Dan didn’t like visiting his clients in their prison cell, but the pretalk he had with them was so important he had to sacrifice to go there. After the trial had been adjourned, he’d gone back home to his house which was blocks away from the courthouse, took a cold shower, had lunch, and dressed in another suit to meet Ethan.

     He’d performed well in court today contrary to his expectation. The witness brought on the stand hadn’t been anticipated, and if he had been able to weaken him in front of the jury then he sure did well. But he wouldn’t celebrate yet.

     His head swelled whenever the thought ebbed in, and it still did as he followed the prison guard to the visiting room. He led Dan inside a room with four walls and a long cement counter. There were no inmates in here except Ethan. He sat at the far end behind the glass pane that served as the boundary between prisoners and their visitors.

     He thanked the guard, and he went to stand by the door. Dan was grateful for the vacancy. He and Ethan could have a serious talk without any unnecessary interference. He hurried to the counter, placed his briefcase beside him, and picked the telephone on the wall.

     “Hey. How are you?” Dan had mostly refrained from asking his clients how they were doing in prison because it was obvious they were languishing there.

     Ethan ran his hair backward, which was now tousled and looked unhealthy. “Bad, man. Very bad. Anna hasn’t come to see me, and I don’t think she would.”

     Dan couldn’t say much other than express his sympathy. “I’m sorry you’re going through this.”

     “I know.”

     Ethan dropped the sadness and sighed. “That witness in court,” he said, “who’s he?”

     Dan gave a nervous shrug before he said, “Initially I didn’t know him till after I looked into him. His name is Jerry Hamilton, lives in Charleston, a loner with no wife or kid.”

     “How did you get your hands on this information?”

     Dan was not ready to discuss how he had schmoozed a member of the court staff into divulging this teeny tiny information about the hired witness so he simply said, “You get information when you have sources.”

     Ethan connected the dots. After he got his glib, he smirked. “I hope you didn’t do anything illegal.”

     “I wouldn’t say illegal. Just a misdemeanor, which I shouldn’t be discussing on the phone—” He whipped his head to the exit. The zealous guard stood there like a statue, but he wasn’t paying any attention to them.

     “Because someone might hear us.”

     “All right, but you do know he was lying, right?”

     “Yeah, which is the sole reason why I’m here.” His voice sounded serious now. “Ethan, whoever is trying to frame you didn’t just take a day to plan it. If they could go as far as to hire a witness, then I fear dire consequences.”

     His interest was piqued. “What do you mean?”

     “What I mean is that these people onto you aren’t goin’ to stop till they eliminate you.”

     A pregnant silence fell, then he said, “What do you have in mind?”

     Dan was reticent to share what he had in mind because Ethan would be indifferent to it. He said, “There’s still time. It’s not too late—”

     He fathomed what he was getting at and quickly, he muttered, “That’s out of the list.”

     Dan stared wistfully at him. “We’re fighting a war we can’t win. I’ve been a public defender for ten years, and I know foul play when I see one and if I’m telling you we can’t win this war, then I mean it. I’m trying to save you, but you don’t want to be saved.”

     “If you’re scared, it’s normal. You defeated Sanders today. It was clear the jury knew the witness was lying.”

     “I’m scared,” Dan admitted, “but not of Sanders but for you. If we don’t win, you’ll get a death sentence instead of life imprisonment.”

     “So we must win.”

     “We can’t.”

     Another silence fell. It lasted for almost one minute. “You’re a good attorney. Don’t be pessimistic.”

     Dan got angry that he wouldn’t listen to anything he’d say. “It’s not about being good. You don’t get it, do you?

     “Sure. I’ll do my best to win the cases I’m assigned, but this has nothing to do with good. This is foul play we’re talking about executed by powerful people; I’m very certain. For crying out loud, they hired a witness to perjure himself and didn’t stop to think twice. Do you know what this means?”

      Dan expected a reply but got none. He said, “They’re not afraid of the Justice Department because they are the Justice Department.”

     The revelation stunned Ethan. He took a minute or so to absorb it. “Are you saying Judge Terry is also part of this scheme?”

     Dan sighed. “I’ve known Judge Terry for a while now but not intimately. She’s impartial; I love that about her, but if they got to her, I don’t know.”

     “Maybe there’s a way to prove my innocence.”

     “I thought so too. It’s all about convincing the jury. If you know anyone who can testify you’re a good person, that’s fine because right now I don’t have anybody to bring into court.”

     “Ted Baker is the only person who can vindicate me. He was the one who called me. He told me he was forced to do it.”

     “This proves the people framing you have already planned everything and are executing it. Eth, you’re my best friend and I love you like a brother, but this is simply not for a public defender like me.”

     “Have you checked on Ted?”

     “Yeah, I did. He’s still in a coma, and the doctors don’t know when he will recover to testify in court.”

     “You need to put him under surveillance, in case they try to silence him after he recovers.”

     “Sadly I don’t have the authorization to do that. The doctors didn’t even want to tell me anything since I wasn’t a relative. I’m just a public defender and a nobody.”

