Girl, Under Oath (Michael Gresham Series)

by John Ellsworth

  Here's what happened with Jennifer's case, as I've pasted it together.

  The day after Christmas, Marcel was sitting at his computer, and that's when he made his decision. He was going to obtain Jennifer's medical records and he was going to justify it by the fact I was defending her in a criminal case. He was going to say that my defense of her in the criminal case made her medical records relevant and provided a basis for us to go after them. In retrospect, I agreed. She hadn't been forthcoming, and it was simply a matter of doing the due diligence. Good lawyering demanded no less. So, Marcel knew my thinking, and he went after the records.

  MEMO TO THE FILE:

  Jennifer had previously refused to allow me these records. I am making a decision that she’s in no frame of mind to make that decision. I’m going after the records.

  * * *

  So, Marcel created the California version of an authorization to release medical records. Next, he filled out the authorization and addressed it to Dr. Samuel Erickson, 1101 S. Norridge Road, San Diego, CA. He then left the office with the authorization and took a taxi four blocks north to a storefront payday loans joint. He went inside, walked up to the window, and said he needed his document notarized.

  "And whose signature might I be notarizing?" asked the man behind the glass.

  "The signature is the signature of Jennifer Ipswich. She just happens to be one of my boss’s clients."

  "Is Jennifer present to confirm that the signature is hers?"

  "No, but I can attest that it is her signature."

  At that point, by law, the notary should have told Marcel to go jump in the lake, that he would not and could not notarize the signature of someone who was not present. But that isn't what happened.

  "If Jennifer Ipswich isn’t here, then I'm gonna have to charge you the full five-hundred dollars for the notarization. It costs more if the person signing isn't here at the window with you. That will be five hundred in cash."

  Marcel reached into his pocket and pulled out five $100 bills. He slid them under the glass opening and smiled at the man. "Will that do?"

  "That's exactly what's needed." The man then reached beneath the counter, pulled out a notary seal, signed the authorization as a notary, and sealed it with a notarial seal. He slid the authorization back beneath the window and said, "Will there be anything else?"

  Marcel told him that's all he needed.

  Marcel then left the payday loans storefront and took a taxi back to our office. He took the elevator upstairs and went back into his office.

  This next part is a little unclear, but here's what I think happened. Marcel created a letter on my law firm letterhead and stamped it with my name, then sent it with the authorization form to Dr. Erickson in San Diego. He then got up and went out for a cup of coffee.

  Several days later, Marcel received a manila envelope with the mailing label from Dr. Samuel Erickson in San Diego. It was addressed to me here in Chicago. Marcel opened the envelope and began studying the medical records of Jennifer Ipswich. He saw that they pertained to her treatment with Dr. Erickson.

  The records were fifteen years old, and they did not indicate whether there had been follow-up treatment with any other psychiatrist since the time Jennifer left San Diego after medical school. However, when Marcel gave me the records, he was quick to point out that Jennifer had continuous treatment with Dr. Erickson all through her education at UCSD.

  He gave me the records, and I quickly scanned down to what I was looking for. Marcel had highlighted it in yellow. It read it out loud:

  “The patient describes experiencing several psychotic episodes over the past half year. During these episodes, she feels very paranoid and sees people in the shadows, waiting to jump at her. She sees people in parked automobiles, waiting to jump and grab her. She sees people in the bushes at her front door, waiting for her. All of these threats are coming after her. She also describes having, quote, otherworldly ‘feelings,’ as if she is outside of her body, watching herself. These psychotic breaks are episodic; they might occur two or three times in a month, or they might occur two or three times in a week. She never knows. Treatment will consist of risperidone and lamotrigine as a mood stabilizer. She will be closely monitored, and I will adjust her medications as we go along."

  I looked up. "Bingo," I said. "Now tell me how in God's name you got these records. I know that Jennifer did not agree."

  Marcel shook his head. "Boss, there's some things you're better off not knowing. This is one of those things."

  "In a way, I'm glad we have these records. If push comes to shove at the criminal trial, I can introduce them into the record and amend her defenses to include a mental defense. I don't think the case is going to come to that because, frankly, I think we’re winning the case and don't need it."

  "Are you going to confront her about these things?" Marcel asked.

  "Not at this point. If she denied the psychoses, then I would be forced to show her the records, which, I can only assume, we obtained without her knowledge."

  "Only doing my job, boss. It's a criminal case, and I was worried. I know you always want to know every last detail about your client, and I felt like I was letting you down by not obtaining this. I think my efforts have paid off grandly."

  "Your efforts have paid off for now. Let's put the records into her file. We won't mention this again. But if I need them, I have them. Good work."

  "Always glad to be of service, boss."

  "Just don't ever do this again."

  "I understand."

  23

  Jennifer

  Today, Michael asked me how I felt about settling and getting the Elise case over with—had I given it any more thought? How would I feel if this Elise just went away?

