isn’tit?”
“What is?”
“I want to be honest with you, I do, but I can’t unless you’re my lawyer. I can’t give you the whole story without risking the information will be used against me later. You told me this morning you didn’t want me to tell you anything about the case yet, in the event you’re called on to testify.”
“What does that have to do with us?”
“I don’t know. A lot. What happenedwith us has everything to do with my political career.”
Jackson cursed softly on the other end of the phone.
“What do we do?”
“Park.” Jackson’s voice sounded strained. “I’m not saying we lay everything on the table. I don’t want to rehash our relationship. I think we need to have some kind of understanding, though.”
Park hated this. He hated that he’d made Jackson’s voice soundso strangled. He hated that he’d hurt Jackson so badly once upon a time. And he hated that he’d probably have to disclose a lot of information that he did not want to disclose. “Maybe some professional distance is in order. So I can tell you this. If you come on board, you have to consult with my staff, for better or for worse. My campaign manager says we need a strategy.”
“You do, I agree.”
“I have two lawyers on staff, but criminal law is not either of their areas of expertise.”
“You said as much this morning.”
“So I’m hiring you for your expertise. And I want to reiterate, I did not do this, Jack. I did not kill that girl.”
“Okay. I’ll call you in the morning, okay? Maybe we can meet for breakfast.”
“I can’t leave my hotel. Even if my staff would let me, thepress has set up camp outside.”
“So if I go to you, they’ll see me come in.”
