Chapter 33 Section thirty-two

Kenson was in a suit, sitting at the kitchen table.He poured them both some coffee, but they didn't touch it until the cups were cold. Hardy sat between the dining table and the sink.He moved his chair back a little, putting one ankle on the other knee. "Did you tell Grisky about it, too?" "Yes, of course. Why didn't I? That's the truth. Gosh, Deeds, why do we keep going back and forth on this? There's nothing to say!" Hardy took a breath, stabilized his emotions, and then let it out.Although it was just a suspicion, he guessed that Judith might have misremembered, and what she remembered was not the night when the incident happened. "Actually, Eric, the reason I let it go is that you never told me that Dr. Cohen was with you that night and slept through the night. It's hard for me to see what you mean by that, Because she could have confirmed your alibi." His tone became harsh, "We can put this aside for now. Or you should go and find yourself another lawyer."

Kenson's eyes flickered quickly, then calmed down. "When I got home, she was already asleep." He paused, scratching his fingernails on the dining table, "I didn't wake her up, so she didn't know I was back. I don't want her to know that." Hardy said nothing, waiting to see if Kenson would ask the obvious question.But seeing that it was impossible to wait, he had no choice but to raise this question himself. "Would you be interested to know how I found out she was with you?" Kenson didn't answer. "I spoke to her, and I asked her, how was it? It was last night. When you got home, she was asleep, and you were right. But it wasn't ten-thirty, was it? ?It was after one o'clock in the morning. Are you going to tell me she's lying?"

Kensen made a bluffing move, intending to continue fooling around, but he only lasted for about five seconds, and then the momentum quickly disappeared without a trace.His shoulders slumped, and his head drooped, in a dejected manner.He got up and walked to the sink behind Hardy, completely out of Hardy's sight, and Hardy didn't turn his head to look at him.Suddenly, Hardy felt as if a cool wind was blowing on his neck, and his hairs stood on end in shock.He knew that a set of cooking knives hung from a magnet on the wall behind him, and that Kenson could pull one out without a problem, chopping before he had time to react.

Thinking of this, he immediately moved his body quickly like a conditioned reflex. His client didn't face him at all, which made Hardy feel a little ashamed for a moment.Kenson stretched out his hands and propped himself on the edge of the sink, staring fixedly out of the window.Finally, he said in a hoarse voice, "Seven years, I've been decent and sober, Deeds. Seven years, day by day. Do you know how long it was?" He smiled wryly. "The answer is you don't know, no one knows." So last Tuesday, the man who ruined my marriage and took my children from me showed up in my department, and three hours later He just died. Just died like that. It's the power of God, as far as I know. There's finally justice, there's finally some fairness. But then me and Kara and Driscoll have a rowdy fight in the hospital for a while , it was a mess. Then Ann came to me. She just went crazy and said I killed him, and for a moment I really wondered if I wasn't doing everything I could to keep him alive."

He stopped, poured a full glass of water into the glass, drank it down, and wiped his mouth with his hand. "Anyway, I don't know how I got through the rest of the day. I went to Carla's house, trying to find an appropriate occasion to express my apologies for what had happened. The policeman later , Bracco, talked a lot to me outside Kara's house, and it seemed like someone had laid hands on Tim. But then I left and drove home. I even got home and put the car Parked outside on the street. I saw the lights were on in my house and knew Judith was there." Kenson let out a long sigh. "Then I went down to Haas' bar and had a drink. Two actually. Scotch and soda. Just sitting there, drinking it slowly, and it was the best thing I've ever tasted. And then Had a drink, for the health of that handsome Mr. Markham, and it was beautiful. God, it was so good." He went back to the table and sat down. "And another glass , this one is for those lost nights, my child, Ann, and all the bad breath I've had from her. Fast for Parnassus, for my life now, for pretending to be some paragon of learning Healed some of the guilt, had another 2 or 3 drinks, another drink for everything is a lie and I'm a liar. The next couple of drinks for me being an alcoholic and a loser, myself I drank it like that. At the end, when I wanted to order another drink, the barman, God bless him, wouldn't let me have another drink. He said the bar was closing, and if I needed it, he even Willing to take me home."

