“Because I’d stake my career on his innocence.”
“Are you yanking my chain?”
“No.”
That seemed to impress him, but he still wasn’t ready to concede. “I looked you up on the Internet. You’ve written your share of smear stories.”
“About people who deserved to be smeared.”
“So, how do I know that isn’t what you plan for my client?”
“You don’t.”
“How do I know you aren’t bullshitting me when you say you think he’s innocent?”
“You don’t.” After a second, he added, “I know you’re taking a leap of faith here, but it will pay off.”
The lawyer chewed on that, literally. The inside of his cheek was being brutalized by his molars. At last, he said, “Let me sleep on it.”
“Nope. This is a onetime offer.”
“But I need time to—”
“No time. Tell me now. Yes or no?”
“You’re working under a deadline?”
He’d posed the question tongue-in-cheek, but Dawson answered solemnly. “You have no idea.”
Dawson could tell that the attorney’s pride struggled with the concept of surrender and that it got the better of him. “Sorry, Mr. Scott. No soap. At least not until I’ve considered it, consulted my client, and weighed our options.”
Dawson wanted to grab him by his well-tailored lapels and shake him. He didn’t, but he leaned forward and spoke rapidly, aggressively. “What options? What options? You have two. Twelve people are ready, even eager, to have a needle shoved into Willard’s vein. He dies an innocent man and you chalk up a big ugly black mark in your loss column. That’s one option.”
He leaned even closer. “And then there’s me, the town crier on Willard’s behalf. He goes free, you’re hailed a hero, you go on TV to talk about it, and every felon in the South is begging you to be his defender.”
Dawson could tell he liked the sound of that, but still he was wrestling with it. “That all sounds good, but—”
“What?”
“It might not work out that way.”
“It for damn sure won’t if you turn me down.”
“I’m not turning you down flat. But caution is called for here.”
“No time for caution. You’ve got to decide.”
“But—”
“You gotta say yes and say it now.”
“You—”
“I’m the only hope for your client.”
“He—”
“Hasn’t got a prayer and you know it.”