The Rainmaker by John Grisham Learn English through story level 5

chapter one

the black case

it’s no secret that there are too many

lawyers here in memphis

next month when we graduate from law

school

many graduates won’t have jobs to go to

some of those who do have jobs will be

doing boring work for very little money

the lucky ones who have been accepted by

big private firms

will work 70 hours a week but will make

real money

i am one of the lucky ones

i have a job in a small respectable firm

called broadnax and spear

and i’ll be making more money than i can

spend

at least that’s what i thought until a

few minutes ago

i just heard that broad necks and spear

has been bought by tinley britt one of

the big old firms

i called but no one would tell me

anything

i’m driving my old toyota as calmly as i

can and wondering whether i still have a

job

i walk into the building

richard spain a really nice guy who took

me to lunch the first time i visited

here is sitting by the elevators looking

at the floor

richard

it’s me rudy baylor

richard doesn’t move

i sit down next to him

what’s the matter richard i ask

they fired me

they fired all of us

tinley britt just wanted our clients

you’re fired too rudy

do you realize you lost your first job

before you even started

i take the elevator to the fourth floor

and who are you

ask the uniformed guard at the desk

rudy baylor

here this is for you

read it and leave

it is one paragraph

i have no job

i have no money

i do however have a case

and it may be a very good one

one of my classes this year is legal

problems of the elderly

to get experience we visit a club for

elderly people and give them free legal

advice

we went today

it seems like weeks have passed since

stop black came up to me with the papers

but it was only this morning

she and her husband are younger than the

others

buddy and me

we don’t have much money she says

quietly embarrassed

and

we need a lawyer

she adds

what’s the problem i ask

we’re being cheated by an insurance

company

we started a medical policy five years

ago when our two sons were 17.

