Chapter 42

THE POST REPORTER WAS Art Mariani, a young man who knew Clay Carter well because he'd documented his astounding¹ rise and his equally amazing crash with careful attention to detail and a reasonable dose of fairness. When Mariani arrived at Clay's town house, he was greeted by Paulette and led down the narrow hall to the kitchen where folks were waiting. Clay hobbled to his feet and introduced himself, then went around the table—Zack Battle, his attorney; Rebecca Van Horn, his friend; and Oscar Mulrooney, his partner. Tape recorders were plugged in. Rebecca made the rounds with the coffeepot.

"It's a long story," Clay said, "but we have plenty of time."

"I have no deadline," Mariani said.

Clay took a swig of coffee, a deep breath, and jumped into the story. He began with the shooting of Ramon "Pumpkin²" Pumphrey by his client, Tequila Watson. Dates, times, places, Clay had notes of everything and all the files. Then Washad Porter and his two murders. Then the other four. Camp Deliverance, Clean Streets, the amazing results of a drug called Tarvan. Though he would never mention the name of Max Pace, he described in detail Pace's history of Tarvan—the secret clinical trials in Mexico City, Belgrade, and Singapore, the manufacturer's desire to test it on those of African descent, preferably in the United States. The drug's arrival in D.C.

"Who made the drug?" Mariani asked, visibly shaken.

After a long pause in which he seemed unable to speak, Clay answered, "I'm not completely sure. But I think it's Philo."

"Philo Products?"

"Yes." Clay reached for a thick document and slid it over to Mariani. "This is one of the settlement agreements. As you will see, there are two offshore³ companies mentioned. If you can penetrate⁴ them, pick up the trail, it will probably lead you to a shell company in Luxembourg, then to Philo."

"Okay, but why do you suspect Philo?"

"I have a source. That's all I can tell you."

This mysterious source selected Clay from all the attorneys in D.C. and convinced him to sell his soul for $15 million. He quickly quit OPD and opened his own firm. Mariani already knew much of this. Clay signed up the families of six of the victims, easily convinced them to take $5 million and keep quiet, and within thirty days had the matter wrapped up. The details poured forth⁵, as did the documents and settlement agreements.

"When I publish this story, what happens to your clients, the families of the victims?" Mariani asked.

"I've lost sleep worrying about that, but I think they'll be fine," Clay said. "First, they've had the money for a year now, so it's safe to assume a lot of it has been spent.

Second, the drugmaker would be insane to try and set aside these settlements."

"The families could then sue the manufacturer directly," Zack added helpfully. "And those verdicts could destroy any big corporation. I've never seen a more volatile⁶ set of facts."

"The company won't touch the settlement agreements," Clay said. "It's lucky to get out with a fifty-million settlement."

"Can the families set the agreements aside when they learn the truth?" Mariani asked.

"It would be difficult."

"What about you? You signed confidentiality⁷ agreements?"

"I'm not a factor anymore. I'm about to be bankrupt. I'm about to surrender my license⁸ to practice law. They can't touch me." It was a sad admission, one that hurt Clay's friends as much as it hurt him.

Mariani scribbled⁹ some notes and shifted gears. "What happens to Tequila Watson, Washad Porter, and the other men who were convicted of these murders?"

"First, they can probably sue the drugmaker, which won't help them much in prison. Second, there's a chance their cases could be reopened, at least the sentencing aspect."

Zack Battle cleared his throat and everyone waited. "Off the record. After you publish whatever you decide to publish, and after the storm dies down, I plan to take these cases and have them reviewed. I'll sue on behalf of the seven defendants¹⁰, that is, if we can identify the pharmaceutical¹¹ company. I might petition the criminal courts to reopen their convictions."

"This is very explosive," Mariani said, stating the obvious. He studied his notes for a long time. "What led to the Dyloft litigation?"

"That's another chapter for another day," Clay said. "You've documented most of it anyway. I'm not talking about it."

"Fair enough. Is this story over?"

"For me it is," Clay said.

PAULETTE AND ZACK DROVE them to the airport, to Reagan National where Clay's once-beloved Gulfstream sat very close to the spot where he'd first seen it. Since they were leaving for at least six months, there was a lot of luggage, especially Rebecca's. Clay, having shed so much in the past month, was traveling light. He got about fine with his crutches¹², but he couldn't carry anything. Zack acted as his porter.

He gamely showed them his airplane, though they all knew this was its final voyage. Clay hugged Paulette and embraced Zack, thanked them both and promised to call within days. When the copilot locked the door, Clay pulled the shades over the windows so he would see none of Washington when they lifted off.

To Rebecca, the jet was a ghastly symbol of the destructive power of greed. She longed for the tiny flat in London, where no one knew them, and no one cared what they wore, drove, bought, ate, or where they worked, shopped, or vacationed. She wasn't coming home. She had fought with her parents for the last time.

Clay longed for two good legs and a clean slate¹³. He was surviving one of the more infamous¹⁴ meltdowns in the history of American law, and it was further and further behind him. He had Rebecca all to himself, and nothing else mattered.

Somewhere over Newfoundland, they unfolded the sofa and fell asleep under the covers.

1 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

3 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

4 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

7 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

8 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

9 scribbled   

v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
• He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

10 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

11 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

12 crutches   

n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑

参考例句：

• After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
• When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后，不得不靠拐杖走路。

13 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

14 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。