In truth Stavros felt that it was a miracle, nearly as good as an acquittal, and while it
was true that Napoleon Chotas would reap most of the benefit from it, the peripheral
fallout would still be tremendous. From this moment on Stavros would have his choice of
clients, and each time he told the story of the trial, his role in it would get bigger and
bigger.
“It sounds like a good deal,” Larry was saying. “The only thing is, we’re not guilty.
We didn’t kill Catherine.”
Frederick Stavros turned on him in a fury. “Who gives a damn whether you’re guilty
or not?” he shouted. “We’re making you a present of your life.” He shot a quick glance at
Chotas to see if he had reacted to the “we” but the lawyer was listening, his attitude one of
aloof neutrality.
“I want you to understand,” Chotas said to Stavros, “that I am only advising my
client. Your client is free to make his own decision.”
“What would have happened to us without this deal?” Larry asked.
“The jury would have—” Frederick Stavros began.
“I want to hear it from him,” Larry interrupted, curtly. He turned to Chotas.
“In a trial, Mr. Douglas,” Chotas replied, “the most important factor is not innocence
or guilt, but the impression of innocence or guilt. There is no absolute truth, there is only
the interpretation of truth. In this case it does not matter whether you are innocent of
murder, the jury has the impression of guilt. That is what you would have been convicted
for, and in the end you would have been just as dead.”
Larry looked at him for a long moment, then nodded. “OK,” he said. “Let’s get it
over with.”
Fifteen minutes later the two defendants stood before the judges’ bench. The
President of the Court was seated in the center, flanked by the two justices. Napoleon
Chotas stood next to Noelle Page and Frederick Stavros stood at the side of Larrv
Douglas. The courtroom was charged with an electric tension, for word had flashed about
the room that a dramatic development was about to take place. But when it came, it caught
everyone completely off guard. In a formal, pedantic voice, as though he had not just
made a secret bargain with the three jurists on the bench, Napoleon Chotas said, “Mr.
President, Your Honors, my client wishes to change her plea from not guilty to guilty.”
The President of the Court leaned back in his chair and stared at Chotas in surprise,
as though he were hearing the news for the first time.
He’s playing it to the hilt, Noelle thought. He wants to earn his money, or whatever it
is Demiris is paying him off with.
The President leaned forward and consulted with the other justices in a flurry of
whispers. They nodded and the President looked down at Noelle and said, “Do you wish
to change your plea to guilty?”