The day was just beginning to start as the law office’s doors opened to the public. The sweet and vital aroma of coffee filled the air as the lawyers walked between offices looking for their newest clients to take from their coworkers. Avery sat behind his desk filing away documents from his last case as a small ray of Dallas sun entered through the window upon his desk.
It was a fairly small office crammed with multiple filing cabinets, his modest oak desk, and three chairs: his desk chair and two others for clients to sit in during discussions. Behind his desk were portraits of the workers at the law firm, family photos, and one of him with his two closest friends Christopher, and William at the company picnic last year. A slight smile appeared at Avery’s lips from the memories. Avery was about to take a sip of his coffee when a slight knock came at his door.
“Enter.” Avery stated looking up toward his door from the mess of papers. The man was fairly young, about late twenties to early thirties. He was wearing a modest suit and was escorted by a police officer.
“I’m looking for the lawyer that represented Mr. Monroe last month at his murder trial. Can you point me in the right direction?”
“You’ve found him. I’m C.R. Avery.” He stood and shook the man’s hand. Avery noticed that handcuffs were still on his wrists, and that he was acting tired. Far more tired than any other client he’d ever worked for. Avery offered him a seat and closed the door leaving the officer in the hall.
“So, what can I do for you?” Avery asked the man.
“Mr. Avery, I’m being charged with murder, and I can’t get a lawyer who’s on my side. I didn’t kill anyone, sir.”
“So why are you coming to me? How do you know I won’t side with you?”
“The court appointed attorneys want me to take a plea deal. If I do that I’ll serve at least twenty years in prison. You’re known for taking tough cases.”
“I can see why you wouldn’t want to take that.” Avery sat behind his desk again and crossed his hands in front of him. He got the feeling that the man was speaking the truth. Also, he sensed that there was more to the story than he was getting.
“Mister…”
“Thomas. Richard Thomas.”
“Mister Thomas, I’ll take your case, but on one exception. You must be completely honest with me at all times.”
“Yes sir.” Avery cleared a spot on his desk and bent over it.
“When’s your court date?”
“Tomorrow at eleven o’clock.” Avery grunted and thought for a moment.
“Mr. Thomas, I’ll be there. We won’t do a plea deal I can assure you of that.

“You’re going to do what?!” Chris declared as Avery and him walked to the courthouse the next morning. Avery had to agree that what he was doing was crazy. No lawyer in his right mind would go against that level of evidence and hope to even stand a chance of having the jury find their client innocent. There was enough evidence to sink the Titanic.
“Chris, he’s innocent.”
“Mac, I don’t care! He’s got practically everyone saying that he did it! Any more and it’d be written in the Bible!”
“You’re over exaggerating.”
“Am I?! Mac, you know I hate these types of trials. Why don’t you keep me out of this one!”
“And let you miss all of the fun?” Avery asked grinning at Chris. They walked up the front steps of the courthouse passing other lawyers and police officers as the went.
Despite the big city feel, the courthouse was actually like a small southern town. Everyone knew everybody, and if you were new there word spread very fast. Avery was known as one of the best lawyers in Dallas, and everyone knew it. As he walked through the courthouse, the new lawyers and press paid attention. Chris peeled off toward the restrooms as Avery entered one of the many chambers.
He looked around the courtroom eyeing up who all was present for the trial. In comparison with other courtrooms he’d been in, this one was different. It had only two rows of seating for an audience, the jury box was filled with the older, more run down chairs, and the light inside was almost blinding. Huge windows lined the room allowing a flood of natural light from the Texan sun into the room unhindered. A slight musty smell was faintly present causing Avery to think of a pile of old clothes.
The Judge’s box sat empty and devoid of any artifacts that shows that someone sits there. Only the gavel and nameplate remained on the polished oak top. In comparison with the rest of the room, it looked out of place. Too fancy for the setting. Avery didn’t like that.
“Fancy meeting you here Avery.” He turned around to see a ghost from his past standing before him. She was a younger woman, only three years younger than he that was wearing a wide smirk upon her face. Her blonde hair fell just below her shoulders and she was wearing a pinstriped suit. Her gray eyes bore into him like a fire in the dry season.
