Sellers said, “You gave me a break in that case involving the blind man. I’ll never forget it, Bertha. We don’t forgive our enemies, or forget our friends up here. Now, that girl sues you for slander. She’s asking for damages for her reputation. That means she puts her reputation into the issues. We’ll go back over her past with a fine-toothed comb. We’ll dig up things that will make her squirm. Then your lawyers can let her lawyers know that you have the dope on her, and she’ll quit.”
Bertha said, “I’m my own lawyer, and don’t tell me I’ve got a fool of a client.”
“What’s the idea acting as your own lawyer?”
“The lawyer who does my work wanted five hundred bucks for a retainer, then had the crust to tell me I could pay more when trial came up.”
Sergeant Sellers whistled.
“That’s just the way I felt about it,” Bertha said.
“Well, let me talk with him, Bertha. Perhaps I can do something about it.”
“I’ve already talked with him about it,” Bertha said. “Something’s been done about it.”
“Then he’s going to represent you?”
“No. He’s going to draw an answer. I’m going to file the answer and pay him twenty-five dollars. From then on I’m on my own.”