The King of Torts

The King of Torts Read Online Free PDF

Book: The King of Torts Read Online Free PDF
Author: John Grisham
Tags: Fiction, legal thriller
a smile on his wrinkled and aged face. His eyes were large and wounded, scarred by decades on the streets. He was very black and his clothes were very white—heavily starched cotton shirt and dungarees. Black combat boots shined to perfection. His head was shined too, not a trace of hair.
    He pointed to the only chair in his makeshift office, and he closed the door. “You got paperwork?” he asked abruptly. Evidently, small talk was not one of his talents.
    Clay handed over the necessary documents, all bearing the indecipherable handcuffed scrawl of TequilaWatson. Talmadge X read every word on every page. Clay noticed he did not wear a watch, nor did he like clocks. Time had been left at the front door.
    “When did he sign these?”
    “They’re dated today. I saw him about two hours ago at the jail.”
    “And you’re his counsel of record?” Talmadge X asked. “Officially?”
    The man had been through the criminal justice system more than once. “Yes. Appointed by the court, assigned by the Office of the Public Defender.”
    “Glenda still there?”
    “Yes.”
    “We go way back.” It was as close to chitchat as they would get.
    “Did you know about the shooting?” Clay asked, taking a legal pad to write on from his briefcase.
    “Not until you called an hour ago. We knew he left Tuesday and didn’t come back, knew something was wrong, but then we expect things to go wrong.” His words were slow and precise, his eyes blinked often but never strayed. “Tell me what happened.”
    “This is all confidential, right?” Clay said.
    “I’m his counselor. I’m also his minister. You’re his lawyer. Everything said in this room stays in this room. Deal?”
    “Right.”
    Clay gave the details he’d collected so far, including Tequila’s version of events. Technically, ethically, he was not supposed to reveal to anyone statements made to him by his client. But who would really care?
    Talmadge X knew far more about Tequila Watson than Clay would ever learn.
    As the narrative went on and the events unfolded in front of Talmadge X, his stare finally broke and he closed his eyes. He tilted his head upward, to the ceiling, as if he wanted to ask God why this happened. He drifted away, deep in thought and deeply troubled.
    When Clay finished, Talmadge X said, “What can I do?”
    “I’d like to see his file. He’s given me authorization.”
    The file was lying squarely on the desk in front of Talmadge X. “Later,” he said. “But let’s talk first. What do you want to know?”
    “Let’s start with Tequila. Where’d he come from?”
    The stare was back, Talmadge was ready to help. “The streets, same place they all come from. He was referred by Social Service, because he was a hopeless case. No family to speak of. Never knew his father. Mother died of AIDS when he was three. Raised by an aunt or two, passed around the family, foster homes here and there, in and out of court and juvenile homes. Dropped out of school. Typical case for us. Are you familiar with D Camp?”
    “No.”
    “We get the hard cases, the permanent junkies. We lock ’em down for months, give ’em a boot camp environment. There are eight of us here, eight counselors, and we’re all addicts, once an addict always an addict, but you must know that. Four of us are now ministers. I served thirteen years for drugs and robbery, then Ifound Jesus. Anyway, we specialize in the young crack addicts nobody else can help.”
    “Only crack?”
    “Crack’s the drug, man. Cheap, plentiful, takes your mind off life for a few minutes. Once you start it you can’t quit.”
    “He couldn’t tell me much about his criminal record.”
    Talmadge X opened the file and flipped pages. “That’s probably because he doesn’t remember much. Tequila was stoned for years. Here it is; bunch of petty stuff when he was a juvenile, robbery, stolen cars, the usual stuff we all did so we could buy drugs. At eighteen he did four months for shoplifting. Got him
Read Online Free Pdf

Similar Books

Teddy Bear Heir

Elda Minger

1942664419 (S)

Jennifer M. Eaton

The Year's Best Horror Stories 9

Karl Edward Wagner (Ed.)

The Sin of Cynara

Violet Winspear

Our One Common Country

James B. Conroy

A Colt for the Kid

John Saunders

A Three Day Event

Barbara Kay

The Duke's Disaster (R)

Grace Burrowes