"Do you think he remembers you?" Hardy asked. "He remembers, no doubt. But if it gets out, I'll lose my job, and I won't be looking for another anytime soon." Hardy thought about it for a while. "You understand that this is your alibi for the murder, Eric." Kensen insisted: "It can't be said." Hardy looked at him disappointedly. "Then you better hope Grisky hasn't talked to Judith." "If he had done that, I would have told him that she was mistaken and that she was not talking about the night it happened." The conversation that followed was simple and took place in the lobby of the judicial building.On their respective drives downtown, the two of them had had enough time to clear their heads, though Hardy was uncomfortably aware that Judith Cohen now had no alibi at the time of Kara's death.But he had no intention of bringing the matter up to his client, and it was not this morning.He had other, more pressing concerns.

He starts by reminding Kenson of some things that need attention.He told Kenson that there was no real evidence linking him to Markham's death or Kara's death.Trials are about evidence.If the prosecutor was self-righteous enough to dwell on the question of motives—the possible motives—Hardy told Kenson that he should answer those questions politely.He doesn't need to be provocative, and he doesn't want to argue, just get to the point. "And the key point, Eric, is to remove yourself from the list of suspects that could become a reality." The admonition continues.Hardy again blandly warned his client to tell the truth, even when it came to the situations most likely to discredit him — between him and Markham, between Markham and Ann, between him and Parnassus The things that are not known to outsiders—to tell all the facts too, especially the circumstances of his going to the bar on the night of Carla's death.Whether Eric believes it or not, the truth is his best friend who proves his innocence.Moreover, protecting the privacy of witnesses is also the duty of the grand jury.

"You mean they won't tell the secret?" Hardy didn't want to admit it, but he did it against his will. "Yes, anything can get out. But grand juries really don't give away witness secrets very often. If you're low key, explain the situation, and don't draw undue attention to yourself, it's a good thing." It will pass, and you will no longer be a suspect from now on." He had to make Kenson understand that. "Even if you stopped for a drink at a bar after a stressful day, why would a grand jury care? Well, you're an alcoholic and shouldn't be drinking, but it's not drinking that's a crime, it's murder."

It was necessary for Hardy to make him understand this crucial point.Where they stand now, there is only one step away from the wall where the names of the murdered policemen are engraved.At this time, there were only the two of them in the hall, and it seemed a little quiet.It was past nine o'clock now, and Kenson had to go upstairs at nine-thirty.In that cave-like hall, more and more traffic policemen, lawyers, and people crowded in, and the stream was endless. The scene looked like a large group of street people gathered together.Hardy took a step closer to his client, forcing Kenson to step back, leaning his back against the wall.He faced Kenson, keeping him firmly in his line of sight.

"Listen to me, Eric. You're a smart guy, but right now the fear and confusion in you is working against you. I don't blame you for being sullen. A moment of fear, but don't lose your bearings in the fight against those nineteen jurors. You're a doctor, an upright citizen, a witness who voluntarily cooperated with the police in a murder. You can't be a suspect because You weren't there when Carla was shot. You were somewhere else, somewhere special to you. That didn't matter. Once those jurors heard that, the psychological advantage was all there You are here. As long as you are not in the place where Karamakam was killed, you will not have much impact anywhere, and you will not have enough value to be reported by the media and leaked, just like no one cares what your department is What color tie is the same. If you can put a curse on the fact that you went to that bar and got a drink, there is only one person who can do it, and that's you. So don't let that prosecutor get involved, it's Malinya Why, don't let her paint you as a killer. That's not you, not the real you, and not really you." At this point, Hardy's finger was on Kenson's chest, " You go in, trust me, and do as I tell you."

