At recess, Loki was escorted back to the holding cell, and Skip Parmeri stood and turned to the leave for lunch.
"I probably can't go out, can I?" Elise asked as he started toward the door.
He shook his head. "I wouldn't advise it with the mob outside. I'm gettin' a sandwich. You want me to bring you one back?"
"No, that's okay," said Elise. "Thanks, though."
Parmeri and Cara left the courtroom together, and although the public seating area hadn't emptied out, Elise was very much alone. She tried not to make eye contact with anyone left in the room. She sat at the table, staring at the cracks on the ceiling, but the heels on Whitney Mercure's shoes clacked toward her, and she was cornered.
"Haven't we met before?" Mercure asked with a thin-lipped smile. "You were an associate at Skip's firm, weren't you?"
Elise hung her head and averted her eyes. "Yeah."
The prosecutor lowered her voice, planted her arms on the table, and leaned in close. "You must have graduated at the top of your class, then."
Elise didn't respond. Mercure's close proximity and questions made her uneasy.
Mercure backed up and crossed her arms. "It's too bad, really."
"What?" Elise asked, finally looking her in the eye.
"You know, the promising, young attorney with her whole career ahead of her... she makes one mistake, and poof!" Her pitch lifted cheerfully at the end of the phrase. "All gone!"
"Don't you have to eat, or something?" Elise muttered.
"I had a big breakfast." Mercure leaned in even closer, positioning her cheek beside Elise's, only a few inches away. "Listen, Elise," she whispered, her voice a ghost of the one she had used during opening statements. "You're not the one I want. You're scared. If you think the evidence looks bad now, just know that it'll only get worse."
"What do you want from me?" said Elise. "If you have a point, just get to it."
"Meet me in the ladies' room in five minutes," Mercure instructed. "We'll talk in private."
Mercure walked off, presumably to the restroom, while Elise was left to consider her options, of which there were few. She sighed, rested her forehead on her clasped hands, and tried to relax. She didn't know what to do with Mercure's proposition, but she was getting desperate.
After a minute or two, Elise picked up her crutch from the floor and stood. Cautiously, she navigated the halls of the building, keeping her head down lest someone recognize her. When she reached the bathroom, she closed the door behind her, sighed, and waited for the prosecutor to say her piece.
"Glad you made it." Mercure stepped slowly toward Elise, as if stalking her prey. "I'm assuming that you want out of this mess. Am I correct in assuming that?"
"Of course."
"And you could use some help, couldn't you?"
"You really don't worry about ethics violations all that much, do you?" Elise remarked.
Mercure smiled sarcastically and took a step closer to Elise. "Please, enlighten me: where have I violated ethics?"
"Well, for one thing, you're talking to me, in secret, in a bathroom, without my attorney present, when I haven't even testified yet," Elise reminded her. "But I know the ethics requirements weren't quite as heavy when you were in law school 'back in the day,' so I guess I'll have to forgive you."
Mercure flashed another grin. "How charming," she said. "However, all that aside, I'd like to propose something."
"Alright, fine. What?"
"As I said before, I'm not all that interested in putting you away," Mercure said. "It's not that I don't think you're guilty. It's just that I've got bigger fish to fry."
Somehow, the insinuation that she wasn't important enough to prosecute bothered Elise.
"I can see where this trial is going," Mercure said. "It seems to me like you're planning to testify that Laufeyson bullied you into following his lead. Is that right?"
Elise's stomach felt heavy; she started toward the door. "I shouldn't be talking to you about this."
Mercure rushed to stand in her way, extending her arm to keep the door shut. "Just listen to what I'm suggesting, okay?"
"Then just spit it out already," Elise snapped.
"You're the only person who saw every move Laufeyson made," the prosecutor said. "You've got something I need, and I've got the evidence and the legal experience to get you on every single one of these charges."
"I see what you're getting at, and I don't like it."
"Tell you what," Mercure said. "All I need is some... reassurance. If you can give me that, I'll back off. If not, I'll keep coming at you with everything I have. How does that sound?"
"For some reason, I feel like I'm repeating myself," said Elise, "but all I'm going to do is tell the truth. And I'm not going to embellish it, either."
"Oh, of course!" Mercure said with a laugh and a wave of her delicate hand. "I wouldn't ask you to lie. I'm only asking you to frame your testimony in such a way that you don't implicate yourself, but that you make Laufeyson look... well, evil."
