"Go on, Barbara." "We go back to our homeroom for dismissal." "Unless you have a pass for sports or something." "is that what you did on the day in question?" "No." "Mr. Gettys asked me to stay after class." "What happened next, Barbara?" "He told me to sit in the chair beside his desk." "If you will, in your own words, tell us exactly what happened in the next few minutes." "I told him I was afraid I'd miss my bus." "He promised I'd get to the bus on time if I'd help him do something." "Before I could say anything, he placed his hand inside my blouse." "I was so frightened. I didn't move." "I thought if I was just quiet it'd be okay." "Then his other hand went up under inside my skirt." "Then, with his hand he started moving back and forth farther and farther inside my skirt." "He said he was testing to see if I had any special feelings that he wanted to see what kind of feelings I had." "I was trying to think of something to say, but I couldn't." "I was confused, and he just kept on." "I asked him to stop, but it was like he couldn't hear me." "He just kept on with his hand." "Then I screamed." "Then he got mad and said we'd have to try it again sometime." "Did he try again?" "Not with me." "But with your friends?" "Yes." "And after you had told them what he had done to you they told you what he had done to them!" "Isn't that true?" "Yes." "I have nothing further." "Your witness, Mr. Lomax." "Any chance, Your Honor, for a short recess?" "Of course." "This court will be in recess for 15 minutes." "What--?" "Not now, Bernice." "Lomax, what's wrong?" "As your attorney, I'm advising you to keep the fuck away from me." "Why?" "What are you talking about?" "The wife, the kid, the outrage." "You definitely had me fooled." "Hey, you're my lawyer." "You're here to defend me." "You know what I'm thinking?" "Why not put you on the stand?" "You can jerk off for the judge." "You know she's lying." "Get the hell away from me." "Well, hell, there you are." "Rumor was you were out wandering in traffic." "Not now, Larry." "What's the game plan?" "I got a 4:30 deadline. I need a quote." "Give me a quote." "Fuck off." ""Mr Lomax has no comment on today's events." ""Speculation, however, was widespread..." ""...that the young lawyer's unblemished string of victories..." ""...would come to an end..." ""...in this courtroom."" "It was a nice run, Kev." "Had to close out someday." "Nobody wins them all." "Have you had any discipline problems in math class this year?" "No?" "Hasn't Mr. Gettys had to talk to you repeatedly about your behavior?" "Isn't that why he asked you to stay after class?" "No." "Have other teachers asked you to stay after class?" "Once or twice." "Did they want to talk to you about your behavior?" "Objection. immaterial." "Goes to motive." "Overruled." "You may answer the question." "I don't know what the other teachers wanted." "You'd have to talk to them." "You ever pass notes in class?" "Maybe a note that made fun of Mr. Gettys?" "No." "Never called him a "disgusting pig monster"?" "Order." "No." "Your Honor, I've pre-marked this Defense Exhibit A." "Objection." "We've had plenty of time for discovery here." "I'm going to let this in, Mr. Lomax." "I'm also going to suggest that if you have any other exhibits present them in a timely fashion, or not at all." "I'm sorry, Barbara, I was wrong." "It's "huge hog beast."" "This is your handwriting, isn't it?" "Yes, but" "You wrote this in Gettys' class." "It's a joke." ""He's a huge hog beast." ""He probably eats a thousand pancakes for breakfast."" "You're writing about Mr. Gettys, aren't you?" "It was meant to be a joke." "Have you ever had a party at your house, Barbara when your parents were away?" "Objection." "Your Honor" "Credibility and bias." "Overruled." "Answer the question." "Yes." "Have you ever heard of a game called "Special Places"?" "You're under oath, Barbara." "A man's career his reputation his life is on the line." "This is not a joke." "Have you ever played "Special Places"?" "Yes." "is this game sexual in nature?" "is this game sexual in nature?" "We only played it once." "This special party, Barbara this was the first time you told the story about Mr. Gettys, wasn't it?" "Yes." "I've spoken to other children who were there that day." "is there anything else they may have told me about the party?" "Objection!" "If he has other witnesses, let him call them!" "If I need to call those other children, I will!" "I'm going to sustain that, Mr. Lomax." "Rephrase your question." "You threatened those children, didn't you?" "That's not the way it happened." "You told them to falsely claim Mr. Gettys had hurt them." "These things did happen." "If they didn't, you were going to tell everyone about this special party." "They happened to me." "So you made up a story." "A special story." "A story about a math teacher who was tough on you, who kept you after class." "A huge hog beast you didn't like!" "That's what really happened, isn't it?" "!" "No." "I didn't want to be the only one." "You goddamn, lowlife, son of a bitch" "No further questions, Your Honor." "I'm going to adjourn for the day." "We'll be back here at 9:00 a.m. and people will behave themselves..." "You made me proud." "...or find themselves in contempt." "Pack it up, baby." "You need a drink." "In the event that we all get drunk, let's front-load the ceremonial bullshit." "To the best trial lawyer in Alachua County." "Damn straight." "So, Kev, off the record...." "How's it feel to squeeze a man like Gettys through the door of reasonable doubt?" "Why don't you quit being a party pooper." "Have yourself a drink." "We're not going to discuss the damn case anymore." "Am I right?" "I'll drink to that." "No shop talk." "Pour me another." "Lomax, you're wild." "I feel one of them nights coming on." ""l've seen the Taj Mahal I've been to China"" "I've got to go piss!" "I've got to go piss!" "Hurry." "Hell of a job today." "I don't want to disturb your party." ""Milton, Chadwick, Waters."" "Never heard of it." "What are you going to do?" "Sue me?" "Actually, we were hoping to retain your services." "We've been following your progress." "From New York?" "You've never lost a case." "I've had some sympathetic juries." "That's exactly what we're looking for." "We want you to come to New York, help us pick a jury." "I tell you, man you're pretty damn good." "Your card is great." "You being black...." "Whose idea was that?" "Paul's?" "That's just brilliant." "I'm just not drunk enough yet to fall for it." "I'll buy you a drink when I...." "You'd have to start next week." "All expenses, first-class travel and lodging, you and your wife." "A lump-sum payment regardless of the verdict in the amount of...." "Take a look." "In the name of the Lord Jesus, we refute you, Satan, and cast you out." ""Amen." ""Romans 16:19" ""Be innocent..." ""...of evil" ""And the God of Peace will soon crush Satan" ""Yes." "God will crush him underneath your feet" ""And the God of Peace will soon crush Satan" ""Yeah." "God will crush him underneath your feet...."" "All the way to New York just to pick a jury." "Every dog gets his day." "Why do I feel the hand of Mary Ann on this adventure?" "I gotta tell you, Ma, this routine's getting awful tired." "Working on Sunday." "Working?" "Ma, get over it." "Listen to me. I love my wife." "Okay?" "I love her all the way." "Just like you." "Let me tell you about New York." ""Fallen, fallen, is Babylon." ""lt has become a dwelling place of demons."" "Revelation 18." "Wouldn't hurt you to look it over." "Couldn't forget it if I tried." "Oh, really?" "And what happened to Babylon?" ""Thou mighty city, in one hour has Thy mighty judgement come." ""And the light of a single lamp shall shine no more."" "Wish me luck." "Good luck." "I'll miss you." "Jeannie, listen to me now." "I've gone the extra mile with you on this." "I'm trying to work with you." "They'll be looking for that payment and if it's not there, they'll repo the car." "Okay, I gotta go." "Look, Jeannie, I gotta make a plane." "Just get yourself on schedule." "Okay." "Make the payment." "Let me guess. lt's all my idea, right?" "We better get some grandkids soon so I can get her off my back." "What do you say?" "Let her sweat a little." "All right, Mr. Clintine, let me ask you this:" "Do you think, as a juror you'd be able to set aside any prior opinion you might hold about the savings and loan industry?" "That was a question, sir." "What?" "Do I like bankers?" "Your Honor, may I have a minute to confer with my colleagues?" "You may." "Dump him." "Let's get rid of Number 4, 6...." "l'd say lose Number 12 but the prosecutor's gonna fuck up and do it for us." "Number 6?" "You're kidding, right?" "She's my first choice." "She's my first pass." "And 4?" "With the dreadlocks?" "That's