- Margolin - The Last Innocent Man

“I was going to call,” she said hesitantly, “but I was afraid you would tell me not to come.”

“Don’t be silly,” he said a little too quickly. “I’ve been locked up with my law books all evening, and I can use some human companionship.”

David watched her wander across the living room. There was a fire in the fireplace, and Jenny stood in front of it, her back to him.

“Can I get you a drink?” David asked.

“Please.”

The liquor was in another room and he wanted a chance to settle down. Jenny had not been to his house since the night they had made love. Now she had come to him, and he was very unsure of himself. There had not been a moment since he had seen her again at the courthouse that he had not wanted her, but there was an unspoken understanding between them that made any personal discussions taboo.

Jenny was sitting in front of the fire, leaning against a large pillow, when he returned with her drink. He sat beside her, listening to the logs crackle and watching the flames twist and curl.

“How have you been?” he asked.

“Busy. School’s back in session. I’ve had lesson plans to prepare, and they’ve given me a class of exceptional children. They really keep you on your toes.”

“Have you had any problems because of the case?”

“No. Actually, everyone has been very kind. John Olson, our principal, told me I could stay out for the whole trial.”

“That’s great.”

“My folks have been unexpectedly supportive, too.”

“Why, didn’t you expect them to be?”

“Mom’s never approved of Larry. You know how mothers are.” Jenny shrugged. “Anyway, Mom even volunteered to go to the jail with me on visiting day.” Jenny laughed suddenly.

“What’s so funny?”

“Mom at the jail. You wouldn’t understand unless you knew her.”

Jenny laughed again. The laugh was warm and open, without a trace of the self-consciousness that had characterized their relationship from the start. David wanted to hold her very much at that moment. She must have sensed this, because she stopped and her smile faded.

“David, I want you to be honest with me. Are you going to win? Will Larry be acquitted?”

“I think so. The State’s whole case rests on Ortiz, and I think I’m going to be able to take him apart.”

David expected Jenny to ask him how he planned to get to Ortiz, but she didn’t. Instead, she stood up and walked toward the window. He rolled onto his side and watched her.

“If Larry was convicted…” she started. “If you didn’t do your best to…”

She didn’t finish. He stood up and walked over to her. When he spoke, his voice was firm.

“But I wouldn’t do that and you wouldn’t want me to. That’s not the solution to our problem, Jenny.”

“David, I-”

He stopped her by placing the tips of his fingers against her lips.

“We’re both under a lot of pressure, Jenny. I should never have taken this case, but I did. I’ve tried to kid myself, but a lot of the reason was so I could see you again. That’s a very bad reason, but there it is and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Oh, David,” she said, and it sounded like the sigh of a lost soul. David put his arms around her and they stood there, her head on his shoulder, not holding tight, but holding soft and caring.

“You don’t know how much I’ve wanted you,” she said, “but I couldn’t hurt Larry. After that evening…I felt so confused and guilty. And I didn’t know what the evening meant for you. You were so self-assured, as if you had done…been to bed with other women so often. I was afraid that it had just been sex for you and that I would make a fool of myself.”

“It was never just sex,” David whispered.

“Then Larry was arrested and Charlie told me to hire you. It made it worse for me, but Larry needed you.”

“And I need you, Jenny, very much.”

She looked up at him. She was frightened. They both were. Then their lips met, and they sank down on the soft carpet and made love in front of the fire.

Afterward she slept curled up in his arms. When David was certain he would not wake her, he eased her down and covered her with a blanket. Flame shadows played across her face, and she looked as peaceful as a sleeping child.

David put another log on the fire; then he sat across from Jenny so he could see her. She had come so close to saying something he did not want to think about. He could lose the trial, and their problems would be solved. But he would not. He would win an acquittal for Larry Stafford by trying the best case he had ever tried.

What kind of life could he and Jenny have together if he intentionally lost Larry Stafford’s case? Even if no one else ever knew, they would know, and that knowledge would destroy them.

Jenny said that Larry was innocent, and Terry Conklin’s pictures would prove it. Larry Stafford would be acquitted. Then Jenny would make her choice. A free choice.

“Nice of you to drop by,” Larry said sarcastically as soon as the guard shut the door to the private visitor’s room.

“Don’t, Larry,” Jennifer began. She wanted to say more, but her courage failed her. Larry started to say one thing, changed his mind, and shook his head.

“I’m sorry. It’s just with the trial starting…I just thought you’d visit more.”

Jennifer did not answer. She turned and walked to the far end of the narrow room. Larry followed her and touched her arm.

“I said I’m sorry, kitten. I’m all wound up.”

“I know,” she said quietly. He had lost weight, and he looked sad and defeated. She did not want to hurt him any more than he had already been hurt, but she knew she would have to.

“Larry, I don’t know if I can go through with it.”

Larry paled, just staring, his mouth partly open.

“What…what do you…?”

“It’s no good. They’ll see that I’m lying and it will make it worse for you.”

“No. No. You’ll do okay,” Stafford said desperately. “Nash believes you, right? He’s a pro. If we’ve got him fooled, the jury will be easy.”

Jennifer tried to say something. To talk to him. But her stomach was cramped with fear and self-loathing, and she felt short of breath. Larry just stared at her, afraid to speak. The silence in the room terrified him.

“Jenny, they can’t prove anything,” he said finally. “How will they know?” He stopped. He was pleading. “Besides, it’s the truth. I told you that, didn’t I? I swore to God.”

Jenny still could not speak. She could see the panic in his eyes.

“Goddammit,” he said, his voice rising, “you can’t change your story now. You’ll crucify me.

“Say something. It’s your fault I’m here. Do you want to bury me now?”

His voice rose in pitch and cut through her. She started to cry.

Larry grabbed her roughly by both arms. His fingers dug into her flesh, hurting her.

“Answer me, Jenny. Do you want me to die? Because that’s what’s happening to me here. I couldn’t stand prison, locked away. I can’t stand it now. The noise, the smells. This filth.”

He raised his arm like an accusing angel and pointed at the room.

“Do you hate me so much that you want me to live the rest of my life like some animal?”

She started to cry, turning her head from him, not wanting him to hold her or comfort her. He was right. She did not hate him. She was only tired of him. Disillusioned by the destruction of the love that she had once felt for him. She couldn’t let him end up in a place like this. Not even if he had…She could not complete the thought, because if Larry had killed that woman, then she was partly to blame.