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"That's a lie"
"I got a witness"
"Who?" asked justice Spicer
"Picasso"
Picasso was sitting behind Rook, as were the other six members of the investment club Picasso reluctantly waved his hand
"Is that true?" Spicer asked
"Yep;" Picasso answered "Rook asked about the stock Whiz said he would get it No problem"
Picasso testified in a lot of cases, and had been caught lying more than most inmates
"Continue," Spicer said
"Anyway, Thursday I couldn't find Whiz anywhere He was hiding from me"
"I was not"
"Friday, the stock goes public It was offered at twenty a share, the price we could've bought it for if Mr Wall Street over there had done what he prohty, then dosed at seventy Our plans were to sell it as soon as possible We could've bought fifty shares at twenty, sold thehty, and walked away from the deal with three thousand dollars in profits"
Violence was very rare at Truet you killed, but soht be broken Whiz had been lucky so far There'd been no ambush
"And you think the Whiz owes you these lost profits?" asked ex-Chief Justice FinnYarber, now plucking his eyebrows
"Daht we do Look, what ht ValueNow for himself"
"That's a damned lie,"Whiz said
"Language, please," Justice Beech said If you wanted to lose a case before the Brethren, just offend Beech with your language
The ruht the stock for hi There was no proof of it, but the story had proved irresistible and had been repeated by most inmates so often that it was now established as fact It fit so nicely
"Is that all?" Spicer asked Rook
Rook had other points he wanted to elaborate on,but the Brethren had no patience indy litigants
Especially ex lawyers still reliving their gory days There were at least five of them at Trumble, and they seemed to be on the docket all the time
"I guess so," Rook said
"What do you have to say?" Spicer asked the Whiz
Whiz stood and took a few steps toward their table He glared at his accusers, Rook and his gang of losers Then he addressed the court "What's the burden of proof here?"
Justice Spicer immediately lowered his eyes and waited for help As a Justice of the Peace, he'd had no legal training He'd never finished high school, then worked for twenty years in his father's country store That's where the votes came from Spicer relied on common sense, which was often at odds with the law Any questions dealing with legal theory would be handled by his two colleagues
"It's whatever we say it is;"Justice Beech said, relishing a debate with a stockbroker on the court's rules of procedure
"Clear and convincing proof?" asked the Whiz
"Could be, but not in this case:'
"Beyond a reasonable doubt?"
"Probably not"
"Preponderance of the evidence?"
"Now you're getting dose"
"Then, they have no proof," the Whiz said, waving his hands like a bad actor in a bad TV drama
"Why don't you just tell us your side of the story?" said Beech
"I'd love toValueNoas a typical online offering, lots of hype, lots of red ink on the books Sure Rook ca was dosed I called a friend who toldboys were shut out"
"No does that happen?" asked JusticeYarber
The roo
"Happens all the tis"
"We knohat an IPO is;" Beech said
Spicer certainly did not Didn't have many of those back in rural Mississippi
The Whiz relaxed, just a little He could dazzle theo back to his cave and ignore them
"The ValueNow IPO was handled by the invest firm of Bakin-Kline, a small outfit in San Francisco Five million shares were offered BakinKline basically presold the stock to its preferred custo investment firms never had a shot at the stock Happens all the time"
The judges and the in on every word
He continued "It's silly to think that so an old copy of Forbes, can somehow buy a thousand dollars' worth of ValueNow"
And at that very moment it did indeed seean quietly bla him
"Did you buy any of it?" asked Beech
"Of course not I couldn't get near it And besides, h-tech and online companies are built with funny money I stay away from them"
"What do you prefer?" Beech asked quickly, his curiosity getting the better of him
"Value The long haul I'ht by so for an easy buck" He waved toward Rook, as sinking in his chair The Whiz sounded perfectly believable and legitimate
Rook's case was built on hearsay, speculation, and the corroboration of Picasso, a notorious liar
"You got any witnesses?" Spicer asked
"I don't need any," the Whiz said, and took his seat
Each of the three justices scribbled so on a slip of paper Deliberations were quick, verdicts instantaneous Yarber and Beech slid theirs to Spicer, who announced, "By a vote of two to one, we find for the defendant Case dismissed Who's next?"
The vote was actually unanimous, but every verdict was officially two to one That allowed each of the three a little wiggle room if later confronted
But the Brethren ell regarded around Trumble Their decisions were quick and as fair as they could ht of the shaky testimony they often heard Spicer had presided over small cases for years, in the back of his family's country store He could spot a liar at fifty feet Beech andYarber had spent their careers in courtroouments and delays, the usual tactics
"That's all today;' T Karl reported "End of docket"
"Very well Court is adjourned until next week"
T Karl ju across his shoulders, and declared, "Court's adjourned All rise"
No one stood, no onewere huddled, no doubt planning their next lawsuit The Whiz left quickly
The assistant warden and the guard eased aithout being seen The weekly docket was one of the better shows at Trumble