[...]
Paul and his parents crossed the Seine and reached the hearth of the Quartier Latin to find some restaurant. This was not so difficult in such a touristic area… This part of Paris was full of memories from Paul’s years as a student. Many corners of the city were marked as lunch pauses but mainly places such as the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Panthéon or Place de la Sorbonne… Nostalgia arose when Paul came to think about his aunt and cousin.
“Mom, I wonder how this could have happened? Why did it go this far?” Amy sat speechless next to her son, holding his hand tightly. His father found words: “This is the way they are and we have to go through this. That’s all it is.”
Ever since these events, the Laxens had been erased from the family. Speaking about facts, reviving memories, would only hurt deeper still.
Not too far from the restaurant was the place where Paul, his wife and son, had met with Paul’s aunt and cousin, a few years before. “And I invited them back then. We went to have dinner together and I sat right next to both of them!” Angry and feeling betrayed at the mere remembrance, Paul tried to focus on something else.
Mr. Woodstred ran out of the Court hall and crossed the Seine on the northern side. Crossing the Pont au Change, he would walk along the Boulevard Sébastopol. His cell phone in one hand the lawyer yelled into the phone to be heard. As usual, there was a lot of traffic and pollution in the streets. He would grab a sandwich somewhere on the road when his client happened to call him: “There you are, been a long way right?” Mr. Woodstred was trying to break the ice.
“How are things going?” Mr. Laxen stepped right in without any heart or emotion, straight to the point. The lawyer quickly explained about the trial and how things progressed and where they stood.
“Did it come to the main point?”
“Not yet, Sir, but the story spreads out quite widely and the interaction of elements slowly leads us to the point…”
The connection with the United States was bad and a short silence on the line seemed also to stress Mr. Laxen’s incomprehension.
“Right, once we’ll get to the facts go ahead and screw ‘em down,” Mr. Laxen’s voice conveyed his true mood and state of mind. Mr. Woodstred shut his phone with an elegant gesture and turned to his Big Mac and Onion Rings, a somewhat less elegant view.
On scheduled time both parties entered the Court Hall. The jury members were already seated and everyone would stand up for the entrance of the judge.
Maître Martin stepped forward and began to relate the facts:
“One fine day at the wake of Easter weekend, Paul Dahl’s cousin happened to lock herself out on the balcony of a Parisian flat. For your information, this flat is roughly about 20 square meters wide and has one slide-window opening access to a small balcony as well as a secured door. When Cathy Laxen locked herself out on the balcony there was no one in the flat and the door was closed. To add some drama, this happened in the late morning when everyone would be at work and hardly anyone around in the building.”
Mr. Woodstred leaned forward and defended his clients: “And the poor little girl could have frozen, it was so cold out there!”
Maître Martin snapped back immediately “If you people believe a 15° is enough to be frozen, than that’s OK,” the Jury smiled back at the French lawyer and somehow sensed the idiocity of such an argument.
“Now if this could help, Sir, we’ve checked with the weather channel, and they confirmed temperatures were not that bad on this very morning.”
The judge hammered on his desk and said: “Gentlemen, please get back to the facts, we’re running out of time…”
Maître Martin made a quick turn to the judge and faced the audience again. He went on:
“There she was, on this very morning and locked herself out on the balcony…”
“She was wearing but a small T-shirt and wore no pants, the usual morning outfit,” Mr. Woodstred interfered, “she wouldn’t have believed the slide-door could not open from outside!” The lawyer grinned at the jury members trying hard to convince them.
The judge made sign for him to sit back and asked the French lawyer to continue.
“So there she was and quite at a loss and alone, Cathy Laxen would begin to panic. Hopefully, the balcony is set on a well known street and the American girl would make signs to people walking by.”
All through his presentation the brilliant French lawyer used his acting talent and improvised situations so as to make it more lively. This was two-fold and his improvisations and interpretations could also lead to make fun of the whole situation.
The jury seemed to appreciate Maître Martin’s sense of humor and so did Mr. Dahl.
“At last somebody reacted and called the concierge. And here is the first odd element in this happening: ‘the reaction of the concierge’. Instead of calling the firemen – and the situation appeared indeed to be appropriate – the lady called a locksmith.
Women and men in the jury looked at each other with eyes wide open, their amazement at the highest. Martin continued:
“The guy was trying hard to open the secured door but as he did not succeed and for who knows what reason he did not want to give up. The man climbed from one balcony to another in order to meet the girl. Taking hold of the table available there, he broke the slide door into pieces.”
Mr. Woodstred became more and more emotional. His fists pressed hard on the desk, perspiration ran down his cheek and he began: “Your honor… I must… Let me just say that the poor little girl could have frozen! It was so, so cold out there and Cathy hardly wore anything. They had to act the way they did!”
The judge coolly turned to the American lawyer and said: “A decent and methodic person would have called the firemen indeed, as Mr. Martin just explained. Thus only one side of the flat would have been damaged… But circumstances being what they are or were then, I shall take your remark into account, no doubt.”
Mr. Steinmeier moved to the hearth and began: “Let us raise the argument, my honor…” the lawyer made a U-turn to face the judge, who acquiesced, then back to the crowd “since it is what has led us here… Let me state that Mr. Laxen urgently asked for insurance money. Asking for reimbursement for a damage that was actually caused by his own daughter! I would also like the jury to know that all financial support has been provided for by my clients, Paul Dahl’s parents, here present,” Mr. Steinmeier lifted his right hand open and all of the audience looked at Amy and her husband. [...]
© 2011 Matt Oehler
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