“Yes. They’ve been there for some time. They’re very concerned.”
“How nice. Look, I’m not walking into our home if your parents are there, got that? I don’t want them to see me like this. Understand?”
“They love you, David. You scared all of us.”
“Why is everyone so scared? I texted you twice and said I was okay. You knew I was alive. What’s all the panic about?”
“Don’t get me started.”
“So I had a bad day, what’s the big deal?”
“A bad day?”
“Actually, it was a pretty good day, come to think of it.”
“Why don’t we argue tomorrow, David? Isn’t that what you asked?”
“Yes, but I’m not getting out of the car until they leave. Please.”
They were on the Stevenson Expressway, and traffic was heavier. Nothing was said as they inched along. David struggled to stay awake. Helen finally picked up the cell phone and called her parents.
CHAPTER 9
About once a month Rochelle Gibson arrived for work expecting her usual quiet time, only to find the office already opened, the coffee brewed, the dog fed, and Mr. Figg bustling around with excitement over a new scheme to stalk injured people. This irritated her immensely. It not only ruined the few tranquil moments in her otherwise noisy day but also meant more work.
She was barely inside the door when Wally nailed her with a hearty “Well, good morning, Ms. Gibson,” as if he were surprised to see her arrive at work at 7:30 on a Thursday.
“Good morning, Mr. Figg,” she replied with far less enthusiasm. She almost added “And what brings you here so early?” but held her tongue. She would hear about his scheme soon enough.
With coffee, yogurt, and the newspaper, she settled at her desk and tried to ignore him.
“I met David’s wife last night,” Wally said from the table across the room. “Very cute and nice. Said he doesn’t drink much, maybe blows it out from time to time. I think the pressure gets to him occasionally. I know that’s my story. Always the pressure.”
When Wally drank, he needed no excuse. He boozed it up after a hard day, and he had wine with lunch on an easy day. He drank when he was stressed, and he drank on the golf course. Rochelle had seen and heard it all before. She also kept up with the score—sixty-one days without a drink. That was the story of Wally’s life—a count of some sort always in progress. Days on the wagon. Days until his driving suspension was over. Days until his current divorce was final. And sadly, days until he was released from rehab.
“What time did she get him?” she asked without looking up from the newspaper.
“After eight. He walked out of here, even asked if he could drive. She said no.”
“Was she upset?”
“She was pretty cool. Relieved more than anything else. The big question is whether he’ll remember anything. And if he does, then the question is whether he’ll find us again. Will he really walk away from the big firm and the big bucks? I got my doubts.”
Rochelle had her doubts too, but she was trying to minimize the conversation. Finley & Figg was not the place for a big-firm type with a Harvard degree, and, frankly, she didn’t want another lawyer complicating her life. She had her hands full with these two.
“I could use him, though,” Wally went on, and Rochelle knew the latest scheme was now on the way. “You ever hear of a cholesterol drug called Krayoxx?”
“You’ve already asked me this.”
“It causes heart attacks and strokes, and the truth is just now coming out. The first wave of litigation is unfolding, could be tens of thousands of cases before it’s over. The mass tort lawyers are all over it. I talked to a big firm in Fort Lauderdale yesterday. They’ve already filed a class action and are looking for more cases.”
Rochelle turned a page as if she were hearing nothing.
“Anyway, I’m spending the next few days looking for Krayoxx cases, and I could sure use some help. Are you listening, Ms. Gibson?”
“Sure.”
“How many names are in our client database, both active and retired?”
She took a bite of yogurt and seemed exasperated. “We have about two hundred active files,” she said.
At Finley & Figg, though, a file deemed active was not necessarily one that received attention. More often than not, it was simply a neglected file that no one had bothered to retire. Wally usually had about thirty files he would touch in a week’s time—divorces, wills, estates, injuries, drunk drivers, small contract disputes—and another fifty or so he diligently avoided. Oscar, who was more willing to take on a new client but was also slightly more organized than his junior partner, had about one hundred open files. Throw in a few that were lost, hidden, or unaccounted for, and the number was always around two hundred.
“And retired?” he asked.
A sip of coffee, another grunt. “Last time I checked, the computer showed three thousand files retired since 1991. I don’t know what’s upstairs.”
Upstairs was the final resting place for everything—old law books, outdated computers and word processors, unused office supplies, and dozens of boxes of files Oscar had retired before he added Wally as a partner.
“Three thousand,” Wally said with a satisfied grin, as if such a large number were clear evidence of a long and successful career. “Here’s the plan, Ms. Gibson. I have drafted a letter that I want you to print on our stationery. It goes to every client, current and past, active and retired. Every name in our client database.”
Rochelle thought of all the unhappy clients who had left Finley & Figg. The unpaid fees, the nasty letters, the threats of malpractice lawsuits. She even kept a file labeled “Threats.” Over the years, half a dozen or so disgruntled ex-clients had been angry enough to put their feelings on paper. A couple promised ambushes and beatings. One mentioned a sniper’s rifle.
Why not leave these poor people alone? They had suffered enough having passed through the office the first time.
Wally jumped to his feet and walked over with the letter. She had no choice but to take it and read it.
Dear _______:
Beware of Krayoxx! This cholesterol drug, made by Varrick Labs, has been proven to cause heart attacks and strokes. Though it has been on the market for six years, scientific evidence is just now revealing the deadly side effects of this drug. If you are using Krayoxx, stop immediately.
The law firm of Finley & Figg is at the forefront of Krayoxx litigation. We will soon be joining a national class action lawsuit in a highly complicated move to bring Varrick to justice.
We need your involvement! If you or anyone you know has a history with Krayoxx, you may have a case. More important, if you know of anyone who has taken Krayoxx and has suffered a heart attack or stroke, please call immediately. A lawyer from Finley & Figg will be at your home within hours.
Don’t hesitate. Call now. We anticipate a huge settlement.
Sincerely, Wallis T. Figg, Attorney and Counselor-at-Law
“Has Oscar seen this?” she asked.
“Not yet. Pretty good, huh?”
“This for real?”
“Oh, it’s so real, Ms. Gibson. This is our biggest moment.”
“Another gold mine?”
“Bigger than a gold mine.”
“And you want to send three thousand letters?”
“Yep, you print ’em, I’ll sign ’em, we’ll stuff ’em, and they go out in today’s mail.”