"You're asking me to sell him down the river."
"Well, if that's the way you choose to phrase it, then yes." Mercure folded her arms across her chest. "But he does deserve to be punished for whatever he did to you, doesn't he?"
"I'm not answering that question."
"He does. And you have to the power to make that happen. All we need is a play-by-play that proves he's criminal, but not insane, and it's off with his head."
"But he is insane, Whitney," Elise retorted irritably. "I'm not going to go up there and say he's not."
"Well, that's your decision to make," Mercure said as she started toward the exit, "but I think you'll change your mind once the evidence starts stacking up."
Elise waited until Mercure was presumably a safe distance away before she left to return to the courtroom. As she neared her seat, she contemplated her potential sentence, and she began to regret not taking the prosecutor's offer. She wondered if she should alert someone to Mercure's unethical conduct – perhaps it would lead to a mistrial – but it was already clear that Judge Norman T. Dames had chosen his favorite, and besides, with almost zero credibility, it was her word against that of a federal prosecutor. That would surely be a losing battle.
With nothing left to do, Elise rested her head on her clasped hands and began to pray silently. I know I haven't been good, she thought at whatever higher power might hear her, but I haven't been all that bad, either. Please don't let me lose. This wasn't my fault. Please...
She was distracted from her communication with the divine by the sound of Cara Fleiss returning from lunch.
"How're you holding up?" Cara asked sympathetically.
"I'm basically in hell," Elise mumbled, her eyes still shut and her head still down.
"Oh, come on, Elise," said Cara, organizing her documents on the table in front of her. "Try to stay positive."
"How?" Elise asked, lifting her head. "Do you feel positive about how this is going?"
Cara shrugged, nonchalant. "I mean, it could be a lot worse, right?"
"God, I hope not." Elise turned to her right to glance at Whitney Mercure, sitting quietly at her own table, ready to continue with her list of witnesses. "Cara," she whispered, leaning in, "I think Mercure's gonna start playing dirty. Well, she's gonna play dirtier."
"What makes you say that?"
"I've just got a bad feeling."
Cara patted a loose strand of hair back into her bun and sighed. "But it's not like you gave her anything to play with, right?"
"You mean in terms of evidence?"
"Yeah."
"Not that I know of."
"Then why are you so worried?" Cara responded cheerfully. "Relax! Parmeri's a good attorney, and so am I. We've got it under control."
Cara's dismissal of her concerns did little to bolster Elise's confidence in her representation.
Soon, the courtroom was full again. Loki was the last to arrive, save for Judge Dames, and again, he was flanked by two officers, who lingered at the side of the room after Loki was seated.
"Did you miss me?" he asked, resting his cuffed hands in his lap beneath the tabletop.
Silent, Elise pressed her lips together just as an errant photographer snapped a picture. There was a brief scuffle between the amateur paparazzo and one of the officers who had entered with Loki, and the cameraman was escorted out the door.
"I know that you did," Loki taunted, lowering his voice. "You always do. Did you wait in this very spot for me, calling my name the way you did in the forest?"
"Watch your mouth, pal," Parmeri advised quietly. "Someone could hear ya."
Elise clenched her teeth and tensed her muscles. She glanced at Mercure again, and she briefly fantasized about throwing Loki under the figurative bus.
Loki disregarded Parmeri's words of caution. "Or perhaps it was more akin to the way you called my name while your feet were pointed at the ceiling. Which was it?"
"Switch seats with me," Elise told Parmeri. "I'm serious."
"Come on, 'Lise, lighten up," Parmeri said. "He's just kiddin' around. Where's your sense of humor?"
Abruptly, Elise slammed her balled fist on the table in front of her, and the whole room fell silent. She took a breath to calm herself, then said, "Fuck it."
"What'd you just say?" Parmeri whispered.
"I said, 'fuck it.' I've had it with him and his bullshit." She glanced at Loki, then turned back to Parmeri. "I'm gonna do something."
"You aren't doin' anything, 'Lise," said Parmeri. "If you really wanna switch seats that bad, it's not-"
"It's too late for that," she snapped.
She spotted Judge Dames entering the room, and she got herself out from behind the table to limp toward him. Almost immediately, the officers standing along the wall pursued her.
"May I approach, Your Honor?" Elise asked.
