government institution?”
I hand him the coffee. “DORLA’s an odd place, Mr. Franklin.”
“Not that odd, Ms. Galley. I’ve noted numerous cases where DORLA operatives were successfully sued. As I understand it, there are almost monthly demotions within your ranks. Please let’s not pretend DORLA isn’t accountable; I can produce a great many instances where your members were held responsible for their actions.”
My heart sinks a little; I manage not to sigh. “That does make us look accountable, doesn’t it. Mr. Franklin, I admire you, so I’m telling you this because it’s useful, not because I’m trying to get around you: those demotions are part of the system. People do get publicly punished here; it’s good for the government to make sure it happens. But they’ll never overhaul us. That would be too close to backing us up. Moon night’s too insoluble a problem, and we’re too good a scapegoat. It’s easier to punish us at intervals than to make us properly accountable.”
Franklin raises an eyebrow. “You’re telling me straight out that you can’t be held responsible?”
I shake my head. “I can. Personally, you can go after me. But if you’re thinking of making this a landmark, shake-up-the-system case…well, I’d advise you to do it with a better client. Because Mr. Ellaway did maul someone. Look, the point is, I have no doubt your client has much to complain of. If I was in his position I’d be no happier than he is now. But the thing is, he needs a DORLA representative. You can speak at his trial if you want to, I’m quite happy for that to happen. But I have to as well. You could get him another adviser within DORLA, but truthfully, I doubt they’d be any more…aggressive in protecting him than I have been.”
“Then God help the country, Ms. Galley, because DORLA is the most unethical, inconsistent, and unprofessional institution I can imagine.”
I sit back down, and prop my chin up again. “Maybe. But we have our own problems. Look, Mr. Franklin, I can’t compete with you. I’m laying my cards on the table here. We have a client in common, and you can pursue his grievance against me, or we can both focus on acquitting him. Personally, I’d just like to get this case over with. Does Ellaway want to sue me?”
Franklin looks at me with canny eyes. “He has talked of it, yes.”
I’m starting to feel tired. I can’t keep this up much longer. “Please don’t let him.”
“Ms. Galley, why should I feel any obligation to be dissuaded, by you, from the interests of my client?”
“I don’t think it will be in his interests. He can sue me, and it’ll go through a lyco court and they’ll hang me from the yardarm. It won’t do him much good. I don’t have any money he can sue me for, and if he wants to ruin me, then—well, I don’t think he needs to prove anything. I know my place. Outside of this office, it’s nowhere. But inside it—ruining me won’t change DORLA’s practices. It’ll just prejudice the court against him when he comes up for trial. And he’s looking at life imprisonment as it is. DORLA’s a bottomless pit, Mr. Franklin, and injustices slip into it without a trace…” I trail off. I don’t want to be ruined. As I’m talking, I hear what I’m saying, and I realize more and more that Ellaway can destroy me if he wants to, and he probably does. And since I want him to spend his life in jail, I can’t pretend he doesn’t have justification. I’m lost. I shouldn’t have messed with a rich man.
I look up, and find that Franklin is still regarding me. “It is your opinion that suing you would be bad for our client’s case?”
“Undoubtedly. And I can’t change that, so please don’t blame me.”
“You don’t think that his chances of appeal might not be better if he could claim he was improperly represented?”
“What, with you on his side?” Franklin almost laughs. I raise my head. Is he going to let me off? “That’s how
I hand him the coffee. “DORLA’s an odd place, Mr. Franklin.”
“Not that odd, Ms. Galley. I’ve noted numerous cases where DORLA operatives were successfully sued. As I understand it, there are almost monthly demotions within your ranks. Please let’s not pretend DORLA isn’t accountable; I can produce a great many instances where your members were held responsible for their actions.”
My heart sinks a little; I manage not to sigh. “That does make us look accountable, doesn’t it. Mr. Franklin, I admire you, so I’m telling you this because it’s useful, not because I’m trying to get around you: those demotions are part of the system. People do get publicly punished here; it’s good for the government to make sure it happens. But they’ll never overhaul us. That would be too close to backing us up. Moon night’s too insoluble a problem, and we’re too good a scapegoat. It’s easier to punish us at intervals than to make us properly accountable.”
Franklin raises an eyebrow. “You’re telling me straight out that you can’t be held responsible?”
I shake my head. “I can. Personally, you can go after me. But if you’re thinking of making this a landmark, shake-up-the-system case…well, I’d advise you to do it with a better client. Because Mr. Ellaway did maul someone. Look, the point is, I have no doubt your client has much to complain of. If I was in his position I’d be no happier than he is now. But the thing is, he needs a DORLA representative. You can speak at his trial if you want to, I’m quite happy for that to happen. But I have to as well. You could get him another adviser within DORLA, but truthfully, I doubt they’d be any more…aggressive in protecting him than I have been.”
“Then God help the country, Ms. Galley, because DORLA is the most unethical, inconsistent, and unprofessional institution I can imagine.”
I sit back down, and prop my chin up again. “Maybe. But we have our own problems. Look, Mr. Franklin, I can’t compete with you. I’m laying my cards on the table here. We have a client in common, and you can pursue his grievance against me, or we can both focus on acquitting him. Personally, I’d just like to get this case over with. Does Ellaway want to sue me?”
Franklin looks at me with canny eyes. “He has talked of it, yes.”
I’m starting to feel tired. I can’t keep this up much longer. “Please don’t let him.”
“Ms. Galley, why should I feel any obligation to be dissuaded, by you, from the interests of my client?”
“I don’t think it will be in his interests. He can sue me, and it’ll go through a lyco court and they’ll hang me from the yardarm. It won’t do him much good. I don’t have any money he can sue me for, and if he wants to ruin me, then—well, I don’t think he needs to prove anything. I know my place. Outside of this office, it’s nowhere. But inside it—ruining me won’t change DORLA’s practices. It’ll just prejudice the court against him when he comes up for trial. And he’s looking at life imprisonment as it is. DORLA’s a bottomless pit, Mr. Franklin, and injustices slip into it without a trace…” I trail off. I don’t want to be ruined. As I’m talking, I hear what I’m saying, and I realize more and more that Ellaway can destroy me if he wants to, and he probably does. And since I want him to spend his life in jail, I can’t pretend he doesn’t have justification. I’m lost. I shouldn’t have messed with a rich man.
I look up, and find that Franklin is still regarding me. “It is your opinion that suing you would be bad for our client’s case?”
“Undoubtedly. And I can’t change that, so please don’t blame me.”
“You don’t think that his chances of appeal might not be better if he could claim he was improperly represented?”
“What, with you on his side?” Franklin almost laughs. I raise my head. Is he going to let me off? “That’s how
Similar Books