But his client still didn't fully understand his words. "Is it worth risking my career?" Hardy thought for a while, and replied in a steady tone: "If you go there to hide something, the jurors will smell you, and when the lies inevitably come out, you will Already guilty of perjury, that's a felony. Go out there and tell the truth and act like a clean man, that's how you get out of there safe and sound. If they catch you a lie, and if you give Grisky the chance, he will prove it to you, and you may be charged. In that case, you perjure yourself, you are still a drunk, and you may You're about to be charged with a murder. Where's your career then?" Marlene Ashe had two agenda sheets and no doubt she would use one of them for the first day of the jury hearing.Abgriski's prime suspect in one of the murders was sitting at a table next to the one she was standing on.While taking into account Clarence Jackman's opinion and the agreement they had made with Hardy, she simply did not believe that a general doctor on Parnassus' team of doctors would have any inside knowledge of the group's forged bills.As such, she is prepared to sue Manpower from murder. In the past few days, she has spent a lot of time poring over the computer printouts provided by Parnassus, most of which are related to Kenson, his wife who broke with him, and his relationship with Markham. related.In short, it makes people feel a little uncomfortable.There is no doubt that these two men hate each other.Ironically, according to Marlene, based solely on the contents of one of the parties' letters, Kenson's behavior seems to have become more reckless and more dangerous during the heated fight between his ex-wife and Markham.It looks like Markham is going out of his way to give Kenson what he wants—with the subtext that if Kenson doesn't do what he wants, he'll make their affair public. Now, with all this available ammunition in his hands, it seems unlikely that Yash will have the success he wants.So far, she has questioned Kenson for an hour, and Kenson has honestly rebutted each of her attacks with factual and reasonable answers. Under Markham's aegis -- as Markham's letters have made clear -- he's never worried about losing his job.The relationship between Markham and his wife didn't allow for that to happen, so he didn't have the opportunity to worry about losing his job.In fact, Markham's death has put his job in jeopardy.With Dr. Ross in power, he is currently being placed on leave, confirming that Markham has been his protector, not his threat, despite his reluctance. At one point he was furious with Tim and his wife.Of course.Who doesn't like this when encountering such a thing?But in fact, he is now satisfied with this relationship and accepts the status quo.Looking back, he realized that his wife's departure was also an opportunity for him.Thinking about it this way, I no longer have to worry about this matter, and I am indignant.If anything, it's that he's handled it a little better than Ann.The divorce proceeded in a friendly atmosphere, and they walked around each other. Ms Yash was misled by the wrong information she got.Kenson and his ex-wife didn't fight this past weekend.Ann just had a little accident.He has not formally filed charges against her, and she has not filed any charges against him.She was emotionally hurt, resentful, and wanted to vent because Tim Markham left her last week.Her rage was understandable because of his passing.Kenson looked after the children until she got home and dropped them off. Just two days before, he and Ann had talked for hours.It is regrettable that the police misunderstood the incident. Ms Yash was once again misled by the wrong information she got.He never admitted that he killed Tim Markham.Yes, of course not.He wasn't sure Ann thought what she was hearing was true.She may have misunderstood his intentions.It hadn't occurred to him to discuss her testimony with her beforehand because his lawyer had told him not to. He readily admits that the Emily baby incident had exacerbated an already strained relationship between him and Parnassus.In that