Deadly Defiance, page 30
“What did he say then?”
“The only thing I heard was Mr. Mellon saying that time was running out.”
“Time was running out?” Paula repeated. “Do you know what that meant?”
“No, but it was a threat of some sort—that much was obvious.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. No further questions of this witness at this time.”
“Mr. Rawlins. Any redirect?” the judge asked.
“Yes. Mr. Shepard. You have no personal knowledge of what was going on between the decedent and Mr. Mellon, do you?”
“That’s true.”
“No further questions, Your Honor,” Rawlins said.
Rawlins next put on a string of witnesses including the medical examiner, a forensics expert, and Rodney’s brother. Rodney’s brother testified as to the disintegration of the marriage between Maureen and Rodney, his brother’s financial problems, Maureen’s complaints, and thinly veiled threats made on account of Rodney’s inability to support her. Paula took Thompson on cross to get clarification on those alleged threats.
“So, it’s your testimony that Maureen Thompson said that Rodney would regret abandoning her and the children?”
“That’s right.”
“Could she have meant that he would have regretted not seeing the children as much?”
Thompson shrugged. “No. She was talking about something different.”
“But that was just your interpretation, wasn’t it?”
“Well, you had to be there to appreciate it. It wasn’t about the children.”
“Okay. So, you also testified that Ms. Thompson suggested her husband ought to do the family a favor and jump off a bridge, so she could collect his life insurance.”
“Yes, that’s what Rodney told me she said after he went over to apologize about her car being repossessed.”
“So. She had good reason to be upset on that occasion?”
“I suppose, but she didn’t have a right to kill Rodney.”
“Objection, nonresponsive,” Paula said.
“Sustained. Mr. Thompson, just answer the questions. Don’t comment on them.”
“Sorry, Your Honor.”
“No further questions, Your Honor,” Paula said.
“Mr. Rawlins, redirect?” the judge asked.
“No, Your Honor.”
The judge looked at his watch and then looked up. “It’s nearly five o’clock. We’ll convene at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning,” he said and left the bench. Paula stood up and began gathering her things together.
“So, what do you think so far?” Maureen asked.
“Oh, there hasn’t been anything unexpected. We knew Rawlins had a lot of circumstantial evidence against you. There’s nothing we can do about that. It’s all going to come down to how the jury reacts to what we have on Doc Mellon.”
Maureen sighed. “So, has Stan found the insurance policy yet?”
“Well he’s not here, so I guess not.”
“What if he doesn’t find it?”
Paula didn’t want to say it out loud, but she knew it would be unlikely the jury would buy their defense if they couldn’t prove a strong motive for Doc Mellon to kill Rodney Thompson.
“Don’t worry. Even if he doesn’t find it, I think we can still show reasonable doubt,” Paula assured her.
Maureen didn’t looked convinced but she didn’t say anything. Elena walked up and escorted Maureen out of the courtroom. As Paula packed her briefcase she wondered why Stan hadn’t contacted her. Even if he hadn’t found the insurance policy she figured he ought to keep her updated on his progress. As her anger welled Bart walked up.
“Ready to make your escape?” he asked.
She smiled at him and nodded. “Yes, get me out of here. I’m exhausted.”
Bart took her hand, led her out the back door of the courtroom, down the hall, and into the stairwell where they made their escape unnoticed. As they scampered across the street to the parking garage, Paula glanced over at the crowd of reporters hanging around the entrance to the courthouse. She felt greatly relieved that she had successfully eluded them as she wasn’t in the mood to face anybody right then.
After stopping at Black Eyed Pea for a quick dinner, they went to their apartment where Bart gave her a massage and drew her a bath. He was good that way, appreciating the tremendous stress she was under and trying to relax her and get her mind off the trial. As she soaked in the hot bath she wondered if there was any chance in hell she could get Maureen off. The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became. Damn it, Stan! Where the hell are you?
Chapter 33
Bad Dream
It was after seven when Stan got home. He’d tried to call Rebekah but she hadn’t answered. This worried him as it was unusual for her to go out in the evenings when he wasn’t home. He had called Terry as well to see if she was with her but again got no answer. He opened the door and rushed inside.
“Rebekah? I’m home.”
He glanced in the kitchen but she wasn’t there, so he headed for the family room. Relief washed over him as he spotted Rebekah on the sofa watching TV. He rushed over to her only to have his spirits dashed when he saw her flushed face and eyes glazed over.
“Rebekah! What’s wrong?”
She tried to speak but no words came out. He felt her forehead and was alarmed by how hot she felt.
“Jesus. You’re burning up.”
Rebekah tried to smile. “I’m okay. Just a little fever.”
“The hell you are! Come on. I’m taking you to the emergency room.”
“No,” she protested.
“Bullshit. You’re coming.”
Stan pulled on her arms but got no response, so he put his arms under hers and lifted her to her feet. She was dead weight in his arms and it became obvious he wasn’t going to be able to go very far without her help, so he put her back down on the sofa.
“I’m calling an ambulance.”
“No! I’ll be okay.”
