11—Sturn and Burn
Bonhi strode into court and put her attaché case on the counsel table.
She pulled out a sheet and quickly wrote down her court outfit: navy-blue pencil skirt with matching blouse, and red heels.
She took a moment to study the column to see if she’d worn the outfit before and what Judge Sturn’s reaction was, discovering the judge hadn’t seen this outfit yet.
Bonhi hoped it was acceptable. Judge Sturn was hard to please, and she tried to control everything in her courtroom, including what the lawyers wore.
Bonhi greeted the bailiff and the court reporter and a few people she knew in the gallery, which was where the public sat, then she unpacked her things and reviewed the case, waiting for her client to arrive. Vernon’s case was first on the docket that afternoon.
Judge Sturn was grumpy sometimes, but she was always fair, so Bonhi thought they had a good shot at stopping the government from stealing the land under Vernon’s family cabin.
“Ms. Candor?” the bailiff called.
Bonhi looked up. “Yes?”
“The judge would like to see you in her chambers.”
Strange. Bonhi gathered her things and hurried to Judge Sturn’s office and knocked.
“Come in.”
Bonhi went in, holding her case in front of her. She stood next to the chair and waited. Judge Sturn, sitting behind her desk, first examined Bonhi’s outfit, then nodded and said, “Your client might be crazy.”
Bonhi shook her head, still standing, clutching her case in front of her. “What?”
“The cabin. It doesn’t exist. Vernon Bunn is wasting the court’s time with a cabin that doesn’t exist.”
Bonhi’s thoughts swirled as she tried to figure out what the judge meant. “But-but the government is trying to take it from him.”
“The government says all they want is the land and there is no cabin.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I saw a picture of it.”
Judge Sturn took off her glasses and tossed them on her desk.
She gave Bonhi a withering look. “I’ve already had a phone call from the Governor.
He wants this dealt with expeditiously. He’s under the impression there is no cabin, and if that’s the case, then I’ll rule in favor of the government today. ”
“You can’t!”
“Oh, I absolutely can.”
“Please,” Bonhi said, scrambling to figure out what she could do. “Can I have three days? I’ll find the thing myself.”
“No.”
Bonhi considered this, her mind working quickly. “Your Honor, if you force this to hearing now, you’re guaranteeing a reversal on appeal for failure to assist counsel.”
Judge Sturn scowled. She stared daggers at Bonhi for a full minute, and then she said, “You have forty-eight hours, now get out of my chambers.”
Bonhi turned and left, her heart hammering in her chest.
Had she just made an enemy?