Cash Call, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 5

  Chapter 16

  Plea Bargain

   The next morning I went to a Dallas Bar Association breakfast meeting which wasn't over until almost eleven. When I returned to my office there was a pile of phone messages waiting for me. I looked at each one, placed the important ones in a pile, and then began returning them. An hour went by before I hung up the phone after making the last call. I turned to the stack of new mail Jodie had placed in my in-box. Feeling tired, I sunk back into my chair. I had been at the office early and my eyes were getting heavy. I was about to tackle the mail when Jodie informed me I had a call from Don. I picked up the phone.

   "Stan, I'm sorry to bother you, but I got this strange letter from my insurance company."

   "What's so strange about it?"

   "It says we need to hire an attorney because they're putting the full face amount of the policy into the registry of the court. They're not going to defend us anymore."

   "Oh, shit. They're tendering their limits?"

   "So what in the hell does that mean?"

   "Well, apparently the insurance company has decided that there is no question that you and Jennifer are liable for what happened. Since the doctor was killed, his damages, in their estimation, are going to exceed the policy limits of $300,000. Since they figure they are going to lose anyway, they decided just to pay the policy limits so they don't have to bear the legal expense of defending you."

   "Can they do that?"

   "Yes, I'm afraid so. You've got ten days to substitute in a new attorney."

   "Can you handle it?"

   "Sure, but I must warn you it's likely to get expensive."

   "How expensive?"

   "Anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000."

   "What? I don't have that kind of money. This is ridiculous!"

   "You don't have to come up with it all at once. I only need $5,000 right now."

   Don was silent. I could hear him breathing heavily.

   "Is there any other alternative?"

   "Well, the cheapest way out, of course, is bankruptcy."

   "Bankruptcy? I can't file bankruptcy. Do you know how humiliating that would be?"

   "I know, but you could get out of this thing for about a thousand dollars versus possibly $50,000."

   "Bankruptcy is out of the question, there's got to be another way."

   "Okay, drop a check in the mail for $5,000 and I'll prepare the papers to substitute in as counsel. You guys haven't actually paid me anything yet, and I'm starting to run up quite a few hours."

   "I know. I appreciate you not gouging us. I wish I could send you $10,000, but you know our financial situation."

   I felt bad about having to ask for a retainer from a good friend, but I had no choice. I couldn't very well continue to practice law without some cash coming in. While I was continuing to feel guilty, Jodie advised me that Rob Blaylock was waiting to go downtown for his docket call. I picked up his file, threw it into my briefcase, and went into the reception room. We shook hands, then left the office, and walked to the elevators.

  "So, how have you been?" I asked.

   "Oh, okay, I guess."

   "You guess?"

   "Well, actually I've been kind of depressed."

   "Ha. Join the club," I said.

   "What?"

   "Oh, you know--everyone gets depressed from time to time--even the sharks."

   Rob frowned, not comprehending my dismal attempt at humor. A bell rang, and the elevator door opened. We got in. The door creaked as it began to close, then it paused half open and half closed. I pushed the close button, and it jerked a little and finally closed. We waited what seemed like an eternity for the elevator to start to descend.

   "This elevator may solve both of our problems," I said.

   Rob shrugged but had no clue what I was talking about. Clients don't realize attorneys have problems too. They think all attorneys are rich and have life all figured out. But that's rarely the case. That's why many attorneys are alcoholics. They have thick skins, so no one notices that they are being killed slowly from the inside out.

  Rob continued. "Yeah, I can't sleep. I can't concentrate at school. It's really becoming a problem."

   "Hmm. So what do you think is causing it--your criminal case?"

   I suspected that the source of Rob's sleep problems was the fact that he had discovered Luther's body the night of the murder. I didn't know if Jennifer had told him that she had confessed to me or not. It seemed logical that she would have, but I decided not to bring up that issue in case she hadn't.

   "That . . . and Jennifer."

   "What about Jennifer?"

   "I don't know. She's just hard to figure out sometimes."

   "I know. But that's a problem with most women."

