Final Exam: A Legal Thriller by Terry Huebner Read Free Book Online Page A

Greenfield arrived and they began their study of criminal law.   It didn’t take long before they realized that all of the rumors were true - the more prurient and sensational the subject matter of a criminal case, the more likely that Professor Greenfield was to be interested in it and discuss it in class.   Thus, his class focused on assaults, rapes and murders, the more brutal and graphic, the better.   They also noticed Professor Greenfield’s habit of beginning his lectures by starting with a student seated at the end of a row and working down that row, class after class, before moving on to another row.   Although Greenfield was fairly Socratic in nature, he wasn’t particularly difficult to students, unlike some of the other professors in the law school.   He usually allowed students to embarrass themselves before moving on to the next person.   He apparently didn’t feel the need to pile on.
    Many of the women in Greenfield’s class were embarrassed both by the subject matter and his need to hear them recite the specific facts of the crimes described in that day’s cases.   It was about three weeks into the semester and Ben and Meg’s row had yet to be called on in class.   They had been talking about it for days and knew that it was coming sooner or later.   One bright Wednesday morning, their time came.   They were talking about one particular case before class, and Meg was hoping that this would not be the day.   It was a case before the United States Supreme Court, a Justice Brennan opinion involving sexual assault.   Professor Greenfield introduced the case and turned to face them.   “Mr. Lohmeier ,” he said, “can you give us the facts of this case, please?”  
    Megan groaned as Ben began describing the facts in some detail and squirmed uncomfortably to his right while he continued.   After a few moments of this, Greenfield turned to Meg and asked a follow-up question.  
    Without hesitating and before she could speak, Ben cut in and began to answer.   Greenfield stopped him.   “I’m sorry Mr. Lohmeier , I meant that question for Ms. Rand, but since you’ve already started, why don’t you go ahead and finish.”   Megan sighed in relief.   Ben finished his answer and continued to answer all of the questions Greenfield posed until they were done with the case.   Greenfield did not turn his attention back to Meg until the next case, one largely devoid of lurid details.  
    From that date on, the friendship between Benjamin Lohmeier and Megan Rand was set in stone.   Ben’s performance that day not only got Megan off the hook, but also had the unforeseen benefit of inoculating them somewhat from these kinds of cases.   Because he realized that Ben could handle a case like this without any difficulty and throw whatever he dished out right back at him, Professor Greenfield tended to shy away from them in situations like this.   Instead, he preferred to give them cases with more difficult legal issues, not more prurient fact patterns.   And Megan Rand couldn’t have been more grateful.

7
    When Ben dragged himself out of bed on Wednesday morning, he peered through the blinds of his bedroom and saw a smattering of snow flurries falling harmlessly from the sky.   By the time he left his house and headed for Court, more than two inches of fresh snow covered the driveway.   It was twenty-five minutes past eight and he had to be in Wheaton by nine.   “God damn it,” he said to himself as he pulled out of the driveway.   He knew there was no way he would make it on time.  
    Ben arrived at the Courthouse twenty minutes late, but managed to take care of his two status calls without serious difficulty.   His route back to the office took him down Bloomingdale Road, past the former house of Senior Partner Jim Schulte.   He checked his speed as he headed down the hill toward Schulte’s house because he knew that the Ithaca police often hid on the side streets off Bloomingdale