we’ve never missed a payment

my boy donnie ray got leukemia eight

months ago

now he’s dying because great benefit

won’t pay for a bone marrow transplant

a transplant

i say confused

my boys are identical twins

bone marrow from donnie ray’s brother

ron is a perfect match for donnie ray’s

the doctor said so

the transplant costs about 150 000

their insurance company is supposed to

pay it it says so in the policy

so donnie ray is dying because of them

dot pushes a pile of papers across the

desk

i look quickly through the papers the

policy and letters to and from great

benefit

are you sure bone marrow transplants are

covered in the policy i ask

hell yes

our doctor said they should pay because

bone marrow transplants are routine

treatment now

i look at the next letter

at first it looks like all the others

quick and nasty

dear mrs black

on seven previous occasions this company

has denied your claim in writing

we now deny it for the eighth and final

time

you must be stupid stupid stupid

it was signed by the head of the claims

department

i can’t believe it

i’ll have to study these i say

can you send me his medical records

sure

but please hurry rudy

my boy is dying

i go home and read everything doc gave

me

i read the stupid letter again

it is shocking and mean and written by

someone who never thought the blacks

would show it to a lawyer

i study the records

the blacks paid 18 a week for five years

i keep thinking about max luberg who

taught insurance law last fall

i’m not a real lawyer

but this is a real case

and i need help

i find blueberg’s office in the law

school

it’s filled with books and newspapers

and files it’s a mess

come in he shouts

he’s a thin short man 60 with wild hair

and hands that are always moving

he wears jeans and a t-shirt

baker what can i do for you baylor rudy

baylor i say

then i tell him about the blacks fight

with great benefit

he listens to every word

have you ever heard of great benefit

yeah it’s a big company that sells a lot

of cheap insurance

very unpleasant

let me see the policy

what are their reasons for refusing to

pay

first they just refused then they said

leukemia wasn’t covered

then that donny ray had leukemia before

they bought the policy

then that he was an adult and wasn’t

covered by his parents policy

were all the premiums paid

mrs black says they were i answer

the bastards

says max smiling

max loves this kind of fight poor people

against big powerful companies and you

checked the whole file

yeah i read everything the client gave

me i say

i give him the stupid letter he reads it

twice

unbelievable he says

i’ll read it all tonight

no problem i say

can i come back tomorrow

sure anytime

i’ll meet him listen to his advice and

then type up a two-page report for the

blacks

all through law school i’ve worked

nights at yogi’s bar

it’s a student place owned by prince

thomas

prince is a big man with thick arms and

long hair

he likes to sit at a table near the big

screen tv watch the ball games talk to

pretty girls and drink

people say that not all prince’s

business activities are exactly legal

but

i don’t care

he’s been good to me

for 20 hours a week i make five dollars

an hour

every day students come in looking for

work

so i feel lucky to have the job

it’s okay to be a waiter while you’re a

student

but it won’t be okay when i graduate

i have to find a real job

first i try the law school employment

office madeline skinner

she’s very good at what she does

she knows the right people in the right

firms because she helped them get their

jobs when they left college

hello rudy

hi

i say smiley

rough day huh she knows

broadnax and spear wanted to keep you

but the new firm refused she says

so

what’s left

i ask

not much she says quickly

in fact nothing

what should i do

start knocking on doors there are 3 000

lawyers in this city mostly people

working alone or in small firms offer to

do the work they don’t want

how many times have you given this

advice lately

we have 15 graduates looking for work

thanks mrs skinner

i’ll keep looking

check with me next week

i go to the library

booker kane is waiting to study for the

bar with me

booker is black and my best friend

he and his wife charlene have invited me

to dinner twice a month for three years

booker

i’ve lost the job at broad necks and

spear

he looks shocked

so what are you going to do

find another job

study i tell them about the black case

max blueberg is reading the stuff

tonight

chapter 2

job hunting

when i get to max luberg’s office he

smiles

i read the whole file last night

this kind of behavior is typical of

these companies

they sell to the uneducated and when

claims are made the companies refuse to

pay

don’t they get sued

not often

their clients are the kind of people who

are afraid of lawyers

and the legal system

what happens when they do get sued i ask

generally

not much

there have been some large settlements

around the country

but donnie ray is dying because he can’t

get the transplant he’s supposed to get

under the policy right

yes

if his parents have told you everything

it’s a good case

not a great one

this is tennessee where there are rarely

large settlements

especially in memphis

so

what do i do

i ask

sue the bastards

i don’t have a license

not you

send the family to an experienced lawyer

make a few phone calls for them

do what you can

thanks

i say

the black home is a small brick house

like a thousand others in the

neighborhood

except that the front yard is neater

than most

an old chevrolet sits in the garage

it’s mid-afternoon and the temperature

is nearly ninety

the windows and doors are open

i knock gently and dot comes to the

front door

it’s me mrs black a rudy baylor

i’d like to discuss a few things

i follow her into the kitchen

buddy isn’t around

and i guess donnie rae is in his bedroom

where’s buddy

i ask like we are old friends

she points out the window to the

backyard

under a tree is an old ford fair lane

it’s white with two doors

both of which are open

a cat is sleeping on the roof

he’s sitting in his car

she explains

the car looks like it hasn’t moved in a

long time

where is he going

i ask

and she actually smiles

buddy he ain’t going nowhere he sits in

there every day all day

just buddy and the cats

but he ain’t right in the head

how’s donny ray

i ask

he stays in bed most of the time

look

i advise you to sue

immediately

but don’t expect a quick solution

you’re fighting a big company with lots

of lawyers who can delay and delay

how long will it take

it could take months

maybe years

he’ll be dead in a few months

can i ask you something

great benefit first denied this claim

last august

right after donnie ray was diagnosed

why did you wait until now to see a

lawyer

i thought the insurance company would

pay the claim

i kept writing them they kept writing

back

i don’t know

just stupid i guess

we’d paid the premium so regularly over

the years never late

and i ain’t never used a lawyer you know

no divorce or anything like that

she turns sadly and looks through the

window at the fair lane

he drinks a lot you know

and i don’t really care

it makes him happy

look dot

i know i don’t have any experience but

i’d like to handle this case for you

she has an almost hopeless look on her

face

one lawyer’s as good as the next

how strange

lawyers spend a fortune on advertising

but there are still people like dot who

don’t know an experienced lawyer from a

third year law student

i’ll have to work with another lawyer

until i pass the bar exam you know

how much will it cost

she asks looking at me

i give her a smile

nothing

i’ll take a third of whatever we get

if we don’t win

i don’t get anything

how much

we sue for millions i say

and she smiles

i don’t think there is a greedy bone in

this woman’s body

any dream she had disappeared long ago

but she likes the idea of making great

benefits suffer

and you get a third of it

yes

after donnie rae’s medical bills are

paid

she hits the table

then do it

now

okay

i’ll start work i say

don’t you want to meet donnie ray i’ll

come back soon to ask him a few

questions

just hurry okay

at yogi’s i stay busy

prince is drinking with his lawyer

bruiser stone an enormously fat man with

long thick gray hair and a small beard

together they look like two bears

the next day

i have an appointment with barry x

lancaster

a rising star in the lake firm

jonathan lake is famous in memphis

he graduated from law school and

couldn’t find a job

so he started in business by himself

one night he crashed his motorcycle and

woke up with a broken leg in st peter’s

hospital

the guy in the next bed had also had an

accident and was badly burned

his girlfriend had died

after he and lake became friends

lake signed up both cases sued

and won

six months after passing the bar exam

jonathan lake settled the cases for 2.6

million dollars cash

lake got half

with 1.3 million dollars lake built an

office and filled it with people he

studied hard trained himself and quickly

became the best trial lawyer in

tennessee

barry is quite busy

tell me about your case

well

i’m actually here looking for a job i

say boldly

i saw your advertisement for an

assistant

i’m really busy

okay then i say

i rush through my usual routine about

being bright and in the top third of my

class and how i had a job with broadnax

and spear

i tell him how useful i can be to him

he can use me to do all his boring work

and pay me twenty four thousand dollars

instead of the usual forty

twenty one thousand

i’ll take it

i reply quickly

i’ll work a whole year at twenty one

i promise i won’t leave for 12 months

i’ll work 60 70 hours a week

no vacation

i’ll discuss it with mr lake

maybe he’ll agree

i also have a very good case

i handed my report on the black case and

he reads it twice

you want a job and part of the fee

he asks

no

just the job the case is yours

i’d like to work on it and handle the

client

but the fee is yours

i’ll let you know

back at my apartment the phone rings

it’s barry x

i’ll hire you as an assistant for 12

months

we will represent the blacks against

great benefit

you will work on the case but you will

not receive any of the fees

when do i start

right now

i’d like to discuss the case tonight

we need to get a contract signed by the

blacks

he says

i leave barry’s office after 10 o’clock

i’m smiling as i drive home

i’ll call booker first thing in the

morning with the good news

then i’ll take mrs skinner some flowers

at yogi’s prince says that he is sorry

i’m leaving but i will still work

weekends until i take the bar exam

on my fourth day at lakes barry hands me

a thin file

i want you to go see the blacks and get

this contract signed by all three

it needs to be done now

i call dot and explain

when i arrive dot is alone in the

kitchen

buddy won’t come in

why not i ask

doc just looks out the window

i’ll get donnie ray

i hear dots speaking softly to her son

then they’re in the kitchen

i stand to meet donnie ray black

he is definitely close to death

but he smiles and holds out a bony hand

which i shake

carefully nice to meet you

mom said nice things about you

he replies

his voice is weak but his words are

clear

she says you’re suing those bastards at

great benefit

that’s right i say

is daddy coming in

donnie ray asks

he said he won’t

says dot sadly

i pull the contract from the file

this must be signed by all three of you

before we can start suing them

well

he said he ain’t coming in

she said

just get a pen and go out there and make

him sign the thing

donnie ray tells his mother angrily

she walks out slowly across the yard a

cat sees her coming and dives under the

car

the doors are open and doc pushes the

contract inside

i know you think they’re crazy

donny ray says reading my mind

but they’re good people who have had

some bad luck

if i’d had the transplant

hell

even six months ago

then i’d have had a 90 chance of being

cured

whenever you get out of this case

please take care of them with it

i hate great benefit life insurance

company

dot opens the door and slides the

contract across the table

buddy has signed it

donnie ray

and his mother sign

when i leave them

dodd is gently rubbing donny ray’s arm

and telling him that things will get

better

chapter 3

the fire

after dark on tuesday i’m in my

apartment when the phone rings

it’s dot black

and i know something is wrong because

she wouldn’t normally call me

i just got a phone call

she says

from a mr barry lancaster

said he was my lawyer

that’s true dot

he’s an important lawyer with my firm

he works with me

well

that ain’t what he said

he called to see if me and donny ray can

come down to his office tomorrow

he needed to get some things signed

i asked about you and he said you ain’t

working there

i suddenly feel sick

it’s a big firm and i’m new he probably

just forgot about me

no

he said you used to work there

but not now

this is pretty confusing you know

i know i fall into a chair and try to

think clearly

it’s almost nine o’clock

look

dot

let me call mr lancaster and find out

what’s happening

i’ll call you back

i’m friendly

barry

rudy

did you see my report

yeah

it looks great

he sounds tired

rudy

there’s a problem

jonathan lake doesn’t want to employ you

i want to talk to jonathan lake i say as

firmly as possible

absolutely not

he’s too busy

you bastard

calm down rudy

is lake in the office now

i demand

probably but he won’t see you

ten minutes later i bang on the front

door

but nobody appears

a uniformed guard steps from the shadows

and holds my shoulder

my knees are weak with fear

he’s at least six foot six black with a

black cap

you need to leave some

he says gently in a deep voice

i push his hand off my shoulder and walk

away

i sit for hours on the old sofa in my

apartment

i curse and i cry

and then i start to plan my revenge

i finally fall asleep on the sofa

but something wakes me after nine

there are two policemen at the door

and i invite them in

now

what’s going on i ask

you know where jonathan lakes offices

yes

did you go there last night

yes

what time

between nine and ten

what was your purpose in going there

it’s a long story

we have hours

i wanted to talk to jonathan lake

did you

no

the doors were locked i couldn’t get in

did you try to break in

no

are you sure

yes

ask the guard

the policeman looked at each other

can you describe him

big black guy

probably six six uniform cap gun

ask him he’ll tell you i left when he

told me to leave

we can’t ask him

why not i ask

something awful is coming

because

he’s dead

they are both watching me carefully to

see how i react

i am shocked like anyone else would be

how

uh

how did he die

burned up in the fire

what fire

someone thinks they saw your car near

the office at two this morning

not my car

what fire

i ask again

the lake firm was burned last night

completely destroyed

and barry lancaster told you that i’d

make a wonderful suspect

