jg.thefirm-第14节

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　　〃How　much　damage　did　they　do？〃　asked　Oliver　Lambert。
　　〃We're　not　sure。　We'll　never　be　sure；　but　I　don't　think　they　ever　talked。　They　had　decided　to；　no　doubt　about　that；　but　I　don't　think　they　did。　We've　got　it　from　a　pretty　good　source　there　were　FBI　agents　en　route　to　the　island　the　day　of　the　accident；　so　we　think　they　planned　to　rendezvous　to　spill　their　guts。〃
　　〃How　do　you　know　this？〃　asked　Locke。
　　〃e　on；　Nat。　We've　got　our　sources。　Plus；　we　had　people　all　over　the　island。　We　do　good　work；　you　know。〃
　　〃Evidently。〃
　　〃Was　it　messy？〃
　　〃No；　no。　Very　professional。〃
　　〃How'd　the　native　get　in　the　way？〃
　　〃We　had　to　make　it　look　good；　Ollie。〃
　　〃What　about　the　authorities　down　there？〃
　　〃What　authorities？　It's　a　tiny；　peaceful　island；　Ollie。　Last　year　they　had　one　murder　and　four　diving　accidents。　As　far　as　they're　concerned；　it's　just　another　accident。　Three　accidental　drownings。〃
　　〃What　about　the　FBI？〃　asked　Locke。
　　〃Don't　know。〃
　　〃I　thought　you　had　a　source。〃
　　〃We　do。　But　we　can't　find　him。　We've　heard　nothing　as　of　yesterday。　Our　people　are　still　on　the　island　and　they've　noticed　nothing　unusual。〃
　　〃How　long　will　you　stay　there？〃
　　〃Couple　of　weeks。〃
　　〃What　happens　if　the　FBI　shows　up？〃　asked　Locke。
　　〃We　watch　them　real　close。　We'll　see　them　when　they　get　off　the　plane。　We'll　follow　them　to　their　hotel　rooms。　We　may　even　bug　their　phones。　We'll　know　what　they　eat　for　breakfast　and　what　they　talk　about。　We'll　assign　three　of　our　guys　for　every　one　of　theirs；　and　when　they　go　to　the　toilet　we'll　know　it。　There　ain't　nothing　for　them　to　find；　Nat。　I　told　you　it　was　a　clean　job；　very　professional。　No　evidence。　Relax。〃
　　〃This　makes　me　sick；　DeVasher；〃　Lambert　said。
　　〃You　think　I　like　it；　Ollie？　What　do　you　want　us　to　do？　Sit　back　and　let　them　talk？　e　on；　Ollie；　we're　all　human。　I　didn't　want　to　do　it；　but　Lazarov　said　do　it。　You　wanna　argue　with　Lazarov；　go　ahead。　They'll　find　you　floating　somewhere。　Those　boys　were　up　to　no　good。　They　should've　kept　quiet；　driven　their　little　fancy　cars　and　played　big…shot　lawyers。　No；　they　gotta　get　sanctimonious。〃
　　Nathan　Locke　'lit　a　cigarette　and　blew　a　heavy　cloud　of　smoke　in　the　general　direction　of　DeVasher。　The　three　sat　in　silence　for　a　moment　as　the　smoke　settled　across　his　desk。　He　glared　at　Black　Eyes　but　said　nothing。
　　Oliver　Lambert　stood　and　stared　at　the　blank　wall　next　to　the　door。　〃Why　did　you　want　to　see　us？〃　he　asked。
　　DeVasher　took　a　deep　breath。　〃Chicago　wants　to　bug　the　home　phones　of　all　nonpartners。〃
　　〃I　told　you；〃　Lambert　said　to　Locke。
　　〃It　wasn't　my　idea；　but　they　insist　on　it。　They're　very　nervous　up　there；　and　they　wanna　take　some　extra　precautions。　You　can't　blame　them。〃
　　〃Don't　you　think　it's　going　a　bit　too　far？〃　asked　Lambert。
　　〃Yeah；　it's　totally　unnecessary。　But　Chicago　doesn't　think　so。〃
　　〃When？〃　asked　Locke。
　　〃Next　week　or　so。　It'll　take　a　few　days。〃
　　〃All　of　them？〃
　　〃Yes。　That's　what　they　said。〃
　　〃Even　McDeere？〃