crazy." "That's a defendant's juror." "Did you see his shoes?" "Look, kid, maybe down in Florida you are the next big thing." "This is New York." "We're not squeezing oranges here." "He polishes those shoes every night." "He makes his own clothes." "He looks like a bro with attitude to you, but I see a man with a gun under his bed." "And woe betide the creature who steps into his garden." "Number 6 your favorite she's damaged goods." "She's a Catholic schoolteacher." "Believes in human frailty...." "No." "Something's missing from her." "She's wrong." "She wants on the jury." "Somebody hurt her and she wants revenge." "How the hell do you know that?" "I don't know." "Either you put a stop to this happy horseshit or I walk." "Walk." "Here's the deal:" "If I lose with your jury, you do the explaining." "Your Honor, may I continue?" "We'd like to excuse Jurors 3, 4 and 6." "Hi." "You're home early for a change." "Your mother called." "She has her bad feeling." "Every now and then, she gets one right." "You okay?" "Something's up." "They deliberated for 38 minutes." "Oh, honey, I'm sorry." "What the hell did they expect?" "The man is as guilty as can be." "Wasn't a jury anywhere gonna let him off." "Yeah." "Except one." "What?" "Not fucking guilty!" "Oh, my God!" "You lying sack of shit!" "Thirty-eight minutes, my jury!" "Thirty-eight minutes!" "You did it!" "My jury!" "I'm too good!" "Glad you could stick around." "It's your dime." "Sorry to keep you waiting." "Mr. Milton got pinned down in Indonesia longer than expected." "Good morning, Caprice." "Good morning, Mr. Heath." "Your messages." "Not bad, huh?" "You can play it cool if you want but when I first walked in, my jaw was on the floor." "This is our home office." "We have many international arrangements so Mr. Milton spends a great deal of his time in the air." "Three o'clock, we got the Greeks." "Am I good cop or bad cop?" "We may not need a good cop." "I love it." "In addition to our corporate clients we're representing 25 foreign countries:" "The Mideast, the Balkans, Central America, West Africa.... interesting work, but travel-intensive." "Behind you." "I'm sorry." "Please." "Kevin Lomax." "John Milton." "Nice to meet you." "So?" "Have we been treating you well?" "Very well, thank you." "And your wife, she had a good time?" "She sure has. lt's been great." "The whole thing's been great." "That's our secret." "Kill you with kindness." "What's your secret?" "I couldn't say." "You were a prosecutor." "Out of law school." "Five years in the Jacksonville D.A.'s office." "Sixty-four straight convictions." "What a number!" "I like to be in court." "I don't plea out a lot." "What's that like?" "One day you put them away, the next you set them free." "Takes a little getting used to." "Pays better, though, doesn't it?" "Yes, it does." "That math teacher, the Gettys case, now I hear you were brilliant." "Prosecutor dropped the ball." "Really?" "You think your guy was guilty?" "I didn't say that." "What'd you say?" "How's this:" "I began the case with a clear conscience." "I was sure you had a secret." "The men's room." "Upstairs men's room in the Duval County courthouse." "There's a hole in the wall to the next room." "I spent five years listening to juries deliberate." "l love it." "Love it all you want." "Just don't repeat it." "I'm not sure the Florida Bar Association would appreciate it." "My lips are sealed." "You don't really want to go back to Florida, do you?" "Walk with me." "What do you think?" "Some people can't handle it." "It's peaceful." "My sentiments exactly." "Fill in the resume for me." "Tell me, your father, what does he do?" "I never got to know my father." "He passed away before I was born." "My mother raised me." "Just the two of us." "She never remarried?" "She wasn't married the first time." "That can't be easy in a town like Gainesville, can it?" "I don't think it's easy anywhere." "Holy shit!" "Different when you're looking down, isn't it?" "Yes, it is." "Oh, my God." "Your mother what's she like?" "She's a preacher's daughter." "She's tough." "She's worked in a poultry plant for as long as I can remember." "She's got a church she really likes, so she's usually there or they go out...." "They do a lot of volunteer work." ""Behold, I send you out as sheep amidst the wolves."" "So they say." "It didn't rub off?" "The Book?" "The church?" "No, I'm on parole." "Early release for time served." "Lot of potential clients down there." "Are we negotiating?" "Always." "Can I ask you a question, then?" "Why do you need a criminal department?" "Our clients break the law like anyone else." "I'm just tired of sending their business across the street." "Are you offering me a job?" "l'm thinking about it." "I know you got talent." "I knew that before you got here." "It's just the other thing I wonder about." "What thing?" "Pressure." "It changes everything." "Pressure." "Some people, you squeeze them, they focus." "Others fold." "Can you summon your talent at will?" "Can you deliver on a deadline?" "Can you sleep at night?" "When do we talk about money?" "Money?" "That's the easy part." "They call this part of Fifth Avenue, Carnegie Hill." "You've got the park right across the street from the reservoir." "Bestjogging in New York." "Mount Sinai Hospital up the street." "Some excellent schools." "Not on the top of Mr. Milton's list when he bought this building but great neighborhood for children." "Great building." "Follow the money all the way to the top." "You got the managing director, Eddie Barzoon, on 16." "And, of course, Mr. Milton has the tower." "You must be Mary Ann?" "Yes, I am." "Welcome. I'm Jackie Heath." "It's nice of you to come by." "Oh, please." "We live across the hall." "You're kidding." "Right there." "It's just two apartments per floor?" "You didn't tell them about it?" "lt can speak for itself." "Voila!" "Oh, my God!" "It's what they call a "Classic 8."" "Be careful. I don't have a map." "I don't want you to get lost." "We had them paint it white." "Let you see it naked before you pick your palette." "What am I picking?" "Palette." "Your colors." "Oh, yes." "I need to warn you about one thing." "There are going to be some very envious people down at the firm." "There aren't many of these apartments." "They're a partner's perk." "You must've made quite an impression." "Oh, my God, three bedrooms." "You know what that means?" "Babies." "Took us six years to get in here." "Unbelievable." "Thank you very much." "Are you really this good?" "I sure as hell hope so." "They must want you pretty bad." "Look, Mar I'm only getting behind this if you're on board." "If you want to go home I'm with you." "Sure." "Let's go to Gainesville, back to the condo." "You keep scrounging for clients and I'll keep repossessing cars for Akamian." "And maybe, just maybe, if we kill ourselves in about five years we can afford a baby and a weekend shack at Gulf Shores." "Are you shitting me?" "I love you." "I love you, too." "Tadashi Osumi, Media." "Walter Krasna, Maritime Law." "Bashir Toabal, Energy Law." "I run the Islamic subgroup." "Joyce Rensaleer, Mergers and Acquisitions." "Eddie Barzoon, Managing Director and Real Estate." "Pradeed Resh, intellectual Properties." "Christabella Adrioli, lnternational Trade and Customs EC and G-7." "There it is, Kevin." "The whole team." "Welcome to Milton, Chadwick and Waters." "So what do you think?" "You can change the furniture if you like." "I guess it'll do." "Until something better comes along?" "Kevin Lomax, Pam Garrety." "Nice to meet you." "Pam was at the Brooklyn D.A.'s office for 14 years so she knows her way around the local scene." "You'll expedite his bar application?" "It's in the pipeline." "For now, you work pro hac vice." "I petitioned Florida for a letter of good conduct." "And I prepared, at Mr. Milton's request, an overview of the Moyez case." "The Moyez case?" "Move, move, move!" "What do you think?" "It's a health code case and it's a loser." "So what's the point?" "He wants to see if I'll plea-bargain." "It's a test, right?" "Isn't everything?" "It's an 18th-century Italian silk damask with an embossed floriate pattern of undulating acanthus leaves." "Lovely, isn't it?" "And this is about what?" "The price?" "It's about $2,000 a panel." "We'll take it at $1,400." "You made it." "I thought you said it was impossible." "I thought you said it was important." "Go get them, man." "Tell him, "Cut that shit down! "" "I know what they're doing over there!" "That's right!" "Tell him, "Take all that noise back to Africa."" "Good afternoon." "I'm looking for Philippe Moyez." "Look, I'm not sure I'm making myself clear." "Moyez, you need him?" "To speak with him?" "Show him your boots." "You're saying he's down here in the basement?" "In the