i say

mr lancaster said you were pretty upset

when you went to the office last night

true

but not mad enough to set fire to the

place

you guys are wasting your time i swear

he said you’d just been fired and you

wanted to talk to mr lake

true true true

but that doesn’t mean that i wanted to

burn his offices down

you’d better talk to a lawyer

right now

you’re the main suspect

i find prince in his office at yogi’s

he is not a morning person and i usually

try to avoid him until he’s had his

third drink

that’s at about 6 p.m

so i’m much too early

what’s wrong

he says

his eyes are red he looks terrible

and he’s in a bad mood

i’m in trouble i say

i tell him about losing the job the fire

the police the dead body everything

so lake got burned down

he looks amused

i never particularly liked him

you sure you didn’t do it

of course not prince

you’d better talk to a lawyer

i can’t afford a lawyer i say

let me call bruiser

he picks up the phone and a few minutes

later we’re in the back of princess

cadillac and he’s telling me all about

his old friend’s career

oddly i begin to relax

bruiser went to law school at night and

finished when he was 22.

he and prince were best friends as

children

and in high school

when bruiser went to college prince

bought a beer truck

they could write a book about the things

they’ve done together since then

i’ve served bruiser a thousand drinks

but i’ve never had an actual

conversation with him

i explain my problem

i saw it on the news

when do you take the bar exam

july

then what

i don’t know

i’ll look around

prince jumps into the conversation

can’t you use him around here bruiser

you have a lot of lawyers what

difference does one more make

he’s a top student bright

works hard

i look at prince who smiles at me like

santa claus

we both look at bruiser who’s trying to

think of an excuse

uh

sure

i’m always looking for good legal talent

but it wouldn’t exactly be a salaried

position

i expect people to pay for themselves

how does that work i ask

you get a thousand dollars a month and

you keep one-third of the fees you earn

one-third goes to my office for

secretarial work

one-third comes to me

if your third is less than a thousand

you owe me the difference

bruiser is watching me closely

he’s offering me the only job left in

the city of memphis

and he knows i don’t want to take it

when can i start

right now

but the bar exam

don’t worry about it

he hands me a ring with two keys on it

you’re free to come and go with all ours

be careful at night

this is not the best part of town

there’s something else

i give him a rapid fact-filled report on

the black case and explain how barry

lancaster used me so he could steal the

case

we have to file suit today

because lancaster technically owns the

case i think he’ll file soon

have the client signed up with lake

yes

but i’m going to go see them now

they’ll listen to me

i show bruiser a copy of the lawsuit

against great benefit and a letter that

i’ve typed to bury x lancaster to be

signed by all the blacks

closing their contract with lake

he reads them slowly

this is good work rudy

let me guess

you filed the lawsuit this afternoon

show a copy to the blacks then ask them

to sign the letter

right

i just need your name and signature on

the lawsuit

i’ll do all the work and keep you

informed

i like it

what’s the lawsuit worth

probably whatever the jury says

and you’re going to be the trial lawyer

i’ll need a little help

it’s about a year or two away

i’ll introduce you to dex shifflet

he used to work for a big insurance

company and checks a lot of policies for

me

his office is down the hall from yours

get this document rewritten put my name

on it

and we’ll get it filed today

just make sure that the clients agree

they will thanks i say

five minutes before the court’s offices

close i file my lawsuit against great

benefit life insurance

my clients the blacks are asking for two

hundred thousand dollars actual damages

plus ten million dollars in punitive

damages

i pulled the figure of 10 million from

the air because it sounds good

trial lawyers do this all the time

great benefit has officially been sued

i race across town to my client

buddy is outside

but dot fetches donnie ray from his room

and the three of us sit around the table

while they admire their copy of the

lawsuit and the big numbers

dot keeps repeating the sum of ten

million

i explain what happened with those awful

people at the lake firm

but dodd and donnie ray really don’t

care

the lawsuit has been filed

and they can read it as often as they

want

they want to know what happens next and

what the chances are of a quick

settlement

these questions are difficult

i know the process will take too long

and i feel cruel hiding this

i persuade them to sign a letter firing

barry x lancaster and a new contract

with the firm of j lyman stone

i explain the new paperwork

donnie rae and i watch as dot quarrels

with her husband out in the car

they’re more cheerful now

they’ve finally fought back and sued

this company that they hate

but i’ve got other problems

i have no idea how bruiser expects me to

start making money immediately

if i win the black case it’ll be many

months away

i’ll continue at yogi’s for a while

five dollars an hour dinner and a few

beers

firms in this town usually expect their

lawyers to wear nice suits drive a good

car

live in a respectable house

even to spend time at the right clubs

not my firm

i can wear anything go anywhere

and no one cares

suddenly

i have a wonderful feeling of

independence

i’m going to be

okay

i need to tell booker about my recent

adventures

for three years we’ve been able to

encourage and help each other

now we’ve got to get back to studying

the bar exam

is very close

chapter four

a trip to the hospital

i’m in my office wondering how i’m

supposed to make a thousand dollars this

month when bruiser comes in

he slides a piece of paper across my

desk

it’s a copy of a police report he says

already halfway to the door

about me i ask suddenly frightened

no

it’s an accident report

a car wreck last night

maybe a drunk driver who drove through a

red light

do we represent one of the not yet

it’s your job to get the case

find out everything you can

there might be some good injuries

i’m thoroughly confused and he leaves me

that way

the accident report is filled with

information

names of drivers and passengers

addresses telephone numbers injuries

damage to vehicles witness reports

both drivers were taken to the hospital

the one who drove through the red light

had been drinking

what do i do now

my door opens slowly and a thin little

man puts his head in

rudy

i’m dick shifflet

he says without a smile

bruiser said you had a case you wanted

to talk about

nice to meet you

that could be 40

or 50.

most of his hair is gone and he wears

glasses that are quite thick and dirty

it’s difficult to tell if his head is

extra large or his body is small

but the two don’t fit

poor deck is one of the ugliest men i’ve

ever seen

yes i say

it’s an insurance case

are you one of the lawyers here

not really

i’ve been to law school but i haven’t

passed the bar exam

ah just like me

oh really

i say

when did you finish law school

five years ago

you see i’m having a little trouble with

the exam

i’ve tried five times

sorry to hear it

when do you take it

he asks nervously

july

it’s difficult isn’t it

yeah

i haven’t taken it in a year i don’t

know if i’ll ever try again

yeah well

how long have you worked for bruiser

three years

he treats me like everyone else

i find the cases work on them give him

his money

everybody’s happy

i hand the accident report to him and he

reads it quickly

bruiser gave it to you

right yeah

what does he expect me to do

find the guy who got hit

make him your client

how do i find him

well he’s probably still in the hospital

that’s usually the best place to find

them

you go to the hospitals

sure

all the time

bruiser has some contacts in the police

department they send him these accident

reports almost every morning he gives

them out around the office and he

expects us to go get the cases

which

hospital what did they teach you in law

school

well they didn’t teach us to chase

ambulances

then you’d better learn quickly or

you’ll get pretty hungry

call the home phone number

tell whoever answers that you’re with

the memphis fire department and you need

to speak to the injured driver

he can’t come to the phone because he’s

in the hospital

you ask which one

i feel sick

then what

look you’re new

let’s go and find this boy

i really don’t want to

i’d like to walk out of this place and

never come back

but at the moment i have nothing else to

do

okay

i say

he jumps to his feet

meet me outside

i’ll call and find out which hospital

at st peter’s hospital deck leads me

straight to the information desk

within seconds he has the room number of

dan van landal

our possible client

don’t act like a lawyer he whispers

deck sadly has done this many times

van lendl is in his late twenties

one eye is swollen almost completely

shut

the other has a cut under it

an arm is broken a leg is very badly

injured and raised above the bed his jaw

is wired shut

good afternoon mr van lendl

can you hear me

who are you

he asks through his teeth

deck shiftlet

from the law firm of lyman stone

he says with complete confidence

you haven’t talked to an insurance

company have you just like that deck

shows who the bad guys are

not us

no

says van lendl

good

don’t talk to them

they just want to cheat you

deck says already giving advice

we’ve looked at the accident report

a clear case of driving through a red

light

we’re going out there to photograph the

area talk to witnesses

we have to do it quickly before the

insurance company gets to the witnesses

sometimes they even offer them money to

lie in court

we need to move fast

do you have a lawyer

i hold my breath

no

he says

well

my firm handles more car wrecks than

anybody in memphis

and we get very large settlements

insurance companies are afraid of us

we don’t charge we take the usual

one-third of any money we recover

as he is finishing the last sentence he

is pulling a contract out

it’s a short contract

one page

three paragraphs

just enough

deck waves it in his face so that van

lentil has to take it

he’s just had the worst night of his

life

he’s lucky to be alive

now he has to examine a legal document

and make an intelligent decision

can you

wait for my wife

he asks

almost begging

are we going to get caught

my nerves are terrible

where is your wife

he asks

she’ll be back soon

he says

pain in every word

i’ll talk to her later in my office

i need to get a lot of information from

her

deck hands him a pen

van lendl quickly signs his name

deck takes the contract and hands him a

business card

a couple of things

dex says

don’t talk to anyone except your doctor

insurance people will probably be here

today trying to make you sign forms and

things

they might even offer you a settlement

do not sign anything until i read it

you have my number

rudy baylor’s numbers on the back

and you can call us anytime

we’ll handle the case together

any questions

good

deck says before he can reply

rudy will be back in the morning with

some papers

ask your wife to call us today

it’s important that we talk to her

he smiles at van lentil

it’s time to go before he changes his

mind

we’re going to get you

a lot of money

we leave quickly

dec proudly says

and

that is how it is done rudy

what would you have done if the guy had

already had a lawyer i ask

beginning to breathe normally again

we came here with nothing we had nothing

to lose

you see rudy in law school they don’t

teach you what you need to know

you were nervous about being there

weren’t you

i was yes

it’s morally wrong to chase ambulances

like that

right but who cares

better us than the next guy

another lawyer will try to contact him

within the next 24 hours

it’s simply the way it’s done

competition

there are lots of lawyers out there

will the guy stay with us

probably

we got to him at the right time

you need to call him in a couple of

hours

talk to his wife

offer to come back here tonight and

discuss the case with him

me

but i’m not sure

look rudy he’s our client now

you have the right to visit him and

there’s nothing anybody can do relax

we drink coffee from plastic cups in a

cafe on the third floor

deck prefers this cafe because it’s in a

new part of the hospital

and very few lawyers know about it

part of my new job will be to spend time

here looking for possible clients

there are two more hospitals in the area

and dec knows where their cafes are too

he advises me to start with saint

peter’s because it has the largest

emergency room

night time is good he says because the

patients get bored and if they can wheel

themselves downstairs for a snack

chapter 5

meeting kelly

the next morning bruiser is at the

office early

good work on van lendl he says

listen to deck

this could be a nice settlement

the police want to take your statement

on the fire

they’ll do it here with me present

i seem to have no choice

and if i refuse i ask

then they’ll probably take you to the

station

i suggest you talk to them

then they’ll leave you alone

it’s the same two policemen who came to

my apartment

the four of us sit around a small table

with two tape recorders

they waste time trying to find holes in

my story by checking the same

unimportant details

but i’m telling the truth

and finally bruiser gets annoyed and

tells them to move forward

after they leave

bruiser says he’ll talk to their boss

and get the file on me closed

don’t worry that’s the end of it they

don’t really think you did it

they just had to question you

i thank him and he hands me a tiny phone

keep this with you at all times

he says

i might need you in a hurry

the tiny thing suddenly becomes much

heavier

he’ll be able to reach me anytime

anywhere now

i return to the cafe at st peters to

hide and study

after a while and to my surprise i

decide that i like it there

the coffee isn’t bad it’s quiet

and no one knows me

it’s perfect for studying

the phone rings

it’s bruiser

any luck

no i say

happy fishing he laughs and he’s gone

probably to yogi’s

at 10

i’m alone in the cafe

i’m studying hard when i hear the tiny

cough of a young woman and look up to

see a patient in a wheelchair

she is very young

and extremely pretty

her ankle seems to be broken and there

are bruises on her face

an old man in a pink jacket gives her a

glass of juice

there you are kelly he says gently

30 minutes

yes please

he touches her shoulder and leaves

we are alone

but i try not to stare

when she lifts her glass i notice the

bandages on both wrists

although she’s pretty

i don’t feel like practicing dex

persuasion skills on her

she looks

very sad

and i don’t want to make it worse

she is wearing a wedding ring

she can’t be more than 18.

