Blue Bloods of Bois D’Arc (17 page)

Chapter 39

Baylor Hospital, Dallas

Margaret Worthington’s Cadillac screeched into a parking space at Baylor Hospital’s emergency entrance parking lot. She opened her door and came around to help Randolph out of the car because he was unsteady on his feet when he hurried. She burst through the big double doors ahead of Gramps, who lagged behind her gasping for breath. As she approached the admitting desk, she saw Roger in handcuffs being escorted from the building by two police officers.

“What the hell did you do to my daughter?” she said as she advanced toward the threesome coming up the hall to the ER exit door.

One of the policemen stopped her advance. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but you have to stand back and let us through. Mr. Helms is under arrest and we’re taking him down to the station.”

She followed closely, shouting at Roger every step. “You bully, hitting a woman not even half your size.”

“Everything’s under control,” the officer said. “Now, either you step away or I will arrest you for obstruction of justice and take you downtown, too.”

“You should put him in jail and throw away the key,” she shot back. “He almost killed my daughter.” Hospital security had arrived by then and led her away from the police and Roger.

“We’ll deal with you later,” she called back over her shoulder.

The security officer accompanied her to a vacant office next to the waiting room and sat her down. The officer took her name and who she was there to visit. “Mrs. Worthington,” he said calmly, “I understand that you are upset, but you must control yourself. If you can’t do that, I will have to escort you from the building and you won’t be able to see your daughter. Now, I know you don’t want that. Mrs. Worthington?”

“I’m sorry. I just want to see my daughter,” she said to the security officer in her normal tone of voice.

“If you give me your word you won’t cause another disturbance, you can go now and check at the admitting desk to find out which bay your daughter is being treated in. I’ll be watching you.”

Margaret returned to the admitting desk and politely asked the charge nurse, “My daughter is Cass Helms. Which bay are they treating her in?”

Gramps had caught his breath and accompanied Margaret to Bay Six. The curtain was drawn, but Margaret barged in anyway and threw her hands up to her face.

“Oh my God, what did he do to you?” Tears welled up in her eyes as she carefully leaned in to give her daughter a kiss on the forehead. Gramps stood quietly beside her.

Cass, still groggy from the anesthetic the EMT had given her, said, slurring her words, “We had an argument and when I tried to leave, he slammed me against the front door. He hit me so hard it broke my collarbone and cracked some ribs.” She paused and took a deep breath but couldn’t hold back the tears. “I lost the baby too.” She managed to get it out before her sobbing became uncontrollable.

“Baby! You were pregnant? Why didn’t you tell us?” Margaret became hysterical. Gramps registered surprise, but remained in control and tried to calm Margaret down.

Cass and Margaret consoled each other for several minutes, enough time for Cass to continue. “I wasn’t sure. I had only missed one period and didn’t have any other symptoms. But I wanted to tell you. I had just taken one of those drugstore tests that day. If I was, it was so early I didn’t want to say anything until I went to Dr. McCombs and knew for certain. I hadn’t even told Roger.” She was still lightheaded, but her emotions were under better control. She continued, “He got mad because he’s charged with arson, drug possession and distribution, and insurance fraud. He wanted me to lie for him, swear he knew nothing about the fire and or how it happened. That he was home with me all evening. When I refused and tried to leave, that’s when he lost it and attacked me. I swore out a restraining order and will file charges against him for assault and murdering my unborn baby. He’s going to pay for this.”

“Oh darling, I had no idea he was so violent. Don’t worry, we’ll get Reggie Winthrop, the best lawyer in Bois D’Arc, to make sure he never hurts you again.” Margaret looked up and down the hall. “Who’s your doctor? I want to talk to him and find out when we can take you home.”

“I don’t know. I was out of it by the time I got here.”

Margaret picked up the call device attached to the head of Cass’s bed and buzzed the nurses’ station. When the nurse responded, Margaret asked which doctor had treated Cass.

“Dr. Stacey Mills. She is with a patient. May I help you?”

“I want to know when I can take my daughter home.”

“I’ll inform Dr. Mills. She will be with you as soon as she finishes up in Bay Nine. Please be patient. It has been an unusually busy day,” she said.

Margaret turned back to Cass. “So you’re telling me Roger burned down his own business. Why? I just can’t believe it, he seemed so nice and ambitious.”

Cass’s speech was more organized as the anesthetic wore off. “Mom, you have no idea what Roger’s like. It’s a long story and I don’t feel like telling it right now, maybe later. I just don’t—”

A haggard-looking woman in bloodstained scrubs whipped the curtain open, interrupting Cass. “I’m Dr. Mills.” She approached Margaret. “I assume you are Mrs. Worthington. You inquired about your daughter’s discharge,” she said as she pulled her rubber gloves off and extended her arm to shake Margaret’s hand.

“Yes, I am Cass’s mother.” She shook the doctor’s hand. “Would you kindly explain her condition? Is she able to be released today? I would like to take her home to recover and hire a nurse to monitor her if you think it’s necessary.”

