asked.
“An accidental death can always be retried as a homicide,” said Hayden. “Apples and oranges.”
“More relevant to you,” said Burton, “the police keep their own scorecard. Following the logic of law enforcement, this is the case that’ll make everything right.”
“A kind of
Psychotic Jurisprudence,”
I said to Hayden.
“That’s our sister publication,” he said, taking over the table and dropping three ducks in a row. His fourth shot was a delicate combination that sank another of his balls and left the cue ball an inch from the next, perfectly aligned with the corner pocket.
“Nice,” I said.
His next shot went wildly wide, giving me back the table.
“Pity,” I said.
“Hayden is a symphony of unrealized potential,” said Burton.
“I can see that,” I said, slamming one of my balls in the corner and scratching an instant later.
“Seems to be a curse today,” I said, setting the cue ball back on the table.
Hayden squatted down and peered across the felt to plan his next shot from the cue ball’s perspective.
“It’s easy to be misled by the way popular culture represents the legal system,” said Burton. “Complexities and subtleties make for good entertainment, but the reality is mostly blunt force. A corpse, a suspect with no alibi and a murder weapon that connects the two. A simple formula, custom-made to stir the passions of a prosecutor like Edith Madison.”
Hayden thinned out the population of solids while Burton was talking. He had them pared down to a single ball before yielding the table.
“I felt the same way about her ADA.”
I put way too much topspin on my next shot, causing thecue ball to ricochet up off the table and fly straight at Hayden’s head. He jerked to the side and snatched it out of the air.
“Sorry, man,” I said.
“This isn’t tennis,” said Burton.
“Must be repressed nerves.”
“First sensible thing I’ve heard from you,” said Burton. “Get those nerves out in the open where they belong.”
“You sound like Jackie.”
“A very bright woman. You should listen.”
“She tried to quit my case, but I wouldn’t let her. She said she was over her head.”
“She is,” said Burton, “but I won’t let her go under. We’ll plan everything together. She’ll be fine in the courtroom.”
Hayden recovered well enough from his turn at shortstop to put away the game. He sank the eight ball in a corner pocket after banking it off the rail at the opposite end of the table.
“It’s a good thing you guys were occupied,” he said. “I’d have never made that shot with your eyes on me.”
“It’s amazing what people can do when nobody’s looking,” I told him as I invested two more quarters and started stuffing the rack.
“You’ll have to try to be cooperative, Sam,” said Burton. “I know that runs against the grain.”
“Like I told Jackie, all I can say is I didn’t do it. You got to take it from there.”
“Not even that is necessary,” said Burton. “Your break, Hayden,” he added, looking down at the freshly racked triangle of balls.
“So you’re not even going to ask me?” I said. “Jackie did.”
Burton waited until Hayden had the balls scattered around the table, sinking none.
“I never ask,” he told me. “What you say one way or the other will have no bearing on how I approach the case. Utterly immaterial.”
“Not to me.”
He walked over with his cue stick in his left hand and put his right hand on my shoulder.
“Remember, I’d rather you clubbed that man to death than lie to me.”
I’d never felt anything but good feelings toward Burton since I met him, and didn’t feel any differently then. But I wasn’t going to let that one sit where it lay.
“No way, Burt,” I told him. “I didn’t club him and I’m not lying. My innocence has to be a matter of fact, a firm assumption upon which everything is based.”
The gangly introvert smiled at me warmly and gave my shoulder a
“An accidental death can always be retried as a homicide,” said Hayden. “Apples and oranges.”
“More relevant to you,” said Burton, “the police keep their own scorecard. Following the logic of law enforcement, this is the case that’ll make everything right.”
“A kind of
Psychotic Jurisprudence,”
I said to Hayden.
“That’s our sister publication,” he said, taking over the table and dropping three ducks in a row. His fourth shot was a delicate combination that sank another of his balls and left the cue ball an inch from the next, perfectly aligned with the corner pocket.
“Nice,” I said.
His next shot went wildly wide, giving me back the table.
“Pity,” I said.
“Hayden is a symphony of unrealized potential,” said Burton.
“I can see that,” I said, slamming one of my balls in the corner and scratching an instant later.
“Seems to be a curse today,” I said, setting the cue ball back on the table.
Hayden squatted down and peered across the felt to plan his next shot from the cue ball’s perspective.
“It’s easy to be misled by the way popular culture represents the legal system,” said Burton. “Complexities and subtleties make for good entertainment, but the reality is mostly blunt force. A corpse, a suspect with no alibi and a murder weapon that connects the two. A simple formula, custom-made to stir the passions of a prosecutor like Edith Madison.”
Hayden thinned out the population of solids while Burton was talking. He had them pared down to a single ball before yielding the table.
“I felt the same way about her ADA.”
I put way too much topspin on my next shot, causing thecue ball to ricochet up off the table and fly straight at Hayden’s head. He jerked to the side and snatched it out of the air.
“Sorry, man,” I said.
“This isn’t tennis,” said Burton.
“Must be repressed nerves.”
“First sensible thing I’ve heard from you,” said Burton. “Get those nerves out in the open where they belong.”
“You sound like Jackie.”
“A very bright woman. You should listen.”
“She tried to quit my case, but I wouldn’t let her. She said she was over her head.”
“She is,” said Burton, “but I won’t let her go under. We’ll plan everything together. She’ll be fine in the courtroom.”
Hayden recovered well enough from his turn at shortstop to put away the game. He sank the eight ball in a corner pocket after banking it off the rail at the opposite end of the table.
“It’s a good thing you guys were occupied,” he said. “I’d have never made that shot with your eyes on me.”
“It’s amazing what people can do when nobody’s looking,” I told him as I invested two more quarters and started stuffing the rack.
“You’ll have to try to be cooperative, Sam,” said Burton. “I know that runs against the grain.”
“Like I told Jackie, all I can say is I didn’t do it. You got to take it from there.”
“Not even that is necessary,” said Burton. “Your break, Hayden,” he added, looking down at the freshly racked triangle of balls.
“So you’re not even going to ask me?” I said. “Jackie did.”
Burton waited until Hayden had the balls scattered around the table, sinking none.
“I never ask,” he told me. “What you say one way or the other will have no bearing on how I approach the case. Utterly immaterial.”
“Not to me.”
He walked over with his cue stick in his left hand and put his right hand on my shoulder.
“Remember, I’d rather you clubbed that man to death than lie to me.”
I’d never felt anything but good feelings toward Burton since I met him, and didn’t feel any differently then. But I wasn’t going to let that one sit where it lay.
“No way, Burt,” I told him. “I didn’t club him and I’m not lying. My innocence has to be a matter of fact, a firm assumption upon which everything is based.”
The gangly introvert smiled at me warmly and gave my shoulder a
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