i tried to concentrate on the law for at

least five uninterrupted minutes

but i notice her wipe her eyes

i realized quickly that her tears are

not from the pain of her physical

injuries

perhaps there was a car wreck and her

husband was killed and she was injured

it could be a great case

i try to concentrate on my book

then i walk across to buy another cup of

coffee

when i stop at her table she slowly

raises her beautiful wet eyes

i swallow and say

is there anything i can do

are you in pain

no

she says in a whisper

but

thanks

sure

i say

i’m over there studying for the bar exam

if you need anything

thanks

she says again

minutes pass

i turn a page and look at her at the

same time

she’s looking at me

and my heart misses a beat

i ignore her for as long as i can then i

look up

she’s lost again

deep in her suffering

the tears stream down her cheeks

the kind old man in the pink jacket

returns and gently wheels her back to

her room

i think about following them

and asking him about her

but i don’t

the next night at the same table

i listen to the conversations

i ignore a few obvious possible clients

and study for hours

my concentration is total

as 10 approaches

i start looking around

i jump whenever a new customer enters

the cafe

about five minutes later

the same elderly man carefully pushes

her in

she picks the same table as last night

and smiles at me as he gets her orange

juice

i think she’s wearing a pale red

lipstick

and a tiny bit of eye makeup

tonight

she is

extraordinarily beautiful

her eyes are clear

shining

free of

sadness he places her orange juice in

front of her and says the identical

words he said last night

there you are kelly

30 minutes

make it 45

she says

i thought a lot about kelly today

and i’ve got a plan

i pretend she’s not there for a few

minutes and then slowly rise to get

another coffee

i stop at her table and say

you’re doing much better tonight

i feel much better she says

please

sit down

i’m tired of talking to nurses

my name’s rudy baylor

and you’re

kelly somebody

kelly riker

nice to meet you

she is very pretty from 20 feet

but from this distance she is perfect

why do you come here i ask

to get out of my room

what about you

i’m studying for the bar exam

and it’s a quiet place

so

you’re going to be a lawyer

sure

i finished law school a few weeks ago

got a job with a firm

i just need to pass the bar exam now

what happened

i asked looking at her leg

it’s my ankle

they put a metal pin in it

how did it happen

this is the obvious next question

and i thought it would be easy for her

it’s not

she hesitates and her eyes fill with

tears

it’s

a long story

she says and looks away

what kind of lawyer do you want to be

i enjoy trial work i say

representing criminals

maybe

they have a right to a good defense

murderers

yeah but most can’t pay for a private

lawyer

men who beat their wives

no

never

i’m serious about this

and i’m not sure about her injuries

the man in the pink coat arrives to take

kelly back to her room

i enjoyed meeting you i say

she smiles and says thanks for the

conversation

tomorrow night i ask

maybe

the next day i give deck the main

details about kelly riker

in less than an hour

he slides into my office with a proud

smile

kelly riker was taken to saint peter’s

three days ago at midnight

the neighbors called the police who

found her badly beaten

her husband cliff riker was drunk and

holding a baseball bat

kelly gave a short statement

he came home drunk from a baseball game

they fought

he won

she said he struck her twice on the

ankle with the bat and twice in the face

with his hand

what happened to him

he spent the night in jail and then his

family got him out

he won’t go to court though

how do you know

because

it’s happened before

eight months ago the police got the same

call

they’d had a similar fight

except she was luckier

he didn’t use the bat

then three months ago he used it and she

spent a week at st peters

but she didn’t want him to go to jail

it happens a lot

it takes a moment for me to understand

how can a man beat his wife with a

baseball bat

how could cliff riker hit such a

beautiful face

anything else

no

just don’t get too close

the next time i see kelly cliff is

pushing her chair

they quarrel she starts crying

and then he marches out

time passes as kelly cries silently

cliff is not coming back so it’s safe to

go to her now

i’m sorry she says

will you take me to my room

we’re alone in the elevator

are you okay

yes

she takes my hand

thanks

thanks so much

what did you think of cliff

you wanted me to see him didn’t you i

guess so

he should be shot

for a little fight

no kelly

any man who beats his wife with a

baseball bat needs to be

shot how do you know

she asks

police reports ambulance reports

hospital records

file for divorce kelly

i already tried it

but he said he was going to kill me if i

didn’t stop it

he says he loves me

the next night the little old man comes

over and says

are you mr

baylor mrs riker asked me to give you

this

dear rudy

my doctor said i could go home

thanks for everything

say a prayer for us

you are wonderful

she signed her name and then added

please don’t call or write or try to see

me

it will only cause trouble

she knew that i’d be here waiting

i’d never thought that she’d leave but

i’m not going to forget her

she needs me

because there’s no one else to help her

i go to a pay phone and find the number

a recorded message tells me her phone’s

been disconnected

end of cd1

cd2

chapter 6

the exam

i’m sitting in my office studying for

the bar exam

but it’s difficult to concentrate

why am i falling in love with a married

woman

the door suddenly opens and bruiser

rushes in

what are you doing

he demands

studying

it’s friday

the exam starts next wednesday

i just got a call from leo f drummond

he’s a partner at tinley britt an

excellent trial lawyer rarely loses

i know all about tinley britt

well soon you’ll know them even better

they represent great benefit

drummond is the lead lawyer

bruiser is talking so fast because he’s

worried

he’s filed a 10 million dollar lawsuit

against a big company that’s represented

by a lawyer he really admires

what did he say he tells me the judge

will be harvey hale an old friend of his

he thinks a fair verdict is one under

ten thousand dollars

sorry i asked

so

we have leo f drummond and his staff and

they have their favorite judge

you’ve got a lot of work to do

me

what about you

oh i’ll be around but this is your case

remember they get paid by the hour the

more paper they produce the more hours

they can charge their client for

he laughs and shuts the door

i suddenly feel very lonely

wednesday arrives and the exam papers

are passed out at exactly 8 am

it’s absolutely impossible to tell how

well i’m prepared

booker and i have lunch together but not

a word is spoken about the exam

dinner is a sandwich and i’m in bed by

nine

the exam ends at 5 pm friday

we eat pizza drink a few beers but are

too tired to get drunk

booker tells me on the way home that the

exam has made him physically ill

he’s certain that he’s failed it

i sleep for 12 hours

on monday there’s a note on my desk to

see bruiser

he pushes a pile of paper across to me

this is why it’s painful to sue big

companies

this is great benefits motion to dismiss

the blacks lawsuit

and it’s supported by a

64-page document

they’ll file every motion they can

they make money the trial is delayed

you’re exhausted

get

busy

after the third reading i calm down and

start taking notes

i think about how much i hate great

benefit and what it’s done to my client

and i work hard

dec has developed a habit of stopping by

my office on his way to lunch

today he tells me he thinks bruiser is

in trouble with a former business

partner who has testified against him

saturday

a month after i took the bar exam

i get a letter telling me that i passed

the bar

the next morning i shower and go to an

expensive coffee bar and read the papers

there’s something about the bar exam and

the list of people who passed

there i am

it’s true

i search for booker kane

but he’s not listed

i can see him now helping charlene dress

the children trying to smile

trying to persuade them both that he’ll

pass it next time

but i know he’s worried about his job

booker is a proud man who’s always

believed he could achieve anything

i would love to drive over there

but it wouldn’t work

he’ll call tomorrow and congratulate me

calls deck and me into his office

he congratulates me on passing the bar

exam before talking about the van lentil

settlement

the van lentils will be calling in for

their share of the hundred thousand

dollars later today

he feels that deck and i should get

something for our work

it’s been a quick settlement and bruiser

has worked on it for less than six hours

deck and i are wondering what he did for

six hours his share is a third

thirty three thousand dollars

i’m going to give you boys a third of

that to be split equally

thanks bruiser that’s really generous i

say

yeah thanks

says deck

we’re both surprised but we’re thinking

that bruiser gets twenty two thousand

dollars for six hours work

but i didn’t expect anything

and suddenly i feel wealthy

are we ready for tomorrow

bruiser asks me

were you going to argue against great

benefits motion to dismiss the case

i think so i reply nervously

i might let you handle some of the

argument so be ready

all three of us will go to court

they’ll have 20 people there

deck and i have lunch at a steak house

very strange

he says

it’s not usual for bruiser to give money

away like this

something’s going to happen

believe me

i know it is

like what

they’re watching him the police

they’d love to put him out of business

out of business

yeah

and we’ll be caught in the middle

i tell you rudy i’m nervous

so what are you saying

we’ve got to get out

now

i start to ask what he means

but it’s obvious

that can’t work alone

and i’ve passed the bar exam

so he needs me

we’ve got money now

says dec

we could rent an office start our own

business

no

it’s too expensive

i reply

deck looks at me and smiles

hey

i’ve already found a great place and

it’s cheap

now wait a minute deck

believe me we’ve got to move

i know things rudy

things i can’t tell you okay

bruiser’s in big trouble

i strongly suspect deck is telling the

truth

let me sleep on it

okay

let’s meet before court tomorrow

in a cafe we can’t talk in our office

take your files home and anything else

you might want from your office

now

this afternoon

i don’t sleep much and it’s still dark

when i meet dak

well he says

let’s try it for a year i say

that can’t hide his excitement

he holds his hand out for me to shake

it’s a big moment for him

did you remove all your files he

whispers

yes and you i’ve been taking stuff out

for a week

at eight we walked down to our offices

but by 8 15

bruiser has still not arrived

he said he’d be there at 8.