   We arrived at the bottom floor with a jolt, gratefully got out of the elevator, and walked into the parking garage. Once on the road, we continued our conversation.

  "I just can't get over the fact that she's pregnant."

   "Yeah, you should have seen the look on your face when you found out."

   He laughed. "I know. It was definitely the biggest shock of my life."

   "And your life will never be the same. That's for sure."

   "I know. Everything is just so complicated now."

   I shook my head wishing I could say something to console him. Nothing magical came to mind, so I decided just to listen. A friendly ear is always good therapy.

  "So, have you and Jennifer talked about any of this?"

   "We haven't been able to until last night. My father grounded me after the arrest. He wouldn't even let me call Jennifer. Finally, last night he let me go see her."

   "How did that go?"

   "Fine. It was great to see her again. She said she missed me."

   "I bet not as much as you missed her."

   Rob shrugged. "She was glad to see my car had been fixed."

   "Did you talk about the baby?"

   "Un huh. We drove to Town East Mall to get coffee and talk. I wanted to know how she got pregnant. She had told me she was on the pill. She admitted she had lied to me."

   "She did?"

   "Yes, she said she hadn't used any birth control at all. I guess her mother wouldn't let her take the pill. She said it would lead to promiscuity."

   I shook my head. "Amazing."

  "I couldn't believe I had misjudged her so. She had always struck me as being so smart and in control. I couldn't believe she had let herself get pregnant. I would have used a condom if she had just said something."

   "Hmm."

   "She said she didn't plan to have sex with me. I laughed at that. She said she just wasn't ready to go home and couldn't think of anything else to make me stay. This totally blew my mind. I couldn't imagine someone being so stupid, but then I realized I had been the same way.

   "I was such an idiot," Rob blurted out.

   "Don't beat yourself up," I said. "We all make mistakes. Your mistake was not having some protection with you when you went out on your date. A beautiful woman can unleash a powerful spell over a man that few can resist. Believe me, I know."

   Rob grinned and looked at me expectantly.

   I continued. "I could tell you a few personal stories, but now isn't the time. Suffice it to say, this won't be your last encounter with a determined woman."

   "What do you mean determined?"

   "If a woman really wants something from a man she usually will get it. It's a fact of nature. . . . Remember, you told me that Jennifer wouldn't give you the time of day, and then suddenly overnight she became your lover."

   "Right."

   "Did it occur to you that she was using you--that maybe she was already pregnant when she invited you to her bed?"

   "What?"

   "I may be wrong, but I think you were chosen to be the father of her child."

   Rob just stared at me in disbelief.

   I continued, "Wha
t I'm saying is you may want to have some testing done before you accept responsibility for this child."

   Rob swallowed hard. "You think so?"

   I shrugged. "That would be my legal advice, but I sense that maybe you want to be the child's father?"

   He nodded. "I was getting used to the idea."

   "So you love Jennifer?"

   He smiled. "Yes, and she says she loves me."

   "Do you believe her?"

   "I don't know. I want to."

   "Are you going to get married?"

   "Yes, that's our plan, but my parents will be against it. Dad wants me to become a major league baseball player and Mom wants me to go to college. Marriage and a baby will probably kill any chance of either one of those ever happening."

   "Not necessarily. I went through law school with a wife and four kids. If you really want to be a baseball player, having a wife and a child shouldn't stop you."

   Rob raised his eyebrows. "Was it hard going through law school with a family?"

   "It wasn't easy, but I guarantee it gives you a lot of motivation when you have mouths to feed. . . . And it actually helps you focus, because you understand how important it is to be successful. If I were you I'd go to college and play baseball there for now. If you are good enough the scouts will notice you and you'll get drafted. Then you'll probably get a signing bonus and that will help you make it financially. Jennifer can go to college too. I remember at UCLA there were a lot of women bringing babies to class. It was no big deal."

   "Jennifer's mom said we could live with her until we graduate from high school."

   "Oh, good. So you've got everything worked out."

   "Except for breaking the news to my parents."

   "Umm. I wish I could help you out there, but it would probably be best if you and Jennifer told them in person."