case, he just did the right thing to do, but in doing so he pissed off the mercenaries in the company.Money and treatment is a ubiquitous topic in the medical world.He is a doctor and makes no secret of his opinions and positions on this issue.He asked: Does this make him guilty? He's come here on his own initiative, he can use the Fifth Amendment, and he doesn't.He wanted to clear up the lies and clear his name so he could get back to his old life and continue serving his patients. "Well, then, Dr. Kenson," said Marlene Ash finally, "you're the last person to see a living Karamakam, aren't you?" "I can't say so, ma'am, I think that man should have been his murderer." A burst of laughter broke out among the jurors. "When did you leave the Markham house on the night Mr. Markham died?" "One past ten." "Isn't it true that you told Captain Griski that you then drove straight home?" "Yes, ma'am, that's what I told the captain." He took a breath, and said the following words, "but that's not true." He put his hands on the table in front of him, and clasped his fingers tightly. together, told the jurors what he never wanted to say, "Captain Griski asked me about it. I didn't want to tell him where I was. I told it to my attorney After that he told me that today I will take an oath to tell the truth. He said my testimony will be protected and you guys will keep my secret. I'm sorry I lied to the captain and I didn't go straight home .The truth is, I'm an alcoholic and..." Fisk and Bracco decided their first priority was to gather the facts they hadn't been able to gather before.In order to do this with maximum efficiency, they should split up.They assigned their visit targets by drawing lots.Bracco drew Brendan Driscoll, who called him from the Justice Building and made an appointment to talk.The suspect seemed happy to meet with the police and readily accepted Bracco's request. Driscoll was fully dressed, waiting for the door visit.He wore straight-line trousers and a sleek mid-part, and he had his coat and tie on.This outfit looks like it's about to go out.When he heard the knock on the door and opened the door, the first thing Bracco asked was if he was planning to go out somewhere. Bracco was a little surprised by the answer he got. "I don't know you, do I?" "No, I don't think so." He flashed his badge. "Detective Braco, homicide." "Yes, I know, come in, come in." They walked down the hallway on the left side of the duplex to the front living room.It was an open and bright place, with plain white walls and the setting sun streaming in through the open windows, making the rooms appear larger than they really were.In the corner, water was trickling and chugging down a Japanese-style stone statue. Braco suddenly felt a strong uneasiness in his heart.He couldn't recall where he'd seen the man before, but no doubt he recognized the face.At this moment, they looked at each other, feeling a little familiar.Driscoll pointed to a chair and motioned for Bracco to sit down, then leaned back against the corner of the sofa, looking lazy, with one arm raised on the cushion.Bracco took out the tape recorder he brought with him, pressed the record button, and put it in the tray on the glass coffee table.It was a nice tray, big and flat, covered with white gauze and smooth stones. After a quick, standard opening remark as usual, he looked at the possible suspect again and said, "I'm going to get straight to the point, Mr. Driscoll. I know that my husband was killed in Calamakam." That day, you stayed at her house from afternoon to night." "Yes, that's true." "Do you remember what you did later that night?" The question obviously caught Driscoll by surprise and displeased him. "What did I do? Why am I asking this?" "If you can answer that question." "Well, I can't answer the question without getting a reason. Why do you want to know what I did after that night? I think you came here to talk to me about Dr. Ross, or Dr. Kenson, about Aye. Mr Lyot may have discovered something from the papers I gave him." "Jeff Elliott? You gave him something?" Driscoll had to regain his composure