John Grisham - The Litigators

Along with the answer, the defense filed a set of basic interrogatories that sought personal information about each of the eight dead clients and their families, and requested the names and general testimonies of the expert witnesses. As far as David knew, they had yet to hire experts, though Jerry Alisandros was believed to be in charge of that. Ms. Karros also wanted to take the eight depositions as soon as possible.

According to the clerk, a hard copy of the answer and other filings was in the mail.

David heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. Wally’s. He lumbered in, panting, and said, “You see what they filed?”

“Just read it,” David answered. “Seems rather tame, don’t you think?”

“What do you know about litigation?”

“Ouch.”

“Sorry. Something’s up. I gotta call Alisandros and figure this thing out.”

“It’s just a simple answer and some discovery. Nothing to panic over.”

“Who’s panicked? You know this woman — it is your old law firm?”

“Never met her, but she’s supposed to be terrific in the courtroom.”

“Yeah, well, so is Alisandros, but we ain’t going to court.” He said this with a noticeable lack of conviction. He left the office mumbling and stomped down the stairs. A month had passed since they had filed the lawsuit, and Wally’s dreams of a quick gold strike were fading. It looked as though they would be required to do a little work before the settlement talks began.

Ten minutes later, David received an e-mail from the junior partner. It read: “Can you get started on those interrogatories? I gotta run down to the funeral home.”

Sure, Wally. I’d love to.

The minor charges against Trip were eventually dropped due to a lack of interest, though the court did require him to sign a statement promising to stay away from the firm of Finley & Figg and its lawyers. Trip vanished, but his ex-girlfriend did not.

DeeAnna arrived minutes before 5:00 p.m., her usual time. On this day, she was dressed like a cowgirl — skintight jeans, boots with pointed toes, a tight red blouse upon which she had neglected to fasten the top three buttons. “Is Wally in?” she cooed at Rochelle, who couldn’t stand her. The cloud of perfume caught up with her and settled into the room, causing AC to sniff, then growl and retreat even farther under the desk.

“He’s in,” Rochelle said dismissively.

“Thanks, dear,” DeeAnna said, trying to irritate Rochelle as much as possible. She strutted to Wally’s office and entered without knocking. A week earlier, Rochelle had instructed her to sit and wait like all the other clients. It was becoming apparent, though, that she had far more clout than the other clients, at least as far as Wally was concerned.

Once inside the office, DeeAnna walked into the arms of her lawyer, and after a long kiss with an embrace and the obligatory fondle Wally said, “You look great, baby.”

“All for you, baby,” she said.

Wally checked to make sure the door was locked, then returned to his swivel chair behind his desk. “I need to make two calls, then we’re outta here,” he said, drooling.

“Anything, baby,” she cooed, then she took a seat and pulled out a celebrity gossip magazine. She read nothing else and was as dumb as a rock, but Wally didn’t care. He refused to judge her. She’d had four husbands. He’d had four wives. Who was he to pass judgment? Right now, they were in the process of trying to kill each other in bed, and Wally had never been happier.

Outside, Rochelle was tidying up her desk, anxious to leave now that “that hooker” was in Mr. Figg’s office and who knew what they were doing in there. Oscar’s door opened, and he emerged, holding some paperwork. “Where’s Figg?” he asked, looking at Figg’s closed door.

“In there with a client,” Rochelle said. “Door’s bolted and locked.”

“Don’t tell me.”

“Yep. Third day in a row.”

“Are they still negotiating his fee?”

“Don’t know. He must’ve raised it.”

Though the fee was small — just a typical no-fault divorce case — Oscar was due a portion of it, but he wasn’t sure how to get his split when half was being paid on the sofa. He stared at Wally’s door for a moment, as if waiting for the sounds of passion, and, hearing none, turned to Rochelle and waved the papers. “Have you read this?”

“What is it?”

“It’s our agreement with Jerry Alisandros and Zell & Potter. Eight pages long, lots of fine print, already signed by my junior partner, obviously without being read in its entirety. Says here that we must contribute $25,000 to help front the litigation expenses. Figg never mentioned this to me.”

Rochelle shrugged. It was lawyer business, not hers.

But Oscar was hot. “Further, it says that we get a fee of 40 percent on each case, half of which goes to Zell & Potter. But in the fine print it says that a fee of 6 percent is paid to the Plaintiffs’ Litigation Committee, a little bonus to the big shots for their hard work, and the 6 percent comes off the top of the settlement and out of our portion. So, as I figure it, we lose 6 percent off the top, and that gives us 34 percent to split with Alisandros, who of course will get a chunk of the 6 percent. Does this make sense to you, Ms. Gibson?”

“No.”

“That makes two of us. We’re getting screwed right and left, and now we must put up $25,000 for litigation expenses.” Oscar’s cheeks were red, and he kept looking at Wally’s door, but Wally was safe inside.

David came down the steps and walked into the conversation. “Have you read this?” Oscar asked angrily, waving the contract.

“What is it?”

“Our contract with Zell & Potter.”

“I looked over it,” David said. “It’s pretty straightforward.”

“Oh, it is? Did you read the part about the $25,000 up-front money for expenses?”

“Yes, and I asked Wally about that. He said we’d probably just go to the bank, hit the firm’s line of credit, then pay it back when we settle.”

Oscar looked at Rochelle, who looked back at Oscar. Both were thinking, What line of credit?

Oscar started to speak, then abruptly wheeled around and returned to his office, slamming the door after himself. “What’s that all about?” David asked.

“We don’t have a line of credit,” Rochelle said. “Mr. Finley’s worried that the Krayoxx litigation will backfire and kill us financially. This wouldn’t be the first time one of Figg’s schemes blew up in our faces, but it could certainly be the biggest.”

David glanced around and took a step closer. “Can I ask you something, in confidence?”

“I don’t know,” she said, taking a cautious step back.

“These guys have been at this game for a long time. Thirty plus years for Oscar, twenty plus for Wally. Do they have some money stashed away somewhere? You don’t see any around the office, so I figured they must have some buried.”

Rochelle glanced around too, then said, “I don’t know where the money goes when it leaves here. I doubt if Oscar has a dime because his wife spends everything. She thinks she’s a cut or two above and wants to play that game. Wally, who knows? I suspect he’s as broke as I am. But they do own the building free and clear.”

David couldn’t help but look at the cracks in the ceiling plaster. Let it go, he told himself.

“Just curious,” David said.

There was a shriek of female laughter from deep inside Mr. Figg’s office.

“I’m leaving,” David said, grabbing his overcoat.

“Me too,” Rochelle said.

Everyone was gone when Wally and DeeAnna emerged. They quickly turned off the lights, locked the front door, and got in her car. Wally was delighted to have not only a new squeeze but also one who was willing to drive. He had six weeks left on his suspension, and with Krayoxx so hot he needed to be mobile. DeeAnna had jumped at the chance to earn referral fees—$500 cash for a death case and $200 for a non-death — but what really thrilled her was listening to Wally’s predictions of taking down Varrick Labs in a massive settlement that would bring in huge fees for him (and perhaps something for her as well, though this wasn’t exactly out in the open yet). More often than not, their pillow talk drifted away to the world of Krayoxx and all it could mean. Her third husband had taken her to Maui, and she loved the beach. Wally had already promised a vacation in paradise.