The officers stood to her left and right and slightly behind her, and although she could not see them, Elise could sense their confusion.
The judge seemed to be equally baffled. "You may," he replied hesitantly. "Will this be quick?"
"I won't waste your time," Elise assured him as she moved closer. "It's just that my representation is turning out to be..."
She glanced over her shoulder at the defendant's table, where the two attorneys from Parmeri & Associates sat with their mouths hanging open in bewilderment, and where Loki sat with his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
She turned back to the judge. "They're turning out to be useless, for lack of a better word."
Judge Dames sighed and rubbed his temples. "Are you asking me to postpone these proceedings while you hire a new attorney?"
"I told you I wouldn't waste your time."
"Then you want to represent yourself."
"Yes, Your Honor."
The judge was skeptical. "Are you sure you've given this enough thought?"
"I am an attorney," Elise said.
"We'll see about that."
Elise shrugged. "Either way, I went to law school. I can take care of myself in court."
"A lawyer who represents herself has a fool for a client," Judge Dames quoted, "but if you insist, I won't stand in your way."
"Alright," she said as she started toward her seat. "Thank you, Your Honor."
"Not so fast," the judge said, motioning Elise back. "Let's fill everyone else in." He lifted his head to address the room. "Will the counselors please approach the bench?"
Whitney Mercure immediately stepped forward, but Parmeri and Cara exchanged some words before they joined the others.
"Ms. Milton has elected to represent herself," the judge informed the attorneys once they were assembled. "I trust that no one has any complaints."
"Elise," Cara groaned, "you can't do that!"
"Yes, she can," said the judge. "It's her decision to make, foolish or not."
"You're fired," Elise informed Parmeri, who was red with either anger or embarrassment. "So are you, Cara. I'm sorry."
Mercure chimed in. "I don't have any objection to this, Your Honor," she said with a smile.
"Wait a minute," said Parmeri. "Why are you doin' this, 'Lise? Was it somethin' I said?"
"I don't know, maybe," Elise replied, annoyed. "Why don't we talk about it later?"
"Fine," Parmeri huffed. "Just fine."
The attorneys walked away from the judge and back to their respective tables. When Elise and Parmeri arrived at theirs, Parmeri moved over to the seat beside Loki, taking his things with him.
"Mr. Laufeyson," Judge Dames began once everyone was seated, "you were the only relevant person not privy to our conversation just now, so I'll explain it to you: your co-defendant will no longer be represented by Parmeri & Associates. She'll be proceeding from this point on pro se. This isn't likely to affect you, but it is something you should be aware of. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I believe I do." Loki's eyes were on Elise, though he addressed the judge. "It means that she intends to betray me."
"That's something you need to speak with your attorney about in confidence," Judge Dames said.
"No," Loki snarled, rattling the chains that bound his wrists. "I will speak with her about this, immediately!"
Parmeri placed a hand on Loki's shoulder in a weak attempt to restrain him, but Loki shrugged his attorney's hand off violently, stood, and began to shout.
"This is treachery!" Loki ranted. "This is treachery in its most deplorableform!"
Judge Dames knocked his gavel twice on the sounding block. "Mr. Laufeyson, sit down this instant!"
Loki slammed his shackled fists on the table and, lacking words for once, emitted a feral yell, loud enough to fill the room. When he was finally silent, he sat, drawing in shallow breaths, which he exhaled through his gritted teeth.
After a few suspenseful moments, Judge Dames finally spoke. "I think that's quite enough for today," he announced casually. "We will reconvene tomorrow morning. In the meantime, Mr. Laufeyson, I recommend that you take a deep breath and practice thinking before you speak. As for you, Ms. Milton, I suggest that you take a walk down to the Pro Se Office at some point."
Elise looked to her left along the table. Loki's fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had gone white.
"If we're all clear on these expectations," the judge concluded, "this court is adjourned until eight o'clock tomorrow morning."
Cara was on her feet before the gavel fell. She was visibly shaken and obviously eager to leave her client behind. Loki was seized by the two officers who had previously accompanied him, and with a sour expression on his face, he was helped out of the courtroom and, presumably, back to his cell. Elise lingered as Parmeri gathered his things. There was a protracted pause before he finally spoke.
"You still stayin' at my place?" he asked.
"I hope so," Elise replied quietly. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go."