  I told Michael I didn’t feel like talking about it right then. I didn’t want to even think about me giving her $1 million. I just didn’t trust what I might say. But something told me the lady couldn’t be trusted. I didn’t ever want anyone to think I was selfish or I didn’t think of other people. But this wasn’t that kind of situation.

  I knew that Joe was the kind of man who always wore his heart on his sleeve and was easy to read. I could imagine him sitting in his examination room at his medical practice, staring into the eyes of this woman from Paris. She could look right into his face and see that he was probably lonely living there in Paris alone two weeks out of every month. I'm sure that was when she decided to make her move.

  I could see them going out for their first dinner, or maybe just drinks, and her sitting there looking lovingly into his eyes and nodding and smiling at everything he said. Women could be like that. I'd never been like that, because I'd always liked to meet men on a common ground and exchange 50-50 with them. I'd never felt like I had to win a man. In fact, if anything, I'd always let the man come to me. Women who did less than that did not have my respect.

  You know what else gets me? I had two children at home, just kids really, and their needs were just as important as the needs of this woman in Paris. It was terrible she had a sick daughter, especially one with HIV. But I didn't cause that, and I couldn’t fix it. If she really thought she needed life insurance from Joe, then why didn't she go ahead and have him take out a policy there in France? After all, if you read her email carefully, you could see she was involved in some sort of business that had to do with consulting. So why didn't she consult herself? And get some life insurance? I mean, I wasn’t even in consulting, and that's what I did.

  I was doing everything I could to hold my feelings in check and not lash out at this Elise. She wasn’t innocent, but she wasn’t a criminal either.

  It was just a terrible situation, and I didn’t want to dwell much on it.

  It couldn't have come at a worse time, right in the middle of my trial for murdering the man I loved. All I needed was to have a lawsuit piled on me while I was fighting for my life and freedom.

  The very nerve of that woman in France to come in and ask for money at a time l
ike this—it just made me crazy to even think of someone doing that to me. No, I had to circle the wagons and protect myself now. That was the best thing for me to do, and I wasn’t going to worry about some other woman's problems. I didn't ask her into my marriage and I wasn’t going to make her life all okay now that she was in my marriage. She could go jump in the lake as far as I was concerned.

  Michael just nodded at me. Sometimes he could get the dumbest damned look on his face, like he was busy with a movie and not really seeing me. Or hearing me. It chapped my ass, but that was my secret.

  Wake up, all you people!

  I am talking!

  24

  Michael

  I received a call from Jennifer to tell me the reading of the will would be held late Friday at the office of Cynthia Drake. I didn’t know Attorney Drake, but Jennifer asked me to be present, and I agreed.

  Friday night, I drove to Evanston, where I was going anyway, then stopped at the office of Attorney Cynthia Drake for the reading of the will. I was shown into the large conference room of Ms. Drake. Already present were Cynthia Drake, to whom I introduced myself, Jennifer, and Frank Wilder, who of course was representing Elise Ipswich in her absence. Without fooling around, Ms. Drake got right to the business at hand. She began reading the will, and I listened with great interest when she got down to the specific distribution of Joe's property.

  "To my wife, Jennifer Ipswich, I leave our house in Evanston Illinois one-hundred percent, and to my wife Elise Ipswich, I leave our condo in Paris France one-hundred percent. My United States assets are to be divided between Jennifer Ipswich and Elise Ipswich equally. They are to receive life estates in those assets with the remainder to my children in equal shares."

  When Ms. Drake was finished, Frank Wilder couldn't restrain himself from jumping in with his comments.

  "Now what we need to do is determine which assets are Joseph Ipswich's and distribute those 50-50 between Jennifer and Elise. Jennifer, are you claiming more than fifty-percent ownership in any of Joseph's American assets?"

  I spoke up, "Hold on, Jennifer. This question is really meant for me. Mr. Wilder, this is probably neither the time nor place to be having this conversation as the reading of the will is normally a solemn affair and is not a settlement conference. But since you brought it up, yes, Jennifer Ipswich is claiming more than fifty percent ownership in almost all of the parties' assets. She contributed more than fifty percent as Joseph was investing much of his money in his French family and his French holdings.”

  “Pure bullshit.”

  I ignored him. “Jennifer Ipswich will also be making a claim against one half of those French assets. While Joseph Ipswich can, by his will, leave one half of his ownership in the Paris condo, my client is not convinced that Elise Ipswich has actually contributed one half to the ownership of that condo.”

  “Likewise to the American assets,” Wilder said with an angry smile. “So, we’ll need her deposition. For starters.”

  I went ahead, unfazed. “Jennifer will be claiming more than one half of the Paris condo, as to Joe's ownership. And just to let you know, she also has contributed approximately eighty-five percent of the purchase price of the Evanston home. This leaves approximately fifteen percent of the home equity for distribution. Which means, of course, that your client may—but not for sure—own up to seven and a half percent of the home equity. I say that without admitting it, but rather say it only for purposes of information to you, since you've asked."

  Wilder was laughing. “You break me up, Gresham,” he said and slapped the table.

