Tom came out of his office on the opposite side of the room putting on his jacket in preparation to heading home. He noticed Eddie and walked over. "What are you still doing here?"
Eddie looked up at Tom standing by his desk. "Oh, just mulling things over."
Tom chuckled. "Now that's a dangerous thing to do." Tom half sat on the edge of Eddie's desk. "Good piece. And a fast turnaround. You did a good job of putting together all the pertinent points and providing a background to the story."
"Thanks."
Tom reached into a pocket and pulled out a packet of gum. "There will probably be further fallout over the coming days but at least we'll have some breathing room to do a proper coverage of the events." He pulled out a piece of gum and put it in his mouth.
"Yeah." Eddie had turned back to his computer screen. "You're still trying to quit smoking?"
Tom chuckled. "I'm trying but believe me, it's a bitch. The bunch of you must be laughing your asses off watching me and the rest of the addicts huddled out back in all sorts of weather trying to get our fix."
"I'm going to be polite but yes, you do look a little comical."
Tom looked at Eddie. "You look a little morose."
"I'm just thinking about being backed into a corner for whatever reason and realizing there's no way to escape. Then you finally make the decision that the only solution is the ultimate solution."
Tom sighed. "Yeah, it's too bad. But when you think about, just where was any of this going to go? Was Brady innocent or guilty? Obviously the courts didn't believe him and even if the proof was only circumstantial, at some point somebody is going to say that if it walks like a duck, it's a duck."
"You have to admit that Brady was making a pretty strong statement about his innocence."
"Maybe, but on the other hand it's been pointed out that he has now managed to ensure his family gets his full pension. What if he was guilty but then decided to protect his family? If he couldn't protect himself, he could do something for them."
"Tom, you're speculating. Nobody has ever managed to prove that Brady accepted a bribe. Where's the money? Yes, Farnsworth and his buddies admitted to wanting to bribe Brady but they failed to prove Brady had actually accepted any cash."
"Then why did Brady award Farnsworth the contract?"
"Heck, Farnsworth is a powerful businessman. Brady could have been looking farther into the future for his own political career. But here's the part that I think everybody overlooked. Brady picked Farnsworth because Farnsworth had the best offer. He didn't have to bribe Brady to get the contract; Brady was going to give it to him anyway because it was the best offer."
Tom looked thoughtful. "Okay, you've got a point. Unfortunately, the judge doesn't think you've got a point. In today's political climate, everybody is getting tough, really tough, on anything which smacks of corruption and the judge wanted to make an example of Brady to scare the bejesus out of anybody else who may entertain any sort of similar idea."
"Something's not right in all this."
"Maybe not," said Tom. "But perception is everything. Farnsworth and his cronies get into trouble because several witnesses testify that they were planning on bribing a state official. Said official claims his innocence but now bad guys trying to save their own skin point the finger at the official."
"Where's the money?"
"Good question. Unfortunately, you now have everybody convinced that the official did take the money. Brady stands accused. Guilty until proven guilty. The onus was on Brady to somehow prove his innocence and he failed to do so."
Eddie was getting agitated. "There's something fishy about all this. People point the finger at Brady. Yes, there's a smoking gun but nobody actually proved he pulled the trigger. It's all circumstantial."
Tom shrugged his shoulders. "You're right but you're wrong. In the game of politics... heck, in general, being accused is just as good as being guilty. Being accused ruins your reputation, destroys your goodwill and reduces your social standing to squat. You are screwed and royally so. There's your picture on the front page under the headline so and so accused of taking a bribe. Then, if you're lucky or if you've got pockets deep enough to continue the fight ad infinitum, you may eventually be cleared of all charges. Hell, O.J. and Casey Anthony got off! But don't forget that by that time, the follow-up article about your innocence appears on page 15, column 3, paragraph 5. By that time, your life may be over; at least the life you knew will be over. That genie is not going back in the bottle."
Eddie shifted uncomfortably in his seat. This was an endless argument and there never seemed to be a satisfactory resolution.