Stan ignored her and went to the phone and called 911. Ten minutes later a fire truck and an ambulance pulled up in front of the house. The paramedics came in and Stan explained how he’d found her. They took her vitals, determined she was in no immediate danger, and loaded her into the ambulance. Stan followed them to the hospital.
The emergency room waiting area was two-thirds full when Stan walked in. He looked around then walked up to a nurse at the front desk.
“An ambulance just brought my wife in,” he explained.
She looked up without emotion. “What’s her name?”
“Rebekah Turner.”
The nurse grabbed a clipboard and handed it to Stan.
“Fill this out. I’ll need a driver’s license and insurance information.”
“What about my wife? Can I go back and see her?”
“They’ll call you when they have her in a room.”
Stan sighed and took the clipboard. “Okay,” he said and walked over to the nearest vacant chair. He stared at the blank form without seeing it. What could be wrong with her? She seemed fine when I left her. Finally he regained his focus, completed the form, and took it back to the nurse. She gave him back his license and insurance card and reassured him they’d call him once she was in a room. He went back to his chair, wondering if he should start calling the family. Before he’d made a decision a door swung open and another nurse stepped out.
“Mr. Turner?” she said.
Stan got up and rushed over to her. “Yes. Is she in a room?”
“Ah. No. They’ve taken her to ICU.”
Stan’s mouth dropped. “Why?”
“Her blood pressure is very high—220/115. They’ve got to figure out what’s causing it. In the meantime there is danger of a stroke so they need to treat the hypertension aggressively.”
“Oh. Okay. So—”
“You should go to the ICU waiting room on the sixth floor. The doctor will call and give you an update after they’ve stabilized her. It will be a while, though, so if you need to call anyone you’ve got time.”
Stan nodded. “Thanks.”
Stan turned and headed for the elevator. When he got to the waiting room he found a phone and called Terry. She said she’d be right over. Then he called Reggie and the rest of the kids to explain what was happening. Finally, he called Paula.
“Stan. I was hoping you’d call.”
“How’s the trial going?”
“So-so. Any luck on finding an insurance policy?”
“No. I’ve struck out so far, but I did pick up a few leads from the bank records we reviewed.”
“Good. We’ve got to find that insurance policy.”
“I know. Unfortunately, there’s a complication that has come up.”
“What’s that?”
He told her about Rebekah and the current situation.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Don’t worry about the insurance policy. Maria can call the insurance companies and follow up on the leads.”
“No. No. I’ve got plenty of time. I’m just sitting around worrying. It will be good to have something to do.”
Paula sighed. “I should come over there.”
“No. You need to stay focused on the trial. I’m sorry to burden you with this, but I thought you should know I’m a little distracted right now.”
“It’s all right. What can you do?”
Stan hung up feeling like he’d let Paula down. He was sure there was an insurance policy out there somewhere but was beginning to think he’d never find it. When he turned to go back to his seat Terry walked in.
“Hi, Stan. I’m sorry I missed your call earlier but I went out to dinner with a friend.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t mean to spoil your evening, but I thought you’d want to know about Rebekah.”
“Of course. I’d have been really pissed had you not called me. So, what’s the situation?”
“Her blood pressure is through the roof again. They don’t know what’s causing it, so they’re just trying to bring it down right now and stabilize her.”
“Damn. I hate that they can’t figure out what’s wrong with her. If they could identify the problem they could treat it and we’d be done with this nonsense.”
“I know. It’s so frustrating.”
“So, have you seen her yet?”
“No. They said the doctor would come out and give us a report after they got her stabilized.”
“Yeah. That could take hours. Come on. Let’s just go see her right now.”
Stan hesitated. “But—”
“Trust me. The nurses won’t care if we go in and take a peek at her.”
Stan reluctantly followed Terry into the ICU. It was an eerie scene in the dark of night with the constant humming, rhythmic beeping, and flashing lights. The nurses looked up as they walked in but didn’t say anything. Terry walked deliberately past each station looking for Rebekah. When she found her she motioned to Stan.
“Here she is.”
Stan walked up and gasped at the sight of her. He’d never seen her so pale and fragile. He looked up at the monitor and noted that her blood pressure was still high—202/111—with a pulse of 130. She had a temperature, too—101.8.
“They’re giving her an antibiotic,” Terry noted. “She must have an infection of some sort. I hope it’s not pneumonia.”
“Pneumonia? How would she get that?”
“I don’t know, but it’s pretty common.”
“How long will it take the antibiotic to bring her temperature down?”
“It’s hard to say, but I bet by morning it will be gone.”
They watched her for a while until one of the nurses hinted that they should leave. When they got back to the waiting room Reggie and Mark were there. After they filled them in on the situation they all found a seat and waited. When the doctor finally showed up an hour later he had very little to say and couldn’t tell them what had caused the hypertension attack or the fever. He promised in the morning he’d have some answers.
The next morning the doctor reported that the fever had come down and Rebekah’s blood pressure was much better, but he still had no explanation as to what had caused it all. He promised some test results would soon be in that would clarify things. Stan got the impression he was clueless as to what was wrong with her and doubted anything would change after the blood work came back.