   "I can't wait," Rob groaned.

   "I think they will be pleased, actually. . . . They may not show it at first, but I think they will be happy that you two came to such a responsible decision."

   We arrived at the courthouse and went inside. The courtroom was empty so we sat down in the gallery to wait.

   As we were talking, the Assistant DA, Paula Waters, walked into the courtroom. Paula had been a good friend during law school. She was a gorgeous blond with deep blue eyes and the whitest teeth I'd ever seen. I was attracted to her, but at the time I was already married and working full time, so nothing happened between us. She and I would talk before and after class, study together occasionally, and even worked on a case together for a few months, but that was the extent of our relationship. She motioned for me to come into the jury room where she had set up a temporary office. I told Rob to wait and I followed her in and sat down. We exchanged greetings.

   "I haven't seen you around here before," Paula said.

   "No, I don't do that much criminal law."

   "Just a murder case here and there?" she noted evenly.

   I looked at her and laughed. "You heard about that?"

  She rolled her eyes. "You know, I was really pissed you got that trial."

   "Why?"

   "You didn't even take clinic."

   She was referring to criminal law clinic at SMU. It was a great place to get courtroom experience while attending law school. Having to work full time, however, had precluded me from taking the after-hours class and I had regretted that very much.

  I laughed. "You know, I was so over my head in that trial, I don't know how I ever got through it."

   "I thought it was so unfair for Judge Brooks to make you serve jail time."

   The judge gave me thirty days for ignoring his ruling not to put my client under hypnosis while she was testifying. I had done it anyway as it was my only chance of proving her innocent. It had worked, but the judge didn't care about that. I shrugged. "He had to do it, I guess. . . . It wasn't so bad."

   She smiled again and gazed into my eyes. I felt a little uncomfortable and looked away. Then she took a deep breath and opened Rob's file.

  "So, what are we going to do with Mr. Blaylock?"

   "It's his first offense. His girlfriend begged him to take her out. He wanted to stay home and watch a Ranger game but she was a Yankee fan and wasn't interested."

   "Right, it's always someone else's fault," she said.

   "No, that's not it. I'm just trying to say Rob is a good kid. He's got a chance at making it into the major leagues. He never gets in trouble. He's a good student and actually does respect authority--which is rare these days."

   "He just doesn't obey laws. What if he had killed somebody?"

   I sighed. "Believe me. He realizes what he did was stupid. Haven't you ever done something stupid to impress a guy?"

   She cracked a smile and said, "Not more than once or twice a week."

   "Exactly. We all have. It's human nature."

   "Okay, if he pleads guilty I'll recommend probation."

   I frowned. "How about deferred adjudication? He's never even had a traffic ticket for godsakes."

   She took a deep breath. "There's going to have to be some community service. I want him to have a lot of time to think about what might have happened had the policeman not stopped him before he got out on the road."

   "I agree. Absolutely. Community service would be good for him."

   "Okay, then. We'll announce our agreement to the court, do the paperwork and present it to the judge next week."

   "Great, thanks."

   We shook hands. She didn't let go, but pulled me up close and we embraced. She sighed. "It's been too long, Stan. Let's get together soon, okay?"

   "Okay," I said enjoying her friendly embrace.

   She finally let go and I turned to leave.

   "Oh, are you representing Jesse Ramirez?"

   "Ah, I think so. He hasn't come in yet to retain me, but I expect him to."

   "Good. I've drawn his case too. Give me a call if he retains you."

   "I will. See you later."

   Rob was at the door with a smile on his face. I walked over to him.

   "I like your negotiation technique," he said.

   "Yeah, it was your lucky day. Paula's an old friend."

   "Not a determined one, I hope."

   I smiled and then related to him what had transpired. I informed him of the DA's offer and recommended he take it. He agreed.

  The next day I had Jodie call Jesse's mother to see if he was going to come in so I could start work on his cases. She said they hadn't come in yet because they hadn't been able to raise the fifteen hundred dollar retainer I'd asked for. When Jodie told me this I had her get Mrs. Ramirez on the line.