somewhat after the rash faux pas. "Some of the dossiers I work with. Evidence, I suppose you'd call it. And when I tell the grand jury about it, they don't seem interested in it." "Do you think there is any evidence in these files concerning Markham's death?" "Absolutely, of course, of course." "Then do you have a copy here?" Driscoll hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "No. I gave them all to Mr Elliot." Bracco didn't believe this at all. "Then why do you think I came here to talk to you about them?" "I thought you must have talked to him." "No." Braco looked Driscoll in the eye. "But maybe I'll do that." "On second thought, he probably won't show them to you. Because of the secrecy of the source, you know. But I can call him and get them back, and let you know about it What is something." "That might help the case," Bracco said, "or we could file for a search warrant and we'll go through them ourselves." Driscoll shook his head arrogantly, looking disapproving. "You're too late, Sergeant. By now, Ross has come and cleaned out everything that was useful. Anything about him and Tim, anyway." "But you said you had and gave them to Jeff Elliott." Driscoll shrugged smugly. "I haven't read them all, but some of them are certainly interesting, if you know what I mean. He does plan to fire Ross, you know?" "Markham?" "I'm sure he got kickbacks for putting the drug on the drug list. After the Slustop drug thing, Tim already knew about it too. Tim just needs to get more before he's charged directly. evidence, but if you read between the lines, you can see that the cooperation between them is completely over." Regardless of whether he still had copies of the files he had obtained, or what they might have contained, Braco decided not to press Driscoll on those questions.His purpose in coming here today was to talk about what happened on Tuesday night, so he returned to the subject. "I still want to know what you've been doing since you left the Markham house." When Driscoll heard this, his eyes widened at first, looking like he was about to lose his temper, and then he gave in and sighed. "Okay then. After that, I'm back here, my home." "Thanks, when was that?" "I don't know. Nine, nine-thirty. You see, my whole world fell apart. I couldn't tell the time." Bracco nodded nonchalantly. "Are you alone?" Brendan raised a hand to his forehead, closed his eyes and remained silent for a while, as if he was trying to remember something. "Yeah. Roger was working late and hadn't come home, which he's been doing lately. But I called him, and he was crackling numbers at the time, no customers on hand, we can Talk. At least we could talk. It was the worst day ever. I almost ran to his bank just to be with him, but he told me he was coming back home." "Did you call him at the bank where he worked after nine-thirty?" "Yes, I was disturbed, very disturbed." "Have you talked to Roger for a while?" "I don't know. It seems short, but you know how it is. I just can't tell you how long it was. It really is." Rose had no trouble recalling what happened.He told Fisk: "I was talking to Jeff Elliott in the office, and it was pretty late. I don't know the exact time, maybe nine o'clock, maybe. I tell you, it was hell. Days. Then he finally finished the interview, but he didn't really end his time with me until he wrote that damn column, and by the end of the interview I didn't feel like I was getting dizzy, I couldn't even stand, so I got in the car and drove home." Fisk's young and serious face was full of sorrow, with a gloomy look on his face. "So you got home about half-past nine?" "Yes, probably. Any questions?" Fisk scratched behind him. "Only, sir, I think your wife said you didn't get home until after midnight that night." Rose thought about it, then smiled dryly. "No. She confused that night with another. I used to come home in the middle of the night, and she probably thought that was the time I usually came home. It wasn't too far off that time though. Maybe ten Come on, no more than this time." Grisky had tried to relinquish some of the administrative work he had been