dec and i leave the office at quarter to

nine

relax dex says

bruiser will be in court

and if he’s not

you’ll do fine

just shut up and drive deck

bruiser is not outside the courtroom and

as i slowly push open the door and look

inside the first thing i don’t see is

bruiser

he’s not here

the unpleasant man looking angrily at me

must be judge harvey hale

to my left is a group of men who all

look the same

short hair dark suits white shirts

straight ties

hard faces

nasty little smiles

excuse me sir

i’m here for the black case

and who are you

my name’s rudy baylor i work for bruiser

stone

where’s mr stone

the judge asks

i’m not sure he was supposed to meet me

here

do you want to argue this motion later

no sir

i’m prepared to argue the motion

are you a lawyer

well i just passed the bar

but you haven’t received your license

uh no sir next week

one of the lawyers stands

for the record my name is leo f drummond

of tinley britt

we object to this young man arguing the

motion without a license

he points at me and i hate him already

i’ve passed a bar exam your honor

mr baylor who will handle this case

i will your honor

and

mr stone

i can’t say

but this is my case mr stone filed the

suit for me until i passed the bar

very well

let’s continue

drummond begins and soon becomes boring

then it’s my turn

i’m nervous

and when i’m finished the judge says

i’d like to see you both privately

i wait for drummond who is polite

he even tells me i did a good job

the judge is standing behind his desk as

we enter

please have a seat

we said

i’m really tired of these types of

lawsuits i feel like dismissing the case

excuse me while i visit the toilet

says judge hale and steps to a smaller

door across the room locking it loudly

i’m speechless drummond looks at me all

warmth and smiles

look rudy

i’m a very expensive lawyer from a very

expensive firm

with a case like this we calculate the

cost of the trial to great benefit will

be between 50 and 75 000

he waits for me to say something but i

just stare at his tie

great benefit has instructed me to offer

you

and your clients

75 000 to settle the case

a dozen wild thoughts race through my

mind 25 000

my fee

i can see it

but why is he offering me the money if

his friend harvey is ready to dismiss

the case

and then

i realize

it’s a routine

harvey frightens me and then leo steps

in with the gentle touch

how many times have they done this

before here in this office

it’s a one-time offer only good for the

next 48 hours

if you say no then it’s world war three

he’s smooth

his honor returns from his private

little restroom and now it’s leo’s turn

to excuse himself

not a great lawsuit i’m afraid hale says

maybe i can persuade leo to make an

offer of settlement

he’s just offered me the cost of the

defense i say

hale tries to seem surprised how much

seventy five thousand

his mouth falls open

look son

you’re crazy if you don’t take it

you think so i ask playing his game

the door opens and leo comes back

his honor stares at leo and says

seventy five thousand

that’s what my client said

leo explains

i’m sure of two things

first

hale is serious about dismissing the

lawsuit

second

drummond is too anxious to settle

i leave the room with leo’s arm around

my shoulder

on the drive back to the office deck

makes the very good argument that no

amount of money will save donnie ray’s

life now

so we should take what we can and make

things a bit easier for dot and buddy

bruiser’s secretary is crying when we

arrive

nobody has seen bruiser and she knows

something is wrong

i call yogis

prince will know where bruiser is

i find out that prince has gone too

i hope he’s safe

i’ve got a lot on my mind right now

but i still can’t stop thinking about

kelly riker i know she’s going to get

another beating from her husband

it’s only a question of time

and the thought of that baseball bat

connecting with her beautiful body

makes me want to kill him

chapter 7

donnie ray’s statement

dot seats me at the kitchen table and

says donny ray is getting weaker and

weaker

we went to court yesterday for the first

time i tell her

the insurance company has made an offer

to settle the case

how much

they calculate they’ll pay their lawyers

000 to defend the case

so they’re offering it now to settle

everything

dot goes red in the face

those

bastards think they can shut us up now

right

yes

that’s what they think

donnie ray needed a bone marrow

transplant last year

now it’s too late

i agree

her eyes are red and wet

i was wrong

this mother has not given up

just what are we supposed to do with

seventy five thousand dollars

donnie ray will be dead

and it’ll be just me and him

she points at the fair lane

i guess you said we’d take it didn’t you

of course not

i can’t settle the case without your

permission

we have until tomorrow morning to decide

we’d better talk to donnie ray

she says and leads me to his bedroom

donnie ray gives me a big smile and

tries to keep smiling

dot holds his hand while he listens

carefully

will they go higher

he asks

great benefit has made the jump from

zero to seventy five thousand

dec and i suspect they may go as high as

a hundred thousand

but i won’t be so optimistic in front of

my clients

i doubt it i say

but we can try

how much will you get

he asks

i explain how my third comes off the top

he looks at his mother and says

that’s 50 000 for you and dad

you can finish paying for the house buy

a new car

put some in the bank for your old age

i don’t want their money

donnie ray touches my arm

do you want to settle rudy

no i don’t i say

i look at him

then her

they wouldn’t offer this money if they

weren’t worried

i want people to know what great benefit

has done

i leave them in hope that when i come

back tomorrow i won’t have to tell them

that our case has been dismissed

across town deck is waiting smiling

proudly

what do you think

four rooms plus restroom

not bad

he says

i thought this would be the reception

area

maybe we’ll use it for a secretary when

we hire one

we step through an open door and into a

short haul

one room on each side

this one here is the largest so

i thought you’d need it

i step into my new office

and i’m pleasantly surprised

it’s about 15 feet by 15 with the window

on the street side

it’s empty

and clean

i thought we’d use the other room for

conferences

i’ll work out of here but i won’t make a

mess

he’s trying hard to please me

just relax deck i like it

hey

i almost forgot

he turns on the television

it’s the noon news report

the first thing we see is our old office

employees are being allowed to come and

go but aren’t allowed to remove anything

the next shot is from outside a club

one of several known for the few clothes

worn by its dancers when they are

entertaining clients

the police we learn are searching for mr

stone and mr thomas who are suspected of

a number of criminal activities

prince loved cash i know that much

on my first day at yogi’s one of the

waitresses told me that 80 percent of

prince’s income was never reported

whatever he’s done

prince is my friend

and i hope he’s safe

run bruiser run

dex says

i know dex having a hard time

controlling his excitement

the idea of having his own office and

keeping half the fees without a law

license is great for him

the offices will look beautiful in a

week

however when deck calls me for the

second morning before the sun is up

it’s difficult to be nice

have you seen the paper he asks

i was sleeping

sorry

bruiser and prince are on the front page

if you want to wake up at fourth then

fine

but don’t call me until seven

no eight

sorry but there’s more

guess who died last night

how am i supposed to know

i give up

judge hale

fell down dead by his swimming pool

i tried to clear my head

that’s

hard to believe

yeah

there’s a picture of him

what a bastard

how old was he i ask

i don’t know why

62. you need to see the paper

yes

i’ll do that deck

see you later

the paper seems a bit heavier this

morning and i’m sure it’s because at

least half of the stories are about

bruiser stone and prince thomas

they have not been seen

i continue reading and find a very old

photo of judge hale

who will get his job

the local population is half white and

half black

but only seven of the top judges are

black

last year when an old white judge

retired an effort was made to appoint a

black judge

it didn’t happen

many people think that tyrone kipler

a harvard educated partner at booker’s

firm will be appointed

that’s good news since he helped booker

and me with our studies and i have a lot

of respect for him

at exactly nine o’clock i’m at the

courthouse checking the black versus

great benefit file

fortunately his honor hail did not sign

an order to dismiss our case before he

died

i called tinley britt from a pay phone

and asked for leo f drummond

i express my sorrow at the loss of his

friend and i tell him my clients will

not accept his offer

he seems surprised

but has little to say

i think that’s a mistake rudy

he says patiently

maybe

but my clients made the decision not me

oh well

then it’ll be war

he says sadly

he does not offer more money

booker and i have talked twice on the

phone since we received the results of

the bar exam

as expected he’s not complaining about

failing and he’s really happy for me

he’s already sitting down when i arrive

at the cafe

and we order our favorite foods charlene

and the kids are fine

he thinks that he may pass the bar

anyway

since his score was only one point below

the passing mark

he has written to the board of law

examiners who are looking at his exam

again

his boss said he’d better pass next time

or their firm will have to put someone

else in his job

booker thinks tyrone kipler’s

appointment is definite

i tell him everything that’s happened

with a black case and he laughs when i

tell him that it’s now sitting in judge

hale’s court waiting for the new judge

i tell him all about the games drummond

and hale were playing three days ago

when we went to argue the motion

booker listens closely as i talk of

donnie ray and his twin and the

transplant that didn’t happen

no problem he says more than once

if tyrone gets the appointment

he’ll know all about the black case

so

you can talk to him

absolutely

he can’t stand tinley britt and he hates

insurance companies

he sues them all the time

he’ll listen

our food arrives

i tell him about my new office but not

my new partner

andy asks a lot of questions about my

old office the whole city is talking

about bruiser and prince

i tell him everything i know

the day after tyrone kipler is appointed

as judge he calls me into his office

which was hails

kipler is under 40 speaks softly and

looks you straight in the eye

he’s extremely bright

i thank him for helping me pass the bar

exam

he says kind things about harvey hale

but he’s surprised that hale had so few

active cases

he’s chosen a few for quick movement and

is ready for some action

you think this black case should move

quickly

yes sir

the points are simple

there won’t be many witnesses

how many statements will you take

less than ten

you’ll have trouble with the documents

he says

i’ve sued a lot of insurance companies

and they never give you all the

paperwork

it’ll take us some time to get all the

documents you’re supposed to have

i like the way he says us

and there’s nothing wrong with it it is

part of his role as judge to help

everyone get the evidence they’re

supposed to have

file a motion to have the case heard

quickly he says

unless the defense have some very good

arguments

you’ll get it

he tells me to call him if i have any

questions

i’ve got into the habit of calling

donnie ray each afternoon usually around

five

after the first call several weeks ago

dot mentioned how much it meant to him

we talk about a variety of things

but never his illness or the lawsuit

i tell him about something funny that

happened during the day

and i know the calls are an important

part of the last days of his life

he sounds strong this afternoon

he says he’s been out of bed and he’d

love to go somewhere for a few hours and

get away from the house and his parents

i pick him up at seven and we eat dinner

at a little neighborhood

we talk about his childhood

funny stories from the earlier days of

memphis

we laugh a little

probably the first time in months for

him

but conversation makes him tired he

hardly touches his food

just after dark we arrive at a park

where teams are playing baseball

i helped donny ray into a folding chair

from the trunk of my car then go and buy

him a coke

he thanks me again and again for

bringing him here

i pay particular attention to one of the

players as he walks to the fence and

speaks to his girl

kelly smiles

i can see her eyes shine

and cliff laughs

he gives her a little kiss and goes back

into the game

they appear to be happy

he loves her and wants the guys to see

him kiss her

i should be glad that she appears to be

happy and healthy

maybe he stopped drinking

maybe it’s time for me to stop thinking

about her

after an hour

donnie ray is ready for sleep

we drive and talk about his statement

i filed a motion today asking the court

to allow me to take a statement from him

now that can be used at the trial

he will soon be too weak for two hours

of questions from lawyers

we’d better do it pretty soon

he says softly

i was not looking forward to taking

donny ray’s statement in our new offices

they’re small and we don’t have enough

chairs

it would be embarrassing

but on friday the day before donnie ray

is supposed to give a statement

dot tells me that he’s too weak to leave

the house

i call drummond who says he cannot agree

to move the statement from my office to

the home of my client

rules are rules and i’ll have to arrange

a later date

he’s very sorry

he

of course would like to make it after

the funeral

i called judge kipler

minutes later judge kipler calls

drummond and after just a few minutes

the statement is moved to the home of

dot and buddy black

kipler plans to attend

this is extremely unusual

but he has his reasons

donnie ray is seriously ill

the black home seems much smaller and

hotter

donnie rae is sitting in bed more

cheerful now we’ve talked about this for

hours and he says he’s ready

dot is making coffee and washing walls

buddy has been cleaned his shirt is

white

i can’t imagine how dot managed this

i’m proud of my clients

deck has borrowed an old video camera

he looks through the house and tells me

quietly that there simply isn’t enough

room

judge kipler arrives meets everyone and

after a minute says

let’s take a look outside

in the corner of the yard is a big old

tree that provides nice shade

what’s wrong with this

he asks under the tree

let’s get some chairs

drummond arrives at nine exactly not a

minute early

bringing only two other lawyers with him

you’ll sit here

his honor says pointing to three kitchen

chairs

we seat donny ray in a cushion chair

his breathing is heavy

and his face is wet

i politely introduce him to everyone

but he’s too weak to shake their hands

so he tries his best to smile

we move the camera directly onto his

face

there will be other voices off-camera

but his face will be the only one the

jury sees

kipler asks donnie ray if he’s ready

then instructs the court reporter to

start

donnie ray promises to tell the truth

i ask him his name address birth date

some things about his parents and family

basic stuff

easy for him and me

he answers slowly and into the camera

just as i’ve instructed him

he knows every question i’ll ask

although i didn’t tell him to act as

sick and weak as possible

he certainly appears to be doing it

or maybe

he only has a few days left to live

i carefully asked donnie ray questions

about his illness and the treatment he

didn’t receive

he can’t repeat anything his doctor told

him and he can’t give medical opinions

but other witnesses will i hope

i finish in 20 minutes

leo drummond introduces himself for the

camera

then explains who he represents and how

much he regrets being there

he’s not talking to donnie ray but to

the jury

his voice is sweet

he’s a man who cares

he gently asks whether donnie ray has

ever left his house

even for a week or a month to live

anywhere else

they’d love to show that he left home

and so shouldn’t be covered by the

policy his parents paid for

donnie ray answers with a polite and

sickly

no sir

did he ever work for a company where

health insurance was provided

a few more questions like this are all

answered with the soft

no sir

drummond knows he must be careful

the jury will not like any rough

treatment of this young man

he finishes in less than 10 minutes

dodd is quick to wipe her son’s face

with a wet cloth as donny ray looks at

me to see how he did

i smile

judge kipler begins carrying chairs back

to the house and dot and i helped donny

ray to the house

just before we step into the door

i look to my left

deck is at the fence talking to the

neighbors and passing out my cards

i arrive early from my appointment with

dr walter cord and wait for an hour

before a nurse comes and takes me to an

examination room

a young man of about 35 rushes in

mr baylor

he says holding out a hand

walter cord

let’s hurry if we can i have a lot of

patience

i know doctors hate lawyers

i don’t blame them

we need a statement from you

i’m very busy he says

i know it’s not for me it’s for donnie

ray

i charge hundred dollars an hour for

testifying

this doesn’t shock me because i expected

it

in law school i heard stories of doctors

charging even more

i’m here to beg

i can’t afford that dr cord

i opened my office six weeks ago

and this is the only real case i have

it’s amazing what the truth can do

this guy probably earns a million

dollars a year

he hesitates for a second

maybe he thinks of donny ray and not

being able to help

maybe he feels sorry for me

who knows

i’ll send you a bill okay

pay when you can

chapter 8

surprises for drummond

next it is dot’s turn to make a

statement

judge kipler wants to be present for

this one too

i spent two hours with her yesterday

preparing for drummond’s questions

she’ll be around to testify at the trial

but this is drummond’s chance to gather

information

and it will take hours

poor dot’s hands are shaking as she sits

alone at the end of the table

she’s wearing her best cotton blouse and

her best jeans

i explained to her that she did not have

to dress up because the video will not

be shown to the jury

at trial however it will be important

for her to wear a dress

so there are five lawyers and a judge

staring at dot black as she raises her

right hand and promises to tell the

truth

the first hour is spent on family

history and drummond as usual is well

prepared halfway through the third hour

we finally get around to the claim

i have prepared a copy of every document

connected to the file including donnie

ray’s medical records

and these are in a neat pile on the

table

we have no bad documents

but i don’t know whether drummond is so

lucky

according to kipler and deck

it’s not unusual in these cases for the

insurance companies to hide things from

their own lawyers

in fact it’s quite common

especially when the company has nasty

things it would really like to bury

we start with the policy

the next document is the first letter of

denial

then the stupid letter

i’ve told dot to simply hand this to

drummond without saying anything

it’s difficult for her because the

letter makes her so angry

drummond takes it

reads it

dear mrs black on seven previous

occasions this company has denied your

claim in writing

we now deny it for the eighth and final

time you must be stupid stupid stupid

drummond has spent the last 30 years in

courtrooms and he is an excellent actor

but i know immediately that he has never

seen this letter

his client didn’t include it in the file

his mouth falls slightly open

he reads it a second time

he raises his eyes above the letter and

looks at me

i am staring at him a stare that says

caught you big boy

six and a half hours after we started

kipler says that he’s finished

it’s early sunday morning and i’m riding

to the bus station and dex car

the weather is clear and beautiful

the first touch of fall in the air

memphis is lovely in october

judge kipler has set the date of the

trial for february 8

and ordered drummond to make sure that

key employees at great benefit in

cleveland are available to give

statements

a round-trip plane ticket to cleveland

cost just under 700

the law firm of rudy baylor cannot

afford to fly me to cleveland

so i’m going by bus i’ll be in cleveland

by 11 tonight

and the statements from the great

benefit employees start at nine

i’m sure that the tinley brit lawyers

are still sleeping

later they will have breakfast read the

sunday paper with their wives then have

a nice lunch

around five their wives will drive them

to the airport

after an hour in first class they’ll

land in cleveland and be driven to the

finest hotel in the city

after a delicious dinner with drinks and

wine they’ll meet in a comfortable

conference room and plot against me

until late

about the time i check into a cheap

hotel they’ll be getting into bed ready

for war

i of course

won’t be able to sleep

around the table are eight enemies in

dark suits

white shirts expensive ties and black

shoes

eight against one

they look bright-eyed and fresh

now rudy

we thought we’d start with the statement

of jack underhill says t pierce

morehouse one of the four tinley brit

lawyers

no

i don’t think so i say

nervously pardon

you heard me

i want to start with jackie lemanchek

the claims handler

but first the file

we think you should start with mr

underhill

i don’t care what you think

shall we call the judge

kipler’s order clearly states that the

six witnesses i’ve requested

should be available at nine this morning

and that i decide in which order to see

them

well

we have a problem with jackie lemanchek

she doesn’t work here anymore

i stare at him

when did she leave

i asked

late last week

we were in court thursday

did you know it then

no

she left saturday

where is she now she’s not an employee

we can’t produce her

okay

how about tony crick assistant claims

examiner

he’s gone too

how interesting i say

absolutely amazed

has richard pelrod claims examiner gone

too

no he’s here

and russell croke it

mr crockett left us for another company

russell crockett head of the claims

department wrote the stupid letter

and

everett lufkin

no he’s here

where’s the file pierce gives me a thick

pile of papers

give me an hour then we’ll continue

sure

t pierce says

there’s an office

there i return an hour later

we need to call the judge