   "So, you haven't been able to get the retainer together, huh?"

   "Yes. I'm sorry. My ex-husband hasn't paid child support in months and I'm really strapped."

   I sighed. "Well, it's very important that I get started on your son's defense. The ADA assigned to the case has already contacted me. She wants to discuss the case. She's an old friend, so there's a good chance I could arrange a favorable disposition of the case, but I can't do that if you haven't retained me."

   "I know. I just don't know what to do."

   "How much money do you have?" I asked.

   "Five hundred is all I've managed to get so far."

   "Well, bring that in and sign a retainer agreement and I'll let you pay out the balance over a few months."

   "Oh, thank you, Mr. Turner. I really appreciate that."

   "No problem. I'll have Jodie call and set up an appointment."

   Stan hung up the phone as Jodie walked in shaking her head. "More pro bono work?" she said.

   I laughed. "No. She's bringing in five hundred bucks?"

   "Oh, wow! She already owes you $750 for getting Jesse out of jail."

   "Hey. She's broke. I know the feeling. I'll get paid eventually. Don't worry about it."

   Jodie shrugged. "Whatever you say, boss
. Hey, in case you're interested they are selling roses in the lobby today for only $20 bucks."

   "Roses?"

   "Yes, the kind that wife's and girlfriends love."

   "Oh. Okay. What's the occasion?"

   "No occasion. The landlord just lets them sell their excess inventory at a discount rather than see them wither away and get nothing."

   I nodded

   "They go pretty fast, so if you want any you better go now."

   "Okay, thanks," I said and Jodie left.

   Twenty bucks was cheap for a dozen roses. I thought back to the last time I'd brought roses home to Rebekah. It had been quite a while, so I decided what the heck, I'd do it. Rebekah certainly deserved it for having to put up with my late hours and our poor financial condition.

   When I got home Rebekah was in the den reading a magazine. I walked in holding the roses behind my back. When she saw me, she looked at her watch.

  "Wow. You're home and I haven't even started supper yet."

   "Good. We're going out. Just you and me. Your mom can watch the kids."

   I showed her the flowers and she smiled. "What's the occasion? It's not my birthday and our anniversary is months away."

   "The occasion is that . . . well . . . I've been neglecting you lately and I wanted to say, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I love you."

   She sprang up and we embraced. "Gee, I don't know what brought this on, but I like it."

   That night we dined at Old San Francisco, Rebekah's favorite restaurant. She wore a pretty black party dress and the pearls that I had given her as a wedding present. She was as beautiful as the day I married her. She asked how the Luther Bell investigation was going.

   "Well, I'm starting to get a picture of Mr. Bell. He was friendly and likeable--a good salesman. He had great potential but for some reason could never quite get it together. Eventually, he became frustrated and angry and decided he would do whatever it took to get what he wanted. Unfortunately, that's when the Blaylocks got in the picture."

   "Umm, poor Pam and Don," Rebekah said. "So, do you think one of them killed him?"

   "I don't know yet. There are a lot of possibilities--of course Pam, Don, and Jim are at the top of the list. Then there are his girlfriends, his ex-wife, and Rob."

   "Rob? But he's only 16 years old."

   I hadn't told Rebekah about Jennifer's confession yet, so I filled her in.

   "Oh, my God. What does Rob have to say about what happened?"

   "I don't know. I haven't discussed it with him yet. I guess I should have but the timing never seemed right."

   "You better talk to him about it."

   "I know. There is just so much to do and I don't have a lot of time since I have a few other clients, you know."

   "I know," Rebekah replied. "Can't you hire a private investigator?"

   "I could, but I like to question everyone myself. You can't really read a person from a report and usually one question will lead to another. So a stock set of questions won't work. Plus I learn a lot just listening to people."

   She nodded. "So you can't afford one?"

   "That too," I admitted, "and my clients can't afford to pay me much less a private investigator."

   "When do you think the police will charge someone?"

   "I don't know. It's early yet. Only time will tell."