dark?" "Where do you think I'm taking you?" "I thought I would recognize you but I do not." "Mr. Moyez?" "We've never met." "I'm Kevin Lomax. I'm a lawyer." "I'm here about the animals." "We have an investment in blood." "Think of it as spiritual currency." "Spiritual currency." "Look, Mr. Moyez, I'm going to need your help with this." "What is the name of the man who will prosecute us?" "Merto." "Assistant District Attorney Arnold Merto." "What are you doing, Mr. Moyez?" "With this tongue, we create silence." "You can go now." "You will have all the help I can give you against Monsieur Merto." "It's arbor green." "What do you think?" "Not with your complexion." "New York City health codes." "That's all of it?" "Not quite." "Thanks." "Caribbean green." "Something cooler, maybe." "Cooler." "A cooler green." "Too institutional." "I love green." "I love it but it's one thing to wear it and another to have it on your walls." "I'm just trying to help." "It's your walls." "Do what you want." "Remember, it's only a health-code case." "This is the first time since I was 13 I don't have a job." "Or two." "I feel like I'm floating around in that place." "You know, just drifting around or something." "You'll settle in." "We had this little office in the condo...." "Thanks." "You know, his side and my side." "Real nice." "At night, I go to sleep, I see that light on.... lf l want to see Leamon I make an appointment." "You're kidding, right?" "God, how do you handle it?" "Take a look around, honey." "Look, you got three choices:" "The Holy Trinity." "You can work." "You can play." "Or you can breed." "That's a veal roast, Your Honor." "USDA approved and stamped." "Men kill animals and eat their flesh." "Philippe Moyez killed a goat." "He killed a goat." "And he did it at home in a manner consistent with his religious beliefs." "Now, Mr. Merto may find that bizarre." "It's certainly not a religious practice performed by everyone." "It's not as common as, say circumcision." "It's not as common as the belief that wine transforms into blood." "Some people handle poisonous snakes to prove their faith." "Some people walk on fire." "Phillipe Moyez killed a goat." "And he did it while observing his constitutionally protected religious beliefs." "Your Honor, this case is not about keeping goats or transporting goats or goat licensing." "The city was less concerned with the care of the animals than the manner in which they were slaughtered." "Objection!" "Enough, enough. I got it." "Let's wrap it up." "Your Honor the city timed this police action to catch my client exercising his constitutionally protected right to religious freedom." "This is a law protecting kosher butchery." "Exactly, Your Honor." "I'd like to move at this time for a verdict of dismissal." "I happen to know a little bit about kashrut law, Mr. Lomax." "I'm aware of that, Your Honor." "That's why I feel confident in requesting a dismissal." "Mr. Merto?" "For God's sake, man...." "Congratulations." "Great job." "Pamela, you look lovely." "So, Philippe satisfied?" "Always, Jean." "What can I say?" "Outstanding." "Go figure it, a guy like Moyez living in some subterranean shithole all the while he's walking around with $15 million in the bank." "You're kidding." "What do you think he's paying us in?" "Goat's blood?" "Tarzan, we're billing you out at $400 an hour, my friend." "I don't see a whole lot of pro bono work in your immediate future." "I figured you came down to make sure I didn't fuck this up." "Maybe I did." "Don't get too cocky, my boy." "No matter how good you are don't let them see you coming." "That's the gaffe, my friend." "You gotta keep yourself small." "innocuous." "Be the little guy." "You know, the nerd, the leper." "The shitkicking surfer." "Look at me." "Underestimated from day one." "You'd never think I was a master of the universe, would you?" "That's your only weakness, as far as I can see." "What's that?" "It's the look." "That Florida stud thing." "What is that?" "Excuse me, ma'am." "Did I leave my boots under your bed?" "Never worked a jury without women." "You know what you're missing?" "You're missing what I have." "There's this beautiful girl, just fucked me 40 ways from Sunday we're done, she's walking to the bathroom, trying to walk she turns she looks it's me." "Not the Trojan army just fucked her." "Little old me." "She gets this look on her face like:" ""How the hell did that happen?"" "I'm the hand up Mona Lisa's skirt." "I'm a surprise, Kevin." "They don't see me coming." "That's what you're missing." "Where's the chicken?" "There's a chicken, plays tic-tac-toe, never loses." "He's famous." "Never loses, like you." "Come on. I'll show you the fastest way uptown." "Learn the subways, Kevin." "Use them." "Stay in the trenches." "Only way I travel." "What happened to the green?" "I loved the green!" "Honey, you're late!" "We're due up at the Barzoon's palace in 15 minutes." "What's all this?" "All what?" "Jackie says the who's who of New York is gonna be there tonight." "All this?" "Oh, that." "It was going to be a nursery but I thought you'd have to be home enough to knock me up." "So now I'm thinking of building a law library." "Oh, baby." "Tell me I can handle this." "You can handle this." "Say something nice." "Something nice." "Promise me you won't leave me alone in there." "Promise." "There you are." "Diana Barzoon." "Eddie's wife." "Nice to meet you." "Kevin Lomax, health code warrior." "All hail." "Mr." "Barzoon, this is Mary Ann." "Nice to meet you." "Well, Kevin, here they are." "Top of the food chain and dinner is served." "I throw these parties twice a year." "Stock market, real estate, politics." "They're all players." "And all prospects." "Congratulations." "Remember Rashid?" "Just in from Beirut." "Congratulations." "Bright young lights." "You're going to like this." "Come on." "Somebody I want you to meet." "Kevin and Mary Ann Lomax, this is Senator Alfonse D'Amato." "Ambassador Charles Gagano." "In case you didn't know, these are the Republicans of New York." "Barzoon always overstates things." "Donald Trump was supposed to be here, but he had a business emergency." "I knew I'd find you here." "I'd like you to meet my wife." "Mary Ann, this is Pam Garrety." "Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you." "We're partners in crime." "Someone you must meet." "Excuse me." "This is important." "You are so beautiful." "Oh, thank you." "l heard you met the senator." "Yes, I did." "l was married to him." "Really?" "Kidding." "I'd like you to meet Kevin Lomax." "Kevin is from Florida." "He's new to the firm." "The senator cannot leave." "Who's that with the senator?" "Oh, God, girl." "You haven't met him yet?" "No, who is he?" "I swear he can hear us." "Hell, he can smell us." "Mary Ann John Milton." "I was hoping I'd see you here tonight." "And here you are." "Already swimming with the sharks." "Careful, hon." "Come on, if you keep thinking small, we'll never make any money on you." "These parties don't come cheap." "Call him." "Talk to him." "See what they have to say." "Just get it on tape." "It's a wonderful opportunity for Kevin." "Yes, Kevin." "He's going to do all right if he buys a few new suits learns a few new tricks, he's there." "It's you." "What about you?" "Your family, you've got to miss them." "No?" "I told Kevin the only thing worse than not having a father was having mine." "I can relate." "I can, believe me." "The worst vice is advice." "But may I make a suggestion?" "It's a sensitive.... lt's about your hair, that's why I ask." "No, go ahead." "I mean, you don't like it?" "I like it fine. lt's beautiful." "It's just.... lt doesn't belong to you." "You're too alive for a perm." "It's not you." "You should pull your hair back." "Do it." "See what happens." "Right now, here, you want me to pull my hair back?" "is that so terrible?" "I'd love to do it, but if I did everyone in this room who's pretending not to be watching us would naturally assume that we were fucking or something." "Please." "Okay." "It's fun to be right." "Excuse me." "That's a vision." "You've gotta cut your hair." "Are you serious?" "A woman's shoulders are the frontlines of her mystique." "And her neck if she's alive has all the mystery of a border town." "A no man's land in that battle between the mind and the body." "You know your natural color would really bring out your eyes." "Do you have this view?" "Sorry?" "From your terrace, is this your view?" "Not exactly." "No terrace and I'm about 12 floors down." "What about you?" "No, I live downtown." "This is a family building." "Sounds like fun." "Downtown, I mean." "I'm just getting to know the city." "is it everything you expected?" "More." "I say we ride them as far as we can, and then eat them." "Excuse me, Jackie." "You