with t pierce on one phone and me on

another i call kipler

we’ve got some problems your honor i say

what kind of problems

well

of the six witnesses in my notice three

suddenly left the company very late last

week

i read them the names

how about the file

i’ve had a look at least one document is

missing

what is it

the stupid letter

is this true pierce

i’m sorry your honor i don’t know i’ve

gone through the file but i haven’t

checked everything

are you guys in the same room

yes sir we both answer

pierce leave the room

rudy stay on the phone

okay judge it’s just me i say when

pierce is left

what’s their mood

he asks

pretty tense

i’m not surprised

by losing witnesses and hiding documents

they’ve given me the right to order that

all statements will be taken down here

question underhill only

ask him everything you can think of but

find out what happened to the three

missing witnesses

i’ll order a hearing for later this week

and find out what’s going on

he says

i question underhill for three hours

then stop

i thought i would have to stay in

cleveland for days

but i leave this place just before two

with new documents to examine

these boys will have to come to my town

the bus ride back to memphis seems much

faster

on the thursday we’re in kipler’s

courtroom at 5 30 in the afternoon

his honor picked this time so leo f

drummond has to rush over after a long

day in court

i warned you about the documents mr

drummond

i thought i was rather specific

now

what happened

this is probably not drummond’s fault

his client is playing games with him

i almost feel sorry for him

there’s no excuse your honor

he says

and when did you first learn that these

witnesses don’t work for your client

anymore

sunday afternoon

did you try to contact mr baylor

we couldn’t find him we even called the

airlines

they didn’t call the bus companies

sit down mr drummond his honor says

one week from next monday we will meet

here for the statements of richard

pelrod

everett lufkin

kermit aldi

and m wilfred keeley the company

director

they will pay their own travel costs

they will make themselves available to

mr baylor and cannot leave until he

allows them to

all court costs will be paid by great

benefit

copies of all the documents in order

will be delivered to mr baylor by

wednesday of next week

great benefit will also pay mr baylor

the cost of his wasted trip to cleveland

mr baylor how much is a round-trip plane

ticket to cleveland

seven hundred dollars is that first

class

no sir

mr drummond you guys sent four lawyers

to cleveland

did they fly first class

drummond looks at t pierce who looks

like a child caught stealing then says

yes sir

first class

i thought so

how much is a first class ticket

thirteen hundred

how much did you spend on other bills mr

baylor

actually i spent less than forty dollars

around sixty dollars i say

cheating

but not being greedy

then

four hours traveling time at two hundred

dollars an hour that’s eight hundred

dollars

any other expenses

250 to the court reporter

he writes this down adds it all up

checks it

i order the defendant to pay mr baylor

two thousand four hundred and ten

dollars within five days

if mr baylor does not receive this sum

it will automatically double each day

until the check is received

do you understand mr drummond

i’m smiling

drummond rises slowly

he’s angry

i object

there is no proof that mr baylor flew

first class

the trip to cleveland and back is worth

thirteen hundred dollars to your firm mr

drummond

that’s what i’m ordering your client to

pay

mr baylor does not get paid by the hour

he replies

are you saying that his time is not

valuable

you’ll pay him 200 an hour

consider yourself lucky

i quickly pick up my papers and leave

for dinner i eat a bacon sandwich with

thought

buddy is spending more and more time in

his fair lane

it will only be a few days now before

danire dies

and buddy’s way of dealing with it is to

hide out there in the car and drink

he sits with his son for a few minutes

each morning

then tries to avoid everybody for the

rest of the day

we talk about the lawsuit

but dots lost interest

six months ago she honestly thought a

lawyer even me could scare great benefit

into doing right

there was still hope

not now

dot will always blame herself for donny

ray’s death

she didn’t go straight to a lawyer when

great benefit first denied the claim

instead

she chose to write the letters herself

she serves me a cup of coffee and i take

it into donnie rae’s room

where he’s asleep under the sheets

the only light comes from a small lamp

in the corner

the room is still

donnie ray has planned the funeral

he wants me to help carry his body

i pick up the same book i’ve been

reading for two months now

one of the few books in this house

i leave it in the same place and read a

few pages on each visit

i hear a strange voice in the living

room and then a knock on the door

it opens

and i slowly recognize dr cord

just passing by

he says softly

sit down

i say pointing to the only other chair

we sit with our backs to the window

our eyes on the dying boy

i’ve been thinking about this trial

cord says very quietly

any idea when it might happen

february 8th

would it be better if i testified in

court

instead of recording a statement

of course

then i’ll do it

i won’t send a bill

that’s very generous

it’s the least i could do

do you know what my job involves

i diagnose people

then i prepare them for death

i guess someone has to do it

it’s not that bad really

i love my work

he pauses and looks at his patient

this

is a hard one though

there was treatment available at a cost

i was willing to give my time and effort

but it’s still a 200 000 operation

no hospital can afford that kind of

money

it makes you hate the insurance company

yeah it really does

let’s beat them

i’m trying to

i say

we walk quietly past donny ray

and say goodbye to dot who’s sitting out

front

chapter 9

the funeral

the phone call i’ve been afraid of

getting finally comes on sunday morning

it’s dot

she tells me she found him about an hour

ago

he went to sleep last night

and never woke up

her voice is a little weak

but she is managing to control her

emotions

we talk for a bit and i realize that my

throat is dry

and my eyes are wet

i tell her i’m sorry and promised to

visit this afternoon

then i close my eyes and say the last of

many prayers for donnie ray

i called judge kipler with news of the

death

the funeral will be tomorrow afternoon

at 2

which is a problem because the great

benefit statements are due to start at

nine in the morning and continue for

most of the week

i’m sure the suits from cleveland are

already in town

probably in drummond’s office right now

practicing for the camera

kipler tells me to be in court at nine

anyway and he’ll handle things from

there

i tell him i’m ready

when i get to the blacks the whole

neighborhood is there

i tell dot simply that i am sorry

and she thanks me for coming

i go and sit outside alone

i’m soon joined by a young man who looks

oddly familiar

i’m ron black

he says sitting

the twin

he looks strong and healthy

nice to meet you i say

so you’re the lawyer

he’s not in a talkative mood

his sentences are short and forced

but after a time he tells me that he was

ready and willing to give his marrow to

save his brother

and that he’d been told by dr cord that

he was a perfect match

he’s happy to explain this to a jury

and he doesn’t ask how much money he

might get

after two hours i’m really tired

i excuse myself and leave

on monday there’s a whole crowd of men

in dark suits sitting around leo f

drummond on the far side of the

courtroom

i can imagine how angry the top men from

great benefit were when they found out

that they had to appear here today

kipler calls drummond and me to the

front

mr drummond donna ray black died

yesterday

i’m very sorry

drummond says

the funeral is this afternoon

and that’s a problem

mr bailey is taking part in the funeral

in fact he should be with the family

right now

drummond have your people here next

monday same time same place

these very important men from great

benefit will be forced to rearrange

their busy lives

why not start tomorrow

drummond asks

it’s a perfectly good question

i run this court and control the trial

mr drummond

but your honor these gentlemen have gone

to a lot of trouble it might not be

possible next week

this is exactly what kipler wants to

hear

oh

they’ll be here mr drummond

they’ll be here monday morning

well

i think it’s unfair

with respect

unfair

we wanted these statements two weeks ago

your clients started playing games

kipler is punishing drummond and great

benefit

there will be a trial here in a few

months and the judge is telling the

famous lawyer that he his honor will

rule at the trial

behind a small country church a few

miles north of memphis

donire black is laid to rest

i can hear dot crying softly

i can see buddy sitting next to ron

it’s a grey cloudy day

a day

for a burial

we finished with the last statement from

pelrod

jackie lemanchek’s ex-boss on wednesday

7 30 the following week

after three days of questioning and a

thousand pages of statements

the boys from cleveland are ready to go

home

nice job rudy

leo drummond says in a low voice

thanks

he breathes deeply

look

rudy i’d like to discuss settlement

possibilities

we feel good about our defense but this

judge is against us

how much i ask

a hundred and fifty thousand

my client is dead

his mother buried him last week

and now you expect me to tell her

there’s some more money on the table

your timing is terrible

what does the lady want

tell us rudy

nothing

he’s dead

there’s nothing you can do now

so

why are you going to trial

she wants to show the world what great

benefit has done

then she wants to destroy it i say

drummond

is silenced

deck is a nervous wreck when i returned

to the office that evening

his friend butch a private detective is

sitting with him

introduces us refers to butch as a

client then hands me a note

keep talking

not about work

as we talk about the funeral

butch quickly unscrews the cap from the

phone receiver and points inside to a

tiny microphone

let’s go get some coffee

deck says

good idea

i say

feeling sick

outside i stop and look at them

what’s going on

dec asked butch to check our phones

he thought maybe the fbi were listening

to us trying to get information about

prince and bruiser

there are microphones in all three

phones

what do we do

legally

you can remove them

butch explains or you can just be

careful what you say

we go back and search the office for

four hours and find nothing

it’s only the phones

after several months in business our

office is beginning to look

busier the front room is crowded with

rented tables piled high with documents

for the black case

the phone rings even more now

it’s difficult to talk on a phone with a

microphone in it

the mail today is routine except for two

things

first there is not a single document

from tinley britt

the second surprise is an invitation to

a pre-christmas sale of gold jewelry in

a local mall

below the store’s hours and a rather

lovely handwriting

is the name

kelly riker

no message nothing

just the name

the jewelry store is one of over a

hundred shops in the mall

i enter and walk slowly to the long

glass counter where kelly is helping a

customer

she looks up and smiles

can i help you sir

i look at her and melt

we smile at each other

how are you

i ask

fine and you

can we talk

not here

there’s a cinema down the mall buy a

ticket for the eddie murphy movie

i’ll be there soon

she had it all planned

she knew i’d come

she arrives a few minutes late

are we safe i ask her

yeah he’s out with the boys tonight

drinking again

yes

she says

but not much

i worry about you

i think of you all the time

do you ever think about me

all the time

she says

and my heart stops

kelly slides her arm under mine and

moves a little closer

why am i sitting in a dark theater with

a married woman

cliff wants me to have a baby

don’t do it kelly

i just wanted to see you rudy

either forget about me or file for

divorce

i thought you were my friend it’s more

than friendship and both of us know it

i can’t forget about you

then let’s file for divorce i’ll help

you

she leans over

gives me a tiny kiss

and leaves

deck and butch have found out that the

microphones are not the kind the police

or the fbi use

somebody else is listening dex says over

coffee

but who

i make a plan and discuss it with deck

deck leaves

thirty minutes later he calls to talk

about several cases that don’t exist

we talk for a few minutes about this and

that then i say

guess who wants to settle now

who

dot black

dot black

deck act surprised

yeah

she said she’d take a hundred and sixty

thousand

since their top offer is 150 she’d win a

small victory if they pay more than they

want don’t do it rudy this case is worth

a fortune

i know

but legally i’m supposed to go to

drummond and try to settle

it’s what the client wants

at five minutes to nine the next morning

the phone rings

it’s drummond

we wired a tape recorder to my phone

rudy

leo drummond here he says

rudy

you know my clients want to settle

these guys are important you know big

money people with big careers to protect

we’ll offer 175

000 to settle this thing right now

i don’t think so

look rudy

you need to talk to your client i think

she wants to settle

call her right now

i’ll wait here

the bastard probably has the microphone

wired to his phone

he wants me to call her so he can listen

i’ll get back to you mr drummond good

day

i hang up and play the tape

deck and i stare at the recorder

it was drummond

he put the microphones in

i guess we should tell kipler i finally

say

i don’t think so deck says

we know that drummond is responsible

because we’ve just caught him

but we can’t prove it

so what’s kipler going to do

accuse him without proof

let’s save it for the trial

let’s wait for the perfect moment

both of us smile

slowly

i wait two weeks and call drummond with

the sad news that my client does not

want his money

she’s acting a bit strange i say

one day she’s afraid of going to trial

the next day she wants her day in court

right now she wants to fight

he doesn’t expect anything he threatens

me by saying that great benefit will

take the offer back if the blacks don’t

settle now

i’m sure this sounds good to the ears

listening up in cleveland

as for me i’m slightly surprised at my

ability to ignore the money

i’m young

and there will be other cases

and i’m sure that great benefit is

scared and that they are hiding dark

secrets

i’m worried

but

i’m dreaming of the trial

booker and charlene invite me to

thanksgiving dinner

i get to their house and the first words

out of his mouth are

i passed it

his exam was re-graded

his score was raised

and now he’s a real lawyer

i tell him that dec and i have finally

made some money

we got a check the other day for a

client’s insurance claim

twenty five thousand dollars

the client gets sixteen thousand six

hundred and sixty seven dollars and we

get exactly eight thousand three hundred

and thirty three dollars

dec and i each took three thousand

dollars and left the rest in the firm

i bought a car with my three thousand

dollars

not exactly new

but a big improvement on my old toyota

i’m going to spend the christmas

holidays visiting max luberg and other

lawyers who have sued great benefit

end of cd2

cd3

chapter 10

an important discovery

it’s december 23rd when i finally arrive

in madison wisconsin

i find a small hotel and call max who’s

really happy that i’m in madison

i’ve called him about once a month for

advice on the black case and sent him

most of the documents

he knows the trial is six weeks away

he looks the same wild hair jeans

t-shirt

any office to settle

yeah several

they’re up to a hundred and seventy five

thousand but my client says no

that’s unusual

but i’m not surprised

it’s one of the best cases i’ve ever

seen

and i’ve looked at thousands

i tell them about our phones and the

strong evidence that drummond is

listening to our calls

then max and i start work

he wants to beat these people

save the best for last he says

play the tape of donny ray testifying

just before he died

it’s a wonderful picture to lead the

jury with

he slides something across the table to

me

this

is great benefits new policy

sold last month to one of my students

i paid for it

guess what’s not included now

bone marrow transplants

keep it and use it in court

i might even have to come and watch this

trial

when max and i say goodbye at the front

door of the law school

i can’t thank him enough

i’ve talked to four lawyers who’ve sued

great benefit

the first three were no help the fourth

cooper jackson is in spartanburg south

carolina

he’s not supposed to tell me most of

what he tells me

he’s settled with great benefit

and he and his client signed an

agreement never to tell anyone what the

details were

jackson had a client with a great

benefit policy who has refused treatment

the claim amounted to eleven thousand

dollars before they went to court great

benefit suddenly wanted a very quiet

settlement

this is the secret part

he says obviously enjoying himself

they paid us the eleven thousand then

threw in another 200 000 to make us go

away

amazing i say

it’s all here he says

pointing to three large boxes

claims are automatically denied and most

people give up

about 1 in 25 will actually go to a

lawyer

how can you prove this

it’s here in the company manuals i look

through the manuals

one is for claims

the other for underwriting

at first they appear identical to the

ones i have

then

i noticed something different

in the back of the manual for claims is

a section u

my copy does not have this section

and i begin to understand the way the

game is played

the manual for underwriting also has a

section u

when they are read together

the manuals direct each department to

deny the claim

then to send the file to the other

department with instructions not to pay

until they receive further instructions

those instructions

never arrive

neither of my manuals has a section you

the bastards in cleveland

and possibly their lawyers in memphis

hid these sections

it is an important discovery

cooper says that there are other lawyers

suing great benefit

we’ll keep in touch

the pre-trial conference is held in the

middle of january

we agree that two weeks should be

reserved for the trial though kipler

would like a five-day trial

now gentlemen

what about the settlement discussions

asks judge kipler

i’ve told them their latest offer was a

hundred and seventy-five thousand

he also knows dot black is not

interested

what’s your best offer mr drummond

well your honor

my clients are willing to offer two

hundred thousand dollars to settle

mr baylor

sorry my client has told me not to

settle

kipler hands a list to drummond and me

now these are names and addresses of the

possible jurors 92

we’ll pick the jury a week before the

trial

so be ready to go on february 1st

you may find out about their backgrounds

but any direct contact is a serious

offense

by the time we have to choose the 12

jurors

german will have a nice file on each of

these people

the files will be examined by a team of

expensive lawyers and psychologists who

specialize in juries

i on the other hand

have deck

i go to the mall at least three times a

week now she’s walked by only once so

far

but didn’t see me

i sit here tonight

watching for her and studying the jurors

information

my model juror is young and black

with at least a high school education

but women will be sympathetic to dot for

the loss of her child

the one type of juror i want to avoid is

a white male suit like the boys from

cleveland

chapter 11

choosing a jury

maybe i’ll think of a meaner trick

someday

but it’s hard to imagine

if drummond wants to listen to my phone

we’ll give him something really

interesting

it’s late afternoon i’m at the office

when deck calls me from the pay phone

around the corner

rudy deck here

i finally found dean goodlow

goodloe is a white male 39 college

education owns his own business

he’s a juror we do not want

where i ask him

at his office

we were wrong about him he’s not fond of

insurance companies

i gave him the facts in our case and he

got really mad

he’ll make a great juror

what a surprise

i say clearly

i want drummond to hear every word

how did he feel about talking to you a

little worried

i told him what i told the rest of them

i’m not a lawyer

and if they don’t tell anybody about our

conversation then nobody will get in

trouble

good

is good low with us

no doubt

we have to have him

i pick another person we definitely do

not want on the jury

what about dermot king

a good man

we go through the same routine with the

rest of the names and then dex says

what about you

nathan butt was a bit surprised to learn

that i was one of the lawyers on the

case

but he relaxed

he hates insurance companies i say

i wonder if drummond’s heart is still

beating

he knows that he can’t do anything

except stay quiet and try to avoid the

people we talked about

about 15 minutes later the phone rings

a slightly familiar voice says

rudy baylor please

this is rudy baylor this is billy porter

you came by today

what do you want

it’s actually deck’s friend butch

billy porter is a white male wears a tie

to work and manages a store we don’t

want him

yes well

it’s about the trial

is this legal

of course it’s legal

just don’t tell anybody

look

i represent the little old lady whose

son was killed by great benefit life

insurance

killed

yes

the company denied the boy in operation

he died three months ago of leukemia

that’s why we sued

we really need your help mr porter

i’ll bet leo drummond doesn’t sleep

tonight

the jurors arrived between 8 30 and 9.

for many it’s their first visit to a

courtroom

and they’re nervous

dot and i sit alone at the end of our

table facing the jurors

deck is across the room

in sharp contrast the defense table is

surrounded by five men in black suits

checking piles of paper which covered

the desk

i’m amazed that drummond does not

realize how this looks to the jurors

his client must be guilty

or why would they use five lawyers

against only one of me

they clearly have more people and more

money than we do

my poor client is weak

drummond and his boys refused to speak

to me this morning

i could tell that they are shocked and

disgusted by my direct contact with the

jurors

kipler enters the courtroom and

everybody rises

court is open

he asks which jurors want to be excused

and dismisses those

then dismisses some more

and we’re down to 50.

