Wing and a Prayer by Lawrence Kelter

Author:Lawrence Kelter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Down & Out Books

They found Lucius Breem waiting for them in the visitors’ room. He was a young black man with beaded dreadlocks—some of them bleached blond. His hands were thatched on the tabletop. His prison coveralls were too small to fit his large body and pulled at the seams. He was a big man—burly.

“You the New York lawyer everyone’s jawing about?” Breem asked in a deep Creole accent.

“Jawing about?” Vinny said. “I don’t know about that, but I have been getting a fair amount of publicity as of late.” He extended his hand. “Vincent LaGuardia Gambini. Pleased to meet you.”

“What about her?” Breem asked as he cast a gaze in Lisa’s direction. “She a lawyer too?”

“Actually no,” Vinny said. “This here is my associate, Ms. Vito. We work closely together.”

Breem rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Closely together, huh?” he said. “I guess you must be smarter than you look.”

“Oh yeah, well at least he ain’t in jail,” Lisa said, her eyes large and her nostrils flared. “You want to start judging people by their appearances? I got you figured for a—”

Vinny cut her off. “Maybe bite your tongue, Lisa?” He pulled out a chair and sat down. Lisa followed suit but continued to glare at Breem with her arms folded in front of her.

“Mr. Breem, I’m here about the Valentine Alexandrine murder trial. I’ve been asked to pick up where you left off. Would you be good enough to tell me what happened?”

Breem smiled. “No.”

“No? Why not?” Vinny asked. “You’re a member of the Louisiana bar, I believe. You took an oath, didn’t you? ‘I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay unjustly the cause of any person.’ Those words mean anything to you?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Lisa asked. “Why don’t they mean nothing to you?”

“First of all, I’m a lawyer, not a doctor. I didn’t take the Hippocratic Oath. I didn’t pledge, ‘First do no harm.’ The lawyer’s oath is a joke, a formality that stands between the prospective attorney and a shit pile of money. That’s it.”

“I don’t agree with your interpretation,” Vinny said. “What about the fact that a young man is on trial for his life and you’re jeopardizing his chances for acquittal?”

“I don’t think he gives a shit, Vinny,” Lisa said. “I think he wants something.” She edged closer in her chair. “That it, Breem? You want something?”

“I knew you were the smart one,” he said. “You scratch my back…”

Lisa wrinkled her nose. “The very idea of scratching your back fat…don’t you even think about it.”

“Mr. Breem, before we begin discussing any sort of quid pro quo arrangement, why don’t you tell us exactly what landed you in the joint and made it necessary for you to retire as young Valentine’s attorney?”

“It was my church,” Breem said.

“Your church?” Lisa seemed confused. “I’ve been going to mass since I was a little girl and I don’t remember anyone getting put behind bars because of it.”

“Yeah, maybe you’d better explain,” Vinny said.

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