guys seen Kevin anywhere?" "No, I'm sure he's around." "Are you alone?" "You mean, tonight?" "is your wife a jealous woman?" "Oh, dear, I'm going to scare you away." "No, really I'm fine." "I'm fine." "Bet you like to be on top." "Don't you?" "Excuse me?" "Of the situation." "You prefer to be on top, right?" "Depends on the view." "You know what I see?" "I see the future of this law firm." "We need to talk, Kevin." "Something's come up." "But first I want you to find Heath and Eddie Barzoon." "Bring them up to my place." "Do it quietly." "Quickly." "No problem." "Arnold has a few reporters in his pocket." "We'll plant a story." "Have you seen Kevin?" "No, I haven't, sweetie." "If he doesn't come to us, he'll regret it." "Come on." "is there more to it?" "Just this room." "And a bedroom?" "No bedroom." "Where's he sleep?" "Who says he sleeps?" "Where does he fuck?" "Everywhere!" "What's up, John?" "How many hours we bill Alex Cullen for last year?" "16,242." "What did he do now?" "Alex Cullen has just been charged with murdering his wife her stepson and a maid." "When did this happen?" "Just now." "Tonight." "I've sent Pam downtown to make bail arrangements." "They're gonna fucking crucify him." "They're gonna line up!" "I gotta call Meisel." "I want Kevin on this case." "I hope you're kidding." "Alexander Cullen in a triple murder with, excuse me, Kevin?" "!" "You're dreaming." "You know, I've shaken hands with every marquee defense attorney in this town." "I take Kevin and I don't look back." "John, you've got a great eye for talent." "You're the master, but you know, I just don't see this happening." "I want you on board, Eddie." "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but maybe Eddie has a point here." "We can get this case." "The man's our client." "He's a business client." "We know him better than he knows himself." "We got the inside track." "We got the best damn trial lawyer in the city. lt's ours to lose." "Tell it to Cullen." "I want Kevin to tell him." "There's Pam." "You gonna fight for this thing or not?" "Pam?" "No, it's Kevin." "No, it's okay. I'm on it." "Yeah, I'm on it." "Where are we at?" "You left me there." "I had a fucking panic attack until Jackie told me where you were." "Three hours!" "You don't even call!" "Stop." "Reset." "I'm upstairs with Milton, Heath and Barzoon." "There's a good possibility I'm about to catch a triple homicide defendant who also happens to be one of the largest real-estate developers in the city." "I had to bail on the party." "You bailed on me." "Did you hear me?" "l was all by myself!" "For three whole hours." "The next time you make a promise, try and keep it!" "You gotta be kidding me, right?" "Go to hell." "And you can go to sleep on the fucking couch!" "You sure he's up there?" "Yeah, CNN passed the word." "Look at this." "I'm not out 20 minutes, and I'm being followed by the press." "They're like insects." "Alex, just calm down and listen, okay?" "I don't know." "Maybe you're right." "Maybe he is a whiz kid, but Jesus Christ!" "This is my ass we're talking about!" "Alex, you know how this town works." "You got enemies here you haven't heard from." "Now, with this now that you're down I'd get ready for one of those class-A New York-style pigfucks." "You know what's coming." "Now you're going to have to ask yourself, who do you trust?" "I don't know." "I'm gonna have to look around." "You don't have time to shop, Mr. Cullen." "Jury selection started today at every breakfast table in the city." "This is what people know:" "Three dead bodies." "You discover the crime." "You call it in." "You've got blood on your person and clothes." "And Mr. Cullen...." "Your prints are on the murder weapon." "How do you know that?" "There's a second print in blood." "It's a partial of a hand on the wall next to the bodies." "I have keys. I called the cops from the house!" "I touched the goddamn wall!" "I panicked!" "I was panicked!" "We need 12 people who can see past all that." "l touched the goddamn wall!" "l'd get in front of this fast." "I panicked!" "is that a crime?" "I didn't kill anybody." "This is a nightmare." "How am I going to convince anybody?" "I'm innocent." "He's right, Alex." "People need to hear these things." "Christ, Eddie." "You're not happy tomorrow?" "The next day?" "We'll move over." "But right now, this moment you need immediate representation." "I have a 14-year-old stepdaughter who I care more about than anything in this world." "They wouldn't let me talk to her from downtown." "They won't let me talk to her now that I'm out!" "We need to issue a statement." "He's a winner, Alex." "Just like you were." "And they'll never see him coming." "Jesus Christ." "I've got some tough phone calls I got to...." "My place tomorrow." "Alone." "You better be every fucking inch as good as he says you are." "Not if they were giving it away." "Come on, Mary Ann." "Let's check out Yoshi's." "Andrea?" "Yes?" "Another one of these, please." "Right away." "No, no, no!" "Yes, yes, yes...." "l want you loose and pliable this afternoon." "Oh, Lord, this is $3,000." "You know what you should do?" "You should buy it wear it once, and then throw it away." "That will loosen you up." "I say spend it all." "If you never see your husband, have a relationship with his money." "I swear if Eddie wasn't afraid of me shouting my mouth off he would've put a cellulite clause in the pre-nup." "Dr. Robert, I'm telling you." "He's the miracle man." "You've seen my new tits." "Who does it better than that?" "It's not my tits l'm worried about." "Not too big...." "Perfect." "Real or not?" "They look real." "They must be real." "Feel them." "No, it's okay, really." "Go ahead." "That's the ultimate test." "Come on." "Feel real?" "Yes, absolutely real." "Dr. Robert." "When you're ready." "So, what do you think?" "I don't care if they can hear me." "I don't care!" "I don't like it here, Kevin." "And these women!" "My God, I mean, I'm seeing things for Christ's sake!" "You just left them in the store?" "Yes!" "Calm down!" "No!" "Listen to me!" "First...." "You do this radical thing to your hair." "You hate it." "Stop. lt's fine." "I think it's fine." "But I also think it's traumatic." "You've got the pressure of fitting in with new friends." "A new place." "Add to that a couple bottles of wine." "No. lt wasn't the wine, Kevin." "It wasn't the wine, or my hair, or talking to Kathy or anything like that!" "Because I know that's what you're gonna say." "What about Kathy?" "What about your sister?" "What about her?" "She's pregnant again." "That's got nothing to do with this." "Kevin, I never see you anymore." "And now that you've got this big case, it's just only gonna get worse." "If you can believe it I'm actually looking forward to having your mother come and visit." "What about the apartment?" "Goddamn you!" "Why do you always have to change things around?" "This is not about the apartment!" "I hate this stupid place!" "You know you buy a couple new suits and you're fine." "It's a little more than that." "I have this whole fucking place to fill!" "I know we have money and it's supposed to be fun, but it's not!" "It's like a test." "The whole thing is like one big test." "And God...!" "I am so lonely!" "I miss you so much." "I'm sorry, baby." "I don't know what to do." "Let's make a baby." "Don't tease me." "I wouldn't do that." "Not unless you asked." "Oh, baby." "Do you have this view?" "Make love to me." "What are you doing?" "Stop." "Oh, God." "God!" "Where are you?" "I'm right here." "No, you're not." "Why do we have to keep going--?" "Because it needs to be clear." "Because I need to know and understand exactly what happened." "You're standing there, you look down there's the gun." "I don't know why I picked it up." "It was before I saw Elucinda's body." "You kneeled down to pick it up?" "You work late, you come home, you walk in, everybody's dead!" "It's not something you plan for!" "Stop." "Back up." "Two prints by the gun." ""Right hand."" "Right knee." "Right knee." "We've been over this." "I'm trying to picture it." "Your hand your hand came from inside and underneath?" "Do you want to see it?" "Here." "I'll fucking show you." "See?" "Did you see it?" "Was it clear?" "You got it?" "Whose gun is that?" "lt's mine!" "Are you out of your mind?" "You're charged with a triple homicide, you're walkin' around with a gun!" "I have had nine death threats!" "Give it over." "Give me the gun." "I gotta protect myself." "That's my job." "When the case is over, you can have it back." "This is a deal breaker, Alex." "Let's wrap it up." "So, what's next?" "We need to talk to your assistant, Mrs. Black." "Call her." "Feel confident she'll back you on the time?" "Melissa, yeah, yeah." "She's okay." "She's a straight arrow." "We're going