Dead Peasants (15 page)

47

Colby was driving on Camp Bowie toward a downtown mortgage company to help a client with closing on a small house on the Southside. It was the first she had sold since Jack’s. Like nearly everyone else, she had been impacted by the economy. This was turning out to be her slowest year since she became a realtor, and she was getting worried. She made a good commission on Jack’s purchase, but the $5,000 a month she paid to the nursing home was a constant drain on her bank account. She briefly considered asking Jack for a loan and then rejected the idea. It was her problem, and she had to deal with it. She still had several listings. Maybe one or two of them would turn into sales sometime soon. She lowered the passenger window so that Killer could stick his head out and feel the breeze riffling his fur.

Colby was approaching the Seventh Street Bridge over the Trinity and started to wave at the tamale man when a pickup pulled beside her. She never noticed the pickup until it swerved into her left front. She lost control but managed to slam on her brakes as the car bumped the curb. The tamale man saw what was happening and abandoned his cart. Colby hit the brake and lowered her speed, but not enough to avoid the bridge abutment which she hit at about fifteen miles an hour. Killer yelped as it happened and then whined when the air bags deployed and engulfed Colby and Killer. Colby deflated her bag and then Killer’s. Her door was jammed; so, she climbed to the passenger seat and opened that one. Killer leaped from the car. Colby wondered if she would ever be able to get him in a car again. Other cars stopped, but Colby ignored them. She wanted to make sure that the tamale man was okay.

He was. He timidly stepped from behind the bridge abutment and burst into tears when he saw the wreckage of what had once been his cart. Colby spoke to him in Spanish. “You’re okay.”

“Si, but look at my cart.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you a new one.”

The police and EMTs arrived. Colby waved off the ambulance and was talking to a police officer, explaining that she couldn’t identify anything except the other vehicle was a pickup. As she was talking she glanced at her watch. “Excuse me. I’m late for an appointment.”

She called the mortgage company and apologized, telling them to go on with the closing. Then she called Jack. Within fifteen minutes Jack and J.D., driving separate vehicles, were at the scene

When the officer released her, Colby said, “Jack, I need you to run me downtown. J.D., would you take Jose home and then drop Killer by my house. I’ve told the wrecker driver to take my car to the Lexus dealer. Oh, and, J.D., give Jose my phone numbers. I promised to get him a new cart.”

48

Boss was sitting in the shade beside his dollar sign shaped backyard pool. The lines through the dollar signs were designed to extend the pool to do twenty-five meter laps. He was drinking his morning coffee and reading the
Star Telegram
. He got to the back page and nearly choked on his coffee when he read a two inch story about Colby Stripling, local realtor, being run off the road and almost killing the tamale man. “Son of a bitch,” he said as he slammed the paper down and picked up his cell phone.

When Hawk answered, he said, “We have to meet this morning.”

“Boss, I’m just saddling my horse. The kids will be waiting for me.”

Boss paced around the pool. “I don’t give a good god damn about those kids. I want to see you face-to-face in an hour.”

“Look,” Hawk said, “I know you’re upset and I know why. Let’s meet in the parking lot up by the old packing plants. That way I won’t miss many of my rounds through the stockyards.”

“Hell, no. I pick the place this time. There’s a Starbucks on Camp Bowie about ten minutes from my house. It has outdoor seating. If we can’t be alone, we’ll sit in my car. Be there in an hour.” Boss clicked off his phone and went into the house to shower.

When he got to the Starbucks, he saw Hawk seated at an outdoor table on the side patio with empty tables around him. Boss forgot about getting coffee and took a seat opposite him. “Goddamnit. I’m really pissed. You tried for Colby Stripling again and screwed up again.”

Hawk raised his hands, palms up. “What am I supposed to do? I told you that it was going to be tough. I had to try something, and it had to be in the daytime.” Hawk pulled a Marlboro out and lit it.

Boss stuck out his hand. “Give me one.”

“I didn’t know you smoked.”

“I don’t. At least not in the past twenty years.”

Hawk lit both cigarettes. Boss took a deep drag and immediately started coughing.”

“You want some water?”

“I’ll be okay. Just give me a minute.”

Hawk drank his coffee until Boss spoke again. “I’m okay now. Let’s put Colby Stripling on the back burner for a while..”

Hawk shook his head. “Wait a minute. That one would net me a cool half a million bonus. I don’t want to forget her.”

Boss leaned over the table and replied, “You’ll damn sure do what I tell you. Otherwise, you can walk away, and I’ll find someone else. And I didn’t say forget her. Let’s give her a little time to feel comfortable again. If you come up with a plan for her, I want to approve it first. Understood?”

Hawk considered his options as he took a drag on his Marlboro. He blew out smoke and replied, “Okay. You’re the boss. Only, let’s not wait too long.”

49

Jack and Colby parked Lucille in the garage and walked in the back door. The sounds of a football game came from the man cave. Jack walked through the kitchen and dining room to find J.D. watching film of TCU football games from the past season. Killer was snoring quietly in a recliner beside him.

When Colby saw Killer, J.D. said, “I took him to your house, but he refused to get out of my truck. When we got here, he saw me getting out and pawed the door until I opened it. After today I don’t think he wanted to be left alone.”

Killer saw Colby and yawned as he stood in the chair and stretched.

