Authors: Randa Abdel-Fattah
âShe would know. She came out of
my
grandmother ready to contradict anybody and everything.'
âTakes one to know one.'
He laughed again. âYes, it certainly does. Well, the real reason I became a lawyer is . . . okay, you got me. Your grand-mother is absolutely right.'
We burst out laughing.
âSo, was it a good case?' he asked. âThe one you just finished?'
âI guess,' I said. âIs it true judges take months to give their decisions?'
âIt can take a long time, yes. Who was the presiding judge?'
âMonahan.'
âOh you'll get judgment a lot sooner than usual. She's going to Tahiti for her daughter's wedding in two weeks and is frantically dictating her judgments so that she can have them all finished before she leaves.'
âSo we could get a decision in the next two weeks?'
He nodded.
âHow do you know?'
âI had lunch with her the other day.'
âYou have lunch with judges?'
He gave me a funny look. âThey're people too, you know. As a matter of fact, they're mainly ex-barristers. If you've been at the bar as long as I have, it's highly likely that the judge presiding over your matter once worked on the same floor as you.'
âDoesn't that bother you, though? You're a QC. Shouldn't you be on the bench?'
âI've been approached but turned it down. I like the flexibility of theâ'
â
You were approached to be a judge?
' I couldn't believe it.
He shrugged and looked at me calmly as he dipped his bok choy in soy sauce. âYes, I was. Twice, in fact.'
âBut why on earth would you turn it down?'
âBecause the hours would be even worse than they are for me now. It's hard enough as a single dad. I would like to spend time with my children, as strange as that may sound to you.'
I was shocked. Dad had never spoken so openly with me before. I never thought that he considered himself a âsingle dad'. Sure he worked crazy hours during the week and on most weekends. How he felt about it had never even crossed my mind. I didn't say anything. I wasn't sure how to respond without sounding corny.
Luckily for me the heart-to-heart was interrupted by a phone call from Dad's clerk. We needed to leave as he had an urgent meeting with a client. I didn't mind. I was stuffed and ready to roll out the doors.
âToo bad it's your last week at Aunt Nirvine's,' he said, when we approached his building. âWe could have done this again.'
âYeah,' I said, and he smiled. âSee you at home, Dad.'
âYou'll probably be asleep by the time I get back,' he said. âI'll be working.'
âOkay, well, enjoy looking at my photos.
And get rid of the braces photo
.'
âNever,' he said with a grin, and walked into his building.
Dad was wrong. Judge Monahan delivered judgment that Thursday. She must have inhaled helium before dictating her decision.
It was bigger than Casey expected. Most of us were in the staffroom when she came back from court. She slammed the judgment down on the table and, for the first time in my life, I saw her beam as she announced the amount of damages awarded.
âSeven hundred and twenty-two thousand dollars plus costs!' she said.
Aunt Nirvine let out a whoop and reached for the judgment. âAre you kidding?'
âNo I am not,' Casey said, victory flushing her face.
The other lawyers surrounded her, offering their congratulations, patting her on the back.
She caught my glare but ignored me. I left the staffroom in disgust.
The next day's newspapers had a field day.
JUSTICE PREVAILS! EMPLOYER'S NEGLIGENCE âA DISGRACE'!
JUDGE AWARDS WIDOWER $722,000
EMPLOYERS TAKE NOTE: PROTECT YOUR STAFF FROM HARM
It was maddening. I read through one of the articles and it made me want to puke.
âIt Was Never About Money,' Widower Says, âIt was the Principle of the Matter!'
By Carly Spotten
Bernie White wipes a tear from his eye as he shows me a photograph of his late wife, Maureen White. âShe was the love of my life,' he tells me. âShe didn't reject me after I suffered my workplace accident. She loved and cared for me. She never made me feel useless, although I was ashamed by my disability.'
I ask Mr White what his generous compensation figure will mean to him. âWell apart from the obvious benefit, which is that I will have something to live off now that my main financial support has been taken away from me, the damages payout is a message to Jenkins Storage World and employers like it to look after their staff or they'll feel it in the hip pocket, where it really hurts them. So I guess what I mean is that this was never about the money. It was the principle of the matter.'
What was even more frustrating was that there were still so many unanswered questions. Why had there been two people at the scene of the crime? Why had Webb denied his statement? Who was going to profit from this damages award? Where was the getaway car and who did it belong to?
We couldn't confront Webb or we'd risk putting Claudia in danger. Bernie had been paid out. There was nothing we could do now. I'd lost the war. I was beginning to doubt whether I wanted to be a lawyer after all.