to talk to her and you're not going to talk to anybody, all right?" "All right?" "No comment." "There they are!" "Kevin, how about a couple shots?" "How's it feel to get the biggest murder trial in New York?" "Look over here!" "Are you really going to plead Cullen not guilty?" "What is happening?" "Since the case, Kevin's picture's been in the paper." "He always did like to stick his nose in the camera." "Sorry about that." "No problem." "Did you have a nice dinner?" "Oh, I surely did." "Are you hungry?" "Oh, no, ma'am." "Thank you." "Welcome to Babylon, Ma." "Speak of the devil." "I was just telling them the Moyez story." "Really?" "This is your mother." "Yes, Mom, this is...." "John Milton." "Alice Lomax." "It's a pleasure to meet you." "How do you do?" "You're looking lovely." "Thanks." "I believe you met Christabella." "Yes, I think we did." "And Gizelle." "Fresh in from Paris." "Nice to meet you." "Three for you and my place." "Thanks for the champagne." "You're very welcome, Kevin." "This isn't really your first visit to New York, now, is it, Mrs. Lomax?" "Yes." "You've done one hell of a job bringing him up, Mrs. Lomax." "I'm sure it wasn't easy." "No." "Mom, we're here." "Good night to you." "Good night, Mary Ann." "Kevin, hang on." "How about Cullen?" "How's it going?" "Everything on beam?" "That's a long conversation." "Want to come up and tell me?" "Now?" "Let's talk tomorrow." "You sure?" "is that what you're doing when you're working late?" "What're you talking about?" "You know exactly what I'm talking about." "That's ridiculous." "Yeah, right." "I'm going to bed." "Good night, Alice." "'Night." "Oh, shit!" "Mom, what are you doing?" "I'm going home." "What are you talking about?" "I don't feel right." "Look, you just got here." "And I just got my teeth kicked in on the front page, so I gotta run." "We'll talk later, okay?" "I have to go, Kevin." "I miss my church." "This is New York." "There must be 20,000 churches." "Take your pick." "You need to do a better job with Mary Ann." "She is not well." "This place is not good for her." "So stay." "Take care of her, if you're so concerned." "Help me out." "I'll take her home if you let me." "This is home." "Understand?" "This is where we live." "I'm not going back to Gainesville." "Unbelievable." ""Wide is the gate..." ""...and broad is the way that leadeth to temptation."" "It's a little early for Scripture." "I'm going to work." "You can do whatever you want." "Does my babysitter have to testify?" "We need her to establish the time you returned home." "She doesn't have a green card, is why I ask." "I would hate for her to get in trouble." "Tell you what, Melissa...." "Let's talk to her first." "See where she stands and take it from there." "I'll make sure Melissa gets down to the car." "Mr. Cullen didn't kill those people." "I know him." "He's a difficult man, but he couldn't kill anyone." "That's why we're all working so hard." "Thank you." "Can I have the car stop at my ex-husband's?" "My son left his jacket there." "Remember, no shredding in the building trash, only in the private refuse." "Excelsior Securities, who's handling that?" "l am." "All this has got to go." "Guatemala, Sudan, Cyprus...." "Vagada Holdings, it'll take you all night." "Just Vagada Holdings." "I thought I was the only one working late." "So did we." "Back to work." "This is not a break." "Good news." "We wrapped up with Cullen's assistant." "Looks like a great alibi." "What a pleasant surprise." "Looks like you got your hands full." "It's just a little housekeeping." "If anyone should ask you never saw this." "Who would ask?" "Weaver." "Who's that?" "Justice Department." "Weaver Commission." "You don't know about him?" "Sorry." "How nice for you." "Grab your coat." "The night is young." "We're going to the Garden." "Ringside." "Title fight." "Roy Jones, Jr." "I have to call Mary Ann." "Do it on the way." "Get my message?" "I did." "You write beautifully." "What's this Weaver Commission?" "I don't like to micro-manage." "Find talent, then delegate." "Who the hell knows what Eddie's up to?" "He's got a lot of fingers in a lot of pies." "Excuse me." "What the fuck are you looking at?" "You." "You deaf or something?" "You don't hear me?" "I hear you fine." "So get the fuck out of my car." "Why?" "I didn't know it was your car." "I'm having a good time here." "I'm telling you, motherfucker get the fuck out of my car" "Shit." "Get out before I cut your throat." "Fuck that." "How do you know--?" "Enjoy yourself." "You still got time." "There's a train coming the other way." "You'll just catch it." "You'll thank me in the morning." "If you ain't right...." "l'm right." "You'll see." "Invigorating." "What did you say to him?" "I told him if he didn't leave us alone, you'd kick his ass." "Look, there's a lady getting up from her seat." "Come on." "Give it to him!" "You want this round?" "!" "You are on!" "Roy's gonna get him." "Now, now, now!" "Fix!" "What a beauty!" "l'm glad you could come!" "I want you to meet my new heavyweight, here." "Kevin Lomax." "How are you?" "I'm well." "And say what?" "He's the senior partner at the" "You're really starting to piss me off." "Yes, I'm having one cigarette." "You want me to lie?" "One cigarette after seven months is not" "That's exactly what I'm saying!" "Go to bed. I have no idea." "Stop." "This guy pays our bills." "The food, the heat, the rent on that enormous apartment we live in." "I live there, too." "Give it back to me!" "Babs Coleman." "Kevin Lomax." "Babs is from Georgia Tech." "It's your neck of the woods." "There's Tiffany." "New additions." "Where are you from?" "Don't tell me!" "Michigan!" "How'd you know?" "Oh, my goodness." "How did he know?" "That is so good." "Cheers." "Hello?" "Who is there?" "I got a knife." "Oh, Jesus." "Baby how'd you get here?" "Are you okay?" "Oh, God." "Where's your mommy?" "You ain't got no mommy?" "What do you got there?" "What are you playing with?" "What are you playing with?" "Oh, God!" "Baby, please." "Baby, there is no blood." "There is no blood. lt was a dream." "It was a dream." "It's not a dream if it's true." "Look, let's get you undressed and in the tub, okay?" "No!" "I know you." "You'll leave me now for sure." "No!" "Get away from me!" "I'm confused." "Why?" "What is it now?" "Did you like the green?" "You did, didn't you?" "We should go back to the green." "I'm calling the doctor." "I'm going to get you some help." "They took my ovaries, Kevin." "They took my ovaries!" "I told you!" "Right here!" "Mary Ann, it was a nightmare." "It didn't happen." "My sisters have seven children between them." "My mother had Derek when she was 45." "You could've set a clock by my periods." "Baby what are you talking about?" "Kevin, I can't have children." "What?" "Says who?" "The doctor." "I was there yesterday." ""Non-specific ovarian failure."" "That's ridiculous." "Oh, God." "Did you just hear that?" "Listen." "Can you hear that?" "No." "You're going to leave me, aren't you?" "I know you." "God...." "No, Kevin." "It's these monsters." "I dreamt about this." "Baby, I gotta take this." "No, you've gotta listen to me." "I gotta take this." "It's going to be okay." "Fuck!" "I knew the D.A. was holding out on us." "Get the discovery package over here, right now." "I don't care." "Find Cullen." "I get one supervised hour a week with my stepdaughter." "I am in there with two shrinks and three social workers." "You better have a good reason for calling me out." "Your wife, the day she was killed, had lunch with a friend." "She says, and I quote: "Alex is fucking around and I can prove it."" "That's hearsay." "That never gets in." "Wrong answer." "Your prenuptial agreement's on file at the firm." "The contract is void in the event of marital infidelity." "You fuck around, she gets rich." "That's a motive, Alex." "What do I need to know?" "Melissa, my assistant." "She wasn't even that good a fuck." "And on the night in question?" "I was boning my assistant the night my wife got shot." "I've got to re-interview Melissa." "No, forget it." "We're not telling that story." "Juries want honesty." "Fuck with that at your peril." "Allesandra, wait!" "Not now." "Mrs. Skylar, please!" "Time's up, Mr. Cullen." "Alex!" "I can't!" "This isn't fair. I had 15 more minutes." "You'll just have to wait until next week." "l'll see you next week." "That's it, I'm sorry." "For sleep." "And she can take that during the day?" "No, she won't be driving." "I'll have the pharmacy call you right back." "He's not sure." "He thinks it could be some kind of hormonal imbalance." "I'm taking you off the case." "I want you to drop this case." "This case?" "Cullen?" "l got a jury showing up." "Do you love this woman?" "Of course I do." "Then what are you doing?" "She's sick." "Everyone