The Client (9 page)

“How will you treat him?” Dianne asked.

“We have to make him feel safe. You must stay here at all times. Now, you said the father is of no use.”

“Keep him away from Ricky,” Mark said sternly. Dianne nodded.

“Fine. And there are no grandparents or relatives nearby.”

“No.”

“Very well. It’s imperative that both of you stay in this room as much as possible for the next several days. Ricky must feel safe and secure. He’ll need emotional
and physical support from you. He and I will talk several times a day. It will be important for Mark and Ricky to talk about the shooting. They need to share and compare their reactions.”

“When do you think we might go home?” Dianne asked.

“I don’t know, but as soon as possible. He needs the safety and familiarity of his bedroom and surroundings. Maybe a week. Maybe two. Depends on how quickly he responds.”

Dianne pulled her feet under her. “I, uh, I have a job. I don’t know what to do.”

“I’ll have my office contact your employer first thing in the morning.”

“My employer runs a sweatshop. It is not a nice, clean corporation with benefits and sympathy. They will not send flowers. I’m afraid they won’t understand.”

“I’ll do the best I can.”

“What about school?” Mark asked.

“Your mother has given me the name of the principal. I’ll call first thing in the morning and talk to your teachers.”

Dianne was rubbing her temples again. A nurse, not the pretty one, knocked while entering. She handed Dianne two pills and a cup of water.

“It’s Dalmane,” Greenway said. “It should help you rest. If not, call the nurses’ station and they’ll bring something stronger.”

The nurse left and Greenway stood and felt Ricky’s forehead. “See you guys in the morning. Get some sleep.” He smiled for the first time, then closed the door behind him.

They were alone, the tiny Sway family, or what
was left of it. Mark moved closer to his mother and leaned on her shoulder. They looked at the small head on the large pillow less than five feet away.

She patted his arm. “It’ll be all right, Mark. We’ve been through worse.” She held him tight and he closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Mom.” His eyes watered, and he was ready for a cry. “I’m so sorry about all this.” She squeezed him, and held him tight. He sobbed quietly with his face buried in her shirt.

She gently lay down with Mark still in her arms, and they curled together on the cheap foam mattress. Ricky’s bed was two feet higher. The window was above them. The lights were low. Mark stopped the crying. It was something he was lousy at anyway.

The Dalmane was working, and she was exhausted. Nine hours of packing plastic lamps into cardboard boxes, five hours of a full-blown crisis, and now the Dalmane. She was ready for a deep sleep.

“Will you get fired, Mom?” Mark asked. He worried about the family finances as much as she did.

“I don’t think so. We’ll worry about it tomorrow.”

“We need to talk, Mom.”

“I know we do. But let’s do it in the morning.”

“Why can’t we talk now?”

She relaxed her grip and breathed deeply, eyes already closed. “I’m very tired and sleepy, Mark. I promise we’ll have a long talk first thing in the morning. You have some questions to answer, don’t you? Now go brush your teeth and let’s try and sleep.”

Mark was suddenly tired too. The hard line of a metal brace protruded through the cheap mattress, and he crept closer to the wall and pulled the lone sheet
over him. His mother rubbed his arm. He stared at the wall, six inches away, and decided he could not sleep like this for a week.

Her breathing was much heavier and she was completely still. He thought of Romey. Where was he now? Where was the chubby little body with the bald head? He remembered the sweat and how it poured from his shiny scalp and ran down in all directions, some dripping from his eyebrows and some soaking his collar. Even his ears were wet. Who would get his car? Who would clean it up and wash the blood off? Who would get the gun? Mark realized for the first time that his ears were no longer ringing from the gunfire in the car. Was Hardy still out there in the sitting room trying to sleep? Would the cops return tomorrow with more questions? What if they asked about the garden hose? What if they asked a thousand questions?

He was wide awake now, staring at the wall. Lights from the outside trickled through the blinds. The Dalmane worked well because his mother was breathing very slow and heavy. Ricky had not moved. He stared at the dim light above the table, and thought of Hardy and the police. Were they watching him? Was he under surveillance, like on television? Surely not.