   The next day, when I got back from lunch, there was a message from Melanie on my desk. I picked up the telephone and dialed the number. It must have been her direct line because she picked it up immediately. After a little small talk she got to the point.

   "So what are you going to do?" she asked.

  "I don't know yet. I've been so wrapped up in this murder investigation, I haven't had time to think about it."

   "I don't want to rush you, but I'm worried about these diamonds lying around. I don't want someone to steal them."

   "Okay, why don't I come get them and put them in my safety deposit box so they will be safe?"

   "Well, okay--"

   "It's almost two-thirty. The bank closes at four. If I tried to get down to Fair Park and back right now I might not make it. Why don't you get the diamonds and meet me at Valley View Bank. You ought to be able to get there by three-thirty."

   "All right. I'll see you at three-thirty."

   The more I thought about the diamonds, the more I knew I really had to do some serious investigation before I dared sell them. If they were hot and I was caught disposing of them, it would be assumed that I was in cahoots with Schwartz, whoever he really was.

   I decided to hire International Tracing Services to find Marvin Schwartz. They would do it on a contingent fee basis. If they found him it would cost me a couple hundred bucks, if not, it wouldn't cost me a dime. After Jodie found the file I called them and got the ball rolling. I didn't know exactly what I'd do if I found him, but I couldn't afford to make a move being completely in the dark. And just because I did find him, didn't mean I had to contact him.

  At three-thirty I pulled up in front of Valley View Bank. Melanie was already inside waiting. She looked stunning in her charcoal suede pants with long matching coat and blue blouse. I complimented her on her outfit and she smiled appreciatively.

   We went downstairs to the safety deposit vault and signed in. A clerk took us to the box and opened it for us. I pulled it out and took it to a private booth. Melanie pulled a small velvet bag from her coat pocket. She removed the rubber band and then poured the diamonds into her hand. Seeing them took my breath away. It was hard to belief she could be holding $315,000 in one hand.

  After counting them, she put them back in the bag and then asked, "Shoot! Where did that rubber band go?"

   We looked around but couldn't find it. "Wait a minute and I'll go get one from the receptionist."

   When I got back she secured the bag with the rubber band, dropped it into the box and closed it. She waited in the booth while I put the box back in its slot and secured the lock. After leaving the bank we went over to Valley View Mall to walk and talk about our predicament.

   "I've got a search going on for Marvin Schwartz," I said.

   "Really? Why?"

   "I'm not sure. I just want to know where he is for now. He's going to be very angry when he finds out you've double crossed him and he's likely to come after me."

   "He may not know about the diamonds?"Melanie said. "Maybe he was just an innocent courier."

   "I hope not. If he was just a courier then someone was expecting to receive the diamonds and they'll be looking for them."

   "Will you call me if you find him?" Melanie said.

   I stopped and turned to Melanie. "You know I will. If you didn't trust me you wouldn't have told me about the diamonds. In fact, I'm still a bit mystified as to why you did tell me about them. I know what you said about being honest, but I'm not totally buying that."

   She sighed. "Okay, I'll level with you."

   "That would be nice."

   "I was afraid to sell them myself. If it turned out they were hot and someone came after me, the police or a pissed-off gangster, I wouldn't have a chance. If I were just a broker though, nobody would blame me for doing my job if I didn't know the diamonds were hot. They'd come looking for the seller."

   "Thanks a lot," I replied.

   She laughed. "But more likely they'd come looking for both of us. They couldn't afford to have any witnesses to their dealings. I just figured if anybody could figure out a way to keep the diamonds, you could."

   "I don't know. This may be out of both of our leagues."

   She took my hands in hers, pulled me close and gazed into my eyes. "Come on, Stan. You can pull this off. I know you can."

   Her touch was exhilarating. We were so close now I could smell the sweet scent of her body. I could scarcely breathe as she squeezed my hands and smiled, confident that I would do her bidding. As she leaned in to kiss me I yearned to feel her lips and taste her mouth, but guilt he
ld me back. I finally mustered enough strength to break away.

   "Okay," I said. "I'll figure out something. I've got to get back to the office now . I'll call you if I hear anything."

