"Same thing," Cannon cut in. "Bossard was innocent, as far as any
criminal intent was concerned, but he was too easy on his so-called
friends. He--"
"Oh, _crud_, Jim!" the governor interrupted vehemently. "That's the same
whitewash that Matthew Fisher gave him! The evidence would have
convicted Bossard if Fisher hadn't given him time to cover up!"
* * * * *
Senator James Cannon suddenly became angry. He jammed his own cigarette
butt into the ash tray, turned toward Spanding, and snapped: "Harry,
just for the sake of argument, let's suppose that Bossard wasn't
actually guilty. Let's suppose that the Constitution of the United
States is really true--that a man isn't guilty until he's proven guilty.
"Just _suppose_"--his voice and expression became suddenly acid--"that
Bossard was _not_ guilty. Try that, huh? Pretend, somewhere in your own
little mind, that a mere accusation--no matter what the
evidence--doesn't prove anything! Let's just make a little game between
the two of us that the ideal of Equality Under the Law means what it
says. Want to play?"
"Well, yes, but--"
"O.K.," Cannon went on angrily. "O.K. Then let's suppose that Bossard
really _was_ stupid. He could have been framed easily, couldn't he? He
could have been set up as a patsy, couldn't he? _Couldn't he?_"
"Well, sure, but--"
"Sure! Then go on and suppose that the prosecuting attorney had sense
enough to see that Bossard _had_ been framed. Suppose further that the
prosecutor was enough of a human being to know that Bossard either had
to be convicted or completely exonerated. What would he do?"
Governor Spanding carefully put his cigarette into the nearest ash tray.
"If that were the case, I'd _completely_ exonerate him. I wouldn't leave
it hanging. Matt Fisher didn't do anything but make sure that Bossard
couldn't be legally convicted; he didn't prove that Bossard was
innocent."
"And what was the result, as far as Bossard was concerned?" the senator
asked.
Spanding looked around at the senator, staring Cannon straight in the
face. "The result was that Bossard was left hanging, Jim. If I go along
with you and assume that Bossard was innocent, then Fisher fouled up
just as badly as he would have if he'd fluffed the prosecution of a
guilty man. Either a man is guilty, or he's innocent. If, according to
your theory, the prosecutor knows he's innocent, then he should
exonerate the innocent man! If not, he should do his best to convict!"
"He should?" snapped Cannon. "He _should_? Harry, you're letting your
idealism run away with you! If Bossard were guilty, he should have been
convicted--sure! But if he were innocent, should he be exonerated?
Should he be allowed to run again for office? Should the people be
allowed to think that he was lily-white? Should they be allowed to
re-elect a nitwit who'd do the same thing again because he was too
stupid to see that he was being used?
"No!" He didn't let the governor time to speak; he went on: "Matthew
Fisher set it up perfectly. He exonerated Bossard enough to allow the
ex-mayor to continue in private life without any question. _But_--there
remained just enough question to keep him out of public office for the
rest of his life. Was that wrong, Harry? Was it?"
Spanding looked blankly at the senator for a moment, then his expression
slowly changed to one of grudging admiration. "Well ... if you put it
that way ... yeah. I mean, no; it wasn't wrong. It was the only way to
play it." He dropped his cigarette into a nearby ash tray. "O.K., Jim;
you win. I'll back Fisher all the way."
"Thanks, Harry," Cannon said. "Now, if we--"
Congressman Matson came back into the room, saying, "I got 'em, Jim.
Five or ten minutes, they'll be here. Which one of 'em is it going to
be?"
"Matt Fisher, if we can come to an agreement," Cannon said, watching
Matson's face closely.
Matson chewed at his cigar for a moment, then nodded. "He'll do. Not
much political personality, but, hell, he's only running for Veep. We
can get him through." He took the cigar out of his mouth. "How do you
want to run it?"
"I'll talk to Fisher in my bedroom. You and Harry hold the others in
here with the usual chitchat. Tell 'em I'm thinking over the choice of
my running mate, but don't tell 'em I've made up my mind yet. If Matt
Fisher doesn't want it, we can tell the others that Matt and I were
simply talking over the possibilities. I don't want anyone to think he's
second choice. Got it?"