kepler goes through a list of questions

that he showed to both drummond and me

this gives us time to watch and study

each person

then it’s my

turn i stand walk to the bar

smile

and say the words that i practice a

thousand times

good morning

my name is rudy baylor

and i represent the blacks

after all those questions

they’re ready for something different

i look at them warmly

sincerely

now

judge kipler has asked a lot of

important questions

i have only one more question

can any of you think

of any reason

why you shouldn’t serve on this jury and

hear this case

no one says anything

i didn’t expect them to

thank you

i say with a smile

the jury looks fine to me your honor

drummond is on his feet

he tries to look calm and friendly

but he is burning with anger

he introduces himself and his client

asks a few general questions

then it starts

now

i’m going to ask you the most important

question

have any of you

been contacted about this case

it’s more of an accusation than a

question

the courtroom is perfectly still

this

is very important

he says

we need to know

there is no trust in his voice

let me ask it another way

he says very coolly

did any of you

speak with either mr baylor

or mr deck schifflett

i jumped to my feet

objection your honor

i agree

what are you doing mr drummond

kipler shouts

drummond says

mr porter

i’m going to ask you a direct question

i want an honest answer if you ask an

honest question i’ll give you an honest

answer

porter says angrily

yes now

mr porter

did you have a phone conversation last

night with mr rudy baylor

i stand looked directly at drummond but

say nothing

no i didn’t porter says his face is

getting red

are you sure mr porter he demands

i certainly am

i think you did drummond says

before i can object and before kipler

can do anything

billy porter jumps on drummond

don’t call me a liar you bastard

porter screams and puts his hand around

drummond’s throat

drummond falls

women scream

one of drummond’s expensive shoes goes

flying

i stay in my seat

thoroughly enjoying the show

after a short break drummond makes a

formal motion to dismiss the whole group

kipler

refuses but billy porter is excused

the process of picking jurors continues

through the afternoon in kipler’s office

drummond firmly avoids any of the people

deck and i mentioned on the phone last

night

the result is a jury of my dreams

six black females all mothers

two black males one a college graduate

one a disabled former truck driver

three white males all of whom are

sympathetic

one white female the wife of a wealthy

businessman

i couldn’t avoid her

and i’m not worried we only need nine of

the twelve to agree on a verdict

the trial starts in a week

four days before the trial begins deck

takes a call at the office from a lawyer

in cleveland

i call him back from the car phone which

doesn’t have a microphone in it

his name is peter corsa

and he represents a young lady by the

name of jackie

lemanchek she went to his office after

she was suddenly fired from great

benefit for no obvious reason

his client was sexually involved with

several of her bosses

her progress in the company and her pay

were based on her willingness

they are filing suit against great

benefit

i finally ask

will she testify

i talked to jackie lemanchek for an hour

i promise that her appearance will be a

surprise to great benefit

she’s scared to death of them

i think a surprise

would be lovely

chapter 12

the trial

the trial begins

my opening statement is short and goes

smoothly

there was a policy the premiums were

paid every week

it covered donny ray he got sick

he was refused treatment

and then he died

the purpose of this case is not only to

collect money from great benefit it is

also to punish them

drummond begins by holding up a copy of

the policy

this is the policy that mr and mrs black

bought

it doesn’t say that great benefit has to

pay for transplants

the jurors don’t like him

but this has their attention

this policy costs

dollars a week

but they expect my client to pay two

hundred thousand dollars for a bone

marrow transplant

now

they want the two hundred thousand

dollars and 10 million dollars in

punitive damages

i call that greedy

again and again he repeats himself

saying

it’s simply not in the policy

he decides to push me

the second time he mentions the word

greedy i object

kipler quickly agrees with me

dot is our first witness

she describes how awful it was not being

able to provide health care for her

dying son

then she reads the letters of denial

they sound worse than i hoped

denial from claims

denial by underwriting

all the excuses

letter after letter

and then

this stupid letter i watch the jurors

faces as dot reads

they can’t believe it

the courtroom

is silent

please read it again

i say

drummond objects

but kipler silences him

dot reads it again

this time with more feeling

this is exactly where i want to leave

dot

it would be a mistake for drummond to

get rough with her

he starts with some general questions

then

why did you sue great benefit for 10

million dollars

he wants to make her look greedy

she expects the question

10 million

she asks

that’s right mrs black 10 million

dollars

is that all

she asks

i beg your pardon

i thought it was more than that

is that

so yeah

your client has a fortune

and your client killed my son

i wanted to sue for a lot more

drummond keeps smiling and makes one

last mistake with dot black

what are you going to do with the money

if the jury gives you 10 million dollars

imagine trying to answer this in open

court

unprepared

dot however is very ready

give every penny to the american

leukemia society

i don’t want your rotten money

thank you drummond says and sits down

quickly

two of the jurors are openly smiling at

his embarrassment

next

ron testifies that he was a perfect

match and that he was ready to give his

bone marrow to donny ray

then it’s the turn of dr walter cord

he speaks clearly and explains the

disease and treatment so that the jurors

can understand

he tells them about the early test that

showed donnie ray had leukemia

what does this test cost

around a thousand dollars

and how did donnie ray pay for it

when he first came to the office

he filled out the normal forms and said

he was covered by great benefit life

insurance company

my staff checked with great benefit

and found that the policy did exist

did great benefit pay

no

we were eventually told that the claim

was denied

mrs black

has been paying fifty dollars a month

dr cord repeats the fact that ron black

was a perfect match for donny ray

if he had had the transplant

it would have worked

we call everett lufkin from great

benefit to testify

who is jackie lemanchek

i asked him

did you know her well

not really

she was just a claims handler one of

many

tomorrow she’ll testify that their

affair lasted three years

i’ve explained that the claims manual is

the key document that employees refer to

i hand lufkin the copy i was given by

drummond before the trial

i ask

mr lufkin

is this the whole claims manual

yes

are you certain

yes

i requested a copy from your lawyers

and this is what they gave me

yes

did you personally choose this

particular copy of the manual to be sent

to me

i did

i take a deep breath

could you open the manual to section you

please

he actually takes the manual and goes

through it

at this moment i’m sure he’d sell his

children for a section u

i don’t have a section

you i then gave him the copy cooper

jackson gave me

well mr lufkin

let’s talk about the mysterious section

you

let’s explain it to the jury

it went into the manual on january 1st

1991 correct

yes

the year that the blacks first claimed

let’s read paragraph three

paragraph three directs the claims

handler to immediately deny

every claim within three days of

receiving it

no exceptions

every claim

if we could stop right now the jury

would give whatever i ask

and they haven’t seen donnie ray yet

i meet jackie lemanchek’s flight and

take her to a hotel

we go through the questions i’ve

prepared

tuesday morning we have a few more

questions for lufkin

did you suggest to jackie lemanchek that

she should leave the company

i did not

did she receive any type of payment when

she left

no

she chose to leave

thank you

your honor i finished with this witness

drummond wants to get him out of here

your honor

we’re going to keep mr lufkin for later

drummond says

no surprise

the jury will never see him again

very well call your next witness mr

baylor

i say it loudly

we call jackie lemanchek

poor lufkin stops spins around wild-eyed

to the defense table then walks even

faster from the courtroom

how long did you work for great benefit

i asked jackie lemanchek

six years

and when did your employment end

october 3rd

how did it end

i was fired

you didn’t choose to leave

no

i was fired

who fired you

everett lufkin kermit aldi

jack underhall and others

i hand her a copy of a letter

this is a letter i typed and signed she

says

it states that you’re leaving for

personal reasons

the letter is a lie

i was fired so the company could claim

that i didn’t work there anymore

i was supposed to give a statement about

the claim of donnie ray black on october

5th

on the saturday before that

i was asked to come to the office for a

meeting with jack underhall

the man sitting there

in the gray suit

he’s one of the lawyers at great benefit

he told me i was leaving immediately

if i wrote that letter and kept quiet

the company will give me ten thousand

dollars

she bites her lip

struggles for a minute

then is able to continue

i’m bringing up two children alone

and there are lots of bills so

i had no choice

i wrote the letter took the cash and

signed an agreement never to discuss any

of my claims files with anybody

including the black file yes

especially the black file

then

why are you here

i talked to a lawyer

he told me the agreement i signed was

illegal

do you have a copy of the agreement

no

mr underhall wouldn’t let me keep one

but i’m sure he has the original

i slowly turn and stare at jack

underhall

so does every other person in the

courtroom

his shoes have suddenly become the

center of his life

why did you see a lawyer

i needed advice

i was fired for no good reason

but before that i was forced to have sex

with various important people at great

benefit

anybody we know

objection your honor

drummond says

this has nothing to do with the case

let’s see where it goes

please answer the question ms lemanchek

she takes a deep breath and says

i had sex with everett lufkin for three

years

if i was willing to do whatever he

wanted

my pay was increased

and i progressed in the company

when i got tired of it and stopped

i lost my job

and became an ordinary claims handler

again

my pay was cut by twenty percent

then russell croke it decided he’d like

to have an affair

he forced himself on me

told me that if i didn’t accept it

i’d lose my job

both of these men are married

yes

with families

they went after the young girls and

claims

i could give you a lot of names

i look at jackie

her eyes are red now

this is painful for her the jury is with

her

ready to kill for her

let’s talk about the black file i say

it was one of your files

that’s correct

the original claim form from mrs black

was given to me

i followed the company policy and i sent

her a letter of denial

why

why

because all claims were denied at first

in 1991

all claims

yes

it was our policy to deny every claim at

first

then to go back to the smaller ones

later

the big claims were never paid unless a

lawyer got involved

it was a one-year trial and it was

viewed by management as a wonderful idea

deny for a year add up the money saved

subtract the amount spent on quick

settlements

leaving a pot of gold

how much gold

an extra 40 million dollars or so

how do you know all this

if you stay in bed long enough with

these men you hear all sorts of garbage

i’m not proud of this okay

how was the black claim treated

it was denied like all the rest

but it was a big claim

so russell croke it checked everything i

did

they soon realized that the policy did

allow bone marrow transplants

it became a very serious file for two

reasons

first it was suddenly worth a lot of

money

and second

the insured man was going to die

so the claims department knew that

donnie ray black was going to die

of course

it was clear from his medical records

that he would die without the bone

marrow transplant

did you show this to anyone

i showed it to russell crockett

he showed it to his boss everett lufkin

the decision was made to continue the

denial

but you knew the claim should be paid

everybody knew it

but the company was dependent on the

fact that no more than one out of 25

people would talk to a lawyer

they sell these policies to people who

are not very educated

and when you received a letter from a

lawyer

if the claim was under five thousand

dollars and it was correct

we paid it immediately and sent a letter

of apology

big claims went to the management

i think they were almost always settled

quietly

thank you

i turn to drummond with a pleasant smile

and say

your witness

then i go and sit by dot who’s in tears

several of the jurors notice her crying

drummond tries to show that jackie

lemanchek is testifying because she

wants revenge

no

i’m here because i know how they cheated

thousands of people

this story needs to be told

after lunch i call mr wilford keeley the

number one boss at great benefit as a

witness

i show him the medical policy max luber

gave me

please look at page 11 section f

paragraph 4

subparagraph c

point 13.

do you see that

the print is so small he has to pull the

policy almost to his nose

i look at the jurors

the humor is not missed

got it

he says finally

good now read it please

he does

what is the purpose of that section

it explains that we don’t pay for

transplants

is bone marrow listed as a transplant

yes bone marrow is

listed i hand him a copy of the black

policy

what types of transplants are not

covered by this policy

hearts

eyes

all the main ones are listed

what about bone marrow

it’s not listed

so

it’s not stated that you don’t pay for

bone marrow transplants

that’s correct

when was this lawsuit filed mr keely

during the middle of last summer june

yes sir i say

it was june

was the language of the policy change to

remove cover for bone marrow transplants

after the claim was filed

i

don’t know

our final witness is donnie ray black

i sit close to dot as she wipes her

cheek with the backs of her hands

the faces in the jury box are

sympathetic

toward the end

i have a lump in my throat

we have done all the damage we can to

great benefit

and i am winning the case

now

we must try not to lose it

drummond’s first witness is andre weeks

an official in the department of

insurance for the state of tennessee

his job is to place the government

firmly on the side of the defense

drummond hands weeks the black policy

and they spend half an hour explaining

how each policy every policy has to be

examined and passed by the department of

insurance

after an extremely boring hour and a

half the jurors begin to lose interest

we stop for a 15-minute break

then it’s my turn

i hand him the black policy and ask a

few questions about it

he studies the small print in the policy

for a long time as everybody waits

kipler is smiling

drummond is angry

his next witness peyton ryski

president of a national insurance group

does even more damage

after drummond is finished with him i

show him the stupid letter

mr ryski

can you look mrs black in the eye and

tell her that her son’s claim was

handled fairly and properly by great

benefit

it takes him a second or two but he has

no choice

yes

it certainly was

i have planned to end this way but i

don’t expect it to be humorous

one of the jurors actually laughs at his

reply

then the juror behind her starts to

laugh

soon the whole jury box is laughing

it soon ends

but it is an absolutely wonderful moment

i go to bed early and fall asleep in

seconds

less than an hour later the phone rings

it’s an unfamiliar voice

female young and very anxious

i’m a friend of kelly’s

she says

almost in a whisper

she’s in trouble and needs your help

what’s happened

he came home drunk last night beat her

again

where is she

she’s hiding here at my place

after the police left with cliff she

went to see a doctor

luckily nothing’s broken

i picked her up

i get her name and address then dress in

a hurry

i hardly recognize kelly

she’s been badly beaten

one eye is completely shut

i bend over and kiss her on the top of

the head

thanks for coming

she says

through damaged lips

i could kill him

did the police photograph you i asked

kelly

robin answers

yeah they took a lot of pictures

show him kelly

he’s your lawyer

he needs to see

with robin’s help kelly carefully gets

to her feet

turns her back to me and lifts her

t-shirt above her waist

she is covered in bruises

what are you going to do kelly i ask

she has to file for a divorce robin says

if she doesn’t he’ll kill her

is this true

are we going to

file kelly says

yes

as soon as possible

i’ll do it tomorrow

she can’t stay here

cliff got out of jail this morning and

started calling her friends

i told him i knew nothing but he called

back an hour later and threatened me

it won’t be long before he finds her

there’s a secret safe house for women

who are beaten by their husbands

but it costs a hundred dollars a day

and she can only stay for a week

is that where you want to go kelly

she says yes

fine

i’ll take you tomorrow

this is never going to happen again

understand

she whispers

promise

i promise

i’ll file the divorce in the morning

then i’ll come and get you

i’m in the middle of a trial but i’ll

get it done

it’s almost 1am

sleep is impossible

so i drive to the office and prepare the

divorce papers

in this case i believe i am really

helping to save a life

i fall asleep at my desk

deck wakes me at seven

i tell him the story and he reacts badly

you spent the night working on a stupid

divorce

your closing argument is less than two

hours away

why are you smiling

great benefit is going down

no

that’s not it

you’re finally going to get the girl

that’s why

the divorce is on my desk waiting to be

filed

i’ll get it sent to cliff at work

chapter 13

the verdict

the trial has lasted only four days so

the important evidence is still fresh in

the jurors minds

in my closing argument i repeat the main

points of the policy and talk a little

bit about bone marrow transplants

i remind them that if donnie rae had had

the transplant

it probably would have saved his life

i list the hidden documents and the lies

that great benefit told

the message is plain

in jackie’s words the management at

great benefit decided to deny claims for

12 months

it was a trial to see how much extra

cash could be made in one year

it was a cold-blooded

greedy decision

the admitted wealth of great benefit is

450 million

how do you punish a company as wealthy

as this

i ask this question and see the juror’s

eyes shining

they can’t wait

i sit next to dot and wait anxiously to

see if drummond can change defeat to

victory

he begins with a weak apology for the

way he behaved when we were choosing the

jury

then he apologizes for great benefit

one of the oldest and most respected

insurance companies in america

those letters of denial were awful

his client was wrong

but his client has over six thousand

employees

it’s impossible to check every letter

no excuses though

mistakes were made

he’s trying to soften the jurors

he really doesn’t understand why the

jury should give dot black a percentage

of great benefits wealth

it’s shocking

how would that help

he has already admitted his client was

wrong

the people who were responsible for the

unfairness have left the company

he walks to the board and writes

746 dollars

the black’s monthly income

then he writes two hundred thousand

dollars and multiplies it by six percent

to get the figure of twelve thousand

dollars that’s one thousand dollars a

month if the money was in the bank

he then tells the jury what he really

wants

to double the blacks monthly income

great benefit can give them two hundred

thousand dollars and they can put it in

the bank

he’s persuasive

i see the jurors considering it

i hope and pray that they remember dot’s

promise to give the money to the

american leukemia society

please do what is fair he asks

and takes a seat

but i get the last word

i say

if the best you can do

is two hundred thousand dollars

we don’t want it

it’s for an operation that will never

happen

if you don’t believe that great benefit

deserves to be punished

then they can keep the two hundred

thousand

and will go home

i slowly look into the eyes of each

juror as i step along the box

they will not disappoint me

as judge kipler gives them their final

instructions

i relax

there are no more witnesses or emotions

no more worries about this juror that

i could sleep for days

this calm lasts for about five minutes

until the jurors leave to begin their

discussions

it’s almost 10 30.

the waiting now begins

deck and i file the riker divorce

then we go straight to kipler’s office

the judge congratulates me on a fine

performance and i thank him for the

hundredth time

butch will give cliff the papers at work

at noon lunch is sent into the jury room

and kipler sends us away until 1 30.