Â
Jacinta and I were jogging around the Botanic Gardens during our lunch break. She was fit but I was managing to keep up with her. We were turning the corner near Lady Mac-quarie's Chair, talking about our favourites movies, when my phone rang.
âJust ignore it,' she said.
âI can't,' I said, stopping and taking the phone out of my pocket. âAmit said he'd call to arrange where we're meeting after work. I'll just be a sec.'
I took the call and Jacinta moved out of the path of other joggers to do some lunges.
âListen here, you little shit.'
It was Bernie.
My pulse quickened.
âA little birdie told me about how Humphries got an anonymous call suggesting he speak to Claudia.'
âYeah, so?' I said, trying to sound like I didn't care.
âAnd another little birdie with shit for brains told me how Claudia's bloke was paid a friendly visit by an insurance investigator.'
âAm I supposed to know what you're talking about?' I said.
âShut up, idiot. It took me a while but I finally figured out that you must have been behind it all.'
âI don't know what you're on about. You can't even prove a thing.'
âI'm not interested in proof. Just look at my case. Proof means nothing. Anyway it doesn't matter. We both know it was you.'
I laughed, trying not to sound nervous. âAnd everybody says
I'm
the one with the wild imagination.'
Jacinta took a step towards me, a confused expression on her face. âWho is it?' she asked.
âBernie,' I mouthed.
She frowned.
I took a punt. âSo when are you and Annie moving in together?'
He paused, then said in a low voice: âYou need to learn how to mind your own business. You don't want to cross me.'
âI suppose that's a threat? Can I just ask you, how much did you and Rodney get? And what about Webb? Was he in on it?'
He hung up the phone.
We returned to the office and I went into the men's room, washed up and changed. When I walked out Jacinta was waiting for me in the hallway.
âYou have a telephone message,' she said quietly, looking around to make sure no-one was within earshot. âAnnie.'
Recognition dawned on my face. â
Annie?
'
Jacinta nodded. âLet's call her from the spare office. We can shut the door and put her on speaker.'
Things were getting stranger by the hour. I dialled the number Jill had written down. A woman answered.
âIs this Annie?'
âYes.'
âThis is Noah Nabulsi, returning your call.'
âJust a second.' She put me on hold for a few moments then came back on the line. âCan you meet me in half an hour with that lawyer, Casey Williams, at the McCafe on George Street?'
âWhy?'
âI have information.'
âAbout what?'
âI can't say now.'
âWell you're Bernie's girlfriend, how can I trust you?'
âI'm his
ex
-girlfriend as of this morning. He can go to hell for all I care. Now are you going to meet me or not?'
âYes.' I was going to drag Casey kicking and screaming if I had to. I needed an adult involved now. We couldn't do this on our own anymore.
âI'll come with you to speak to Casey,' Jacinta said. âShe hates you. Maybe she's more likely to take you seriously if I'm there too.'
âBut this is my last week here. You need to keep this job.'
âStuff it. This is important. Stop bloody arguing, will you? Come on, let's go.'
Casey was at her desk, hunched over a folder of documents.
âI'm busy,' she said, before we could speak.
I closed the door.
She arched an eyebrow. âNow what?' she said in a harassed tone.
âBernie's ex-girlfriend just called. She wants to meet us in an hour at the McCafe on George.'
âYou have got to be joking.'
âDo I look like I'm joking?' She was infuriating!
âYou have to go,' Jacinta insisted. âAnnie has information about Bernie that she wants you and Noah to hear.'
âThe case is over.'
âSo what?' Jacinta said. âNot everything comes down to billable hours.'
âDon't take that tone with me, Jacinta.'
âDon't you get it?! This is important. Things have gotten . . . ugly . . . Threats have been made. We can't tell you any more but people's lives might be at stake here.'
âI know you've had your doubts about Bernie,' I said. âI've seen it in your eyes.'
Casey stood up. âOh for God's sake, Noah, you continue to act like this is all part of some B-grade telemovie.'
âAren't you even curious?'
She picked up her handbag. âFine. I'll come, if only to put a stop to all this nonsense once and for all.'
Jacinta insisted on coming along. She had just as much right as I did, she argued.
I spotted Annie in the back corner of the McCafe.
âHow do you know what she looks like?' Casey asked as we walked over to the booth.
âI've seen her with Bernie.'
âSo you were spying on him?'
âYeah.'
Casey rolled her eyes. âI knew it.'
Annie saw us and I nodded. She motioned for us to take a seat. Jacinta slid in, and I followed. Casey remained standing.
âAren't you going to sit down?' Annie asked.
Casey heaved a sigh. âSecret meetings in McDonald's of all places. How tacky. My God, this is ridiculous.' She sat down and fixed her eyes on Annie's face.
âWell, what's all this about?'