The Bentley Barrister - Paperback

by Joel Erik Thompson (Author)

Collum Arbuthnot Taylor was a hell of a quarterback, even as a kid, but he would always simply be CAT to the public, since sportswriters avoid long names, and initials were easier for them to remember and spell.

CAT grew up in an orphanage, always pushing himself to gain recognition by being the best, especially playing football. As a full-scholarship quarterback at Notre Dame, he became a multiyear All-American. After graduating, he earned both a Heisman Trophy, as the nation's best college football player, and a Rhodes scholarship, as an outstanding scholar, because he'd worked just as hard in his classes as he had in the stadiums.

He also became the NFL's first-round draft pick. But rather than signing to immediately play professional football, he opted instead to study law at Oxford University in England on his Rhodes scholarship for a year before agreeing to sign a pro contract for the following season. The signing bonus also bought him his first ever car. A Bentley, of course, purchased directly from the factory in Crewe where they made them. "Naturally, nothing but the best for the best," according to the sports media report of that!

After an ugly car crash instantly ends his football career, his future moves into the criminal courts and his law career.

Collum, as we catch up to him, is in the midst of an ugly high-profile murder trial, with ugly racial overtones, and before a belligerent judge he's fought with and competed against since their childhood years growing up at different schools, but in the same small city.

We're also privy to CAT's planning and courtroom trial strategy meetings with his staff and in jail visits with his defendant/client. During a critical stage of this trial. CAT answers a late-night phone call. It's from his best friend and former teammate Racer Roosevelt who has just been arrested a thousand miles away and charged with raping the local TV news anchor. He swears to CAT that he's innocent, begging him to come and represent him.

Can CAT be in two places at once? Never know what you can accomplish until you give it your best shot!