“Rebecca Sloan.” He hissed.
“Thinking third time’s the charm?”
“Regardless, I’ll make you work for it.”
“We’ll see Avery, we’ll see,” She said walking past him to the prosecutor's table. Chris tapped Avery’s left shoulder.
“Somethin’ wrong Mac?”
“We just met the threat to our case...and we can’t reach for our ace-in-the-hole.”
“Huh?”
“Rebecca is the best lawyer in L.A., New York, and Chicago. Now she’s trying to add Dallas to the list.”
“Wait...Rebecca? As in, Rebecca Sloan? Your former fiancee?”
“Yep.” Avery said biting his tongue.
“Man this is going to be the best case I’ll see this year!” Chris said walking to the defense’s table. Avery followed trying to think of a way to discredit her in the trial.

Richard stumbled out of the bar and down the street where the parking lot entrance was located. He turned into it and slowly began to search for his car. He tripped over something and fell to the asphalt below cussing.
“I hate it when them idiots do zat.” Richard slurred as he wiped the spilled drink from his face. He tried to stand up again and hit his head on the mirror of the nearby car. He cussed again and crawled a few feet away before standing up again. He propped himself against the car and looked around.
He was now disoriented, and he had no idea where his car was in relation to him. He scanned the nearby cars and thought he found his car. He stood straight again and took a step when he was struck in the head. He dropped to the ground back into the puddle of the drink. He tried to look up to see what hit him, but to no avail. He blacked out from another hit to his head from above.

“Mr. Sanders, how long have you lived in Dallas?” Rebecca asked pacing in front of the jury stand. The man on the stand was a security guard working at the parking lot the night of the murder.
“About three years.”
“And you don’t forget a face.”
“That’s correct.”
“So please tell the jury if you saw the defendant that night in the parking lot.”
“I did. He was hammered and stumbling about. I was afraid he’d get hit by a car.”
As the trial progressed with the witness, it became apparent that Avery was out of his league. Rebecca was highly experienced in swinging a jury to her favor with little effort. She seemed to be producing more and more evidence out of thin air to feed the jury that Mr. Dansfield was guilty as sin. A hand tapped Avery’s shoulder.
“Mac, she’s roasting us alive.” Chris whispered now suddenly concerned.
“What would you have me do?”
“Charm the jury...or something.”
“Your witness Counselor,” Rebecca said, a wide grin across her face. Avery stood and walked over to the booth where the witness was still sitting.
“Mister Sanders, how long have you lived here in Dallas?”
“Objection!”
“If I may your honor, I’ll prove my point here if you permit me.”
“Overruled Ms. Sloan.”
“I don’t,” Avery hid his shock at the comment, but the jury and the rest of the court didn’t. “I mean...damn.”
“Your honor, I believe that Mr. Sanders has just perjured himself.”
“Sustained Mr. Avery. You may step down.” Avery turned and saw that Rebecca’s face was now emotionless. She had created evidence in the case. Perhaps there was hope after all.
“Ms. Sloan, question your witness more in depth before bringing them back into my courtroom. We’ll have a recess until tomorrow, eleven o’clock sharp.” The bang of the gavel signaled the mass exodus of people from the room.
“How’d you do that Mac?”
“How the hell do I know?! I just re-asked an earlier question! I didn’t know where I was going with it.”
“Then we might just be able to win this then.” Chris exclaimed.
“Perhaps,” Avery said looking at Rebecca gather her things.

“You should’ve known better than to try that Rebecca.” Avery said beside her at the restaurant that all the lawyers always frequented. And where there’s lawyers, the press isn’t too far behind. She gave a slight smile and looked up at him.
“Sit down. I know you want to.”
“You’re awfully generous,” Avery said sitting down. She shrugged and pushed the basket of rolls over to him.
“I figured we’d have to talk eventually.” She said.