doing, but this morning he unexpectedly arrived at the office to start work.For three hours, he kept his head down, working on such minutiae as checking the mileage data his agents had transcribed from city-registered cars.At this time, he chewed the last bite of rice cake dryly, and took a sip of the tea in the cup that was cooled to the same temperature as the room.So he looked delighted when Marlene Ash knocked on the door and came in. He happily leaned back and pushed aside the paperwork in front of him. "You've done it," he said. She closed the door softly, then turned to face him leaning against the wall from which the door had come in, arms folded across her chest. "Waiting for the results of his alibi, I think in a few hours. Dr. Kenson is no longer a suspect, at least in Kara's case. And that would mean Same with Markham's death, I would have thought so." Griski gave her a sideways look and shook his head disapprovingly. "He has no alibi." "He didn't tell you. He asked the grand jury to keep it a secret for him." "Will I talk to anyone?" "He wanted to make sure of that." "And you believe it to be authentic. What is his evidence?" Yash let go of his arms and took a folding chair from Grisky's desk and sat down. "You know that man in the movie 'Old West' who was sleeping with his best friend's wife when the murder happened? The story about the man who hanged himself because he didn't want to admit where he was when it happened Is it? It's kind of like the movie, except it doesn't involve sleeping." "Is he somewhere he shouldn't be?" "It's close to that, Abu. But that place has something to do with where I want to be now, even to you. If it gets out later—which happens often—I hope by then I'll To be able to say he never sold his soul. I believe it to be true, pretty sure. He didn't do that." Grisky still sat back in his chair, facing the fact in silence for a long time. "This is one of the few times that I understand the benefits of blasphemy. Are you really satisfied with the conclusion that he can't be at Kara's house? Who will test the authenticity of this conclusion?" "Not at ten-forty-five, Abu. Unless that's an implausible time, and one of my agents is out now to check it out." Even though Griski had obtained information on Hardy, he went back and talked to Frank Husik afterwards.He considered the man's testimony beyond doubt and the time of Carla's death established.If Kenson hadn't been home at ten forty-five, he would be innocent.He would work hard to find out where the doctor was at that time, but he knew in his heart that he couldn't get answers from Marlene Ash. "Thank you for being smart," he told her. "Have you got anything else you wanted?" "No way, Abu. I'm going to talk to Parnassus' accountant this afternoon, and maybe a few board members. I've got to widen the net and make some progress on the money side, or Clarence won't Happy. His deal with Dismas didn't get us anything useful, so now he's a little bit displeased." "That got me something," Grisky said, with a tone of horror. "It's a good thing I didn't arrest him. Now it seems like a good idea." That's indisputable, Marlene went on, "Well, anyway, I've issued subpoenas for all their financial files for the past three years, and we'll see who can make a claim on them. Satisfactory explanation. I'm going straight to the grand jury to uphold the proposal to investigate this hoax. Maybe I'll go back to prosecuting that murder charge, but right now my priority..." "What are you two guys talking about?" To be precise, Bracco and Fisk didn't actually talk.They came back from the outside after their respective visits, and they happened to meet in the corridor.Their voices at the desk had drawn the Captain out of his office, where he was meeting with Ash. "Nothing, sir, I'm sorry." Darrell Braco was reluctant to turn on his partner, even though he was rather disappointed in him. "It doesn't sound like you said nothing." Griskey was at their desk, with a car taillight in the center.He looked down at them, first at this and then at that. In the end, Fix couldn't help but speak first. "Malachy