Gray and Gold Attorneys at Law

I haven’t been to Flash Fiction Friday for a little while, but I liked the idea of this writing prompt and thought I’d give it a go.

Prompt: Use the painting Gray and Gold as an inspiration and a setting for your story
Word Limit:  1,300 words
Deadline: Wednesday,  September 26th at 9:00 p.m. EST
Instructions: Please post the name of your story and a link to it in the comments.

 

“You’re not to bright son, are you?” Terre couldn’t afford decent legal counsel but lucked out when he got Mr Cleveland Cox Jr from Gray and Gold representing him as part of the pro bono publico commitment he incurred from his internship – It builds character son. Not that Terre had any idea how to tell a good lawyer from bad and all he could really manage to do at that point was stammer uselessly.

“OK, start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened.” Terre was obviously a terrible liar. His tongue was sticking out as he was trying to work out what to say.

“Anything you tell me cannot be used against you in a court of law. You do understand that?”

Terre seemed to think about it for an age before nodding taking a deep breath before grabbing my pad and pen. He hurriedly scrawls something down before passing it back to a surprised Cox.

NOT TALKING IN ROOM WITH TWO-WAY GLASS.

Cox’s first thought was how incongruous those words were with the stammering village idiot he’d just been talking to. He nodded to his client, stood up slowly and adjusted his suit. As he glanced in to the mirrored glance he could see that Terre was once again completely in character.

It took about half an hour but eventually a couple of grumpy officers moved Terre in to a an interview room with a little more privacy. Cox was already sitting there.

“Hello there high price lawyer man. You’re probably wondering what this is all about right?” The smiling Terre looked more like a playboy than a yokel.

“Well, there do seem to be some inconsistencies between your nature and demeanour.” Cox was desperate to regain control of the situation so he removed a manilla folder of case notes from his briefcase.

“Reading my file won’t tell you anything interesting. I’ve been too careful for that. Why don’t you look at me and listen to my tale.”

Terre told Cox that he’d killed one hundred and one people in the last ten years. The first was in a fit of rage and an accident, but the feeling of power was such that he found himself wanting to feel that way again. It was then that he decided that we was going to kill for ten years and then become the most famous serial killer the world has ever seen. Cox didn’t believe a word of it and told Terre as much. He’d need some proof. Terre told Cox that he’d a little present for him in the stomach of his last victim. A Cox’s Orange Pippin to be precise. Cox was freaked out. This was personal, he’d been hand-picked for a specific reason. He had to get out of the room so he said he’d go and find out what the findings of the autopsy were.

It was with a sickening feeling that Cox read the initial findings and saw the x-ray of an apple inside the victim. There were some really scary aspects to this case but if half of what Terre was saying turned out to be true then this could turn out to be a defining moment in the career of a lawyer. An instant seat at the big-boys table. Was a year or more in the company of such a cold-blooded killer worth it? Of course it was. Everybody is entitled to legal counsel. This was a crossroads with only one logical direction to travel in. The cornfields and stormy clouds as to nothing around the road ahead.

 

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