“So Rebecca, how’re we going to do this? Lie to each other until we’re too tired to talk? Or are we going to tell the truth to one another for once?”
“I did love you.”
“Then what changed? Your paycheck?”
“I didn’t want to fight with you constantly over cases. I knew we’d just end up divorced like so many other lawyers.”
“You didn’t even think about the reason why you got it.”
“It was offered to you first. They told me after I accepted the offer. Tell me Charles, why did you turn it down?”
“I don’t like putting people in prison. You do.”
“I fight for justice, Charles.”
“And you think I don’t?!” Avery exploded. He reeled in his emotions and leveled his gaze at Rebecca. For once, she had tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. She was truthfully saddened by the way he’d reacted.
“I apologize. I shouldn’t have exploded like that.” Avery said.
“What happened to us Charles? Why do we always argue now whenever we see each other? In court, out of court….”
They remained silent as the waiter delivered Rebecca’s food and got an order from Avery. After the waiter was out of earshot, Avery looked at Rebecca and swallowed. It was suicide to bring this up, but he had to try.
“Do you really think that he killed someone?”
“Your client? I believe what the evidence tells me.” Rebecca said. She sipped her red wine and looked at him.
“He didn’t do it.”
“Charles, don’t fight this. I have enough to crucify you alive. Besides, I….”
“You what?”
“It can wait until after the trial, Charles.” She said. Avery took his plate from the waiter and prepared to dig in when the waiter raised his hand.
“Mr. Avery, before you begin, there’s a phone call for you.”
“From?”
“He refuses to say sir.” Avery excused himself and walked over to one of the three payphones along the wall by the restrooms. He picked up the receiver on the one that was hanging loose.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Avery, I don’t have much time, but Mr. Thomas didn’t kill that man.”
“And how do you know this?”
“Because I saved Mr. Thomas from getting murdered himself that night.” Avery swallowed and tried to think of a way to address the man.
“Can you record a statement for me in my office?”
“Mr. Avery, if they find out that I even told you this much I’m a dead man.”
“Why’s that?” The line went dead and Avery hung up the receiver. A nickel came out of the phone which he took and flipped it about in his hand. There was more to this trial than he first expected.
* * *
“Your honor, I’d like to call Mr. Thomas to the stand.” Avery said. This was their last chance to swing the jury back to their side. They just had to hope that Rebecca wouldn’t ask the one question that would scare Thomas to the point of panic.
“Mr. Thomas, do you recall where the guard to the parking lot was when you arrived?”
“There wasn’t one there, sir.”
“Was there anybody in the parking lot Mr. Thomas?”
“Not that I...wait a minute, yes, there was someone.”
“Who?” Avery asked.
“I didn’t recognize him. However, he was driving a very rare car.”
“How do you know it was rare?”
“Objection! Where is this going you Honor?” Rebecca protested.
“If you’ll permit me it’ll show itself in my next question.” Avery stated quickly.
“I’ll allow it this time.” Avery turned back to Thomas.
“It was rare because it was produced back in 1942. There’s only a handful of those cars remaining.”
“And what is your job Mr. Thomas?”
“I’m an acclaimed antique car appraiser and dealer. I work daily with old cars, and know everything about them.”
“No further questions your Honor.” Avery sat down and looked over at Rebecca. He immediately saw something that concerned him. She sat there thinking. She gave a slight nod to the judge signaling that she had no questions. Chris grabbed Avery’s shoulder alarmed.
“What’s she doing?”
“I don’t know.” Avery replied honestly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she shuffled papers about. He’d only seen that once before when she worked beside him. It was a sign that she….
“She’s stumped. She now is questioning whether or not he is guilty.”
“How do you know Mac?”
“She knows something that we don’t.” Avery looked at the judge who was staring at him. It was obvious that there was something that he wished to say.
“Mr. Avery, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to ask your client a question for my own curiosity. The jury will not hear or use this to either convict or acquit the defendant.” He now turned to Thomas. “Mr. Thomas, how much did you have to drink?”
“Not nearly enough your Honor.” A small roll of laughter filtered through the courtroom as a smile appeared on the faces of the jury and the judge himself.