After the doctor had left Stan turned his attention to the insurance leads he had to check out. After he called Maria and got the contact information he began making phone calls. Unfortunately, none of the leads panned out. The checks had been for life insurance policies but not on the life of Rodney Thompson or Randy Rhymes.
Frustrated, he ripped up his notes and threw them in a trash can. As he was lamenting his bad luck, a nurse approached him.
“Mr. Turner.”
“Yes.”
“They’re taking your wife to a room. She’s out of danger so she won’t need to stay in ICU today.”
“Good. What room?”
The nurse told him and Stan went to search for Reggie and Mark who he thought had gone to the cafeteria to get breakfast. When he got there he saw them sitting at a table. He went over and joined them.
“Well, they’re taking your mother to a room. I guess she’s out of danger.”
“Good,” Reggie said. “Do they know what’s wrong with her yet?”
“No. They’re running more tests.”
“I can’t believe they can’t figure it out,” Mark complained.
Stan shook his head dejectedly. “You and me both. This has been going on for months.”
“Why don’t you find a new doctor?” Reggie suggested.
“These are new doctors. The hospital has their own staff, so they’re doing new tests and considering every possibility.”
“Yeah, in the meantime Mom may die.”
“No. They said she wasn’t in any danger right now. We should give them time to figure it out, I suppose,” Stan said grudgingly. “Listen. You guys don’t need to hang around here all day. I’ll call you if anything changes. I’m sure you have things to do. Come back tonight during visiting hours.”
Mark and Reggie protested but eventually left. After they’d gone Stan went up to Rebekah’s room. She was asleep when he got there, so he just sat in a chair and watched her, wondering if she’d ever recover. For the first time the thought that she might die crept into his mind. He really didn’t see how it could happen but the continued inability of the doctors to diagnose Rebekah’s problem was unsettling.
After he’d been sitting there for an hour or so he began to doze off. He hadn’t slept all night and his weariness was catching up with him. As he fell into a shallow slumber he began to dream. He was at a funeral home looking down at his dear Rebekah laid out in a coffin. He felt empty inside like all of his life had been siphoned away. His attention was drawn away from Rebekah’s corpse by a man in a blue suit. He was asking Stan a question.
“How many death certificates will you need?” the man asked.
Tears began to well in Stan’s eyes. His beloved Rebekah was dead! It couldn’t be! She couldn’t be dead. “No! No!”
“Mr. Turner. Wake up. You’re dreaming,” the nurse said.
“Huh?” Stan said with a start. “What?”
“You were dreaming.”
“Oh, right. Sorry,” Stan said as he thought about the dream. . . . “Oh, my God! . . . That’s it,” Stan said, leaping to his feet. “I’ve got to go. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Okay,” the nurse said. “We’ll take good care of her while you’re gone.”
“Thank you,” Stan said excitedly. “I’ll be right back.”
Stan knew the nurses must have thought he was crazy leaving the way he did, but he didn’t have time to explain to them why he was so excited. They wouldn’t have appreciated the fact that he’d just figured out how to prove Maureen Thompson was innocent of two murders.
Chapter 34
Closing Arguments
Bart’s pampering had done wonders for Paula and she felt refreshed and eager to get on with the trial. During breakfast she went over her closing argument with Bart as it was likely Rawlins would finish up early in the morning and she’d be putting on her case most of the day. She didn’t expect her case to take more than a day to put on, so it was possible she’d have to make a closing argument if the judge decided to push the case to a conclusion. She’d had cases in the past when the judge had made them stay until 10:00 p.m. because the docket was so full and he wanted to move on to the next case.
When they arrived at the courthouse it was obvious there would be no avoiding the press as they had all the entrances blocked, even the back entrance through the district clerk’s office. As they approached the main entrance, reporters surrounded them.
“Ms. Waters,” a reporter said. “Do you think there is any way you can overcome the prosecution’s strong case against your client?”
Paula laughed. “Yes, absolutely. You heard our opening statement. Maureen Thompson isn’t the only one who had a motive to kill Rodney Thompson.”
Bart cleared a path and pulled Paula through it.
“Ms. Waters,” another reporter said. “Have you prepared your client for a possible adverse verdict?”
Paula glared at the reporter. “I’m not her priest.”
Bart opened the door and they entered the courthouse. Two bailiffs came to their rescue and helped push a path through the crowd of reporters and curious spectators.
“Ms. Waters,” a third reporter said. “Where is your partner, Stan Turner? Why hasn’t he been here to help with the case?”
Paula stopped and looked at the reporter. “Stan’s wife is ill, so he’s busy taking care of her.”
“What’s wrong with her?” the reporter asked.
Paula shrugged. “They are not sure, but I’ve been told she’s out of danger and her condition is stable.”
“Will you ask for a continuance?”
“No. I’m lead counsel, so the court wouldn’t consider such a motion.”
The elevator door opened and Bart and Paula stepped inside. The two bailiffs blocked the door, preventing anyone else from getting aboard. When they finally got to the courtroom Maureen Thompson was already at the defense table and the courtroom was nearly full. Rawlins looked over at her and nodded. Paula smiled and started unpacking her briefcase. A few moments later the back door to the courtroom opened and Judge Sands appeared and took the bench.