  Jennifer then spoke up. "I'm prepared to spend whatever money I have in fighting off the claim of your client, Mr. Wilder. Also, I don't believe she was acting in good faith when she married my husband for his second time. Surely, she knew that he had a family in America since he kept returning here for two weeks out of each month. I'm certain she would've asked with whom he was spending his time in America and, knowing Joseph, he would've told her the truth. He was a truth teller. And I'm sure he did not try to cover up from Elise that he was married previously in America."

  I couldn’t resist. "And the fact that she knew before she married him that he was already married gives her unclean hands. Which means that she is not entitled, as an equitable matter, to one half of his assets on either side of the Atlantic. In fact, I'm not convinced she's entitled to any percentage of his assets. Given that she knew going in that he was married makes her complicit in the fraud against my client and my client’s children. I'm sorry these matters had to be discussed, Ms. Drake, in your office during the reading of the will. But, evidently, it could not wait, at least in Mr. Wilder's world."

  “Right back at you,” Wilder sneered at me. “And she didn’t know he was married before she married him. You can have your opinion but you can’t have your facts, Gresham.”

  “Oh. You must be right. Isn’t that what your wife says?” I couldn’t resist, childish as it was.

  We then began gathering our things to leave Cynthia Drake's office.

  Outside in the hallway, Wilder buttonholed me off to the side away from Jennifer where he could speak to me outside her hearing. He wasted no time in unloading on me.

  "Gresham, I'm putting you on notice that everything you said in there is pure bullshit, and I'm going to be fighting it. My client will offer to settle with your client for fifty percent of all American assets, no exceptions. She is also willing to settle with your client for fifty percent of all French assets. Again, no exceptions. If your client refuses to accept this offer, I will have no option but to drag her into court kicking and screaming and extract one half of all assets through litigation. Trust me, Gresham, you do not want to litigate with me and my scorched earth policy of litigation. Your client could very likely end up with nothing, having spent every dime on legal fees, yours and mine."

  I wasn't rattled, of course. I had heard little ducks fart underwater before. Wilder was a blowhard and a big mouth as far as I was concerned.

  I said, "I think it would be smart if we got both clients together, with us present, and let them talk through their differences while you and I try to listen and keep our yaps shut.”

  “Could you do that?” he sneered. “So far, from what I’ve seen of you, Gresham, I think not.”

  “I think they will come much closer to an agreement than you and I ever could with our biases and prejudices and your ego.”

  He knew exactly what I meant when I mentioned his ego. His face lit up, turning red and contorted because I had dared to insult him. But I felt he was the type of attorney who was used to being insulted and probably had a very thick skin. I was just letting him know that I was prepared to go to the mat with him.

  "I think you might be right, that it might be good for our clients to talk. While I don't think there has been ego involved on my part, I don't believe I can say the same thing about you, Gresham. You sound pretty mouthy to me. You sound like someone speaking out of school to impress your client. I guess we’ll just have to see if you've the wherewithal to back that up."

  I shrugged and began walking away. Wherewithal?

  That was my middle name.

  25

  Michael

  It seemed like I was the cooler head, so I called Frank Wilder to set up a settlement conference between the lawyers and their clients. I then called Jennifer to tell her what was going on.

  "Jennifer, I just called Frank Wilder. I found out that Elise Ipswich is coming to town to testify in the Temporary Restraining Order hearing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “He’s asking the court to restrain you from transferring marital assets. Purely an exercise in ginning up legal fees. Anyway, while Elise is here, Frank and I have agreed to set up a four-way conference to discuss the case's settlement. Are you open to that?"

  "I don't think a settlement conference will hurt anything," Jennifer said. "In fact, why don't we all go out to dinner somewhere and discuss it over dinner? It seems
to me that would be the civilized thing to do."

  "No, this won't be a social occasion. There will probably be raised voices and some anger. Fine dining this isn’t.”

  "I was so hoping we could talk about this like adults. Too bad."

  "Jennifer, let me say it once again. Frank Wilder does not want this case to settle. He wants to bill, and bill and bill and have his legal fees paid by you. He wants to become your partner in the assets you own. Do you understand what I'm saying? That's how this guy works. That's why I was encouraging you yesterday to get it over with, to bite the bullet, to give this lady one half of the insurance money."

  "Well, one half is not going to happen. So let's have the meeting at a neutral place. How about a Denny's?"

  "Denny’s sounds about right. I'll set it up." I hung up the phone without further conversation.

  26

  Jennifer

  "I was reviewing your record before you came in today, Dr. O’Connor,” Verona Gresham said to me. "I think we’re a little thin on your history around the time of medical school. Long story short, were you under any psychiatric treatment during that period?"

  "Not psychiatric, exactly," I replied. "More like continuing treatment for bouts of depression. Plus, sometimes I can get a little hyper and can’t sleep for a day or two. Dr. Erickson gave me some pills for that."

  "Would you sign a medical authorization for me so that I can get Dr. Erickson's records?"

  "Of course, I would. There's absolutely nothing in there I wouldn't want you to know."