Ross told me when he got home that Tuesday night, but the time was not quite the same as his wife said." "So Harlan told Rose the time she said." Bracco finished for Harlan. "Did you tell him?" Griski lowered his voice as if he had been shocked.Yash had already walked out of Griski's office, standing right behind him, shaking his head when he heard these words, looking helpless. Fisk nodded. "She said midnight, and he said ten o'clock. So he said she was wrong, she remembered wrongly." "And right after, Harlan went out, and he called her." Braco was very disappointed by his partner's mistake, "I guess it must be like this, how much do you want to bet?" "Okay, Darrell." Griski looked at Fisk unexpectedly patiently. "Usually, when you get conflicting testimony from two witnesses—especially In a relationship like a marriage — you shouldn’t tell someone what one person says until you can put them together and confront each other about their testimony face-to-face. It’s counterproductive.” "Yes, sir, now I see what you mean. I made a mistake. Do you think he has called his wife?" "Absolutely," Bracco said. Ash spoke behind Grisky. "Do you have her number? You can call and ask her personally." Fisk said he thought he might give it a try.While he was on the phone, Bracco began reporting to Grisky about his visit to Brendan Driscoll.Ash interjected when he heard about the letters and computer files. "What are these documents? He never mentioned them when he testified before the grand jury." "He told me you didn't ask." "How could I possibly ask? I didn't know they existed on computers outside the company. What did he do, steal them?" "I deduce that he emailed them to his computer before he was fired." "Then he stole them. Are they still in his house?" "My feeling is that those disks are still there anyway." Ash turned to Grisky and said, "We need that, Abu." "Jeff Elliott has them," Braco reminded. "Forget it," Grisky said, "he's a reporter. We're never going to see this stuff from him." "Then we'll find a way to find the original in Driscoll's hand," Ash said. "Where are your search warrant forms? Are they here?" "You probably don't even need them," Braco told her. "Driscoll was just looking for a way to mess up Parnassus. He's bitter about what happened to him. He wants revenge on those people, especially the ones who make life difficult for Markham." Ash nodded and told them to get a search warrant anyway.Fisk came back from the phone call and joined them with a dejected look on his face. "She denied that he called her. She said she remembered wrongly and that she had changed her mind. She was glad I called her. She was about to call me about it. ”他神情悲戚地看了看自己周围的人，“她说他是十点钟到家的。” “他给她打了电话，”布拉科打了个响指，没好气地说道。 “这没什么大不了的。”肯森被排除了作案嫌疑后，格里斯基就陷入了一种听天命的情绪中。 “无论如何，老婆本来就不会在法庭上说不利于自己丈夫的证言。我们并没有失去任何东西。不像在肯森这件事情上。” 那两个探员你盯着我，我盯着你，面面相觑。“肯森怎么样了？”布拉科问道。 亚什再一次插了进来。“你们可以把他从你们的嫌疑对象名单上去掉了。在卡拉这起谋杀中他有不在犯罪现场的证据。我正在跟阿布讲这件事情。” 此话一出，所有人都陷入了沉默，还是布拉科打破了这阵静寂。“结果就是卡拉自己杀了自己吗？” Griski nodded. “看来像是那样。剩下的还有谁没有不在犯罪现场的证据吗？德里斯科尔怎么样？” “我今天上午问过他了，”布拉科说，“他那时候可能一直在打电话。” “给谁打？” “他的伙伴，罗格。我准备去核查他的电话记录。我已经把这事列入了待办事项之中。” 过了一会儿，菲斯克的精神头又上来了。“我不知道你是否已经听说了，上尉，我们已经在肇事车辆这条线上取得了一些进展。” 哈迪本来应该感到欢欣鼓舞的，毕竟，他的委托人不再是嫌疑对象了。他仍旧待在司法楼五楼，避免跟格里斯基或杰克曼碰面寒暄，他就坐在那间警察委员会委员听证室外面的一张长条椅上，一直等到肯森从里面出来才离开。埃里克告诉了他事情的经过，几乎跟哈迪预料的一样。 这两个男人一路来到了约翰酒吧，准备以享用午餐的形式来庆祝他们取得的胜利，但庆功宴完全变成了一桩严肃的公事。哈迪自己是这么认为的，他做了一些不动声色的巧妙的努力，试图让埃里克说出有关他女朋友的情况来。朱迪思科恩跟马卡姆的关系处得怎么样？跟罗斯的关系处得怎么样？跟帕纳塞斯的所有问题，与钱有关的问题，等等，与肯森遇到如此多的困难有什么关系？他们有什么共同的打算——如果有的话？ 埃里克都合情合理地一一作了回答。科恩在波托拉任职仅仅一年时间，之前她在哥伦比亚度过了住院医生实习期，并在约翰霍普金斯医院做实习医师，随后又参加无国界医生组织安排的服务活动，一次是在非洲，另一次是在南美，每次为期四个月。 “你知道的，就是那个无国界医生组织，不过她总是用法语来读这个名字，在她的房间里和车子的保险杠上，到处都有这个组织的招贴画。她以说自己的语言——法语和西班牙语——为荣。而且她是那个组织的狂热支持者，真的。我想她已经说服了我下次跟她一起去，地点是尼日利亚，就在今年夏天。然而，天知道在这个国家还有多少事要做。不过要是帕纳塞斯确实要让我走人……还有我的孩子们，我不知道他们会如何对待这件事。记住，决定容易作，可是事情有那么简单吗？” 他们互相道别之后，哈迪站在洒满阳光的艾利斯大道上，大概就在他的办公室和《旧金山纪事报》大楼之间。这事该结束了，他心里清楚，不过不知道什么原因，这事并没有结束。这种感觉不同于知道判决结果后那种发自内心的轻松感。这事没有结束，现在还没有。 有人谋杀了马卡姆和他的家人。有人在波托拉谋杀了一连串的病人。 而且他跟格里斯基之间还有协议。他们正在共享掌握的情报，同时他自己心里清楚，阿布没有分享到该得的东西。这让他感到心里不痛快，而且多少感觉自己欠了朋友的，这真是荒唐可笑。因为哈迪已经帮了格里斯基一个大忙。 但不管这个案子情况有多复杂，他知道自己已经卷入得太深，不能退出了，即便没有委托人需要自己辩护。 这不可能是终点。事情还没有结束。