All in all, Napoleon Chotas had excellent reason to be pleased with his life. There was only one cloud on his horizon.
His name was Frederick Stavros, and he was the newest member of Tritsis and Tritsis. The other lawyers in the firm were constantly complaining about Stavros.
“He’s second rate, Napoleon. He doesn’t belong in a firm like this…”
“Stavros almost bungled my case. The man’s a fool…”
“Did you hear what Stavros did yesterday in court? The judge almost threw him out…”
“Damn it, why don’t you fire that Stavros fellow? He’s a fifth wheel here. We don’t need him, and he’s hurting our reputation.”
Napoleon Chotas was only too well aware of that. And he was almost tempted to blurt out the truth: I can’t fire him. But all he said was, “Give him a chance. Stavros will work out fine.”
And that was all his partners could get out of him.
A philosopher once said, “Be careful what you wish for; you might get it.”
Frederick Stavros, the junior member of Tritsis and Tritsis, had gotten his wish, and it had made him one of the most miserable men on earth. He was unable to sleep or eat, and his weight had dropped alarmingly.
“You must see a doctor, Frederick,” his wife insisted. “You look terrible.”
“No, I…it wouldn’t do any good.”
He knew that what was wrong with him was something no doctor could cure. His conscience was killing him.
Frederick Stavros was an intense young man, eager, ambitious, and idealistic. For years he had worked out of a shabby office in the poor Monastiraki section of Athens, fighting for indigent clients, often working without fees. When he had met Napoleon Chotas, his life changed overnight.
A year earlier, Stavros had defended Larry Douglas, on trial with Noelle Page for the murder of Douglas’s wife, Catherine. Napoleon Chotas had been hired by the powerful Constantin Demiris to defend his mistress. From the beginning, Stavros had been happy to let Chotas take charge of both defenses. He was in awe of the brilliant lawyer.
“You should see Chotas in action,” he would say to his wife. “The man is incredible. I wish I could join his firm someday.”
As the trial was nearing its end, it took an unexpected turn. A smiling Napoleon Chotas assembled Noelle Page, Larry Douglas, and Frederick Stavros in a private chamber.
Chotas said to Stavros, “I have just had a conference with the judges. If the defendants are willing to change their pleas to guilty, the judges have agreed to give each of them a five-year sentence, four years of which will be suspended. In reality they will never have to serve more than six months. He turned to Larry. “Because you are an American, Mr. Douglas, you will be deported. You will never be permitted to return to Greece.”
Noelle Page and Larry Douglas had eagerly agreed to change their pleas. Fifteen minutes later, as the defendants and their lawyers stood in front of the bench, the Chief Justice said, “The Greek courts have never given the death penalty in a case where a murder has not been definitely proven to have been committed. My colleagues and I were, for that reason, frankly surprised when the defendants changed their pleas to guilty, in mid-trial…I pronounce that the sentence on the two defendants, Noelle Page and Lawrence Douglas, shall be execution by a firing squad…to be carried out within ninety days from this date.”
And that was the moment when Stavros knew that Napoleon Chotas had tricked them all. There had never been a deal. Chotas had been hired by Constantin Demiris not to defend Noelle Page but to make sure she was convicted. This was Demiris’s revenge on the woman who had betrayed him. Stavros had been an unwitting party to a cold-blooded frame-up.
I can’t let this happen, Stavros thought. I’ll go tell the Chief Justice what Chotas did and the verdict will be overturned.
And then Napoleon Chotas had come up to Stavros and said, “If you’re free tomorrow, why don’t you come and have lunch with me, Frederick? I’d like you to meet my partners…”
Four weeks later, Frederick Stavros was a full partner in the prestigious firm of Tritsis and Tritsis, with a large office and a generous salary. He had sold his soul to the devil. But he had come to the realization that it was a bargain too terrible to keep. I can’t go on like this.