Black Diamond Read Free Page A

so deep that it pushed me into half a commitment.
    â€œHere’s where we stand, Hector, so you know. I don’t buy that drug theory. That said, I’ll go this far with you. I’ll do the investigation and the pretrial work. I’m doing this partly for Danny anyway. If I find you’re clean, I’ll go all the way with you.”
    He bounced up like a spring toy with his hand out to seal the deal. I stayed where I was.
    â€œUnderstand the other half. If I find you had a hand in Danny’s death, even remotely, you’ll be looking for another attorney. Do we understand each other?”
    â€œWe do.”
    The hand was still out there. On those terms, I shook it.

CHAPTER THREE
    The lines on Mr. Devlin’s Mount Rushmore features deepened the further I got into explaining the circumstances of our new maybe-client. A day of combat in the criminal session of the Suffolk Superior Court left him more depleted of energy than I liked to see. I knew it was not the best moment to broach a subject that left even me with second, third, and fourth thoughts, but the timing couldn’t be helped.
    â€œYou’ve thought about this, Michael.”
    It was a question.
    â€œNot for any—No. There was no time. That’s why I left the escape hatch open. If our investigation shows that he’s guilty, we withdraw.”
    He leaned back, folded his arms, and gave me that look.
    â€œYou have trouble with that, Mr. D.?”
    â€œI’m sitting here praying to God that my junior partner has an equal amount of trouble with it.”
    The eyebrows went up, and he waited.
    â€œI know. You’ve always told me that you can’t base a defense on the belief that your client is innocent.”
    â€œAnd the reason?”
    I’d often thought he was a frustrated law professor.
    â€œThey lie. Then you find yourself up the creek and paddling backward, to quote your words. I’m still not totally convinced of that theory.”
    An argument always brought him up with his elbows on the desk.
    â€œThen let’s play it your way, Michael. What possible evidence, other than his word, do you have of this jockey’s innocence?”
    â€œThat’s why I left the escape hatch.”
    That had him up and pacing.
    â€œLet me set the scene. We take this case on. Judge whoever-it-is sets a trial date, which rapidly approaches. You turn up something down the road that suggests perhaps that our client is not altogether innocent. You make a motion to withdraw from the case.”
    â€œI see where this is going.”
    â€œI’m just getting warmed up. The judge asks, ‘On what grounds, Mr. Knight?’ You say, ‘I want out because my client is guilty.’ Ninety percent of the defendants the judge tries are guilty. The judge says, ‘If I let lawyers out on those grounds, this court would look like musical chairs. Denied.’”
    â€œThat’s not exactly—”
    â€œOh, that’s right. There’s another ground. ‘Your Honor, the victim was my good friend.’ ‘Oh,’ says the judge. ‘That’s different. I’ll disrupt my trial schedule. We’ll put off giving this defendant a speedy trial under the constitution while another lawyer gets up to speed. We wouldn’t want you to have conflicted feelings, Mr. Knight.’”
    His pacing had brought him next to me. I felt his hand on my shoulder. He said one word that carried with it a paragraph.
    â€œMichael.”
    â€œDoesn’t play, does it?”
    â€œNot in this lifetime. You have my sympathy, but you’ve got to fish or cut bait. We’re in or we’re out. You make the call. Either way, I’m with you. But there’s no halfway.”
    I knew he was right before he even started. On the other hand, Hector Vasquez didn’t. And yet he accepted my representation with a trapdoor that would throw his case into turmoil if it were ever sprung.