And yet, I didn’t hate her, and that made it worse.
Chapter 5
Crack the Case
Hillary Beck
Iknew the firm was in crisis mode. The Durrick case had been garnering public attention for a while, and everything rested on the next court session. Whether the rich and famous Mrs. Durrick went to jail, or if she walked free, rested on one single witness.
It had been two days now, during which everyone had been working overtime. Of course, for every hour the firm worked, the bill was charged to the client, so no one was too unhappy about it. Everyone got compensated for their time, after all.
I was standing in his office, and I didn’t know why. He said he needed someone to discuss the case with. Someone who wasn’t a lawyer, because he wanted a fresh perspective on the case.
“…then the witness saw Mrs. Durrick pouring the cyanide powder into the decanter. That decanter also had traces of cyanide, and it is confirmed that the wine was used to poison him. He had no known enemies, and she has a very clear motive. She inherited a lot of money after his death. No one else in the family had a motive. The sister suspected her brother was poisoned, and she had the body exhumed,” he said, reciting the details.
“It all seems so clear,” I said.
“I didn’t ask you to talk,” he said. “I asked you to listen!”
He had been drinking again and was already on his fourth whisky. I was beginning to think that my boss had a drinking problem. Whenever things got difficult, he drank.
I looked down at the files, going through them once again. He started rattling off some laws and how he can manipulate the closing argument. I was supposed to make notes of everything he said, so he could later determine what was useful and what needed to be cut out. I wrote as fast as I could, taking in everything he was saying.
“Get me a file,” he said. “There was an old case. A very old case. Back in the 1990s, which had similar circumstances, but they ruled in the defendant’s favor. It’s not digitized yet. It must be in one of the archives. Have one of the interns look for it.”
I nodded and walked out, looking for an intern. There was something about the case that was bothering me. At the back of my mind, something was nudging me. Something about this case was off, and I just couldn’t grasp it.
What?What was it?
I found the intern and relayed the vague instructions that Gale had given me. I felt sorry for the young intern. He would have to run off and look through piles of old files before he could find anything. And with such little to go on, he would have an even harder time.
“Ms. Clara?” a voice called out. “There you are, I just want to let you know that I’ll be taking off now.
I turned around and saw an elderly woman in a cleaner’s uniform walking towards me.
“Oh, you’re not Clara!” she said. “I am sorry, dear, I have cataracts, and my vision has been so blurry lately. Faces look so fuzzy.”
It suddenly hit me, and I ran from there after muttering, ‘excuse me’.
It couldn’t be, could it?So many highly trained lawyers couldn’t have missed something like this?It was so stupid, but could it be true? If it was, then Gale would have found it already.
I burst into his office, and he looked up.
“Show some manners, Miss Beck!” he snapped. “And where is my file?”
I looked at him, panting. What if I was wrong? He would think I was an idiot.After all, if it was true, he would have seen it. How could it have been missed? I must be wrong. I have to be.
“Why are you staring at me?” he asked, downing another drink.
“I think I may have an idea,” I said. “It may be stupid, but I have one.”
“Please, save me from your stupid ideas,” he said. “I have enough of my own problems without you lowering my IQ with yourideas.”
“You are extremely rude and selfish!” I snapped, getting annoyed at his behavior. “All you do is drink and snap at people! Have you seen yourself! You look more like a mess and less like the owner of a law firm! Now, pull yourself together and listen to me!” I knew it was all too late now.
“You know I could fire you this very minute?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“As if I care,” I lied, too angry at that moment to care. Everything about this man infuriated me so much. “You are going to listen to me! It may be a stupid idea, but you will listen!”
