The Third Twin - Ken Follett [130]
“I asked her to defend herself,” Berrington said indignantly. “She lost her temper and walked out of the room!”
Steve hesitated, then decided to take a theatrical risk. “She walked out of the room!” he said in mock amazement. “She walked out of the room! You showed her a press release announcing the cancellation of her program. No investigation of the source of the newspaper story, no appraisal of the validity of the allegations, no time for discussion, no due process of any kind—you simply declared to this young scientist that her entire life was ruined—and all she did was walk out of the room?” Berrington opened his mouth to speak, but Steve overrode him. “When I think of the injustice, the illegality, the sheer foolishness, of what you did on Wednesday morning, Professor, I cannot imagine how Dr. Ferrami summoned the restraint and self-discipline to confine herself to such a simple, eloquent protest.” He walked back to his seat in silence, then turned to the committee and said: “No more questions.”
Jeannie’s eyes were lowered, but she squeezed his arm. He leaned over and whispered: “How are you?”
“I’m okay.”
He patted her hand. He wanted to say, “I think we’ve won it,” but that would have been tempting fate.
Henry Quinn stood up. He seemed unperturbed. He should have looked more worried after Steve made mincemeat of hisclient. But no doubt it was part of his skill to remain unruffled no matter how badly his case was going.
Quinn said: “Professor, if the university had not discontinued Dr. Ferrami’s research program, and had not fired her, would that have made any difference to the takeover of Genetico by Landsmann?”
“None at all,” Berrington replied.
“Thank you. No more questions.”
That was pretty effective, Steve thought sourly. It kind of punctured his whole cross-examination. He tried not to let Jeannie see the disappointment on his face.
It was Jeannie’s turn, and Steve stood up and led her through her evidence. She was calm and clear as she described her research program and explained the importance of finding raised-apart twins who were criminals. She detailed the precautions she took to ensure that no one’s medical details became known before they had signed a release.
He expected Quinn to cross-examine her and try to show that there was a minuscule chance that confidential information would be revealed by accident. Steve and Jeannie had rehearsed this last night, with him playing the role of prosecution lawyer. But to his surprise Quinn did not have any questions. Was he afraid she would defend herself too ably? Or was he confident he had the verdict sewn up?
Quinn summed up first. He repeated much of Berrington’s evidence, once again being more tedious than Steve thought wise. His concluding speech was short enough, however. “This is a crisis that should never have happened,” he said. “The university authorities behaved judiciously throughout. It was Dr. Ferrami’s impetuousness and intransigence that caused all the drama. Of course she has a contract, and that contract governs her relations with her employer. But senior faculty are, after all, required to supervise junior faculty; and junior faculty, if they have any sense at all, will listen to wise counsel from those older and more experienced than they. Dr Ferrami’s stubborn defiance turned a problem into a crisis, and the only solution to the crisis is for her to leave the university.” He sat down.
It was time for Steve’s speech. He had been rehearsing it all night. He stood up.
“What is Jones Falls University for?”
He paused for dramatic effect.
“The answer may be expressed in one word: knowledge. If we wanted a nutshell definition of the role of the university in American society, we might say its function is to seek knowledge and to spread knowledge.”
He looked at each of the committee, inviting their agreement. Jane Edelsborough nodded. The others were impassive.
He resumed: “Now and again, that function comes under attack. There are always people who want to hide the truth, for one reason or another: political