i can’t eat

i call kelly as i drive to robin’s

apartment

kelly is alone

she’s dressed in a loose suit and a pair

of robin shoes

she has no clothes or anything with her

she walks carefully in great pain

we just filed the divorce papers

i say

when he gets them he’ll go crazy and

come after you

i hope he does

but he won’t

because he’s a coward

men who beat their wives are the lowest

kind of cowards

don’t worry

i have a gun

i take kelly to the unmarked house on a

quiet street

she’ll be safe here

back at the courthouse booker waits with

me in the hall until deck calls my name

outside the courtroom doors

just be cool

booker says then both of us almost race

back to the courtroom

i take a deep breath

step inside and join dot at our table

drummond and the other four are in their

seats

the jury comes back into the box

has the jury reached a verdict

ben charns the young black college

graduate says

we have jana

please stand and read it

charns clears his throat and reads

we the jury

find the defendant great benefit guilty

an order that they pay two hundred

thousand dollars in actual damages

there is a pause

and punitive damages of 50 million

dollars

the bomb lands

and explodes

i’d love to run to the jury box and

start kissing feet

i’d love to go and throw my arms around

judge kipler

but i simply whisper

congratulations

to my

client she says nothing

i make a cross in my notebook and write

the name donnie ray black

i close my eyes and remember my favorite

picture of him

i see him sitting on the folding chair

at the baseball game

drinking coke and smiling

just because he’s there

my eyes water

he didn’t have to die

kipler thanks the jury tells them their

little checks will be sent to them and

asks them not to discuss the case

i’m not exactly rich yet

the verdict is so big that there will be

a big fight

great benefit will not pay easily

i have a lot more work

right now though i want to go and find a

beach

kipler closes the trial

i look at dot and see the tears

she’s a hard woman who doesn’t cry

easily

but she is losing control

someone turns off the lights and we sit

in darkness it’s finished

the last place i want to go is the

office

i say goodbye to deck in front of the

courthouse

promised to meet him later

what do you do with sixteen and a half

million dollars

i cannot begin to understand this amount

of money

i know a dozen things can go wrong

the case could be sent back for a new

trial the verdict could be changed

completely

i know these awful things can happen

but for the moment

the money is mine

i dream as the sun sets

maybe tomorrow i can begin to realize

what i’ve done

but for now

i’m glad to let the poison in my soul go

for almost a year i’ve lived with a

burning hatred of great benefit life

i hope donnie ray is resting in peace

i hope he knows what happened today

they’ve been proved wrong

i don’t hate them anymore

kelly and i are watching a john wayne

movie sitting on her bed

she’s wearing the same gray suit no

shoes or socks

i can see a mark on her ankle she’s

trying to be happy

but she’s in such physical pain that

it’s difficult to have fun

we sit close together

holding hands

the movie ends and the news comes on

after the usual stories the announcer

says

history was made today in a memphis

courtroom

a jury returned a verdict of two hundred

thousand dollars in actual damages

and 50 million in punitive damages

against the great benefit life insurance

company of cleveland ohio the largest

verdict ever in memphis

you won she asks

i won

50 million dollars

yeah

but the money is not in the bank yet

rudy

what can i say

it’s not that difficult

we had a great jury and the facts were

clear

yeah right it happens every day

you’re right

right now

i am the greatest

that’s better

she says

chapter 14

the last beating

on saturday morning the phone rings

this is cliff riker

i start the tape recorder

what do you want

where’s my wife

you’re lucky she’s not dead i’m going to

get you mr big

keep talking the recorder is on

the call ends

i call butch and tell him about my short

conversation with mr riker

butch plans to get cliff alone

mention the phone call and tell him to

stop threatening me

where there will be trouble

this is butch’s idea of a good time

our date on saturday is very similar to

the one on friday

except the movie is different

there are a few laughs a little more

touching

but not nearly

enough she really wants to get out of

that gray suit

they wash it for her once a day

but she’s sick of it

she wants to be pretty again

and she wants her clothes

she is sure that cliff will be playing

baseball tonight

he never misses a game

so we drive past the baseball field at

about seven

then go to the apartment to get her

things

i parked the car

and take a deep breath

are you scared

she asks

yes

i reach under the car seat and get my

gun

we go to her door

the key fits we’re in

hurry kelly i say

i put the gun on the kitchen counter the

place is a mess

i feel like a thief

every movement makes too much noise

my heart is beating loudly as i carry

things from the bedroom to the front

door

that’s enough i finally say

let’s get out of here

there’s a slight noise at the door

someone is trying to get in

she takes a step toward the door

and it flies open

cliff riker crashes into the room

kelly

i’m home he shouts as he sees her fall

over a chair

he swings his baseball bat directly at

my head

you bastard

he shouts

the bat just misses me i run at him

get the gun i shout to kelly

he’s quick and strong

i’ll kill you

he shouts swinging again

missing again

my foot lands perfectly between his legs

he drops the bat

i’ve got it

i swing hard and hit him directly across

his left ear

and the noise is almost sickening

bones break

he falls to his hands and knees then

raises his head and starts to get up

my second swing starts at the ceiling

and falls with all the force i can find

i bring it back down with hatred and

fear and it lands solidly across the top

of his head

then kelly blocks me

stop it rudy

i stop

look at her and then at cliff

he’s flat on his stomach making horrible

sounds

i’m going to kill the bastard kelly

i say breathing heavily still scared

give me the bat

she says

what

give me the bat

and leave

i’m amazed at how calm she is at this

moment

she knows exactly what has to be done

what

i ask looking at her looking at him

she takes a bat from my hands

leave

you were not here tonight

i’ll call you later

okay

okay

i step into the kitchen

pick up the gun

we look at each other

i step outside

close the door quietly behind me

and look around for neighbors

i feel sick

after 10 minutes the first police car

arrives

a second quickly follows

then an ambulance

i sit low in my car in a crowded parking

lot watching it all

kelly’s in there alone and scared and

answering a hundred questions

and here i sit

hoping no one sees me

should i go and save her he can’t be

dead

i think i’ll go back in there

the fear hits hard

i want them to carry cliff out and take

him to the hospital

i suddenly want him to live

get up cliff

walk out of there

but cliff doesn’t walk out

he’s carried out

the sheet is over his face

he’s dead

i open the door and disappear into the

crowd

he’s finally killed her

i hear someone say

police dream in and out

i listen carefully to what’s being said

in case anyone saw a stranger leave

their apartment

minutes later kelly comes out with a

policeman on each side

she looks tiny and scared

they place her in the back of a police

car and leave

i walk quickly to my car and drive to

the police station

i’m taken to a room where kelly sits

alone waiting to be questioned

i enter with a detective named

smotherton

kelly’s surprised to see me

but manages to stay calm

another officer arrives with the tape

recorder

after he turns it on

i say i’m rudy baylor lawyer for kelly

reicher

today is monday february 15

we’re at the central police station

memphis

i’m present because i received a call

from my client at about 7 45 tonight

she had just called 9-1-1

and said she thought her husband was

dead

smotherton starts with basic questions

about kelly and cliff

like birth dates marriage employment

children

she answers patiently

her left eye is still black and blue

the bandage is still on her forehead

she’s really scared

she describes the attacks on her in

detail and smotherton sends the other

detective to get the records of cliff’s

three other beatings

she talks about the baseball bat and the

time he broke her ankle with it

she talks about the last beating and the

decision to leave and hide

than to file for divorce

why did you go home tonight

smotherton asks

to get my clothes

i was certain he wouldn’t be there

where have you been staying for the past

few days

a home for women

here in memphis

how did you get to your apartment

tonight

my heart misses a beat

but she’s already thought about it

i drove my car

she

says where is it now

in the parking lot outside my apartment

can we take a look at it

not until i do i say remembering that

i’m a lawyer

how did you get in the apartment

i used my key

what did you do when you got inside

i went to the bedroom

and started packing clothes

how long were you there before mr riker

came home

10 minutes maybe

what happened then

i interrupt at this point

she’s not going to answer that until

i’ve had a chance to talk to her

this interview is now at an end

i push the stop button on the recorder

smotherton writes something on a sheet

of paper and hands it to me

this will be treated as a killing

but morgan wilson’s office which deals

with family violence will consider the

circumstances

you’re keeping her here

i have no choice

i can’t just let her go

i’m going to jail

kelly says

we have no choice ma’am

smotherton says

suddenly much nicer

your lawyer can probably get you out

tomorrow

but i can’t just free you because i want

to

he leaves the room

and i reach across and take her hand

it’s okay kelly

i’ll get you out as soon as possible

how much time could i spend in jail

you have to be found guilty first

and that’s not going to happen

promise

i promise

are you scared

she carefully wipes her eyes and thinks

for a long time

he has a large family

and they’re all just like him

all heavy drinking

violent men

i can’t think of anything to say to this

i’m scared of them too

they can’t make me go to the funeral can

they

no

good

they come for her a few minutes later

and i watch them lead her down the hall

when they stop at an elevator kelly

turns toward me

i wave slowly

then she’s gone

chapter 15

winners and losers

morgan wilson is a beautiful woman of

about forty

she has a firm handshake and a smile

that says

i’m a busy woman don’t waste my time

her office is full of files but very

neat and organized

i get tired just looking at all this

work to be done

we take our seats

then she realizes

the 50 million dollar guy

she asks with a very different smile now

that’s me

congratulations

she says

she wants to hear about my good fortune

i give her a description of the trial

and what it was like to hear the verdict

then i tell her why i’m here

she’s a thorough listener and takes lots

of notes

i hand her copies of the new divorce

file

the old one and the records of cliff’s

previous visits to the police station

i described the injuries left by a few

of the worst beatings and promised to

have kelly’s medical records by the end

of the day

that poor girl

morgan says

how big is she

about five foot five

110 pounds

how did she beat him to death

she was scared

he was drunk

somehow she got her hands on the bat

good for her

she says

and i can’t believe it

she’s completely on kelly’s side

i’d love to get her out of jail

i need to get the file and read it

but i’ll call the clerk and tell him we

have no objection

where is she living

in one of those women’s homes

but the poor thing is in jail right now

and she’s still black and blue from the

last beating

morgan waves at all her files

that’s my life

we agreed to meet at nine tomorrow

morning

the next day at the office the phone

rings

it’s peter corsa jackie lemanchek’s

lawyer in cleveland

corsa congratulates me on the verdict

then tells me some strange stuff is

happening at great benefit

the fbi arrived at the head offices of

great benefit in cleveland this morning

and started removing records

almost all the employees were sent home

and told not to come back for two days

a newspaper story says pin khan the

parent company has serious financial

problems

there’s not much i can say

i killed a man 18 hours ago

and it’s hard to concentrate on other

things

he promises to keep me informed

it seems to take forever

but i finally see kelly walking toward

me

smiling

and i quickly take her to my car

i tell her about threatening calls about

her that have been made to the prison

we suspect it’s his crazy family

i don’t want to discuss last night

and she’s not ready for it either

peter courser calls the office while i’m

hiding kelly

great benefits millions have disappeared

the money was taken out by pin khan and

sent to europe

deck looks like death

we sit in my office for a long time

without a word

we haven’t discussed it yet

but we both know that we’ve gone from

being paper millionaires

to having no money at all

the phone rings

deck answers it and listens for a minute

this guy

says he’s going to kill you

that’s not the worst phone call of the

day

i wouldn’t mind getting shot right now

he says

the side of kelly makes me feel better

we eat in her room

with the door locked and my gun on a

chair

there is a short story about cliff riker

in wednesday’s newspaper

nothing about great benefit

then a message arrives from peter

course’s office

mr wilfred keeley was arrested yesterday

afternoon as he and his wife were

waiting to board a flight to london

they claimed to be going away for a

quick holiday

they could not however produce the name

of a hotel anywhere in europe where they

had reservations

it appears that great benefit has been

robbed by its parent company over the

past two months

the cash went to safe banks all around

the world

anyway

it’s gone

morgan wilson has examined kelly’s file

and she wants to drop the case

her boss al vance isn’t so sure

it’s very simple mr vance i say

if you take it to trial

you’ll lose

i’ll wave that bat in front of the jury

you guys will look terrible trying to

put her in jail

he’s right al

morgan says

we couldn’t win

al needed to hear that from both of us

and agrees to dismiss it

morgan promises to send me a letter this

afternoon

i thank them

and leave quickly i almost run through

the parking lot to my car

they’re examining a bullet hole in the

office window when i arrive

deck was in the front office and the

bullet missed him by no more than 10

feet

his first call was to butch who came

immediately

deck tells us he’s fine but his voice is

very shaky

butch says he’ll wait just below the

window and catch them if they come back

god help the rikers if they plan another

drive-by shooting

deck and i decide on a private lunch and

we agree on a simple arrangement

deck gets the files he wants

and i get two thousand dollars to be

paid within 90 days

we agree on the details as we eat

and the business part of the separation

is easy

the personal side is not

we both know that deck has no future

i

talked to bruiser last night

dex says

where is he

the bahamas

is prince with him

yeah

this is good news

and i’m glad to hear it i’m sure dec has

known for some time

so

they’re safe i say

yeah

the money’s still here you know

how much

four million

it’s what they made from the clubs

it’s in memphis

they want me to take it to miami

don’t do it deck it’ll take two days and

it will make me rich

be careful deck

we shake hands

you made history rudy you know that

we did it together

yeah

and what do we have to show for it now

old war stories

deck’s eyes are wet

i watch him drive away

i go to my bank and take out my savings

twenty eight hundred dollars

i hide the bills under the seat of my

car

it’s nearly dark when i knock on the

black’s front door

dot opens it and almost smiles when she

sees me

over coffee i gently tell her the news

about great benefit

we probably won’t get a penny ever

i’m not surprised at her reaction

her eyes shine

and her face is happy as she listens

there appear to be several complicated

reasons for great benefits death

but right now it’s important for doc to

believe she caused it

she put them out of business

one little woman

destroyed those bastards

she’ll go to donny ray’s grave tomorrow

and tell him

kelly is waiting anxiously at the home

we sign the paperwork and thank everyone

then we hold hands and walk quickly to

the car

take a deep breath

and drive away

the guns under the seat

but i’ve stopped worrying

which direction i ask when we get to the

highway that circles the city

we laugh at this because it is so

wonderful

it doesn’t matter where we go

i’d like to see the mountains and snow

she says

i think we can find some

she moves closer

it’s amazing how little we’ve planned

for this

we didn’t know until this morning that

she’d be able to leave

we’ll settle in a place where no one can

find us

kelly and i will talk about cliff’s

death one of these days

but not anytime soon

we’ll pick a small college town because

she wants to go to school

she’s only 20.

i’d love to teach history in high school

that shouldn’t be hard to do

after all

i have seven years of college

i will not for any reason ever be

involved with the law

ever

you