Learn English through story ★ The Rainmaker by John Grisham

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 thousand dollars 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 lubeburg'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 any time 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 offered 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 90. 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 ray 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 fairlane 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's 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 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 ray'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 rushed 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 hand him 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 dot just looks out the window i'll get donnie ray i hear dot 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 donny 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 donny 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 donny 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're 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 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 explained 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 10 million i explain what happened with those awful people at the lake firm but dodd and donny 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 landall our possible client don't act like a lawyer he whispers deck sadly has done this many times van lendl is in his late 20s 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 shifflet 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 wiper eyes i realize 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 tried 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 peter's 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 eight a.m 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 benefit's 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 deck 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 22 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 steakhouse 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 9. 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 in 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 lawyer 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 donnie 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 75 000 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 expressed 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 the 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 cafe 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 said 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 ray 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 donny 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 donnie 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 500. 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 eight 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 dec 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 index 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 croak 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 ordered 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 thot buddy is spending more and more time in his fair lane it will only be a few days now before donnie rae 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 promise 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 gray 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 dec 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 their first words out of his mouth are i passed it his exam was regraded 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 get 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 leave 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 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 benefits 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 two hundred thousand 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 notice 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 u 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 mean or 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 payphone 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 dex 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 opened 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 dec 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 donnie 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 donnie 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 tests that showed donnie rae 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 donnie 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 you 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 jacquie 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 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 donny 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 would 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 20 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 croak 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 turned a 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 keely 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 sub paragraph 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 changed 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 stopped 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 ray 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 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 ten thirty 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 yana 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 200 000 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 the 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 in 200.000 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 the 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 a tape recorder after he turns it on i say i'm rudy baylor lawyer for kelly reicher today is monday february 15 1993. 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 40. 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 a hundred and ten 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 corsa 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 wilfrid 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 ten 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 ninety 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 dot 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 gun's 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

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Id: TmTUg34_tzo

Length: 197min 0sec (11820 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 20 2020