Second Chair, A Stan Turner Mystery, Vol.4
Page 7
Chapter 6
Breach of Duty
That night I had a horrible nightmare–one of the most frightening I’d ever experienced. It started with voices in the distance, then loud knocking on my door. I got up but before I made it to the door it came crashing down. Policemen rushed in and grabbed me. They pushed me up against the wall and cuffed me. Then they led me out the front door to an awaiting squad car. The scene suddenly changed. I was in a cemetery now, cuffed and gagged. Several men were digging a grave. When they were done, the policemen pushed me into the hole. I turned over and tried to climb out only to be pelted by a shovel full of dirt. Wiping the dirt from my eyes, I looked up into the diabolical eyes of Marleen Wiggins who was at the other end of the shovel. She laughed in delight with each shovel full of dirt she threw at me. Somehow I managed to get to my feet again, but when I tried to climb out of the hole Marleen smacked me with the shovel knocking me flat on my back. Then a sudden tranquility overcame me. Now I was looking down at Marleen diligently filling my grave.
The next morning I couldn't get out of bed. Every muscle in my body ached. I felt drained like when you get the flu. When the alarm went off, I shut it off and turned over. As much as I tried to muster my strength to get up, I couldn't do it. Rebekah took my temperature to see if I was sick but it was normal.
My dream turned out to be a premonition of the misfortune that was about to strike me. Before I had finished my first cup of coffee, Jodie informed me there was a deputy constable in the reception area waiting to see me. My heart sunk as I knew I had been sued. For a moment I thought maybe the citation was for one of my clients but deep down I knew whose name would be on it. Taking a deep breath, I ventured into the reception area.
"Hello, can I help you?" I said trying to look surprised to see him. He was a big, muscular man with an unforgiving face. His brown and green uniform fit him like a glove which accentuated the large service revolver attached to his belt. Looking down at his paper he asked, "Stanley Turner?"
"Uh huh," I said meekly.
He handed me the papers and said, "You've been sued. I guess I don't have to tell you but you better get an attorney. You only have a short time to answer this complaint."
"Okay," I said fighting off a sudden nauseous feeling. Not knowing what to say to him, I just turned and went back into my office. A few seconds later I heard the front door close and then Jodie came rushing in.
"What is it?"
"Oh, isn’t this sweet? Marleen's suing Rebekah and me for two million dollars."
"Two million dollars! I can't believe she would do that. She's always been so nice. It doesn't make sense."
"Yes it does. She figures I have insurance and she might as well tap into it. Besides, I'm sure her children are really behind it. She wouldn't have done it on her own."
"What are you going to do?"
"I have no clue. Call my insurance agent, I guess. My homeowners’ insurance carrier will have to defend me."
"Will they pay the claim?"
"They might, but I only have a hundred thousand dollars in coverage."
"Oh God, Stan. I'm so sorry. . . . I guess this means you won't be handling Bobby's probate anymore."
"That's a safe bet. . . . Oh, God. I can't– . . . Oh, shit! I bet the constable is serving Rebekah right now. Get her on the phone so I can warn her."
Jodie called her but it was too late. Rebekah had just been served and she was crying. She handed me the phone.
"What are we going to do?” Rebekah moaned. “We'll lose everything."
"No, we won't. This is Texas. They can't take shit from us."
"What about your practice?"
I didn't have an answer for that. Even in Texas my accounts receivable, equipment and cash were at risk. The only thing I could claim exempt was my books and they didn't matter much since I owed more on them than they were worth.
"Why did she do this? You've been so good to Bobby and her."
"I know. It's the kids. I’m sure."
"It's not fair. We were just trying to have a nice little party," she sobbed. "I hate that bitch!"
"Okay, calm down. We'll get through this. Just relax."
It took me twenty minutes before I had calmed down enough to actually read the lawsuit. It was a typical negligence suit stating that Rebekah and I had a duty to our guest to warn them of any dangerous conditions on our property and to take reasonable precautions to insure their safety. Marleen and her children claimed we had breached that duty by not warning the guests that the sidewalk had frozen over while the party was in progress and in failing to put sand down on the pavement.
It wasn't a slam dunk case for the plaintiffs. We could argue that it was common knowledge that the sidewalk was icy and that warning of the danger wouldn't have mattered. We could also legitimately claim that we had no knowledge of the ice since earlier in the evening when we checked it last there was none. On the other hand Bobby was a prominent CPA invited over for a good time and now he was dead. And, of course, there was the lawyer factor. Everybody loved to kick a lawyer when he was down. Suddenly my optimism faded.
I didn't know exactly how I was going to defend myself. But one thing I did know, if I was to have any chance of coming out of this mess unscathed I would need to know a lot more about Bobby Wiggins and my adversaries, Marleen and her children. At the very least I might be able to tarnish their reputations a little so the jury would at least listen to my side of the story.
When I notified my insurance carrier of the suit, they agreed to defend me. I knew it wouldn't be a spirited defense as the insurance company had only a hundred thousand dollars at stake. In fact, I was afraid they might tender the policy limits into the registry of the Court and refuse to defend me. They had that option. Fortunately, they weren’t ready to concede liability so they made an appearance on my behalf. I decided to enter an appearance myself as an additional counsel so I could conduct my own discovery and keep on top of the lawsuit. It was highly unusual but I felt it necessary since I couldn't afford independent counsel.
My first order of business was to inspect all of Bobby's business records. I told plaintiff's counsel I wanted to do it to disprove their alleged damages. My real motivation was to look for any exculpatory evidence I could find. The thought occurred to me that Bobby might have had a heart condition all along and had concealed it from his family and friends. If this were the case, he may have fallen as a result of the heart attack which made more sense than having a heart attack as the result of a fall.