will understand. I'll understand." "What about Cullen?" "We find somebody new." "You consult." "You live to fight another day." "What are you talking about?" "I put together a great jury." "It's a disappointment." "We have them." "All of us have them." "You use it." "You embrace it." "And then you move on." "Hang on." "We've gotta talk about this." "Listen to yourself, Kevin." ""We gotta talk about this."" "It's your wife!" "She's sick, she needs you." "She's got to come first." "All right, wait a minute." "Do you mean the possibility of leaving this case never entered your mind?" "You know what scares me?" "I quit the case, she gets better and I hate her for it." "I don't want to resent her." "I've got a winner here." "I'll nail this fucker down and put it behind me." "Just get it done." "Then then put all my energy into her." "I stand corrected." "Fill me in." "Did Cullen's assistant admit to the affair?" "She did to me, but she won't in court." "Convince her otherwise." "And when all that evidence is laid before you when all these pieces weave together, you will conclude you will know that Alexander Cullen is guilty of murdering three people in cold blood and with malice aforethought." "Thank you." "Your Honor." "We can break for lunch now or you can do a stop and start." "If it's a choice, I'll go now." "I won't be as long as Mr. Broygo." "Proceed." "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury I know you've spent all morning listening to Mr. Broygo." "I know you're hungry." "What I need to tell you won't take very long at all." "I don't like Alexander Cullen." "I don't think he's a nice person." "I don't expect you to like him." "He's been a terrible husband to all three of his wives." "He's been a destructive force in the lives of his stepchildren." "He's cheated the city, his partners his employees." "He's paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties and fines." "I don't like him." "I'm going to tell you some things during the course of this trial that are going to make you like him even less." "But this isn't a popularity contest." "It's a murder trial." "And the single most important provable fact of this proceeding is that Alexander Cullen was somewhere else when these horrible crimes took place." "Now, the state...." "The state is going all out here." "They've got this whole team here throwing everything but the kitchen sink at this case." "I want one thing from you." "That's it." "One thing." "I want you to ask yourself:" "is not liking this man reason enough to convict him of murder?" "Enjoy your lunch." "We'll talk again." "What the fuck was that about?" "They're going to hate me!" "Listen to me like you've never to anyone before in your life." "I'm gonna bust my ass to make sure they hate you." "Because as long as you're boning Melissa, you're not killing your wife!" "Why didn't you say so before?" "Then it doesn't look spontaneous." "You got it now." "Saw you go in." "What's up?" "Congratulations." "lt's not over yet." "l'm not talking about the trial." "What are you talking about?" "How the fuck does your name get on the firm's charter?" "What?" "It looks like it's been there for years." "So, now you're a partner." "When did that happen?" "You know, I still am the managing director of this firm." "You want my job, take me head on." "You backdoor me one more time and I'll take your partnership papers and shove 'em down your throat!" "I don't know what you're talking about." "I sure don't like your tone of voice." "Bullshit." "You've got a problem with documents I suggest you put together one of your late-night shredding sessions." "You think you're tough enough to run this firm?" "Remember the Weaver Commission investigation?" "Tell your mentor the next time Weaver calls me, maybe I'll just pick up the phone." "Was he drunk?" "l doubt it." "He was going running." "What the hell was he talking about?" "Eddie's got himself in trouble again." "And he wants me to save him." "Only this time, I can't." "Why does he think I'm after his job?" "You ever have any experience with manic depression?" "Not directly, no." "You do now." "346." "It's me." "Get Eddie Barzoon." "He may be out running, so you might have to page him." "It's an emergency." "You look like you could use a drink." "Yes, thanks." "Eddie Barzoon, Eddie Barzoon." "I nursed him through two divorces, a cocaine rehab and a pregnant receptionist." "God's creature, right?" "God's special creature?" "I've warned him, Kevin." "I've warned him every step of the way." "Watching him bounce around like a fucking game." "Like a wind-up toy." "Like 250 pounds of self-serving greed on wheels." "The next thousand years is right around the corner." "Eddie Barzoon take a good look because he's the poster child for the next millennium." "These people it's no mystery where they come from." "You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire." "You build egos the size of cathedrals." "Fiber-optically connect the world to every ego impulse." "Grease even the dullest dreams with gold-plated fantasies until every human becomes an aspiring emperor becomes his own god." "Where can you go from there?" "Wrong way!" "Fuck you" "As we're scrambling from one deal to the next who's got his eye on the planet?" "As the air thickens, the water sours." "Even bees' honey takes on the metallic taste of radioactivity and itjust keeps coming, faster and faster." "Help!" "Stop it!" "There's no chance to think, to prepare." "It's buy futures, sell futures when there is no future." "We got a runaway train, boy." "We got a billion Eddie Barzoons alljogging into the future." "Every one of them getting ready to fistfuck God's ex-planet lick their fingers clean as they reach out toward their pristine cybernetic keyboards to tote up their fucking billable hours." "And then it hits home." "You got to pay your own way, Eddie." "It's a little late in the game to buy out now." "Give me your watch." "I like this watch!" "Do you think you're just going to take it--?" "Your belly's too full your dick is sore your eyes are bloodshot and you're screaming for someone to help." "But guess what?" "There's no one there!" "You're all alone, Eddie." "You're God's special little creature." "Maybe it's true." "Maybe God threw the dice once too often." "Maybe He let us all down." "You testified the defendant called you at 4:30 to ask you to come to his office gym for the purposes of sex." "Mr. Cullen, though, he's not just your lover, is he?" "He's the boss." "Yes." "So two hours go by before you act on his request?" "Yes, I went up at 6:10." "It was 6:10 because I heard the weather coming on the news." "Okay, stop." "This prosecutor is no fool." "He's going to change tempo, attitude, tone of voice." "He's gonna come out with questions you never thought of just to screw you up." "So what do we do?" "Yes and no answers." "Stay calm." "Exactly." "is it your testimony, Mrs. Black, that between the hours of 6:10 and 9:40 you were engaged in sexual congress with the defendant?" "Yes." "At any point during this three-hour marathon did you lose sight of the defendant?" "No." "Did he use the bathroom?" "Yes." "ls he circumcised?" "You understand the question?" "Yeah." "So is he cut or not?" "Yes." "Which is it?" "You've polished his knob three times a week for six months." "You don't know if he has foreskin?" "I've had enough of your fucking game!" "Why don't you take your questions and shove them up your ass!" "What's happened?" "It's Eddie Barzoon." "What about him?" "He's dead." "He was killed." "When?" "Last night." "ln the park." "He was running, if you can believe it." "What is wrong with people?" "Least they got the scumbags who did it." "Who?" "Two old homeless crazies." "You're due in court in 30 minutes." "Get your things together." "Are we finished in here or what?" "I'll bring Melissa down to the car." "You better get going." "I want you to put Eddie aside." "Let me worry about it." "You got to deal with Cullen." "You got to marshal your strength." "Prioritize." "Conserve your energy." "I can't put her on the stand." "What choice do you have?" "l know she's lying!" "She's lying because she didn't answer you fast enough?" "She lied to you?" "No." "She said nothing." "Fact is, you'll never know anyway." "He killed those people." "You really believe that?" "He set me up." "Cullen fucking set me up." "Melissa, the whole thing." "I know it." "Got to go with your gut." "That's your advice?" "I'll back you either way." "Maybe it's your time to lose." "Think I haven't lost before?" "We talked about this, remember?" "Pressure." "Take a big whiff." "All rise!" "The Honorable Armand Poe presiding." "Please be seated." "All right, Mr. Lomax you may present your case." "Mr. Lomax...." "l call Melissa Black." "Raise