He watched them sleep for twenty minutes, and got bored with it. It was time to explore. When he was a first-grader, his father came home drunk late one night and started raising hell with Dianne. They fought and the trailer shook, and Mark eased open the shoddy window in his room and slid to the ground. He went for a long walk around the neighborhood, then through the woods. It was a hot, sticky night with plenty of stars, and he rested on a hill overlooking the trailer park. He prayed for the safety of his mother. He
asked God for a family in which everyone could sleep without fear of abuse. Why couldn’t they just be normal? He rambled for two hours. All was quiet when he returned home, and thus began a habit of nighttime excursions that had brought him much pleasure and peace.

Mark was a thinker, a worrier, and when sleep came and went or wouldn’t come at all, he went for long, secret walks. He learned much. He wore dark clothing and moved like a thief through the shadows of Tucker Wheel Estates. He witnessed petty crimes of theft and vandalism, but he never told. He saw lovers sneak from windows. He loved to sit on the hill above the park on clear nights and enjoy a quiet smoke. The fear of getting caught by his mother had vanished years earlier. She worked hard and slept sound.

He was not afraid of strange places. He pulled the sheet over his mother’s shoulder, did the same for Ricky, and quietly closed the door behind him. The hall was dark and empty. Karen the gorgeous was busy at the nurses’ desk. She smiled beautifully at him and stopped her writing. He wanted to go for some orange juice in the cafeteria, he said, and he knew how to get there. He’d be back in a minute. Karen grinned at him as he walked away, and Mark was in love.

Hardy was gone. The sitting room was empty but the television was on.
Hogan’s Heroes
. He took the empty elevator to the basement.

The cafeteria was deserted. A man with casts on both legs sat stiffly in a wheelchair at one table. The casts were shiny and clean. An arm was in a sling. A band of thick gauze covered the top of his head and it looked as though the hair had been shaven. He was terribly uncomfortable.

Mark paid for a pint of juice, and sat at a table near the man. He grimaced in pain, and shoved his soup away in frustration. He sipped juice through a straw, and noticed Mark.

“What’s up?” Mark asked with a smile. He could talk to anyone and felt sorry for the guy.

The man glared at him, then looked away. He grimaced again and tried to adjust his legs. Mark tried not to stare.

A man with a white shirt and tie appeared from nowhere with a tray of food and coffee, and sat at a table on the other side of the injured guy. He didn’t appear to notice Mark. “Bad injury,” he said with a large smile. “What happened?”

“Car wreck” came the somewhat anguished reply. “Got hit by an Exxon truck. Nut ran a stop sign.”

The smile grew even larger and the food and coffee were ignored. “When did it happen?”

“Three days ago.”

“Did you say Exxon truck?” The man was standing and moving quickly to the guy’s table, pulling something out of his pocket. He took a chair and was suddenly sitting within inches of the casts.

“Yeah,” the guy said warily.

The man handed him a white card. “My name’s Gill Teal. I’m a lawyer, and I specialize in auto accidents, especially cases involving large trucks.” Gill Teal said this very rapidly, as if he’d hooked a large fish and had to work quickly or it might get away. “That’s my specialty. Big-truck cases. Eighteen wheelers. Dump trucks. Tankers. You name it, and I go after them.” He thrust his hand across the table. “Name’s Gill Teal.”

Luckily for the guy, his good arm was his right
one, and he lamely slung it over the table to shake hands with this hustler. “Joe Farris.”

Gill pumped it furiously, and eagerly moved in for the kill. “What you got—two broke legs, concussion, coupla puncture wounds?”

“And broken collarbone.”

“Great. Then we’re looking at permanent disability. What type work you do?” Gill asked, rubbing his chin in careful analysis. The card was lying on the table, untouched by Joe. They were unaware of Mark.

“Crane operator.”

“Union?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow. And the Exxon truck ran a stop sign. No doubt about who’s at fault here?”

Joe frowned and shifted again, and even Mark could tell he was rapidly tiring of Gill and this intrusion. He shook his head no.

Gill made frantic notes on a napkin, then smiled at Joe and announced, “I can get you at least six hundred thousand. I take only a third, and you walk away with four hundred thousand. Minimum. Four hundred grand, tax free, of course. We’ll file suit tomorrow.”

Joe took this as if he’d heard it before. Gill hung in midair with his mouth open, proud of himself, full of confidence.

“I’ve talked to some other lawyers,” Joe said.

