Cash Call, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 5

by William Manchee

  Chapter 7

  DWI

   When I got back from Greenville, Rob was waiting for me. I had forgotten that I had scheduled an appointment with him to get started on the defense of his DWI charge. It wasn't going to be an easy case since he probably was intoxicated when he was driving home that night with his friends. Sometimes, however, the police screw up and create defenses that otherwise wouldn't exist. I wasn't optimistic that this would be the case, but I had a duty to Rob to explore every possibility. Luckily, this was Rob's first offense and courts were often lenient the first time around. Jodie showed him into my office.

   "Did you hear about your Mom?"

   "No, what about her?"

   "Well, I just left her and your Dad. She's okay, but she's very upset over her arrest."

   "Arrest? What arrest!"

   I explained the situation to Rob. He wanted to rush home and make sure she was okay, but I told him she needed her rest right now and he really couldn't do anything for her at that moment.

  "Anyway, she's going to be okay. Right now we need to talk about your situation. . . . So, how are you holding up?"

  "I'm okay, I guess," Rob replied.

   "Well, I got a notice from the court that you've got to appear to make a plea two weeks from Thursday. So, you'll need to make arrangements to miss school that day."

   "How do think I should plead?" Rob asked.

   "I don't know. You haven't told me what happened yet. I need to know the whole story if I'm going to properly represent you--not just what you'd like me to hear. Will you do that?"

   "Everything?"

   I nodded. "Yes, everything. Let me judge what is or isn't important."

   He frowned, then took a deep breath. "Okay, where should I start?"

   "Why don't you start by telling me about you and Jennifer? I need to know everything about your relationship with her since, I gather, she got you into this mess."

   "It wasn't all her fault."

   "I didn't figure it was."

   "We met a few months ago. She's a cheerleader--very popular. I knew getting a date with her wouldn't be easy, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try, so I did. After getting nowhere the first few attempts, she finally agreed to go to a party with me. I was glad to be going out with her, but nervous as hell. I knew that if I didn't impress her, there wouldn't be a second date. Unfortunately, we got off to a bad start."

   "How is that?" I asked.

   "It was a Friday night and, wouldn't you know, when I tried to start my car I discovered the battery was dead. I couldn't believe it. I was so pissed. Luckily, mom was home, so I jumped the car with hers. Then, when I was finally ready to go, Dad shows up. I almost died. I knew he would hit me with a barrage of questions. All I could think about was how angry Jennifer would be if I were late.

   "I couldn't just brush my dad off though, because then he would get suspicious. He asked me where I was going. I lied and told him I was going to a movie with Jesse."

   "Why didn't you just tell him the truth?" I asked.

   "I couldn't. He wouldn't have let me go to an unsupervised party."

   I smiled and nodded. "Right."

   Finally he let me go and I went straight to Jennifer's."

   "What kind of a car do you drive?" I asked.

   "A Ford Mustang GT."

   "Hmm. Nice car," I said as I jotted down the information on my yellow pad. "Go on."

  "I was sure Jennifer was going to be mad and the entire night was going to be a disaster. But when I got there she didn't seem to be the least bit angry--just glad to see me."

   "That must of been a relief," I said.

   "Damn straight," Rob said. "Jennifer is so totally awesome. I wanted that date to go well, trust me."

   "Do you have a picture of her?"

   Rob smiled and went for his wallet. He pulled out a wallet-size yearbook picture. She looked about 5'4", 115 lbs, with blue eyes and natural blond hair which she wore in a pony tail.

   "So what happened then?" I asked.

   Rob looked intently at the photo and replied, "When she got in the car, she scooted up next to me and put her left hand on my thigh like we had been dating for months. I was so distracted I could hardly drive."

   "I bet."

   "I apologized for being late. She seemed quite satisfied with my explanation and assured me the rest of the evening would be much better."

   One of the nice things about practicing law is it rarely gets boring. Rob's story was getting good and I was thoroughly enjoying it. I couldn't help but think back to my junior year in high school. Somehow, I had gotten a date with a fun-loving senior. Like Rob, I was naive and got much more than I had expected. I grinned and told him to continue.

  "As I was driving we talked about my car, school and our parents. Then, I suddenly realized we were just cruising aimlessly. I had no idea where we were going."

   I laughed. "You were distracted."

   "Definitely."

   "So you eventually got to the party?"

   "About ten minutes later. Jesse staggered out and welcomed us. He was obviously drunk which surprised me."

   "Why did that surprise you?" I asked.

   "Well, I was hoping the party wasn't going to be a big beer bash. I was in training, you know--being on the baseball team and everything. Drinking was strictly forbidden. I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a beer or two, but I didn't want to be under a lot of pressure to drink. I definitely didn't want to get drunk and come home smelling like a brewery. My dad would flip out if that happened."

   "Right."

   "So, we went inside and it only got worse."

   "Really? How?"

   "Of course, Linda's parents weren't home so everyone was doing as they pleased. The smoke was thick and the music was deafening. Not that I don't like music, but I value my eardrums."

   "Was there hard liquor?" I asked.

