"During discovery, we take depositions. Al Garret will have to depose a lot more witness than we do in order to even come close to presenting his case. Conservatively speaking, he's looking at nearly a thousand bucks a day that he must bill Trenchant.
"And that's not even the best part." Murrain caressed his face with his hand as if re-oiling the smile on its surface. "I'll coach our people in evasive answers, which means that it will take days of deposition time for him to get the information that an unprepared witness would give in a hour.
"Good." The Pope was pleased.
Not so pleased was Al Garret and the plaintiff. Both attorneys had agreed some months ago that the process of discovery would not be commenced until the judge had given his final ruling on the motions and the trial date set. Murrain delivered his low blow without missing a beat. "Oh," he cooed when Al called him to complain, "I must have misunderstood. I thought you wanted to get started before the final ruling."
Al was outclassed and he knew it. Apologetically, he called the plaintiff and drew her the financial picture. An appeal to the judge for permission to delay discovery was ignored—Murrain had carefully picked his time. It was one of the last orders the judge signed before departing on his vacation.
That's all she wrote, Diana acknowledged In debt and unemployed, she dropped her illegal-termination suit against Belmont University.
AFTERGLOW
Chapter 40
Deep within the bowels of the Belmont library building, the university archivist, Igor O'Toole, had been keeping an informal running tally of events relating to the SmurFF Affair. He had gleaned the information from his friend, Diana, confirmed gossip, media sources, university documents and private sources which he knew to be reliable and would not reveal. He had, over the past two years, posted it in a scrapbook.