A Case of Redemption by Adam Mitzner

haven’t done as many as anyone who’s ever done one, my friend. Now me, I’ve done thirty. All over this country. And I’ve got a pretty good winning percentage. So I don’t appreciate being told by some guy who was formerly at the law firm of White Shoe and Tight Ass how to handle a murder case. And yeah, I know what you did for Darrius Macy. But rape ain’t murder, and one case ain’t a career. So if you really want to know why I wanted L.D. to plead, I’d appreciate it if you’d just ask me, you know, like a man would, rather than hiding behind what L.D. told you.”
    He stopped, as if this were a question that required an answer.
    â€œWhy did you want L.D. to plead?” I finally said in as strong a voice as I could muster.
    â€œBecause he told me that he killed her, and I thought a plea was the only way he’d ever see the sun again.”
    The words hit me like a punch to the gut.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œYou heard me right. Mr. Nelson Patterson told me that he beat Roxanne to death with a baseball bat.”
    â€œHe confessed to you?” Nina asked, sounding like she was in shock.
    â€œThat’s what I just said, isn’t it? He sat right where Mr. Sorensenis sitting now and he told me that when Roxanne went down to see her family for Thanksgiving, she told him that he wasn’t welcome. ‘Disrespected’ him, was the way he phrased it. That’s a big thing with L.D.—not being disrespected. Anyway, when she came back, he said he went to her place, they got into a fight, and he just lost it. He claimed that it was only after the press made the connection that he even thought about the ‘A-Rod’ song.” Jackson let out a hearty bellow of a laugh. “So I guess that was one thing he was telling the truth about. He didn’t mean the song to be about Roxanne.”
    I’m experienced enough to know that clients lie to their lawyers all the time, but even though I’d been told a day earlier how L.D. lied to us about his name, the fact that he’d confessed to Jackson and then lied to Nina and me took me completely aback. Most clients maintain the charade of innocence until the facts leave little other conclusion, and some hold on to it even after that.
    Jackson kept talking. “I told L.D. that we had a triable case still, but it would be tougher to win now because putting him on the stand was no longer an option. I don’t think he’d realized that confessing to me meant that he could no longer testify, at least about being innocent, because he kept telling me that celebrities don’t go to jail if they claim they’re innocent. But like I told Ms. Kaplan, L.D. really wasn’t much of a celebrity, and that was now beside the point because there was no way I was letting him take the stand and commit perjury. He wouldn’t budge. So I told him to find someone else. And I guess that’s you. And here we are.”
    â€œYou fired him?” I asked, sounding incredulous.
    He smiled at me, a condescending gesture if ever there was one. “Maybe it’s something in your law firm’s water. You seem as hard of hearing as your partner over there.”
    Nina came to my defense. “L.D. told us that he was the one who wanted to make the switch.”
    â€œOh, L.D. said ,” Jackson said with a self-satisfied smirk. “Well, noreason for you guys not to believe the word of an accused murderer over me, a guy who’s been practicing law in this town for more than thirty years.”
    Jackson laughed again, but I found nothing humorous about the sudden turn of events. In fact, I was pretty sick to my stomach right now.
    He shook his head, more in sadness than in anger, it seemed. “Look, I’m only telling you two because the privilege remains when it’s shared between lawyers for the same client. You don’t have to believe me, of course, and so if L.D. continues to