   "Yes, and the usual contests to see who could drink it the fastest."

   "Hmm."

   "What surprised me the most was when Jennifer lit up a cigarette."

   "Oh really? You didn't know she smoked?"

   "No, and I was disappointed, although I didn't tell her that. . . . She tried to get me to light one up too, but I definitely wasn't going to smoke while in training."

   "Are your teammates as scrupulous as you at following the rules?"

   "Most of them are. The coach hammers us with the rules and has no tolerance for anyone who breaks them."

   "Good for him," I said. "So then what happened?"

   "Jennifer wanted to dance, so we went into the den where the music was playing. I didn't like fast dancing but since Jennifer did, I got stuck dancing most of the evening. Around eleven thirty I began to get concerned about the time. Midnight was fast approaching and I knew my father wouldn't go to bed until I was home. It was embarrassing to have to bring up the idea of calling it a night, but I had no choice."

   "Jennifer wasn't tired?" I asked.

   "No, she has incredible energy. She's a cheerleader and in very good shape. She wasn't ready to leave and began pouting when I suggested it."

   I shook my head. "So what did you do?"

   "I hated to have to argue about going home, but I knew my dad would be up waiting for me. I was about to put my foot down when she smiled, gave me a seductive wink and led me into Linda's bedroom."

   "Oh, really?"I said stifling a smile.

   "As you can imagine, all thoughts of my father vanished."

   "Right. So--"

   "So, she started taking off her clothes and then, you know--we had sex--incredible sex."

   "I see. . . . So, when did you get home?"

   "We fell asleep, and Jesse didn't wake us up until after two. I was so upset when I discovered how late it was. I knew my father was going to ground me for life.

  "Did he?"

   "No, I left my window open as a precaution in case I got home late.
Dad often dozes, so I can sometimes say I came in while he was sleeping. It doesn't always work but it did this time."

   "Lucky you."

   "Really."

   "So, did you use any protection when you had sex?"

   "No, I just assumed Jennifer was on the pill."

   "Was she?"

   "She said she was, but now I know different."

   Rob was naive. He was obviously no match for Jennifer. He reminded me of myself when I was his age. My parents had sheltered me so much when I was young, I wasn't prepared for the real world. Consequently, I had to endure some pretty painful lessons about life as I got older.

  "So that was our first date," Rob said.

   "So, do you think Jennifer got pregnant that night?" I asked.

   "I don't know. We dated for several months and had sex a lot. It could have happened any one of those times."

   "I know she said she was on the pill, but weren't you still worried about getting her pregnant?" I asked.

   "No, I figured her pills would work."

   Rob seemed like a decent kid. His naivety was actually refreshing. Kids nowadays were exposed to so much violence, pornography, and immorality everywhere they turned, that there wasn't much evil to which they hadn't been exposed. Jennifer, on the other hand, knew exactly what she was doing. I wondered what her intentions had been--just sex, a child, a ticket away from her mother, or had she just fallen in love with Rob? I hoped it was as simple as the latter.

   I rubbed my chin. "Hmm. So tell me about the night of the accident."

   "Sure," Rob said.

  "It was a Saturday night. Mom and dad had left with some friends to go to the Majestic Theater. I had invited everyone over to the house to watch a Ranger game. It was supposed to be a nice quiet evening. I wouldn't dare give a party at our house as my parents and the neighbors are tight. They'd report any suspicious activity. Jesse arrived first, and then the girls showed up a little later with two grocery sacks full of beer.

  "Linda is a tall, lean, brunette. She has a great tan and nice legs. I guess I gazed at them a little too long. Jennifer noticed and got pissed off."

   I laughed. "It doesn't take much to make a woman jealous," I advised.

   "Tell me about it," Rob said. "She wouldn't even let me touch her. It took her nearly thirty minutes to get over it."

   "But she got over it?"

   "Yeah, I took her into my bedroom and made love to her."

   "Just like that?"

   "Hey, she is something else. I can't get enough of her."

   "How long did that take?"

   "Probably an hour or so. . . . When we came back into the living room, I sat in a big over-stuffed chair with Jennifer on my lap. We watched the game for awhile but Jennifer got bored and wanted to go out. That's when I found out she hated the Rangers."

   "She hates the Rangers?"

   Rob nodded. "Right. She's a Yankee fan, if you can believe that."

   "Oh, God," I said. "Why?"

   "I don't know," Rob replied. "I never thought to ask."

   "So, you went out?"

   "Yes, she had heard about a warehouse off of Greenville Avenue that was supposed to be rockin' that night--no cops and no IDs required. I wasn't crazy about the idea, but when Jennifer gets a thought in her head, there is no distracting her. You might as well just do it and get it over with.

   "That didn't bother you?"

   "Sure it did, but it was something I just had to put up with."

   "So why did you take your car? Didn't Jesse have one?"

   "His car is a piece of junk. There's no way we could have taken his car."

   "So, you found the warehouse okay?"

   "Right. It was off Greenville Avenue, a block or two south of Northwest Highway. There was a parking lot where we left the car. We had to walk several blocks to the warehouse."