　　〃Yes。　Even　McDeere。　I　think　Tarrance　will　try　again；　and　he　might　start　at　the　bottom　this　time。〃
　　〃I　met　him　this　morning；〃　said　Locke。　〃He　was　here　before　me。〃
　　〃Five　thirty…two；〃　answered　DeVasher。
　　The　law　school　memorabilia　were　removed　to　the　floor　and　the　Capps　file　spread　across　the　desk。　Nina　brought　a　chicken　salad　sandwich　back　from　lunch；　and　he　ate　it　as　he　read　and　as　she　filed　away　the　junk　on　the　floor。　Shortly　after　one；　Wally　Hudson；　or　J。　Walter　Hudson　as　　letterhead　declared　him；　arrived　to　begin　the　study　for　the　bar　exam。　Contracts　were　his　specialty。　He　was　a　five…year　member　of　　and　the　only　Virginia　man；　which　he　found　odd　because　Virginia　had　the　best　law　school　in　the　country；　in　his　opinion。　He　had　spent　the　last　two　years　developing　a　new　review　course　for　the　contracts　section　of　the　exam。　He　was　quite　anxious　to　try　it　on　someone；　and　McDeere　happened　to　be　the　man。　He　handed　Mitch　a　heavy　three…ring　notebook　that　was　at　least　four　inches　thick　and　weighed　as　much　as　the　Capps　file。
　　The　exam　would　last　for　four　days　and　consist　of　three　parts；　Wally　explained。　The　first　day　would　be　a　four…hour　multiple…choice　exam　on　ethics。　Gill　Vaughn；　one　of　the　partners；　was　the　resident　expert　on　ethics　and　would　supervise　that　portion　of　the　review。　The　second　day　would　be　an　eight…hour　exam　known　simply　as　multi…state。　It　covered　most　areas　of　the　law　mon　to　all　states。　It；　too；　was　multiple…choice　and　the　questions　were　very　deceptive。　Then　the　heavy　action。　Days　three　and　four　would　be　eight　hours　each　and　cover　fifteen　areas　of　substantive　law。　Contracts；　Uniform　mercial　Code；　real　estate；　torts；　domestic　relations；　wills；　estates；　taxation；　workers'　pensation；　constitutional　law；　federal　trial　procedure；　criminal　procedure；　corporations；　partnerships；　insurance　and　debtor…creditor　relations。　All　answers　would　be　in　essay　form；　and　the　questions　would　emphasize　Tennessee　law。　　had　a　review　plan　for　each　of　the　fifteen　sections。
　　〃You　mean　fifteen　of　these？〃　Mitch　asked　as　he　lifted　the　notebook。
　　Wally　smiled。　〃Yes。　We're　very　thorough。　No　one　in　this　firm　has　ever　flunked…〃
　　〃I　know。　I　know。　I　won't　be　the　first。〃
　　〃You　and　I　will　meet　at　least　once　a　week　for　the　next　six　weeks　to　go　through　the　materials。　Each　session　will　last　about　two　hours；　so　you　can　plan　accordingly。　I　would　suggest　each　Wednesday　at　three。〃
　　〃Morning　or　afternoon？〃
　　〃Afternoon。〃
　　〃That's　fine。〃
　　〃As　you　know；　contracts　and　the　Uniform　mercial　Code　go　hand　in　hand；　so　I've　incorporated　the　UCC　into　those　materials。　We'll　cover　both；　but　it'll　take　more　time。　A　typical　bar　exam　is　loaded　with　mercial　transactions。　Those　problems　make　great　essay　questions；　so　that　notebook　will　be　very　important。　I've　included　actual　questions　from　old　exams；　along　with　the　model　answers。　It's　fascinating　reading。〃
　　〃I　can't　wait。〃
　　〃Take　the　first　eighty　pages　for　next　week。　You'll　find　some　essay　questions　you'll　need　to　answer。〃
　　〃You　mean　homework？〃
　　〃Absolutely。　I'll　grade　it　next　week。　It's　very　important　to　practice　these　questions　each　week。〃
