Page 8 of The Devil's Advocate

‘There has to be a mistake.’

‘Look, you know a prosecutor has huge discretion on whether to make a serious felony a capital case. Korn has never prosecuted a murder without calling for the death penalty. He’s never been successfully appealed, and he’s never lost a case.’

‘Why does he go for the death penalty every damn time? And why has no one noticed this before?’

‘Oh, it’s been noticed. When I was checking out Korn I found a few breadcrumbs left behind by previous investigations. All of them came to nothing because Korn is still district attorney, thanks to me. You asked why this guy goes after the death penalty? Isn’t it obvious?’

‘Not to me,’ I said.

‘Why do people join the army? Most say they want to serve their country, a lot of them join because of family, more still because of pay or training, and then there’s the tiny percentage of people, the two percent, who join the army for one simple reason – they want to kill somebody.’

‘You’re saying this guy, Korn, became a district attorney so he could kill people?’

‘No, that’s not whatIsay, that’s whathesays – all the damn time. He’s the king of death row. Wears it like a medal. I’ve dealt with bad people before. After a while, you can see it in their eyes. Korn is a killer. And he’s doing it on my watch.’

‘Who is this kid who’s going to be executed?’

‘His name is Andy Dubois, he goes on trial for murder in a week. He’s innocent and Korn just wants to watch the kid fry. When I found out about Korn, I had someone keep an eye on his cases. This kid is accused of murdering a young waitress from a dive bar on the highway. Andy couldn’t swat a fly on a dog’s ass. There’s nothing I can do to get rid of Korn now. I had my chance. So I hired a lawyer in Sunville to represent Andy. His name is Cody Warren. He copied me in on the case files. They’re in my car right now. I haven’t heard from Warren in a week. His secretary reported him missing three days ago. I think he’s dead.’

‘Woah, that’s quite a leap. A lawyer goes missing and you think he’s dead? What? You think Korn killed him?’

I didn’t know if it was a trick of the light from the shades on my window, but Berlin’s features seemed to darken, and his voice dropped low as he said, ‘Korn runs the biggest town in Sunville – Buckstown. And he’s tight with the county sheriff. He’s bloodthirsty, crooked and ruthless. It was only a matter of time before a defense attorney mysteriously disappeared on his patch. If Korn didn’t do it himself, he had help. I think Korn could’ve arranged for Warren to disappear, and he wouldn’t even have blinked.’

‘So call the FBI,’ I said.

‘The feds would swamp that town, spend six months tearing the place apart and end up with nothing. I don’t need a sledgehammer here. I need someone smart enough to take on Korn in the courtroom, get the kid off. If something bad has happened to Warren, no one will ever find him. Korn is too careful. Warren is beyond my help now. What I want to know is will you go to Alabama and save this kid’s life?’

‘I know nothing about the case. What if the kid is guilty? I’m no friend of the death penalty, but I won’t get someone off just to save their life. Not if they’re guilty.’

‘Didn’t you hear me? I checked it out. I believe he’s innocent. I think you will too. They’re keeping him in the county lock-up. Isolating him. Eddie, this is your wheelhouse.’

The cacophony of noise outside the office rose even louder.

‘I need to think about it, but I want to know why you’re doing this. The kind of work you do means you checked your conscience at the door when you joined up. No offense.’

Berlin stared off into the distance, his eyes were twenty years and a thousand miles away when he said, ‘I didn’t know who Korn was when I buried his opponent. There’s a line for everyone. When a sadist has the power of life and death and I helped give him that power, then there’s a personal responsibility. I took an oath once. A long time ago when I first strapped on a gun. His current tenure is down to me, so our fortunes are partially linked. I need evidence, something juicy enough to let me make the right phone calls and quietly retire him.’

‘This is about self-preservation,’ I said.

‘It’s not just that. If I had the time, I would build a case against Korn. Slow, solid – brick by friggin’ brick. There’s a ticking clock now. I can’t wait. I have to do something before he sends this kid to death row. If I can save one life …’

Berlin swung his gaze at me, leveled it and kept it there.

I knew the look.

People make mistakes, other people get hurt. There comes a time when you realize you drove past the exit a long time ago, and you can’t roll back the years, but you can damn sure do everything in your power to stop one more soul getting hurt or killed. Berlin’s conscience was getting to him. There’s a price to be paid for his kind of work, and it was almost time to collect. Everyone seeks redemption in the end. That’s how the song goes. I had been singing that same song for a long time.

‘I need to talk to my partner and the rest of the firm,’ I said.

‘I’ll wait,’ said Berlin.

He wasn’t going to leave and come back. He wanted an answer, right then. Maybe he figured he had me on the ropes and he didn’t want to risk losing his advantage. I got up and opened the door to my office, then stopped. There was something wrong. For a second I didn’t know what it was, then it hit me.

There was no sound from the outer office. No shouting. No banging. No swearing or barking.

I pulled open the door, fully expecting the place to be empty.

Clarence’s new leash was attached, Harry was gazing happily at his phone. The photocopier was humming as it merrily produced paper, Bloch stood beside it with a contented smile. Kate was sitting quietly in her office tapping on the keys of her laptop, and a lady I didn’t recognize sat at the desk we used for a reception. She was in her forties, blond hair cut short, smiling as she arranged papers on the desk and occasionally looked at the computer screen in front of her.