“I don’t think she will need a home nurse. Mrs. Helms received an extremely hard blow to her body, resulting in a broken clavicle, or collarbone, and some severely bruised and fractured ribs. Her pregnancy was in the very early weeks of her first trimester. The impact to her body triggered the miscarriage. In cases like this, when it is so early in the first trimester, the miscarriage usually expels all the tiny fetus tissue by itself and will not require further medical procedures. Since she wasn’t hemorrhaging, a D & C wasn’t necessary. She received antibiotics in an IV to prevent infection. Mrs. Helms, if you feel well enough to leave, I will sign your discharge papers and have a nurse escort you out in a wheelchair. Hospital policy,” she responded to Cass’s frown. “When you get home, I recommend no strenuous activity for twenty-four hours. You may experience some painful cramping initially, but it shouldn’t last longer than twenty-four hours. Ibuprofen will usually stop the cramping. Also, no intercourse for at least two weeks and continue on the antibiotics for at least ten days.

“As far as your other injuries are concerned, you might be sore for as long as six weeks. Be protective of your rib cage and shoulder. You are wearing a figure-eight sling, which is to be worn until the shoulder heals or you cease to have pain in the shoulder. See your family physician as soon as you can and follow his recommendations. The nurse will be right back with your discharge papers and wheel you out. I’m sorry you lost your baby, but you’re a lucky lady. It could have been a lot worse. Good luck and a speedy recovery.” Dr. Mills shook hands with Cass and Margaret and left.

Chapter 40

The plea bargain

Roger’s good friend and business lawyer remained by his side but turned the case over to a team of SMU law school graduates in his firm’s criminal case department. Fred Ackerman, the team leader, was a vicious attorney who pushed the boundaries of questionable legal practices to extreme limits. He had a reputation for getting major drug offenders off with little or no hard time. The plea bargain agreement he worked out with the First District Court’s Assistant District Attorney was nothing short of a miracle. Since Roger had no prior record, he offered the Assistant DA a slam-dunk conviction. It would add to his successful string of wins and help his race for District Attorney next election. The deal would let Roger plead guilty to the arson charge in exchange for dropping the narcotics charge down to a simple possession case in drug court. That would get him four years’ probation, drug rehabilitation, and no jail time. The ADA snapped it up.

The arson plea bargain resulted in a reduced charge of reckless endangerment, five years’ probation to be served concurrently with his drug probation and restitution damages. Since it was his own property there was no restitution, but he defaulted on the bank loan and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. His SMU lawyer team kept him out of jail, but he was more concerned about his drug debt that could still get him that trip to Trinity River wearing cement shoes.

Texas homestead law allowed Roger to keep the mansion, but it had to be sold. He couldn’t afford the payments and had no desire to live in the huge mansion alone. Penniless, he was forced to work in his first night club acquisition, a gentleman’s club called The Top Hat, while he carried out the terms of his plea bargain. It was the only thing he hadn’t lost now that Cass had filed for divorce, which in Texas took only sixty days. She eventually dropped the assault charges to avoid facing him in court.

Recovering in Bois D’Arc

“I’m driving myself to Dr. McCombs today. I can’t stand sitting around doing nothing,” Cass said to Margaret after Essie finished clearing off the breakfast table. “I appreciate all the good care you’ve given me, Mom, I really do. But I’m not in much pain and I just need to do something.”

“You’ll do no such thing. I’ll drive you to Dr. McCombs until he says you can drive. I don’t want to hear another word about that, young lady.”

Pain shot through her shoulder as Cass stubbornly opened the car with her injured arm. Her shoulder wasn’t as healed as she had hoped. She winced, but didn’t let on to her mother. Cass wasn’t in the mood for the shopping trip Margaret proposed after the doctor visit. She was more careful getting out of the car and let Margaret open the door to the doctor’s office.

“Well, young lady, how is my favorite patient doing?” Doctor McCombs asked.

“I’ll bet you say that to all the girls,” Cass teased.

“No, just to the special ones. Step up on the table and let’s take a look.”

Cass knew the drill by now. She removed her blouse but wasn’t wearing a bra because she was wrapped from the top of her chest to her belly button. She sat patiently while the nurse took her blood pressure and removed the Ace bandage from around her rib cage.

“Take a deep breath.” Dr. McCombs placed his cold stethoscope just above her breasts, making her nipples stand out. “Again.” On her back this time. It made Cass shiver. “Do you experience any pain taking a deep breath?”

“A little.”

“How about your shoulder?” He gently raised her arm to shoulder level.

Cass winced when he raised it higher. “That’s as high as I can go, doctor,” she said in obvious pain.

“Okay, I won’t torture you anymore this morning. Continue your arm exercise but don’t push it beyond your comfort level. Take your pain medication as you need it. I don’t think you need to come back unless you experience unusual pain or discomfort. Your X-rays look good. You are mending slowly, which is normal. Just don’t get in too big a hurry to start playing tennis again. Your collarbone will take at least eight weeks to completely heal even though you might not feel any pain in your shoulder rotation. Remember, now, take it easy for another two or three weeks. Good to see you again, Margaret. Tell that husband of yours to come see me. It’s been over a year since his last checkup. You ladies have a good day; Debbie will rewrap just your rib cage this time.” Dr. McCombs handed the chart to his nurse as he left the room.

