being a lawyer, and watch his reaction. He seems genuinely surprised, and can't imagine how that could have happened. He promises to check into it, and I tell him that this is evidence of what I see as a conspiracy to convict a totally innocent Willie Miller.
He smiles. “What this is, if it's true, is a clear ground for getting a new trial. But you've already got the new trial, Andy. And Miller already has a new lawyer.”
“The system has failed Willie Miller. It railroaded him by approving a fraud and letting Hinton represent him. For all I know the court may have appointed him; Willie didn't exactly have a legal defense fund.”
“So?”
“So I'm going to move for a dismissal and then I'm going to sue the state for ten million dollars.”
He laughs. “You want cash or a check?” He is unfazed, and though it annoys me, I can't say as I blame him. We both know I'm not going to get the dismissal.
Wallace then reveals why he had been calling me. He's being pressured from above to reach a plea bargain, though he seems confused as to why. My hunch is that Markham and/or Brownfield are using their clout to lean on Wallace's boss, but I'll never be able to prove that.
Wallace's new offer is forty to life, with the possibility of parole in twenty-five years. Willie would be fifty-three before he'd have a chance of getting out. It's still terrible, but it's a lot better than life without parole or a needle in the arm.
I don't think Willie will take it, but it's his decision, and that's what I tell Wallace. He tells me that even though he had to offer it, he hopes Willie won't take it. Wallace believes that anyone who could slaughter Denise McGregor like that doesn't deserve to ever again taste freedom. On that we agree.
I promise to talk to Willie, and I leave to make the drive out to the prison to see him. I ask him where he found Hinton.
“Where did I get my lawyer? Where do you think I got him? From the fucking lawyer fairy?”
“If I knew where you got him, I wouldn't ask. So don't bust my chops, okay?”
He can tell that I'm annoyed, and he doesn't want to piss me off further. I'm the only lawyer he has; in fact I now know that I'm the only lawyer he's ever had.
“The court assigned the asshole to me.”
“Are you sure?”
“That's what he told me. You think I had the cash to go out and interview lawyers?”
“He told you?”
Willie nods. “He did. He bullshitting me?”
I confirm that Hinton was indeed bullshitting him. Willie asks the obvious question. “Why would he want to be my lawyer if he wasn't getting paid?”
I evade the question, but the answer is pretty well set in my mind. Somebody else was paying Hinton. Somebody who wanted Willie Miller to lose. Very possibly the same somebody who paid off Cal Morris and the guys who attacked Willie.
Before I leave, I bring up Wallace's new offer. His answer is short and to the point.
“No.”
“It's the best offer they are going to make,” I say.
“Then go back and tell them to take their best offer and shove it up their ass.”
“I'm not saying you should take it; but I am saying you should seriously consider it. If we lose at trial, it will turn out a hell of a lot worse.”
“I already told you, we ain't gonna lose at trial,” he says.
I'm not going to be able to convince him of our dire circumstances, so I leave and head back to the office. Laurie is back from lunch with Mr. Wonderful. I hope he tore a rotator cuff passing the potatoes. She has checked and learned that the court had in fact not appointed Hinton, and Wallace has also left a message confirming that fact.
My plan is to bring this up before Hatchet at tomorrow's pretrial hearing, but I'm going to need to get my facts in order. What this means is another late night tonight, and I grab all my papers and head home.
AN ENORMOUS LIMOUSINEWITH a chauffeur waiting in the driver's seat is in front of the house when I pull up. I go inside and find Nicole sitting in the kitchen, drinking coffee. She does not look happy, which gives us something in common.
“Hello, Nicole.”
“Hello, Andy.”
“Based on the size of the limo outside, either the President of the United States, the Sultan of Brunei, or