your right hand." "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth nothing but the truth, so help you God?" "I do." "Feeney, it's him." "She didn't look well." "Felix tried to talk to her." "Where is she?" "Church of the Heavenly Hope." "Honey." "It's me." "What happened?" "Are you okay?" "He let himself in." "You need to know that." "Who let himself in?" "The bath was running or something." "I didn't hear him. I swear to you." "And then we talked." "And we talked for hours." "And I haven't talked to anyone really talked to anyone in so long." "Did somebody hurt you?" "Yeah." "Who?" "Milton." "He fucked me." "And I think I wanted him to, but then I just...." "l don't know, I just couldn't stop him." "He just wouldn't stop." "When?" "Baby, when?" "Today." "The whole afternoon." "The whole afternoon." "I'm so ashamed." "Today?" "Today?" "Today he was in court." "He was in court in my presence all afternoon!" "No!" "Yes!" "God, no, Kevin." "Kevin, I'm not crazy." "You have to believe me." "Oh, Jesus." "He did this to me!" "He did this to me." "What did you do to yourself?" "What are we going to do?" "What can I do?" "Sign there." "And your relationship." "She's calm now." "This might be a good time to say good night to her." "I know why this is happening." "They want you to sleep." "It's the money." "Blood money." "We just drank it down, both of us." "We knew it." "Winning those cases, taking the money." "We knew they were guilty." "But you just kept on winning every time." "And I can't look at myself in the mirror." "And then I see a monster." "Don't do this, Kevin." "Please take me home." "Please don't do this." "I'm not crazy." "Doesn't Diana look fabulous?" "Allesandra, you look ravishing." "Mrs. Skylar." "We are here today to remember Eddie Barzoon." "Isn't she lovely?" "We have gathered to seek shelter in our common grief." "To draw strength toward our tested faith." "So what do they say?" "How's Mary Ann?" "They don't know." "She's falling apart." "Hallucinations." "Milton.... lt's bad." "Do you have room for one more?" "Beloved father." "Devoted husband." "Trusted friend." "Esteemed colleague." "Benevolent citizen." "All of these things." "And yet one thing more:" "Child of God." "And it is to that Father that he now returns." "Eddie Barzoon such a vibrant member of our community has moved beyond us now." "He has entered a new communion." "And for that it is a time of rejoicing." "God, who is our refuge and our strength." "God, who is that very present help in time of trouble." ""Therefore we will not fear..." ""...though the Earth should change..." ""...though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea..." ""...though its waters roar and foam..." ""...though the mountains tremble with its tumult."" "We cannot fear too long for Eddie Barzoon has gone home." "Mr. Lomax?" "No comment." "I'll have something for you later." "I'm a friend of Eddie Barzoon." "You don't know me, but Eddie mentioned your name." "Mitch Weaver, Justice Department?" "Staking out the funeral?" "Looking for you, actually." "I'm in a hurry. I need to talk to my wife." "Just wanted to ask you off the record." "I had a few questions about Eddie." "Milton, Chadwick, Waters is a little more than a law firm." "But I assumed you knew that." "Vagada Holdings?" "I'm sure you've heard of it." "London, Kinshasa, Karachi." "Arms brokering, mostly." "Munzer-Dietch, in Berlin, Djakarta." "Chemical weapons and toxic waste." "lvanco Limited, Moscow." "Money laundering for the eastern bloc." "It goes on and on and on." "Milton is into everything." "Barzoon was coming in, Kevin." "He was going to testify." "DeSoto and Dibalista, Panama." "That firm sets up bank accounts for judges in South America." "Huge drug cases, murder, everything." "What the fuck do you want?" "He's a lawyer!" "Now stay off my back!" "This is a first time-last time offer." "I'm learning about you." "I talked to some old friends in Florida this morning." "The Gettys case?" "Eighth grade teacher?" "They found him yesterday!" "He had the body of a 10-year-old girl in the trunk of his car!" "is he all right?" "Get help!" "Marie, do you want to go to the party?" "Come on." "Horace will be disappointed." "It's a birthday party." "We can sing." ""...indeed, His divine power..." ""...has granted us all things pertaining to life and piety..." ""...through the knowledge of Him who has called us--"" "What are you doing here?" "I came this morning." "I kept calling the house and getting no answer." "I need to talk to you." "We got her on the first flight up this morning." "Are you all right, Kevin?" "I don't know." "Would you excuse us for a moment, please?" "How you doing, sweetie?" "I know something that'll make you feel better." "There." "I shouldn't have left. I knew it." "I'll never forgive myself." "There's nothing you could've done." "l could've told you the truth." "About what?" "Baptist Endeavor Youth Crusade, 1966." "I was here in New York." "That night in the elevator, you never let me answer." "What are you talking about?" "I stayed here a week in the Tremont Hotel." "They had a restaurant downstairs where we ate almost every meal." "Wait." "Stop." "Your father was a waiter in that restaurant." "My father?" "This is great, Ma." "Honey, please listen." "Now?" "You do this now?" "Your timing, it's superb." "You wait 30 years, you fly up here, you pick today?" "Obviously I'm not under enough pressure." "I don't have enough on my mind!" "Listen to me!" ""Behold, I send you out as sheep amidst the wolves! "" "Don't you look beautiful now." "Take a look and see." "It's all right, dear." "Look." "No." "Go on, take a look." "See how beautiful you are?" "See?" "What happened?" "She attacked me." "Open the door." "Open the door, Mar." "Open the door!" "It's okay." "Open the door!" "Come on!" "Open the door!" "Open the door, Mar!" "Oh, my God!" "Get somebody!" "Go!" "Go!" "Mar, look at me!" "Somebody!" "Help!" "Get help!" "Go!" "Sweetheart!" "Look at me!" "I love you." "What have you done?" "!" "What have you done?" "!" "We need a doctor in here!" "We need a doctor!" "Please stay with me, Mar!" "Stay with me, Mar!" "Get Dr. Job in here now!" "Sir, get away so that I can help her." "Now!" "Sir, off!" "Go!" "Come on." "Come on." "Help her." "Wait out of the way." "Get Dr. Job, please!" "I'm losing her!" "Finish the story." "1966." "You were in New York." "There's a waiter in a restaurant." "Finish the story." "He talked to me." "Nobody'd ever really talked to me before." "Sixteen years old, thousand miles away from home, someone takes an interest." "Knew the Bible, every word." "Just knew it by heart." "Every meal, there he was at my ear and I was...." "That last night he came to say good-bye and I started crying." "And he told me:" ""Behold, I send you out as sheep amidst the wolves."" "I want to hear you say it." "His face that night, I knew it was him." "Say it." "You were so proud you'd just come to New York and done this all on your own." "I didn't have the heart to tell you." "You wondered yourself." "The money that apartment, the attention, everything out of nowhere!" "Say it!" "Milton, he's your father." "He's your father." "Somehow he found us." "He tracked you down." "He did." "He's always been there." "I know that now." "Watching." "Waiting." "Playing us like a game." "What do you mean?" "I gotta go." "No, leave it alone." "Stay here with me." "Forget about him." "We can leave here." "We can go home." "We don't ever have to see him again." "I can't do it." "You go home." "You go home." "I have to go." "l have to go." "Wait!" "I love you." "There you are." "Look at you." "You're terrified." "Not to worry." "He'll take away that fear." "You don't ever have to be frightened again." "Go on." "He's waiting for you." "Go." "You were right about one thing." "I have been watching." "Couldn't help myself." "Watching." "Waiting." "Holding my breath." "But I'm no puppeteer, Kevin." "I don't make things happen." "Doesn't work like that." "What'd you do to Mary Ann?" "Free will." "It's like butterfly wings." "Once touched, they never get off the ground." "I only set the stage." "You pull your own strings." "What did you do to Mary Ann?" "A gun?" "In here?" "Goddamn it, what did you do to my wife?" "!" "Well on a scale of one to ten...." "Ten being the most depraved act of sexual theater known to man." "One being your average Friday night run-through at the Lomax's." "I'd say, not to be immodest Mary Ann and I got it on at about seven." "Fuck you!" "Got me!" "Got me!" "Yes!" "Step it up, son!" "Come on!" "That's good!" "You got to hold on to that fury!" "That's the last thing to go!" "That's the final hiding place." "It's the final fig leaf." "Who are you?" "Who am I?" "Who are you?" "Never lost a case." "Why?" "Why do you