“Very well. I’ll call a recess until tomorrow for closing arguments.”
* * *
Avery sat alone in his office staring at the typed document that was his closing arguments. He had one chance to deliver this properly, and he wanted it to count. He went over the lines in his head slowly savoring each sentence like it was a nice bottle of aged wine. He knew how Rebecca would end her side. She always used the same thing. At least he used different ones created for that specific case.
Chris passed Avery’s door on his way out. He looked as tired as Avery felt. Then again, he hadn’t looked in the mirror recently, so he might very well be the same looking. He pushed the sheet of paper away from him as he leaned back in his chair. He gazed at the photo of his sister and thought back to the days that they shared together. All of the memories flooded back to him making him smile.
“Charles, may I come in?”
“Depends Rebecca.”
“I want to apologize to you.”
“About?” He asked leaning forward over his desk.
“Mr. Thomas is innocent.”
“And why do you say that?”
“The car. It was a rare classic. It was noted as fleeing the scene by coincidence the night of the murder.”
“The real murderers got away in it,” Avery said. She nodded and looked down at her shoes. It was obvious that there was more that she wished to say, but she didn’t know how to go about it. She shuffled her feet and looked at him.
“Go ahead Rebecca. Say it.”
“I moved to drop the charges. My boss fired me because of it.”
“But you’re still there for the closing arguments,” Avery said confused.
“Yeah. I’m to read what they write.”
“At least we both know that we gave it our all.” She grinned and laid her briefcase down on one of the chairs. She sat down in the other folding her hands in her lap. The scene was one similar to last time they were in this office.
“Charles, I was wondering if we could….”
“Could what? Get back together again?” She paused and nodded. He sighed and shook his head.
Despite what he wanted, he knew that they’d be bickering constantly. Unless they were on the same side, it wouldn’t work out. He knew it, she knew it, the whole world knew it. What he was doing was the most logical thing to do. Even if his heart was being ripped to shreds because of said decision. She shook her head and clarified the situation beyond what he knew.
“Charles, your firm’s accepted my offer as a replacement lawyer for the one that took my job.”
“Well then, that changes things.” He said, a grin spreading slowly across his lips. She returned the grin and tossed her briefcase off of the chair into the wastebin. Avery burst into laughter and leaned back in his chair. Rebecca also began laughing.
Within a few moments, their laughter filled the office infecting it further. Avery covered his eyes and wiped away the tears from his laughter. She was also wiping away tears, but still laughing loudly. Perhaps things were looking up for them. Maybe they could be together. The thought looked promising to him.

Avery sat behind the defense desk taking one last look over his closing statements for the last run through. Chris sat next to him also looking over paperwork involved in the case. Mr. Thomas sat next to Chris looking worried as to what the jury might think after the last argument. The judge entered and sat down behind his desk looking over the room before looking squarely at Avery.
“Mr. Avery, you don’t happen to know where Ms. Sloan is currently do you?”
“No, your Honor, I do not.”
“I sorry your Honor, there was a traffic jam. I’m here now.” She said rushing into the courtroom.
“I’d like to begin Ms. Sloan.”
“Yes sir.” She placed her stuff down and composed herself. She walked to in front of the jury and began her closing argument.
“She sounds different,” Chris stated in a whisper to Avery.
“How so?”
“Like it’s too fake. Not a real thing.”
“Because the DA wrote it.” Avery said. He turned his head slightly to see the DA himself standing in the back of the room by the door. He was wearing a black suit, red tie, and had a pin in the lapel of his suit jacket. Most likely the pin saying who he is to all of the people in the courthouse.
“Mr. Avery.” The judge said as Rebecca sat down in her chair finished. Avery stood and crossed to in front of the jury.
“Gentlemen, and ladies of the jury. How do we know, that he was the one who killed the poor man? He was drunk, yes. He was covered in blood, yes. But imagine if you were in his shoes right now. You’ve just been arrested for being in a parking lot containing your car. You had been knocked unconcious, have no idea if you’re injured, or if you had dreamed the whole thing. You’re at the end of a murder trial in which you are the accused. That man sitting there has done nothing wrong.