   She smiled, seemingly amused at my reaction, and we went our separate ways.

  At five o'clock I was back at my desk unable to think of anything but Melanie and the diamonds. I still hadn't tackled the day's mail. Reluctantly I began going through it. I tossed out a couple pieces of junk mail and then came upon a letter from the Dallas Police Department. I ripped it open and began studying it. It was the police report on Anant Ravi's death. I read it.

  "Shit . . . Damn it!" I said and threw the report on my desk. Jodie, hearing me swear, got up and came in to see what was the matter.

   "What's wrong, Stan?"

   "I just got the police report on Ravi's auto accident. Banks didn't have any insurance!"

   "Oh my God, you're kidding?!"

   "I wish I were . . . damn it! I can't believe he didn't have any insurance! Jesus."

   I got up, went over to the window and stared at the flood of office workers fleeing the building as the day came to a close. If the glass hadn't been there I might have jumped.

   "Now what?" Jodie asked.

   "I don't know. I can't believe this!"

   "Maybe it's just a mistake?"

   "God, I hope so but somehow I doubt it."

   "What happens if he didn't have insurance?"

   "We've got to hope he owns some assets or was on the job when the accident happened."

   "If he was on the job, we can go after his employer?"

   "Right."

   "But, what if he wasn't on the job, and he doesn't have any property?"

   "Then the best we can do is get his driver's license revoked."

   "Huh? You mean he would get off scot free?"

   "Yeah. That's about the size of it."

   Depression quickly consumed me. As usual nothing ever went right when it came to money. It seemed I was destined to struggle for every dime and every dollar. Fortunately, I didn't have time to dwell too much on the accident report. I had more pressing concerns, namely finding Luther Bell's killer.

   To find him or her, I was going to have to really get to know the people around Luther. I decided to start with his girlfriend, Margie. She was the closest person to Luther and would know everyone else in his life. If there was anyone out there who hated him enough to kill him, she would likely know who it was. I called her to see if she would talk to me. She didn't make a definite commitment but agreed to talk about it the next morning at ten. When I got to the condo, Luther's Cadillac was parked out front. After knocking on the door, I waited.

   Margie opened the door and I introduced myself. She folded her arms and looked at me warily. She was pretty with her long brown hair falling lazily across one shoulder. Her brown eyes were narrow and her nose a little too broad but only a slight blemish to her overall beauty. She wore a dusty lilac top with a cardigan to match and khaki pants.

   "Why should I talk to you?" Margie asked. "One of your clients is a murderer."

   "Maybe, maybe not. I'm just trying to sort this thing out. I could use your help."

   She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and then stepped back and opened the door. I walked in and looked around. The condo was nicely decorated-white leather sofa and love seat, glass coffee and end tables, crystal lamps-very nice.

   "Have a seat," Margie said. "Would you like some coffee?"

   "If you have some made. Don't make a pot just for me."

   "I just made some. Be right back."

   She left, giving me a chance to scope the place out a bit. Luther obviously liked to live well. The condo couldn't have been cheap. I guessed it must have cost two hundred grand--another twenty-five to decorate it. A promoter-type, though, could get a place like this for five percent down easy--less than twenty thousand in hard dollars. But that's the way it worked with them. You think they are rich the way they live, but a balance sheet always gives them away--lots of assets, tons of liabilities and no cash. Margie came back with two coffees.

   "Thank you," I said taking one of them from her.

   "You're welcome," Margie said as she sat next to me on the sofa and placed her coffee next to mine. She looked up and smiled. "So, how can I help you?"

   "First of all, I'd like to say I'm very sorry for your loss. I understand you and Luther were to be married."

   She lowered her head and took a deep breath. "Thank you. It's been very hard. I loved him very much."

   I nodded. "If it isn't too painful, I'd like to go back to the first time this Golden Dragon partnership came up. I'm trying to understand what was going on. You're probably the only person who can tell me the story from Luther's perspective. There are always two sides to a story and it's important I know Luther's side."

   Margie thought a moment, biting her fingernail nervously, then took a deep breath and began telling me how they met.