   "There wasn't parking nearer the warehouse?"

   "No, I guess they didn't want a bunch of cars around that might attract attention."

   "Huh. What did it look like inside?"

   "It was basically a big room with a stage in the middle. It was very crowded and the music was loud. We found a small table and some stools to sit on. There were two pickup trucks at opposite ends of the warehouse with several kegs of beer in each. Jesse went to one of them and brought back four beers."

   "So, weren't you worried about getting caught drinking? You said your coach had no tolerance for breaking the rules."

   "Yes, I was very uneasy at first, but as the night wore on and Jesse kept bringing us more beer I quit thinking about it."

   "Hmm. How long did you stay?"

   "Jennifer loved the dancing so we stayed quite awhile. Finally, I insisted we go home. Luckily, Jesse and Linda were so bombed they didn't object."

   "Weren't you worried about driving home after drinking so many beers?"

   "To tell the truth, I didn't think I was that drunk. We had been eating pretzels and stuff and I had been dancing so much I figured I had worked the liquor out of my system."

   I laughed. "Right."

   Rob shrugged. "I know it sounds stupid now, but I really thought I was okay."

   "But you weren't?"

   "No. After we left I was having trouble staying in my lane. It wasn't long before I saw red and blue flashing lights in my rear view mirror."

   "Wouldn't you know," I said.

   "I pulled over, and the cop came up to my window and asked me to get out of the car. He gave me one of those sobriety tests, you know, where you have to walk a straight line?"

   "How did you do?"

   "Not good."

   "Did he give you a Miranda warning before he arrested you?"

   "Yeah, right. He read me my rights."

   "So, why did he arrest Jesse?"

   "Oh, because he got really upset when the cop put the cuffs on me. Jesse yelled at the cop and I think he actually pushed him."

   "Really?"

   "Yes. . . . Anyway, the cop got very mad and threw Jesse up against the car and cuffed him too."

   I shook my head. "Wonderful. . . . So, the cop let Jennifer drive your car home?"

   "Right. He gave her a sobriety test and she passed it. I don't know how, but somehow she did."

   "She must not have been drinking as much as you, huh?"

   "I guess. I wasn't really paying that much attention."

   "So, then they took you to the Dallas city jail?"

   "Uh huh."

   "They probably videotaped you when they booked you. How do you think you looked? Was it obvious you were drunk?" I said.

   "Probably," Rob admitted.

   "Did they take any blood?"

   "Yeah, they said if I didn't give them blood, I'd lose my license."

   "That's true, but it could be all they need to convict you."

   Rob closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "So, now what? Am I screwed?"

   Jodie walked in looking upset. "I'm sorry to bother you in a conference, but Don is on the line and he's very upset." Rob grimaced. I picked up the line.

   "Don?"

   "You won't believe this! This has been the worst day of my life. Oh, Jesus. I don't know what I'm going to do."

   "What happened now?"

   "The IRS levied our bank account."

   "What?"

   "Herb Winters, our loan officer at the bank, called right after Pam went to bed. He said the IRS had levied our bank account and that any outstanding checks were going to bounce."

   "Oh, my God, " I said. "How much did you have in there?"

   "They got over $21,000."

   I looked at Rob and shook my head. I whispered. "Your Dad has an IRS problem. He'll tell you about it when you get home."

   "Oh, shit!" Rob said, sinking back into his chair.

  "I called Jim and apprised him of the situation," Don said.

   "Who's Jim?" I asked.

   "He's
a neighbor I brought into the deal. He in turn recruited three of his friends. So there are five of us all together.

  "Oh. I see."

   "He reluctantly agreed to kick in enough to cover his share of the NSF checks. He said he would try to get the other partners to do the same, but couldn't guarantee anything as everyone was getting low on cash."

   "I can imagine."

   Don continued. "That's not all the bad news either."

   "Huh?" I said wondering what else could have happened.

   "Later on when I went back to the restaurant to close up, I was shocked to see the lights out and a letter addressed to the Golden Dragon Partnership taped to the door."

   "Oh, chap! What did it say?" I asked.

   "I've got it here. . . . I'll read it to you."

   Don began to read.

   Golden Dragon Partners

   Dear Sir or Madam,

  Please be advised that we have taken possession of these premises pursuant to Article 21.1 of your lease agreement for non-payment of rent. Currently, there is due the sum of $8,231.00. We regret this action but your continued delinquency and unwillingness to communicate gives us no other choice.

   Please do not attempt to gain access to the premises. Notice is hereby given that the landlord is asserting its landlord's lien against all property within these premises. Removal of any items is prohibited by law.

   Should you have any questions, call Embassy Management Co. 972-555-2117.

   Sincerely, Bob Wilkinson

   "God, I am so sorry, Don. Luther Bell is turning out to be a monster."

   "I guess we're out of business whether we like it or not."

   Not knowing how to respond to Don's remark, I kept my mouth shut. Oftentimes things looked bleaker than they actually were, and I didn't know enough about what had happened in this case to render an opinion.

   "I'm going to kill that bastard!" Don said. "He's gonna wish he was never born."