Free Blood Royal by Harold Robbins Page B

version.
    He pursed his lips. “I don’t believe I know enough about your theory to stand in judgment. You’ve explained it, you have been successful at it. But your success has come in American courtrooms, where you sold facts to a jury rather than legal theory to a judge. Our legal system is not as sensitive to women’s issues as yours. Political correctness isn’t as adhered to here. Our judiciary has been accused of being an old boys’ club and there’s reasons for it. How long would a judge last in America who states that a wife contributed to the rape of her fourteen-year-old daughter by her husband, the girl’s stepfather, because she denied him sex?”
    “It would have made headlines and been the subject of talk shows. The judge would be hounded off the bench.”
    “It caused a flap, but not the sensation that it would have caused in America. People may be just as offended about the remark, may seek to have the judge redressed for stating it, but the judge wouldn’t be electronically lynched by a massive media campaign.”
    Marlowe said, “The cases I’ve won were achieved in the courtroom, not in the media. And the way I succeeded with them is no different than the way most attorneys try to handle criminal cases. I humanize the defendant until the jurors can stand in the defendant’s shoes and understand the pain and suffering, the feeling of being trapped and terrified, with no way out except to strike back.”
    “You’re right.” Hall nodded. “But then the issue revolves around how a defendant is humanized, as you put it. Trent, Lord Finfall, and the others think of American courtroom tactics as somewhat, um, shall we say, cinematic. ”
    “In other words, they believe that my tactics are theatrical, and that a British jury won’t go for it.”
    “I suppose that’s a fair statement.”
    “Do you ever watch movies?” Marlowe asked.
    “Movies? Why—yes, I suppose I do, once in a while.”
    “Are you aware that despite the fact most movies are made in America, in terms of the actors, directors, and so forth, there are many Brits, Australians, Canadians, and New Zealanders involved in the production? Considering their smaller populations, as compared to the States, there are probably as many of them as there are Americans in films.”
    “I don’t really follow movie lore, but I’m aware that many top stars are from Britain and other English-speaking countries. What is your point?”
    “Barrister Hall, since we all share the same cinema, and much the same TV, what makes you think that a British jury is going to be any less receptive to courtroom drama than an American one? Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, murder, lust, insanity, I don’t recall any of that being invented by Hollywood. If we’re going to talk about theatrics, England has been exporting it for centuries. People in London may be more conservative than people in Los Angeles, but you’re talking about the way people walk and talk and dress. I would find it hard to believe that Londoners have different attitudes toward battered women than people in L.A., Paris, Rome, or the Tonga Islands.”
    She gave a long sigh and put her head back against the headrest. “I feel like I’ve been run through a ringer.”
    “I’m sorry, it was really inexcusable to hustle you directly into a meeting after a transatlantic flight. You said earlier you were anxious to see the princess. But if you wish, I can pick you up in a couple of hours and take you to see her after you’ve had time to freshen up.”
    “No, let’s go now. I’m afraid that if I go to the hotel, I’ll crawl into bed and crash for the next three days. Which jail is she held at?”
    “The oldest in England. The Tower of London.”

10
    London. Police Morgue
    “Why frozen?” Archer asked the question aloud to himself as he went down the hallway of the medical examiner’s facility. His head was spinning with unanswered questions.
    First the Princess of