Chapter 5: El Funcionario - excerpt

On the top floor of one of the majestic buildings along Passeig de Gracia, a man enters a lawyer’s office. He finds his prospective legal representative, not eagerly awaiting a potential client, but instead sitting at a large oak desk reading a paper. He coughs to get his attention. The lawyer licks his finger and flips the page.
        “Excuse me,” says the man staring at a person not much older than he, but with a full head of black hair and a round face of someone who eats well.
         Slowly folding the paper along its creases before carefully setting it down, the lawyer stands and comes around his desk. “Yes? How can I help you?” he replies with the intonation and pronunciation of an educated man as he extends his hand to welcome the man.
         The lawyer’s grip is like a military officer’s and the man flinches in pain. “I have a five o’clock appointment. I’m the one who attacked the state employee.”
         “Yes, I know who you are. I saw you on the news.” The lawyer lets go of a limp wrist and motions to a small wooden chair on the other side of the large oak desk. “Please take a seat.”
        “Thanks.” The man carefully removes his faded blazer, hangs it on the back of the chair, making sure it’s perfectly straight and even before he sits down. The wall to his right is papered with prestigious diplomas. “You have to study a lot to be a lawyer, don’t you?”
        “Yes, and take many, many exams.” The lawyer sits down in a leather wingback chair and opens a drawer. “So, tell me. What on earth possessed you to attack someone? You don’t look the type.”
        “It’s a long story.”