The Other Side of Midnight

"Yes."

"In other words he required some legal service of you?"

"Yes."

"And would you please tell us what it was that he wanted you to do for him?"

"He asked me to get him a divorce."

"And did he retain you for this purpose?"

"No. When he explained the circumstances to me, I told him it would be impossible for him to get a divorce in Greece."

"And what were the circumstances?"

"First of all he said there must not be any publicity, and secondly he said that his wife refused to give him a divorce."

"In other words he had asked his wife for a divorce and she had refused?"

"That is what he told me."

"And you explained to him that you couldn't help him? That unless his wife was willing to give him a divorce, it would be difficult or impossible for him to obtain one, and that there very well might be publicity?"

"That is correct."

"So, short of taking desperate measures, there was nothing the defendant could--"

"Objection!"

"Sustained."

"Your witness."

Napoleon Chotas lifted himself out of his chair with a sigh and slowly walked over to the witness. Peter Demonides was not worried. Minos was a lawyer and too experienced to be deceived by Chotas' forensic bag of tricks.

"You're an attorney, Mr. Minos."

"I am."

"And an excellent one, I'm sure. I'm surprised that our professional paths have not crossed sooner. The firm I'm with deals in many branches of law. Perhaps you've run across one of my partners in some corporate litigation?"

"No. I don't do corporate work."

"I beg your pardon. Perhaps in some tax case, then?"

"I am not a tax lawyer."

"Oh." Chotas was beginning to look puzzled and ill-at-ease, as though he was making a fool of himself. "Securities?"

"No." Minos was beginning to enjoy the lawyer's humiliation. His face took on a smug look and Peter Demonides began to worry. How many times had he seen that look on the faces of witnesses that Napoleon Chotas was preparing for the slaughter?

Chotas was scratching his head in bafflement. "I give up," he said ingenuously. "What kind of law do you specialize in?"

"Divorce cases." The answer was a barbed shaft, perfectly delivered.

A rueful look appeared on Chotas' face and he shook his head. "I should have known my good friend Mr. Demonides would have an expert up here."

"Thank you, sir." Alexis Minos made no attempt to conceal his smugness now. Not every witness got a chance to score off Chotas and in Minos' mind he was already embellishing the story to tell at the club that evening.