It was the most publicized murder case in history, but one lawyer refused to play along.
Charlie Trust is doing pretty well for himself.
He’s in a law partnership with Sandy Bouchier, once one of America’s most famous criminal lawyers who’s now up in years and looking to pass on his practice to Charlie. He also owns a house on Malibu’s Carbon Beach left to him by an old friend. And he has a cherry-red 1969 Mustang convertible to cruise around LA. Pretty cool, huh? Charlie thinks so, too, which is why he’s determined not to let it all come apart.
Along with everyone else in LA, and darn near everyone else on the planet, Charlie watches absolutely riveted as the slowest police pursuit in history unfolds live on television. O.J. Simpson has been accused of brutally murdering his ex-wife and a man named Ronald Goldman, and now Simpson is in the backseat of a white Ford Bronco driven by his friend Al Cowlings. He appears to be on the run, but no one knows where he’s running to. Where could O.J. Simpson actually go? He has one of the most recognizable faces in the entire world.
If O.J. is running, he’s running really slowly. Crowds of people are gathered on the overpasses to cheer O.J. on, and there must be fifty police cars trailing behind the Bronco as Cowlings makes his way along the freeways of LA at a sedate pace. The cops hang back. Cowlings is telling them on the telephone that O.J. has a gun and he’s threatening to commit suicide, and no one wants to be responsible for that.
Charlie is particularly intrigued by the whole spectacle since he knows O.J. slightly. They’ve met a few times here and there around LA. Once O.J. even asked for Charlie’s business card. He told Charlie he wanted to know how to find him if he ever needed a criminal lawyer. They both laughed at that back then, but somehow the joke doesn’t seem nearly so funny now.
Eventually, Cowlings works out a deal with the cops, and he drives O.J. back home to Brentwood to turn himself in. It looks like the circus is all over, so Charlie shuts off the television and works for the rest of the afternoon on a motion he has to file next week. He’s just packing up his briefcase to leave the office when his secretary buzzes him to say he has a call.
‘I’ve had enough for today,’ Charlie says. ‘Tell them I’ve already left. I’ll call back tomorrow.’
‘Oh, I think you'll want to take this call,’ she says.
‘And why would I want to do that?’ Charlie asks.
‘Because,’ she answers very quietly, ‘it’s O. J. Simpson.’
The fourth explosive installment in the Charlie Trust series is a mesmerizing legal thriller that takes you back to when American justice became American entertainment.
The California dream comes face to face with the American nightmare. And they both look like they're out to get Charlie Trust.
Genre: Mystery
Charlie Trust is doing pretty well for himself.
He’s in a law partnership with Sandy Bouchier, once one of America’s most famous criminal lawyers who’s now up in years and looking to pass on his practice to Charlie. He also owns a house on Malibu’s Carbon Beach left to him by an old friend. And he has a cherry-red 1969 Mustang convertible to cruise around LA. Pretty cool, huh? Charlie thinks so, too, which is why he’s determined not to let it all come apart.
Along with everyone else in LA, and darn near everyone else on the planet, Charlie watches absolutely riveted as the slowest police pursuit in history unfolds live on television. O.J. Simpson has been accused of brutally murdering his ex-wife and a man named Ronald Goldman, and now Simpson is in the backseat of a white Ford Bronco driven by his friend Al Cowlings. He appears to be on the run, but no one knows where he’s running to. Where could O.J. Simpson actually go? He has one of the most recognizable faces in the entire world.
If O.J. is running, he’s running really slowly. Crowds of people are gathered on the overpasses to cheer O.J. on, and there must be fifty police cars trailing behind the Bronco as Cowlings makes his way along the freeways of LA at a sedate pace. The cops hang back. Cowlings is telling them on the telephone that O.J. has a gun and he’s threatening to commit suicide, and no one wants to be responsible for that.
Charlie is particularly intrigued by the whole spectacle since he knows O.J. slightly. They’ve met a few times here and there around LA. Once O.J. even asked for Charlie’s business card. He told Charlie he wanted to know how to find him if he ever needed a criminal lawyer. They both laughed at that back then, but somehow the joke doesn’t seem nearly so funny now.
Eventually, Cowlings works out a deal with the cops, and he drives O.J. back home to Brentwood to turn himself in. It looks like the circus is all over, so Charlie shuts off the television and works for the rest of the afternoon on a motion he has to file next week. He’s just packing up his briefcase to leave the office when his secretary buzzes him to say he has a call.
‘I’ve had enough for today,’ Charlie says. ‘Tell them I’ve already left. I’ll call back tomorrow.’
‘Oh, I think you'll want to take this call,’ she says.
‘And why would I want to do that?’ Charlie asks.
‘Because,’ she answers very quietly, ‘it’s O. J. Simpson.’
The fourth explosive installment in the Charlie Trust series is a mesmerizing legal thriller that takes you back to when American justice became American entertainment.
The California dream comes face to face with the American nightmare. And they both look like they're out to get Charlie Trust.
Genre: Mystery