think?" "Because you're so fucking good." "Yes." "But why?" "Because you're my father?" "I'm a little more than that, Kevin." "Awfully hot in that courtroom, wasn't it?" ""What's the game plan, Kevin?" ""lt was a nice run, Kev." ""Had to close out some day." ""Nobody wins them all."" "What are you?" "I have so many names." "Satan." "Call me Dad." "Mary Ann, she knew it." "She knew it." "She knew it, so you destroyed her." "You blaming me for Mary Ann?" "I hope you're kidding." "Mary Ann, you could have saved her anytime you liked." "All she wanted was love." "Hey, you were too busy." "That's a lie." "Face it, you started looking to better deal her the minute you got here." "That's not true." "You don't know what we had!" "I'm on your side!" "You're a liar!" "There's nothing out there for you!" "Don't be such a fucking chump!" "Stop deluding yourself!" "I told you to take care of your wife!" "What did I say?" ""The world would understand." Didn't I say that?" "What did you do?" ""You know what scares me, John?" ""l leave the case, she gets better and then I hate her for it."" "Remember?" "I know what you did." "You set me up." "Who told you to pull out all the stops on Mr. Gettys?" "Who made that choice?" "lt's entrapment." "You set me up." "And Moyez!" "The direction you took!" "Popes, swamis, snake handlers, all feeding at the same trough." "Whose ideas were those?" "You played me!" "It was a test!" "Your test!" "And Cullen!" "Knowing he was guilty!" "Seeing those pictures!" "What did you do?" "You put that lying bitch on the stand!" "You brought me in." "You put me there!" "You made her lie!" "I don't do that, Kevin!" "That day on the subway, what did I say to you?" "What were my words to you?" "Maybe it was your time to lose." "You didn't think so." "Lose?" "I don't lose!" "I win!" "I win!" "I'm a lawyer!" "That's my job!" "That's what I do!" "I rest my case." "Vanity is definitely my favorite sin." "Kevin, it's so basic." "Self-love." "The all-natural opiate." "It's not that you didn't care for Mary Ann, Kevin it's just that you were a little more involved with someone else." "Yourself." "You're right." "I did it all." "I let her go." "Don't be too hard on yourself, Kevin." "You wanted something more." "Believe me." "I left her behind and just kept going." "You can't keep punishing yourself." "It's awesome how far you've come." "I didn't make it easy." "Couldn't." "Not for you or your sister." "Half-sister, to be exact." "Surprise." "Some scene, huh?" "Don't let him scare you." "I've had so many children." "I've had so many disappointments." "Mistake after mistake." "And then there's you." "The two of you." "What do you want from me?" "I want you to be yourself." "You know, I'll tell you, boy guilt it's like a bag of fucking bricks." "All you got to do is set it down." "I know what you're going through." "I've been there." "Just come here." "Come here." "Let it go." "I can't do that." "Who are you carrying all those bricks for?" "God?" "is that it?" "God?" "I tell you let me give you a little inside information about God." "God likes to watch." "He's a prankster." "Think about it." "He gives man instincts." "He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does he do?" "I swear, for his own amusement his own private cosmic gag reel he sets the rules in opposition." "It's the goof of all time." "Look, but don't touch." "Touch, but don't taste." "Taste, but don't swallow." "And while you're jumping from one foot to the next, what is he doing?" "He's laughing his sick fucking ass off!" "He's a tightass!" "He's a sadist!" "He's an absentee landlord!" "Worship that?" "Never!" "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven, is that it?" "Why not?" "I'm here on the ground with my nose in it since the whole thing began!" "I've nurtured every sensation man has been inspired to have!" "I cared about what he wanted and I never judged him!" "Why?" "Because I never rejected him, in spite of all his imperfections!" "I'm a fan of man!" "I'm a humanist." "Maybe the last humanist." "Who, in their right mind Kevin, could possibly deny the 20th century was entirely mine?" "All of it, Kevin!" "All of it." "Mine." "I'm peaking, Kevin." "It's my time now." "It's our time." "Anybody want a drink?" "I'm having a drink." "This is some pitch, all this." "You must need me pretty bad." "What do you want?" "Eddie was right." "I want you to take over the firm." "You and your sister." "ls that it?" "No." "She's ovulating right now." "Your vanity is justified, Kevin." "Your seed is the key to a new future." "Your son is going to sit at the head of all tables, my boy." "He's gonna set this whole thing free." "You want a child." "I want a family." "The Antichrist." "Whatever." "But I have to volunteer." "Free will it is a bitch." "I need a family." "I need help. I'm busy." "Millennium's coming, son." "Title fight." "Round 20." "I'm ready to work." "What do you say?" "What're you offering?" "We negotiating?" "Always." "Yes!" "What are you offering?" "Everything." "Anything." "What do you want?" "How about bliss, for starters?" "Instant bliss." "Bliss on tap." "Bliss any way you want it." "That first line of cocaine." "That walk into a strange girl's bedroom." "Familiar?" "You're gonna have to do a little better than that." "I know." "I'm just getting warmed up." "You want more, don't you?" "You deserve more." "How about the thing you love the most?" "A smile from a jury." "That cold courtroom just giving itself over bending to your strength." "I get that on my own." "Not like this." "I take the bricks out of the briefcase." "I give you pleasure." "No strings!" "Freedom, baby is never having to say you're sorry." "This is revolution, Kevin." ""It happened" ""In Monterrey" ""A long time ago"" "Forget about him." "This is about us." ""In old Mexico" ""Stars and steel guitars and luscious lips" ""As red as wine"" "It's been so hard for me to wait for you." "Why the law?" "Cut the shit, Dad!" "Why lawyers?" "Why the law?" "Because the law, my boy, puts us into everything." "It's the ultimate backstage pass." "It's the new priesthood, baby." "Did you know there are more students in law school than lawyers walking the Earth?" "We're coming out guns blazing!" "The two of you all of us, acquittal after acquittal after acquittal until the stench of it reaches so high and far into heaven it chokes the whole fucking lot of them!" "In the Bible, you lose." "We're destined to lose, Dad." "Consider the source, son!" "Besides we'll write our own book." "Chapter one." "Right here." "This altar." "This moment." "Will you stop talking?" "You talk too much." "Both of you." "Look at me." "Just look at me." "She is really stunning." "Who am I?" "I've wanted you from the moment we met." "The virtue of the devil is in his loins." "What about love?" "Overrated." "Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." "In two minutes you won't be thinking about Mary Ann ever again." "Come here." "She's right, my son." "It's time to step up and take what's yours." "You're right." "It's time." "Free will, right?" "No!" "Damn you!" "Enough!" "Haven't I given enough?" "!" "It was a nice run." "Had to close out someday." "Nobody wins them all." "What are you doing, baby?" "Are you okay?" "I am now." "All rise." "The Honorable Judge Garson Deeds presiding." "Please be seated." "You're still under oath, young lady." "Your witness." "Mr. Lomax?" "Your Honor I'm terribly sorry." "But I can no longer represent my client." "I need to be replaced as counsel." "Order." "Order!" "Order!" "I adjourn this court." "This is outrageous." "Are you aware of the consequences of this action?" "I am, sir." "I want to see both attorneys in my chambers immediately." "I'm going to adjourn this trial until 9 a.m. tomorrow morning." "I trusted you to defend me." "You swore you would!" "You'll burn for this!" "You just made the biggest mistake of your life!" "Baby, what are you doing?" "The right thing." "I think the right thing." "Here they are." "Are you gonna be disbarred?" "l don't know." "How's it feel to lose your first case?" "No comment." "Ain't it better to talk to them all at once?" "Press conference tomorrow?" "He ain't going to talk to you now." "Eight o'clock tomorrow morning." "That's it." "This is the story you dreamed about." "There is no story." "Bullshit." "A lawyer with a crisis of conscience?" "You gotta be kidding. it's huge!" "They're going to disbar me." "Write about that." "Wait a second." "Can they do that?" "Not when I get through with the story." "You got to give me an exclusive." "This is wire service." "This is "60 Minutes."" "This is a story that needs to be told." "It's you." "You're a star." "Baby." "Call me in the morning." "You got it." "First thing." "Vanity definitely my favorite sin."