Nurse Debbie wound the Ace bandage around and around until her body was covered from below her breasts to just above her waist. “Is that too tight, Mrs. Helms? We want to be sure it isn’t restricting your breathing.”

“It’s fine, Debbie. Thank you.” Cass dismissed the young nurse and got dressed. “Mom, I don’t think I want to go shopping now—maybe another time.”

“Okay, but you need to get out more, now that you are on the mend.”

Eddie Winthrop was propped against Margaret’s Cadillac when the two women left the doctor’s office. “Good morning, ladies. I hope you got a good report, Cass.”

“Good morning, Eddie, and yes, I did get a good report. You’re still safe—no arm wrestling for a while yet,” Cass said.

“Mrs. Worthington, would you mind if I drove Cass home? I’m handling the case now and just have a couple of details I want to go over with her about the divorce.”

“Not at all. I was just telling Cass she needed to get out more.”

“I’m not ten, Eddie. I don’t need her permission, I can answer for myself. What little details? I gave your clerk all the information that was needed.”

“Nothing serious, just a couple little technicalities. If you’ll just step into my office next door, we can take care of them. And since it’s almost lunchtime, we could have lunch first and then swing by the office afterward. What do you say, Cass?”

Cass shot a chilly look at Margaret. “Sure, why not. See you in a little while, Mom,” she responded sharply.

“Have a nice lunch.” Margaret waved as she entered her car.

“Still up to your high school tricks, Eddie? There couldn’t possibly be any information left out of the divorce petition, right?”

“Okay, you got me. I saw you two go into Doc’s office and thought you might want to have some lunch outside the office for a change.”

“Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Look, you’re going to be a free woman soon, and I would like to get back to the relationship we had. We were close in high school.”

“Come on, Eddie, we were never close. The only relationship we had was your cheating off my paper in Mr. Hollingsworth’s math class our junior year. But I am hungry and will let you buy me lunch. Where should we go?”

“How about El Chico? We used to eat there when we slipped off campus.”

“El Chico is fine,” she said. “We did that once and got caught, remember?”

Eddie shrugged his shoulders and ignored her attitude, “El Chico it is. Let’s take the Mercedes, my present for law-school graduation and my welcome to the firm.” Only four parking spaces away sat his immaculately restored silver 1955 classic Mercedes-Benz 300SL gull-wing.

“Impressive. The divorce business must be pretty good these days?”

“Over fifty percent of marriages in this country end in divorce. And Texas no-fault divorce has the shortest waiting period in the country. But don’t worry—I’m doing yours pro bono.”

“Like hell you are. I’ve already seen the bill. Don’t you ever change? Am I going to have to pay for my own lunch now?”

“Cut the comedy and hop in. Maybe we can take a little spin after we eat.”

Cass ignored that comment and jumped back to avoid the rising door. She slipped into the low-slung sports car without straining her shoulder. The first thing she did before they left the parking space was remove the sling and put it in her purse.

As usual, El Chico’s was crowded for lunch. A glass of wine took the edge off her prickliness while they made small talk waiting on their order. “You know we could make this a regular event. Dinner would be even better. How about it, say Saturday? We could take in a musical at Fair Park and have dinner at The Adolphus for old times’ sake.” Cass moved her hand when he reached across the table.

“You never know when to quit, do you? Look, Eddie, we grew up together, went to the same school all the way from pre-school and kindergarten through high school. And I appreciate you handling my divorce, but we are just friends. That’s all it ever was. It will never be anything else. Can’t you get that through your head and give it a rest?”

“The only thing I understand is that I have loved you all my life. You had to know that. I can’t believe you can still have feelings for that cripple from the other side of the tracks.”

“I don’t know what else to say, Eddie. You will always be a friend. I—”

Eddie held up his hands in surrender, “Okay, okay, I get it. That’s the same thing you said in high school. If you would just give me a chance to be more than a friend, I think you would see things differently. I can give you a great life here in Bois D’Arc with all the amenities of Dallas. I’m a successful lawyer and stand to inherit the best law firm in town. We even get calls from corporate clients in Dallas. At least think about it. I’m not the high school dork you remember.”

“That’s enough Eddie. Drop it. I’m sorry. It wouldn’t work between us. The chemistry just isn’t there. Surely you can see that.”

The waiter arrived with their food. Cass had lost her appetite for her favorite chicken mushroom enchiladas. Their conversation hadn’t affected Eddie’s appetite at all. He devoured his flaming hot beef fajitas. They sat in silence, Eddie wolfing down his fajitas and her lunch only half eaten. She laid her fork down. She wanted to leave.

“Will you please take me home?”

“Just give me a minute to finish this fajita. It’s really good. Aren’t you going to finish your lunch?”

“I’m not hungry anymore. I just want to go home, if you don’t mind.”

Eddie threw down a fifty-dollar bill without waiting for their check and shoved his chair back. “Let’s go then.” He came around in back of Cass’s chair and gently pulled it back like a perfect gentleman.