     “Don’t say that, Dan. You’re somebody to me.”

     Dan was racking his brain for alternatives because he was sure Ethan wouldn’t plead guilty. When a thought kicked in, he said, “What about Anna? She’s your wife. She can testify you’re a good person.”

     Ethan sighed tenderly. “Ex-wife.” He massaged his temple. “Anna doesn’t want anything to do with me. She didn’t even show up here to see me, much less testify. If anything she’s happy I’m far away from Ronnie.”

     Dan had known about Ethan and Anna’s messy relationship, but he didn’t think it was that serious for Anna to want him out of his son’s life. He looked at the lonely desperate man. “I’m sorry. I’ll try and speak with her before tomorrow and cajole her she needs to testify.”

     “Don’t bother. She won’t do—” He paused and glanced up at him, his gloomy face suddenly filled with smiles. “Put me on the stand,” he happily said.

     “The jurors have been hearing only one side of the story. They have to hear mine too because every story has two sides. They can’t make a verdict without hearing what happened at the storehouse.”

     Dan was impressed with his thinking, but it sounded like a terrible idea to him. “And expose you to Sanders? No.”

     “That’s the only chance we’ve got.”

     “Sanders’ a witch. She’ll twist your words against you and end up polluting the jury panel. If one juror disagrees with the panel, you’re guilty.”

     “I don’t see any other choice here, Dan.”

     “There is,” he murmured. “I will speak with Anna and if she agrees to testify, then you don’t need to take the stand.”

     “And if she doesn’t?”

     Dan looked at him and put on a scowl. “Then you win.”

     “That’s fair enough.”

#. #. #

     Dan got into his outmoded sedan immediately after ending the conversation with Ethan. Damn, he hated how Ethan was so stubborn, but on the other hand, he couldn’t deny he liked him because of his persistence. Ethan had always been brave and perhaps that had influenced his carrier choice. In school when Dan was bullied by mean boys, it was Ethan who had come to his rescue.

     He’d always been the lonely kid from Charleston trying to fit into a world he didn’t understand. His books were his best friends, but after that dreadful encounter with the bullies, he met Ethan and they became close friends. Ethan had protected him throughout high school and then their path diverged when his parents moved out of South Carolina.

     He’d gone to a moderate university in Alabama where he acquired his degree. A year later, he entered law school and got his Masters—all without financial support from his parents because they couldn’t afford the fees. He’d worked in convenience stores to pay his fees. After he graduated and got his license to practice law, he met Mr. Greyson, his current supervisor, and he offered him a job at one of the local justice departments in South Carolina.

     He defended different people accused of petty crimes. He worked hard and soon, he was given top cases. He didn’t relax. He continued with the hard work till today and now, he was in the same courtroom with the famous Judge Terry and even Lucy Sanders. That’s quite an achievement. His final goal was to establish his law firm in South Carolina and continue dispensing justice.

     He reached Anna’s house and pulled up into her narrow driveway. He unbuckled the seatbelt after he cut the engine, passed across the lawn to the porch, and  knocked on the door. The door wasn’t immediately answered. He knocked again.

     Anna appeared in a nightgown. Her eyes widened. “Dan,” she said. “How unexpected. Come inside.”

     He followed Anna into the living room and she said, “Can I get you anything?”

     The urgency of the matter that had brought him here made him lose his appetite on his way. He felt sure nothing would settle well in his stomach, not even his favorite food.

     “No. Thanks, Anna.”

     She smiled. “All right. Have a seat.”

     They sat across from each other and he said, “How’s Ronnie? I heard from Ethan he’s sick.”

     She didn’t look happy at the mention of Ethan. “He’s fine now.”

     “Thank God.”

     “Yes.”

     Dan didn’t want to beat around the bush. He began, “I’m sure you’ve seen the news about Ethan.”

     She drawled, “I did.”

     “I won’t waste much of your time then. Ethan needs someone to testify, and you’re his wife—”

     “His ex-wife.”

     “Okay.”

     Dan wondered why she was more interested in emphasizing she wasn’t Ethan’s wife than hearing what he’d come here to say. He finally understood why Ethan specifically asked him not to come.

     “Could you testify?”

     “No, I can’t,” she said sharply. “I’ve got a sick son. I can’t leave him.”

     “I will have someone watch over him for you while—”

     She rudely interrupted him. “My answer is still no.”

     “All right,” he muttered, getting a little impatient, “maybe you don’t understand what’s at stake here. Your son’s father is going to get a death sentence if you don’t testify. If you won’t do this for him, do it for Ronnie. He’s young and needs his father.”

     Anna stared daggers at him and rose. “I think you should leave.” She stomped to the door and threw it open for him.

     Dan walked past her and stood on the threshold. “You’re going to regret what you’re doing, Anna. It’s not fair.”

     She put on an angry look and retorted, “You know what isn’t fair?” She gripped the doorknob. “Is having your ex-husband constantly interfering with your new life while you’re trying to move on. Tell Ethan to stop pestering me!” Then she slammed the door in his face.