"Listen," said Tom. "I'm starving. How about you let me buy you a beer? I'm in desperate need of a hamburger and it would taste just that much better with ketchup and company." Tom looked at Eddie expectantly then smiled. "Waddaya say?"
Eddie looked at Tom. He paused for a moment. He liked Tom. They disagreed sometimes. No, they disagreed a lot but they got along quite famously. There was a mutual respect between them. Eddie grinned. "Fine. But it'll cost you a second 'burg. I haven't had dinner myself and maybe I need to put a little fuel in the old bod." Eddie moved his feet off his desk then stood up. He took his jacket off the back of his chair and put it on. "You thinking of Molly's Place?"
Tom stood up. "You bet. I think they have the best fries in town."
"Tom, you may have stopped smoking but you still have an oral fixation." Eddie started for the door.
Tom slapped Eddie's back. "Moi?" said Tom in mock surprise. It had been a long day.
*******************
Mark Brady was pacing up and down in his office. He looked at his watch. It was almost showtime. It was almost time to put an end to this on-going hell of the past year. He had been accused, tried and condemned and there had been absolutely nothing he could do about it. As the accusations grew in both number and volume, Mark found himself more and more embroiled in a controversy which was completely circumstantial but which pointed a judgemental finger directly at him. He had exhausted his savings then mortgaged his home in order to raise the necessary funds to pay the law firm which had tried to defend him and prove his innocence. Unfortunately, he had realised too late the system per se had decided to make an example of him. The political climate was one of a growing public outrage over corruption and anything which had the slightest whiff of impropriety was a target for the courts.
Given that Farnsworth was a powerful and rich member of the community, it seemed only natural to award him the contract for Mark's own political ambitions. Unfortunately Mark had no idea of the machinations going on in the Farnsworth camp all designed to get that contract come hell or high water. People had decided they would stop at nothing and would go so far as to try and bribe a public official to get their way. However when the story did eventually get out, the fact that Mark had given Farnsworth the contract made it look like he had accepted the bribe. Nobody had been able to find the money but in the end, that didn't matter. There were so many witnesses in the Farnsworth organisation who testified that there was a bribe, it seemed unlikely that anybody would ever believe Mark had not taken the money. It had basically come down to Mark's word against the word of a half a dozen other people who all spoke of this supposed bribe.
Mark had paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, almost bankrupted his family and had ended up being convicted of the charge of accepting a bribe. He could have taken a plea bargain early in the game but was so infuriated at the miscarriage of justice; he refused the plea bargain and fought to the bitter end. Now, tomorrow in fact, he was going to be sentenced and the word on the street was that he was going to be sent to jail for 35 years. 35 years! My God, Mark was 49 years old. He would never see the light of day again. This was it; life was over. His life was over. His political career was finished. His life as a husband, as a father was ruined. His name had been dragged through the mud and his reputation shot all to hell. He had been vilified from here to eternity and there was nothing he could have done to stop it.
Looking at his wrist watch, Mark saw that it was time. He picked up his briefcase and walked out of his office then turned right to go to the stairwell. He would walk down the two flights to the second floor conference room. The press and the world had to hear his message. This was it; this was the moment of reckoning. If he couldn't save himself, at least he had this one final moment to do something for those he loved. This was his opportunity to selflessly consider the future of his family and to provide for them for the rest of their lives. In one fell swoop, he would protect his family and declare his innocence.
Eddie had shown up 30 minutes earlier with Frank the camera guy in order to get set up for the news conference. The community was abuzz with speculation about the Brady case. Tomorrow the courts were going to send Mark Brady away for a long, long time and everyone was wondering if Mark had some sort of last minute announcement which was going to turn the tide in his favour. The trial had not gone at all well for Brady as witness after witness came forward with stories about this plan to bribe Brady so that the Farnsworth company could get the contract. The testimony was so damning, it was hard to believe the courts could have come to any other verdict.
Mark Brady entered the conference room from a side door and stepped up to the podium. Eddie noticed that Brady appeared to be nervous. Why not? This was his career; no it was his entire life on the line. Who wouldn't be nervous?