　　〃This　could　be　worse　than　law　school。〃
　　〃It's　much　more　important　than　law　school。　We　take　it　very　seriously。　We　have　a　mittee　to　monitor　your　progress　from　now　until　you　sit　for　the　exam。　We'll　be　watching　very　closely。〃
　　〃Who's　on　the　mittee？〃
　　〃Myself；　Avery　Tolar；　Royce　McKnight；　Randall　Dunbar　and　Kendall　Mahan。　We'll　meet　each　Friday　to　assess　your　progress。〃
　　Wally　produced　a　smaller；　letter…sized　notebook　and　laid　it　on　the　desk。　〃This　is　your　daily　log。　You　are　to　record　the　hours　spent　studying　for　the　exam　and　the　subjects　studied。　I'll　pick　it　up　every　Friday　morning　before　the　mittee　meets。　Any　questions？〃
　　〃I　can't　think　of　any；〃　Mitch　said　as　he　laid　the　notebook　on　top　of　the　Capps　file。
　　〃Good。　See　you　next　Wednesday　at　three。〃
　　Less　than　ten　seconds　after　he　left；　Randall　Dunbar　walked　in　with　a　thick　notebook　remarkably　similar　to　the　one　left　behind　by　Wally。　In　fact；　it　was　identical；　but　not　quite　as　thick。　Dunbar　was　head　of　real　estate　and　had　handled　the　purchase　and　sale　of　the　McDeere　home　in　May。　He　handed　Mitch　the　notebook；　labeled　Real　Estate　Law；　and　explained　how　his　specialty　was　the　most　critical　part　of　the　exam。　Everything　goes　back　to　property；　he　said。　He　had　carefully　prepared　the　materials　himself　over　the　past　ten　years　and　confessed　that　he　had　often　thought　of　publishing　them　as　an　authoritative　work　on　property　rights　and　land　financing。　He　would　need　at　least　one　hour　a　week；　preferably　on　Tuesday　afternoon。　He　talked　for　an　hour　about　how　different　the　exam　was　thirty　years　ago　when　he　took　it。
　　Kendall　Mahan　added　a　new　twist。　He　wanted　to　meet　on　Saturday　mornings。　Early；　say　seven…thirty。
　　〃No　problem；〃　Mitch　said　as　he　took　the　notebook　and　placed　it　next　to　the　others。　This　one　was　for　constitutional　law；　a　favorite　of　Kendall's；　although　he　seldom　got　to　use　it；　he　said。　It　was　the　most　important　section　of　the　exam；　or　at　least　it　had　been　when　he　took　it　five　years　ago。　He　had　published　an　article　on　First　Amendment　rights　in　the　Columbia　Law　Review　in　his　senior　year　there。　A　copy　of　it　was　in　the　notebook；　in　case　Mitch　wanted　to　read　it。　He　promised　to　do　so　almost　immediately。
　　The　procession　continued　throughout　the　afternoon　until　half　of　　had　stopped　by　with　notebooks；　assignments　of　homework　and　requests　for　weekly　meetings。　No　fewer　than　six　reminded　him　that　no　member　of　　had　ever　failed　the　bar　exam。
　　When　his　secretary　said　goodbye　at　five；　the　small　desk　was　covered　with　enough　bar　review　materials　to　choke　a　ten…man　firm。　Unable　to　speak；　he　simply　smiled　at　her　and　returned　to　Wally's　version　of　contract　law。　Food　crossed　his　mind　an　hour　later。　Then；　for　the　first　time　in　twelve　hours；　he　thought　of　Abby。　He　called　her。
　　〃I　won't　be　home　for　a　while；〃　he　said。
　　〃But　I'm　cooking　dinner。〃
　　〃Leave　it　on　the　stove；〃　he　said；　somewhat　shortly。
　　There　was　a　pause。　〃When　will　you　be　home？〃　she　asked　with　slow；　precise　words。
　　〃In　a　few　hours。〃
　　〃A　few　hours。　You've　already　been　there　half　the　day。〃
　　〃