"Right."
Parmeri snapped his briefcase shut and started toward the door. Elise followed as closely as she could on her injured leg, and she tried not to lose him in the sea of press that had accumulated just beyond the steps outside.
One especially aggressive reporter muscled his way to the front of the crowd and imposed himself in their path. "Skip Parmeri," he said, "can you comment on the developments inside the courthouse today?"
"No," he answered brusquely, twisting awkwardly to brush past the man and toward the curb.
The reporter was relentless. "Elise! Miss Milton!" he called as he pursued them. "Miss Milton, what motivated your decision to fire your attorneys and move forward without representation?"
She stopped walking. Parmeri took a few more steps, but when he noticed that he was not being followed, he turned around.
"Don't say anything, 'Lise," he urged, shouting so that his voice would be heard above the loud buzz of the crowd. "Seriously, 'Lise, I'm not kiddin'!"
Within moments, several microphones had been positioned within two feet of Elise's face, and the eyes of the video cameras were fixed on her. The press, it seemed, was eager to hear what she had to say, even if her now-fired attorney was not. The noise died as the throng of onlookers awaited her much-anticipated comment.
"I was just asked why I've chosen to represent myself moving forward," Elise announced, her voice full and clear despite the adrenaline pooling in her body, shaking her legs and turning her stomach. "I want to clarify that this has nothing to do with Skip Parmeri's competence as an attorney. However, a conflict of interest has presented itself, and for that reason, it is now my belief that he cannot provide the vigorous representation to which every defendant is entitled."
"Can you explain what you mean by that?" someone yelled from several rows back. "In plain English?"
"Plain English?" said Elise. "How much more plain can I get?"
"What do you mean by 'conflict of interest?'"
"Oh." Elise paused momentarily to consider the question before she gave her answer. "It's actually pretty simple. I'm innocent, but my co-defendant isn't. Parmeri has a vested interest in making the jury think that my co-defendant is innocent, but that can't be done without irreparably screwing up the process of proving that I'm innocent. Does that make sense?"
"Miss Milton," another reported called, "are you saying that you think Loki Laufeyson is guilty?"
"No, I'm saying that I know he's guilty," Elise replied matter-of-factly. "Now, as you can see, I'm on crutches, so please, get out of my way."
The crowd erupted with the sound of a hundred correspondents broadcasting live from New York, and Elise made her way toward the curb and Parmeri.
"You about finished?" Parmeri asked as she hobbled toward him.
"I think so," she said as she maneuvered herself into their cab.
The trip home was uncomfortably silent, but once Elise was safely inside the apartment, Parmeri slammed the door shut and made his dissatisfaction known.
"What the hell, 'Lise?" he demanded. "You made me look like a jackass back there!"
"You brought it on yourself," she grumbled.
"What'd I do to deserve that?" Parmeri questioned as he vanished into the kitchen. When he reemerged, he had a drink in his hand. "'Lise, I'm askin' you. What'd I do?"
"That's just it," said Elise, hopping on her crutches toward the armchair. "You weren't doing anything."
"Are you kiddin' me?" Parmeri shouted, gesturing such that he nearly spilled red wine on the carpet. "I nailed Mercure's witnesses on cross. Foster's testimony's destroyed, and you-"
"I'm not even talking about that!" Elise yelled. "I'm talking about Loki. It's like you don't even hear half the shit he's saying to me, and he's sitting literally four feet away from you!"
"Well, Christ, 'Lise, you're not my only client here!"
"That's the whole fucking problem!"
For a few seconds, they stared at each other in silence. Parmeri didn't appear angry; instead, he seemed hurt.
"Listen," Elise said calmly, "I'm sorry I had to do that, but I'm not lying when I say that this is a conflict of interest."
"Well," Parmeri replied, "you should'a brought that up sooner."
"How?" Elise asked, exasperated. "How was I supposed to bring that up when you tell me I'm overreacting to everything?"
"When do I say that?"
"Every time Loki opens his mouth."
"I'm not havin' this conversation with ya today, 'Lise," Parmeri said as he walked toward his room. "You're this close to wearin' out your welcome." With that, he slammed the door shut and left Elise alone.
When he was gone, Elise picked her crutches back up and went into the kitchen. She located the yellow phone book and used Parmeri's landline phone to make the phone calls she needed to make in order to build her own case.