Don Winslow - California Fire And Life

"That's what happened."

Casey says, "You planted phony evidence because you thought the suspect was guilty, you were 'damn sure,' but you needed physical evidence to confirm that the fire was of incendiary origin, isn't that right?"

"Yes."

Keeping up the pace, he turns to face Jack.

"Now, you testified earlier that you took debris samples from my client's home," Casey says, "and that these samples tested positive for accelerants, is that right?"

"Yes."

"The fire inspector, Deputy Bentley, found clean samples, isn't that right?" Casey asks.

"That's what he says."

"He was at the scene first?"

"Yes."

"Before you."

Jack says, "He was there when I arrived."

"The alleged 'dirty' samples only showed up after you got there, isn't that right?" Casey asks.

"I took the samples from the house."

"And the holes in the floor," Casey says. "The fire inspector didn't see those, did he?"

"He didn't do a dig-out."

"There's no mention of them in his report, is there?"

"No."

"They only appear after you show up, isn't that true?" Casey asks.

"They 'show up' after I did the dig-out," Jack says.

"It would have been pretty easy to punch out those holes self, wouldn't it?"

"I didn't do that."

"Pretty easy to pour a little accelerant into the joists and light a match."

"That's ridiculous, counselor."

"Pretty easy to bring your own contaminated samples to the scene and photograph them there."

"That didn't happen."

"You swear?"

"Yes."

"Just like you swore before, right?" Casey says.

"Objection!"

"Sustained."

"Same oath, wasn't it, Mr. Smith?"

"Knock it off, Mr. Casey," Mallon says.

Casey nods and takes a drink of water. Makes a little show of getting his righteous indignation under control.

Then he ups the ante. To show the corporate mucks behind the mirror that they can't just dump Jack and walk away from this thing, he ties a tail onto management.

"You were convicted of perjury, isn't that right?" he asks.

"I pled guilty to several counts of perjury."

"And you were thrown out of the Sheriff's Department," Casey says, "for perjuring yourself, beating up a suspect, and planting phony evidence, isn't that right, Mr. Smith?"

"That's correct."

"And shortly after that," Casey says, "California Fire and Life hired you, right?"

Casey looks right into the mirror to make sure the boys in the back get the point.

They do. They're looking at a monitor that's Negative 10 all the way.

"Yes," Jack says.

"Did they know about your record?"

"The man who hired me was aware of my record."

"In fact," Casey says, "he sat through the trial in which you perjured yourself, right?"

"I believe so."

"He knew you were a liar," Casey says.

"Yes."

"A brutal cop."

"Yes."

"That you would plant phony evidence to nail an alleged arsonist."

"He was at the trial."

"And he hired you anyway."

"Yes."

"And he hired you specifically to handle large fire losses for California Fire and Life, isn't that right?"

"That was one of his reasons."

"Does this gentleman still work for California Fire and Life?" Casey asks, looking to the jury.

Several of whom are shaking their heads.

"He does."

"In what capacity?"

"He's the head of Claims."

Jury goes nuts. Pushing the hammer down on those joysticks, shaking their heads; one guy says out loud, "Unreal."

"And he's your boss now, right?" Casey asks.

"Yes."

"Did he supervise your investigation of my client's claim?"

"Yes."

"Have you in any way been punished for what you did in this investigation?" Casey asks.

"No."

"Suspended?"

"No."

"Criticized?"

"No."

Casey looks back into the mirror as he asks, "So this is the way California Fire and Life wants you to handle its claim, right? Strike that question. No further questions. Thank you."

"You may step down, Mr. Smith."

Casey says, "I'm sorry, one further question. Mr. Smith, if you had to handle my client's claim all over again, would you do anything differently?"

It's the standard cross-exam wrap-up question. Another trap where you don't care what the guy answers. If he answers that he wouldn't do anything differently, you get to tell the jury that this arrogant bozo would do the same bad things again if he had the chance. If he says that he would do something different, you get to tell the jury that by the witness's own account, he screwed up.

Jack knows it's over. Can see it in the jurors' eyes. They're looking at him like he's a criminal. They're shocked and pissed off and they're going to award poor tragedy-stricken Mr. White at least $25 million.

And he knows what's going on in the back room. The corporate boys are pissing all over themselves, hopping up and down on one foot they're so eager to lay the Green Poultice on this gaping wound and give Nicky Vale $50 million.

So he says, "Yes, I would. Do something different."

"What would you do?"

Jack turns to the jury, to make eye contact.

"I'd kill the son of a bitch."

Then he gets up and walks out.

Casey comes into the observation room, grabs himself a plate of lasagna and says, "For my next trick…"

Like he's made Wade disappear, he's made their case disappear, now he's going to make $50 million of the company's money disappear, and they'd fire the smart-ass wise guy right now, except that he is the smartest lawyer in So-Cal and they need him so that the board doesn't make them disappear.

The veeps look at him like Fuck you, Casey, but Casey doesn't care. Let 'em be pissed. What are they going to do, fire him? They have that collective We're the big-dick guys from corporate, cowboy, so watch yourself if you want to stay on the ranch look in their collective eye, so Casey gives them his favorite John Wayne line, from the old Stagecoach movie.

"'You may need me and this Winchester, Curly,'" he drawls. "'I saw some ranches burning last night.'"

Phil Herlihy turns his wrath on Goddamn Billy, who's sitting there sucking on a cig like there aren't ten WE THANK YOU FOR NOT SMOKING signs in the room. (To which Goddamn Billy's standard response is, "Well, now they don't have to thank me.") Anyway, Herlihy turns to Billy and just about screams, "How the hell could you hire that guy?! What the hell were you thinking about?!"

"I was thinking," Billy says, "that he'd be a damn good claims dog. And he has been."

"One of the best," Casey says. " The best."

Herlihy pretends he doesn't hear Casey. Any sane person who watched the cross-exam wouldn't want to get in a debate with Casey.

"Fire him," Herlihy says to Billy. "Tomorrow. Tonight if you can get hold of him."

"I ain't firing him," Billy says.

"I just told you to!"

"I heard you."

The Trial Science Inc. geek walks in. The geek is like white, and his hands are shaking. The verdict forms in his hand rattle like ghosts in the attic.

"Yes?" Casey says. He's still smiling. Tomato sauce looks like blood on his lips.

The TS1 seek says. "Two hundred million."

"What?!" Herlihy yells.

"They'd award $200 million in compensatory and punitives," the geek says. "Actually we had to push them to give a dollar figure. What they really wanted to do was put the company's management in jail. One of them wanted to hang you."

"Settle it," Herlihy says.

"Concur," says Reinhardt.

"Absolutely," says Bourne.

"Settle this file now," Herlihy says. "What's the demand?"

"Fifty million," Casey says. "If the real jury goes the way this one does, that's a savings of $150 million. Not counting court costs and, of course, my exorbitant fees. And these days, juries are usually hip enough to figure the plaintiff's attorney's cut into their judgment…"