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a job with Stanford Enterprises. Well, forget it. I wouldn't let you
within a mile of id' When Tyler was graduated from law school he could
have practised in Boston, and because of the family name he would have
been welcomed on the boards of dozens of companies, but he preferred to
get far away from his father. He decided to set up a law practice in
Chicago. In the beginning, it was difficult. He r&fused to trade on his
family name, and clients were scarce. Chicago politics were run by the
Machine, and Tyler very quickly learned that it would be advantageous
for a young lawyer to become involved with the powerful central Cook
County Lawyers Association. He was given a job with the district
attorney's office. He had a keen mind and was a quick study, and it was
not long before he became invaluable to them. He prosecuted felons
accused of every conceivable crime, and his record of convictions was
phenomenal. He rose rapidly through the ranks, and finally the 70 day
came when he* received his reward. He was appointed Cook County circuit
court judge. He had thought his father finally would be proud of him. He
was wrong. '? A circuit court judge? For God's sake, I wouldn't let you
judge a baking contest!' Judge Tyler Stanford was a short, slightly
overweight man with sharp, calculating eyes and a hard mouth. He had
none of his father's charisma or attractiveness. His outstanding feature
was a deep, sonorous voice, perfect for pronouncing sentence. Tyler
Stanford was a private man who kept his thoughts to himself. He was
forty years old, but he looked much older than his years. He prided
himself on having no sense of humor. Life was too grim for levity. His
only hobby was chess, arth once a week he played at a local club, where
he invariably won. Tyler Stanford was a brilliant jurist, held in high
esteem by his fellow judges, who often came to him for advice. Very few
people were aware that he was one of the Stanfords.
He never mentioned his father's name. The judge's chambers were in the
large Cook County Criminal Court Building at Twenty-sixth and California
streets, a fourteen-storey stone edifice with steps leading up to the
front entrance. It was in a dangerous neighborhood, and a notice outside
stated: BY JUDICIAL 71 ORDER, ALL PERSONS ENTERING THIS BUILDING S14ALL
SUBMIT TO SEARCH. This was where Tyler spent his days, hearing cases
involving robbery, burglary, rape, shootings, drugs and murders.
Ruthless in his decisions, he became known as the Hanging Judge. All day
long he listened to defendants pleading poverty, child abuse, broken
homes, and a hundred other excuses. He accepted none of them. A crime
was a crime and had to be punished. And in the back of his mind, always,
was his father. Tyler Stanford's fellow judges knew very little about
his personal life.. They knew that he had had a bitter marriage and was
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now divorced, and that he lived alone in a small three-bedroom Georgian
house on Kimbark Avenue in Hyde Park. The area was surrounded by
beautiful old homes, because the great fire of 1871 that razed Chicago
had whimsically spared the Hyde Park district. He made no friends in the
neighborhood, and his neighbors knew nothing about him. He had a
housekeeper who came in three times a week, but Tyler did the shopping
himself. He was a methodical man with a fixed routine. On Saturdays, he
went to Harper Court, a small shopping mall near his home, or to Mr. G's
Fine Foods or Medici's on Fifty-seventh Street. From time to time, at
official gatherings, Tyler would meet the wives of his fellow jurists.
They sensed that 72 he was lonely, and they offered to introduce him to
women friends or invite him to dinner. He always declined. ''m busy that
evening.' His evenings seemed to be full, but they had no idea what he
was doing with them. ' isn't interested in anything but the law,' one of
the judges explained to his wife. ' he's just not interested in meeting
any women yet. I heard he had a terrible marriage.' He was right. After
his divorce, Tyler had. sworn to himself that her would never become
emotionally involved again. And then he had met Lee, and everything had
suddenly changed. Lee was beautiful, sensitive and caring - the one
Tyler wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Tyler loved Lee, but
why should Lee love him? A successful model, Lee had dozens of admirers,
most of them wealthy. And Lee liked expensive things. Tyler had felt
that his cause was hopeless. There was no way to compete with others for
Lee's affection. But overnight, with the death of his father, everything
could change. He could become wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. He
could give Lee the world. Tyler walked into the chambers of the chief
judge. ', I'm afraid I have to go to Boston for a few 73 days. Family
affairs. I wonder if you would have someone, take over my caseload for
me.' ' course. I'll arrange it,' the chief judge said. ' you.' That
afternoon, Judge Tyler Stanford was on his way to Boston. On the plane,
he thought again about his father's words on that terrible day: I know [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]