“I can get you more than anybody. I do this for a living, nothing but truck cases. I’ve sued Exxon before, know all their lawyers and corporate people locally, and they’re terrified of me because I go for the jugular. It’s warfare, Joe, and I’m the best in town. I know how to play their dirty games. Just settled a truck case for almost half a million. They threw money at my client
once he hired me. Not bragging, Joe, but I’m the best in town when it comes to these cases.”

“A lawyer called me this morning and said he could get me a million.”

“He’s lying. What was his name? McFay? Ragland? Snodgrass? I know these guys. I kick their asses all the time, Joe, and anyway I said six hundred thousand is a minimum. Could be much more. Hell, Joe, if they push us to trial, who knows how much a jury might give us. I’m in trial every day, Joe, kicking ass all over Memphis. Six hundred is a minimum. Have you hired anybody yet? Signed a contract?”

Joe shook his head no. “Not yet.”

“Wonderful. Look, Joe, you’ve got a wife and kids, right?”

“Ex-wife, three kids.”

“So you’ve got child support, man, now listen to me. How much child support?”

“Five hundred a month.”

“That’s low. And you’ve got bills. Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll advance you a thousand bucks a month to be applied against your settlement. If we settle in three months, I withhold three thousand. If it takes two years, and it won’t, but if it does I’ll withhold twenty-four thousand. Or whatever. You follow me, Joe? Cash now on the spot.”

Joe shifted again and stared at the table. “This other lawyer came by my room yesterday and said he’d advance two thousand now and float me two thousand a month.”

“Who was it? Scottie Moss? Rob LaMoke? I know these guys, Joe, and they’re trash. Can’t find their way to the courthouse. You can’t trust them. They’re
incompetent. I’ll match it—two thousand now, and two thousand a month.”

“This other guy with some big firm offered ten thousand up front and a line of credit for whatever I needed.”

Gill was crushed, and it was at least ten seconds before he could speak. “Listen to me, Joe. It’s not a matter of advance cash, okay. It’s a matter of how much money I can get for you from Exxon. And nobody, I repeat, nobody will get more than me. Nobody. Look. I’ll advance five thousand now, and allow you to draw what you need to pay bills. Fair enough?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Time is critical, Joe. We must move fast. Evidence disappears. Memories fade. Big corporations move slow.”

“I said I’ll think about it.”

“Can I call you tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Hell, I can’t sleep now for all the damned lawyers calling. I can’t eat a meal without you guys bargin’ in. There are more lawyers around this damned place than doctors.”

Gill was unmoved. “There are a lot of sharks out here, Joe. A lot of really lousy lawyers who’ll screw up your case. Sad but true. The profession is overcrowded, so lawyers are everywhere trying to find business. But don’t make a mistake, Joe. Check me out. Look in the Yellow Pages. There’s a full-page three-color ad for me, Joe. Look up Gill Teal, and you’ll see who’s for real.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Gill came forth with another card and handed it to
Joe. He said good-bye and left, never touching the food or coffee on his tray.

Joe was suffering. He grabbed the wheel with his right arm, and slowly rolled himself away. Mark wanted to help, but thought better of asking. Both of Gill’s cards were on the table. He finished his juice, glanced around, and picked up one of the cards.

MARK TOLD KAREN, HIS SWEETHEART, THAT HE COULDN’T sleep and would be watching television if anyone needed him. He sat on the couch in the waiting area and flipped through the phone book while watching
Cheers
reruns. He sipped another Sprite. Hardy, bless his heart, had given him eight quarters after dinner.

Karen brought him a blanket and tucked it around his legs. She patted his arm with her long, thin hands, and glided away. He watched every step.

Mr. Gill Teal did indeed have a full-page ad in the Attorneys section of the Memphis Yellow Pages, along with a dozen other lawyers. There was a nice picture of him standing casually outside a courthouse with his jacket off and sleeves rolled up. “I FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS!” it said under the photo. In bold red letters across the top, the question HAVE YOU BEEN INJURED? cried out. Thick green print answered just below, IF SO, CALL GILL TEAL—HE’S FOR REAL. Farther down, in blue print, Gill listed all the types of cases he handled, and there were hundreds. Lawn mowers, electrical shock, deformed babies, car wrecks, exploding water heaters. Eighteen years’ experience in all courts. A small map in the corner of the ad directed the world to his office, which was just across the street from the courthouse.