The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie (Crown, October 19, 2010)
“Zach was meeting with his own attorneys in a conference room at the law firm when Mike Moore took him aside. ‘We need to talk,’ Moore said. They were joined by Scruggs in Zach’s small office.
“Scruggs took a seat in an armchair by the window, looked at his son, and said, ‘This is the latest government offering: They’re willing to give me five years, Sid three, and one for you.’ He paused. ‘I’m going to take it. I wish you would, too.’
“Zach was stunned. He had never expected the case to come to this. ‘Hell no,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to do it.’ He rose from behind his own desk, repeated his vow and walked out . . .” (298-299)
“‘Look,’ Keker said, ‘we’ve been overruled on every motion. I can destroy Tim Balducci and I can destroy Henry Lackey on cross examination, but at the end of the day we’re still looking at this November the first tape.’ He reminded Zach of the negative results of the mock trial in Shreveport where the ‘jurors’ had little sympathy for the lawyer defendants. A real jury in Oxford would likely come down hard, too, Keker said. ‘Zach, they’ll look at you like a rich, white boy.’
“‘I’m not going to do it,’ Zach said.
“‘You don’t want to blow up the deal, put your Dad in trouble.’
“‘All right,’ Keker said. He did not press Zach further.
“Zach walked back into his own office. His father was still there, sitting quietly, staring out the window. His son was overwhelmed by the poignancy of the moment. He thought the scene would stay with him the rest of his life: the sight of his father, as if he were a monarch, looking out at his kingdom and watching it disintegrate–Zeus, the King of the gods, falling.
“Father and son sat together saying nothing.” (299)
The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie goes on sale October 19th.
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Read other excerpts from The Fall of the House of Zeus.
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