"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for coming today. I wanted to take this opportunity, this last opportunity, to address you, the public, about my situation and the horrific events that have taken place during the course of this trial."
"I have always and will continue to protest my innocence. There is no doubt in my mind that the prosecution's case against me is completely circumstantial and they have done nothing to prove without a shadow of a doubt that I am guilty of the crime they have charged me with. I have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in an effort to defend myself only to see myself arrive at the end of this long arduous road condemned for a crime I did not commit. I no longer know what efforts or what amount of money would be necessary to clearly and conclusively demonstrate my innocence as it has become progressively more evident throughout this affair that justice is blind and in this case determined to proceed with a course of action it has not shown to be right."
"As a consequence, I must now turn my attention to my family. As a husband and a father, I must protect those I love. As a man I must do what is necessary to protect my home and provide for my loved ones. I am sure that any one of you would well understand such sentiments and I am also sure you feel the same way about your own families."
Brady reached into his briefcase and took out a white envelope. "Carl?" Brady held out the envelope towards Carl Smith, his assistant. Carl was standing to one side watching his boss. When Brady gestured with the envelope, Carl stepped forward, took it then stepped back again.
"For those of you who may be squeamish, I would ask that you now leave the room or look away." Mark reached into his briefcase and pulled out a gun. Suddenly there was a collective gasp around the room. A couple of voices cried out in alarm.
Somebody spoke loudly, "Mark, don't do it!"
A couple of people started to move forward then Mark yelled, "Get back. Somebody may get hurt!" He put the barrel of the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. There was a loud pop. Something sprayed out of the top of Mark Brady's head then he collapsed on the floor ending up in a sitting position against the wall behind the podium.
Eddie was standing right beside Frank the cameraman. Eddie leans to Frank and asked, "Are you getting this?"
"Still rolling," said Frank.
The two of them as well as the rest of room stood transfixed by what had just happened. There were voices elsewhere yelling about getting help however it was pretty evident that any help would not be necessary. Blood was gushing from both nostrils of Brady's nose. Eddie wondered why that was happening. Just what had the bullet done to the head to cause so much blood to come out of the nose like that?
Eddie would work furiously over the next couple of hours writing up his article for the late edition of the newspaper. The presses would be stopped and the front page reset to headline this story, the suicide of Mark Brady the day before being sentenced to 35 years in prison for bribery. The question of Brady's innocence would be discussed by everyone for years to come with nobody ever irrefutably proving one way or another just what had happened. Was Brady guilty and killed himself to escape his punishment? Was Brady innocent and killed himself to protect his family? It would be well noted that by killing himself while still in office, Brady left his family with his pension. If he had gone to jail, he would have been stripped of his job and he and his family would have lost his pension. By killing himself, he ensured his family would financially benefit from his position in public office.
Eddie would watch Frank's film of the Brady suicide over and over again. It was frightening but it was also mesmerizing. He was watching the last moments of life of a man who had no way out. There didn't seem to be any other options. There were no other choices. In the years to come, some commentators criticized Brady for not continuing to fight. He had taken the easy way out while leaving everyone else to deal with the mess. He had given up; he had declared defeat rather continuing to fight the good fight. Others felt this was a sure sign of culpability. Why else would anybody do this? Brady had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar and then couldn't face up to getting caught. He couldn't take his punishment like a man.
Was there a bigger purpose in this? Eddie thought of Socrates and how he refused to escape death even when friends had arranged for him to get out of prison and avoid his execution. Was facing one's own death a pronouncement of something larger than one's own life? Did sacrificing yourself mean more than life itself? Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? Brady's suicide was Brady's personal declaration of innocence. But more importantly, he took advantage of a window of opportunity in order to leave his family something. In mounting his defence, it was said that Brady had almost left his family destitute. By dying in office, he would pass his pension on to his wife and family and thereby erase all his debts and leave his family financially stable. In that regard, this was the ultimate act of love. Brady knew he was doomed; he was a goner. However he could do one last thing for those he loved. Desperate people do desperate things. Eddie thought Brady committed a selfless act. It was a brilliant move.
2011-10-14
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