| |
Several days later, in the living room of his office, Dan sat opposite Ossie—with a checkered board between them. Jimmy was in the kitchen with Garrett. Maria and Camila huddled together, staring at Maria’s phone.
“Just got off the phone with Mr. K,” Garrett said. “He is very pleased with how this has worked out. He says we should all expect a handsome bonus this month, and that we should take some time off...”
“My kind of boss,” Maria said, poking at her phone screen.
“...and then be back in the office Monday morning. Because he has another case for us.”
Dan grinned. Sounded like business as usual in this crazy firm. He continued his lesson. “Okay, Ossie, those are the basics. Got it? Chess rules are pretty simple.”
Ossie smiled. “Thanks for explaining it to me.”
“It’s fun, once you understand it.”
“Fun? Really?”
“And good for developing valuable skills. Focus. Planning. Persistence. The rules are easy. Strategy is complex.”
“I think I’ve got the movements down.”
“The only complicated one is the knight.”
“The horse.”
“It’s called a knight.”
“Why? It looks nothing like a knight. The bishop looks more like a knight. This is a horse.”
“Be that as it may—”
“For that matter, the rook looks nothing like a rook. It’s a castle.”
“But we don’t—”
“When you switch it with the king, you call it castling. Why don’t we just call it a castle?”
He bit his lower lip. “Never mind.” He pushed the chessboard to the side. “Figured out what you want to do next?”
“Maybe...”
“You’ve been through a rough patch. Don’t let it define your future. Start fresh. Make yourself into whatever you want to be. Didn’t you tell me you wanted to be an astronaut?”
Ossie looked pensive, as if he were working up the courage to say something.
“You know you can tell me anything.”
“I know.” Ossie paused. “I’ve decided I want to be a lawyer. Like you.”
His eyes widened. “You do?”
“I made up my mind during the trial. If I survived, I promised myself I was going to dedicate my life to helping others who need it. Just like you helped me.”
He felt a strange itching behind the eyeballs. “Well...if you’re sure.”
“Problem is—college enrollment starts soon. And I have no academic record.”
“Take the GED. You’ll pass.”
“I don’t have a transcript.”
“I think I may be able to help with that,” Camila said from the kitchen. “A letter from the mayor should get you into any college around here.”
“Mr. K has promised to help, too,” Maria added. “And he seems to be able to get anything done.”
“Will he pay the tuition?”
“You don’t need it.” Dan paused. “Your grandfather has asked our firm to create a trust fund for you.”
“What? He doesn’t have to—”
“Shush. You’ve had a rocky start in life, which was in some part due to decisions and mistakes he and his family made. You deserve some assistance. The civil suit has been dropped and your grandfather has added you to his will. But even before the time comes to inherit your share of his fortune, you’ll have access to enough cash to live on.”
“You’re kidding!”
“I’ve got something else for you.” Camila walked over passed him an envelope.
Ossie opened it. “A party invitation?”
“Dolly Coleman is throwing a society ball. Fundraiser. For our new Athena Clinic.”
Ossie put the invite back in the envelope. “Wow. Thanks. That sounds...really boring.”
Camila laughed. “Yes. But the point is—the invitation came from Dolly. She’s reaching out to you. She wants you to be part of the family.”
Ossie’s eyes suddenly looked very wet. “I—don’t know what to say. This is all I’ve ever wanted.”
“I know.”
“I thought I was completely out of chances.” He grinned lopsidedly, tears welling up in his eyes. “Guess I still had one more.”
Dan clasped Camila’s hand. “And that is exactly what the Last Chance Lawyers are all about.”
* * *
Late that evening, Dan and Maria sat on the upstairs balcony of their office, watching the ocean lap the shore as the sun set, savoring a bowl of Dan’s homemade vanilla toffee ice cream.
“Dan,” she said, “this may be your greatest achievement yet.”
“The Coleman case?”
“No. The ice cream. Yum. But speaking of the case. There is one minor detail that no one has focused on.”
He laughed. “More than one, actually. Which are you talking about?”
“Ossie.” She paused. “If that is his real name.”
He nodded slowly. “We have no proof. We’re assuming Carl wouldn’t kill his own son. But that man was seriously, dangerously insane—a quality that appears to be prominent in that family tree. Maybe he noticed a resemblance and tried to pass off a kid he abducted as Ossie, using Harrison as a pawn. Carl’s final revenge against his father. There’s no way we can know and no one left to ask. Is the boy Harrison found at the cabin the true heir?”
“Or just a Carl abductee who fortunately managed to outlive his captor.”
“I don’t think ‘fortunate’ is the right word for anyone forced into that nightmare.”
“But still. Who can be sure about anything, given the state of this boy’s mind...assuming the memory loss hasn’t been an act from the beginning...”
He took another spoonful of ice cream and let it roll down his tongue. “But whoever he is, he needs a family. And Zachary wants to believe his grandson is alive. I know—that man made some horrible choices so I shouldn’t get too griefy about him. But still. He’s about to pass and he deserves some peace before the end. I think this is the perfect resolution.”
“I agree, but—does it make you feel like a failure? We didn’t really figure out who that boy is.”
“No. I feel like a huge success. Because I figured out who I am.”
She squinted. “If you didn’t know, you should’ve asked me. You’re St. Pete’s courtroom Jiminy Cricket—”
“But for the right reasons. Not because I have to be. Not because I’m defined by a tragedy in my past. Because that’s who I choose to be. That’s what my father was telling me—well, in a dream. Or a memory, who knows? I choose to be the guy who doesn’t sit on his butt while the government—or anyone else—screws someone over. Aristotle said knowing who you are is the beginning of all wisdom.”
Maria nodded. “You know who I am?”
“Um...super-smart, devastatingly attractive, social media maven?”
She laughed. “Just a young lawyer...who really likes working with you. No worries about Ossie—I will keep my big mouth shut.”
“I know you will.” He gazed out at the horizon. “I genuinely like working with you, too, Ms. Morales.”
And together, they watched the palm trees dance in the darkness.