Free Blessed are the Merciful by Al Lacy Page A

happens soon, sir. It’s pretty hard to work with other policemen who think I murdered one of our own.”
    When Seth went out on the street, he found that some of Philadelphia’s citizens had not accepted the jury’s verdict either.
    By the end of the day on the following Monday, Seth entered his apartment very discouraged. He sat in an overstuffed chair by the window that overlooked the street and watched the traffic below. People were going about their normal lives, but his life had been anything but normal since the day of his arrest.
    After a few minutes, he went to a dresser drawer, took out an envelope, a pen, and some paper, and sat at the kitchen table. He addressed the envelope to the Chief United States Marshal’s Office in Washington, D.C., then wrote the letter, asking for an application to become a deputy U.S. marshal.
    The next morning Seth mailed the letter on his way to the police station.

    On the evening of August 15, Adam Burke and Philipa Conrad were seated at a table with her parents and other lawyers and their wives, enjoying a lavish meal.
    The convention had proven profitable and enjoyable for the three hundred lawyers who had gathered in Philadelphia to sharpen their skills, learn from one another, and enjoy the social functions that went with it.
    Everyone knew there was to be a special after-dinner speaker that evening, but the leaders of the convention had kept it a secret. George Benson, who was chairman of the convention, had not divulged the speaker’s identity even to his partners in the firm.
    When the meal was over, Benson stood to his feet, lifted his voice above the rumble of conversations that filled the room, and called for attention. Adam helped Philipa position her chair to face the head table, then turned his chair around. He glanced at the head table and saw a familiar face next to his boss, then leaned close to Philipa and whispered, “I just saw the speaker for the first time. It’s Dr. Manfred Welles, my favorite professor at Harvard!”
    “Oh, really? I recall you mentioning his name to me several times.”
    “Brilliant man,” Adam said.
    Welles spotted Adam, and when their eyes met, they smiled and nodded at each other.
    George Benson finished his introduction of Manfred Welles, and several attorneys—including Adam Burke—quickly rose to their feet, applauding. Soon the entire crowd was standing and applauding enthusiastically.
    Welles smiled and waited patiently for the applause to run its course. When everyone was seated, he thanked them for the warm welcome and began recounting some of his experiences with law students at Harvard. Pointing to Adam, Welles told of an experience in class that had made it clear to him Adam was going to be an outstanding attorney.
    Philipa reached over and took Adam’s hand, whispering, “He’s talking about my future husband! I’m so proud of you, darling.”
    Adam raised her hand to his lips and kissed it softly.
    Dr. Welles looked at Adam, then said to the crowd, “Chairman Benson is Adam Burke’s boss, folks. During dinner he told me of Mr. Burke’s success thus far in his firm, especially the case he recently won involving a Philadelphia police officer who had been falsely accused of murder.”
    There were cheers and applause.
    “I have to tell you, folks, that except for my help, Mr. Burke would never have made it in the legal field. He would probably be pushing a broom in some Boston warehouse!”
    Everyone laughed.
    Welles went on with his speech, addressing the problems facing lawyers and challenging every lawyer present to serve his clients better than ever before.
    When the speech was finished, the crowd applauded vigorously. George Benson made a few remarks and then announced the end of the convention.
    Adam took Philipa by the hand. “Come on, honey, I want you to meet Dr. Welles.”
    They had to wait a few seconds for others who had reached Welles first, but soon Adam was able to introduce his former professor to