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Even more expensive.” I shrugged, feeling at a loss. “Listen, John, I appreciate this, but I could work for a year and never be able to afford your services, so I’ll just take my chances with the free legal aid rep.” “I’ll be requiring an urgent meeting with your superintendent to explain to me in great detail why my client is displaying very clear physical evidence of excessive force at the hands of your colleagues,” he surprised me by saying, turning his steel-blue eyes on the Garda lingering near the door. “Which, before you try to excuse away, I am more than willing to have a medical professional attest to.” “Your client was arrested for fighting. He got those bruises from—” “My client is an eighteen-year-old boy with a horrendous, detailed history of domestic violence. There are reams of reports of him being the victim of atrocious child abuse at the hands of his caregivers. That’s not to mention his even more troubling history of being let down by both the state and the Garda Siochana in this town,” John interjected coolly. “Quite frankly, I’m astounded your superiors had the nerve to take this boy before the judge. Once I’m finished making a spectacle of them, I’ll be turning my attention to the long list of Gards, social workers, and authority figures that failed my client and his family.” Leaning back in his chair, John rolled a pen between his fingers absent-mindedly, while giving the officer a cool appraisal. “Now, when you’re ready, my client and I will have the room.
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