“Had the police followed every lead that they had available to them? Perhaps. They asked all of the five people whom was present after the incident. They followed any connections to the victim to the accused and the others in the parking lot. They took and examined all of the evidence that was gathered for DNA evidence. But they didn’t follow up on that car. Why? We’ll never know. Maybe they thought it wasn’t important. I however think a rare car leaving the scene of a murder at a high rate of speed would be the first thing that the police would follow up on.
“Let us think this our reasonably. We’ve got a man accused of murder, a rare car leaving the scene most likely with the perportrators inside, and the police standing around the body, not even bothering to look at the car as it leaves. To me it looks like Mr. Thomas is an innocent man being accused of a crime in which the only fault he had was arriving at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Avery returned to his seat and nodded to the judge.
“People of the jury, you may now deliberate in private. Bailiff?”
“What now sir?”
“Now, Mr. Thomas, we wait.” Chris said beside him.

It had to of been the shortest jury deliberation in history in Dallas, because before Avery reached the doors of the courtroom, the jury was coming back in. He hurried to his seat as Mr. Thomas was brought back in. All of the press waited by the door like hungry wolves waiting for the sentence to be read. Rebecca was even on the edge of her seat as the judge was handed the note from the bailiff.
“People of the jury have you reached a decision in this case?” The judge asked. Avery and Chris hauled Thomas to his feet and held onto him to keep him from falling backward.
“We have your Honor. We the jury find the defendant, Richard Thomas….” the whole courtroom was filled with tense anticipation as time slowed.
The second hand on the clock beside the door that the jury had entered through was ticking by slower than it was before. Each second taking a minute to tick past. Sweat beads slowly cascaded down the faces of the audience from the heat within the room from the Texan sun high above. Their bodies leaning forward in their seats as if they could get closer to the answer by that means. Avery himself felt his heart beating inside of his chest slowly like the steady beat of a metronome.
“Not Guilty.” A sigh of relief escaped Thomas’ lips as a gasp escaped from the press as they started their recordings of what would be aired later that night. Avery smiled at Thomas as the guard undid his handcuffs and gave both Chris and Avery a big hug.
“Mr. Avery, I can’t thank you enough.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Not bad Charles.”
“Yeah Mac. Not too shabby.”
“I merely wish I knew who was in that car. Or what the car was for that matter.”
“That’s easy. It was a 1942 Lincoln Zephyr Continental. I’d only seen two in my life. Any cars from the war are extremely rare. Especially from 1942-1943.” Thomas said elated. Avery smiled again at him and turned to Rebecca.
“Perhaps the police would know who owns one.”
“If you’ll excuse me, my co-workers have a party for me.” Thomas said. Avery nodded as the man walked away to where the other car appraisers were waiting, all smiles.
“Too bad Rebecca. You were one helluva lawyer.” The DA said walking up, his hands in his pants pockets.
“I still am, and I look forward to versing you in open court.” He nodded to her with a slight grin, then turned his attention to Avery.
“Mr. Avery, my compliments.”
“Thank you.”
“I do think that the idea of the the rare car was an interesting piece of overlooked evidence. I’m sure next time we’ll have it right.”
“Perhaps.” Avery said. The DA walked away smiling as Avery gazed after him. A small remembrance clicked from a meeting long ago. Rebecca looked between Avery and Chris.
“Something wrong Charles?” She asked.
“Nope. It just occurred to me that his brother has a very similar voice, and is an antique car dealer himself.”
“So?” Chris asked. Avery shrugged and grabbed his briefcase looking at both of them in turn. He remembered the security camera footage from the parking lot.
“I find it a helluva coincidence that he was visiting here in Dallas in a 1942 Lincoln Zephyr Continental the night of the murder.” Avery said walking out the door into the hall with Rebecca and Chris following in a hurry. Avery’s smile spread across his lips as they scrambled to catch up to find out more. Just another day in the office.