“Killer, are you all right, baby? Mommy’s sorry for what happened today. That airbag hitting you in the nose must have hurt.” She sat on the edge of Killer’s chair and scratched him behind the ears.

“Colby and I are going to go out on the patio and discuss the day’s events. Join us if you like.”

“Be there in a few minutes. I just want to watch a few more plays.”

Jack and Colby returned to the kitchen. “Name your poison,” Jack said.

“After what I’ve been through, I’ll take a double Tito’s on the rocks. Maybe a couple of shots of vodka will calm my nerves.”

Jack poured two drinks and led the way out to the patio. They sipped their drinks until Jack said, “I know this is tough on you. Are you holding up okay?”

“Hell no, I’m not!. We don’t know who or why, but someone is trying to kill me. Is that offer to move in here still open?”

Jack was about to respond when J.D. joined them, Shiner Bock in hand. “I can answer that. We still have four bedrooms open. You can have one and Killer can have his own private suite.” Killer had joined them and his ears perked at the sound of his name.

“I’ll take the one next to yours, facing the river and the setting sun.”

“Colby, you can pick any one of my other vehicles to drive till your car is fixed or you get a new one, but not Lucille.”

“Then, I’ll take the Bentley.”

Jack turned to his son. “J.D, have a seat. We’ve got to solve two attempted murders on Colby and we have no idea where to start.”

Jack drummed his fingers on the side table beside his glass, waiting for one of the others to speak. Suddenly, he rose and threw his glass against the barbecue pit where it shattered into a hundred pieces. “Boy, aren’t we great detectives. Nobody even has an idea.”

“Look, Jack, I’m the one in danger here, and I’m trying to remain calm. You can damn sure do the same.”

“She’s right, Dad,” J.D. said. “What the hell brought that on?”

Jack took in a slow breath and returned to his seat. “Sorry. I’m used to controlling what goes on in my life. Now it looks like I can’t even protect Colby.”

“That’s the problem, Jack. We’re not detectives. We’re not even sure the incident in New Orleans is related to what happened yesterday.”

“Sorry, Colby. I have never believed in coincidences. They’re related somehow.”

Silence filled the evening as each of them were lost in their own thoughts, searching for a connection.

“What about that old man that died while he was out fishing up in Denton? You went to his funeral,” J.D. said.

“Willie Davis, that’s an interesting thought. He and Colby once worked together. Still, that was ruled an accidental death. June told me that the detective with the sheriff’s department up there was a friend of the family and did a thorough investigation. Following up on his death would be a waste of time.”

J.D. had moved from his chair and was doing sit-ups. He stopped and said, “I have an idea. Don’t you know the D.A. here? Let’s have him pull us a computer run on all the violent deaths in the area for the past year.”

Jack tapped his cane on the patio in front of his chair as he thought. “What’s the purpose?”

“Fishing, Dad, fishing for some more coincidences that might lead to a motive for trying to kill Colby. Maybe it’s a shot in the dark, but we’ve got to start somewhere.”

Jack thought a minute and nodded his head, “Not a bad idea, but your search field is too big. Let’s narrow it.”

“How about violent deaths within a hundred and fifty miles of Fort Worth?” Colby suggested.

“Geographically, that’s okay but otherwise still too broad. That would include domestic murders, bar room brawls, you name it.”

“Then,” J.D. said, “how about unsolved violent deaths within that distance and eliminate the common forms of one on one murder, guns, knives, that kind of thing?”

“No,” Jack said. “That might eliminate too many. Let’s get any violent deaths, only the unsolved ones, and see how big our search is. We’ll leave out domestic disputes.”

“Going how far back, Dad?”

Jack thought a moment and said, “We’ll try for a year, and we may have to cut it off at six months, depending on what we find. Let’s see if Joe is still in the office.”

Jack retrieved his cell from his pocket and scrolled to Sherrod’s private number.

Sherrod picked it up on the second ring. “I presume you’re just checking to see if your vastly underpaid civil servant is still at the office at six-thirty in the evening. What’s up, Jack?”

“Glad to see you’re still on the job. I’ll sleep much better tonight. I need a favor.”

“Name it.”

“Can you get me a list of unsolved violent deaths other than domestic quarrels within a hundred and fifty miles of Fort Worth in the past six months?”

“Wow, you’re asking for a ton of information. What’s this for?”

“Colby was run off the road yesterday, and we think that may be the second attempt on her life. I’m not looking for murders with guns, knives, that kind of thing. I’m looking for unusual, unexplained deaths with no suspects.”

“Yeah, I read that little article. Meant to call you. Sorry.”

“No problem, Joe. Can you do it?”

Sherrod hesitated before he answered. “I can do it. May take a little while, though. We can go to the websites we have access to, but there are a lot of small counties in that radius that haven’t discovered the internet. I’ll just have to put a clerk to work, calling the sheriffs in those counties and asking them to search their file cabinets. It’ll take longer than you’d like, but I’ve got a good summer clerk from Texas Wesleyan here, and I can put her on it. Figure it’ll take a few weeks at least. Anything else I can do?”

“I think that’ll do it. Oh, and tell your neighborhood patrols that Colby is moving in with me for a while. They still ought to keep an eye on the house, but there shouldn’t be any activity other than Colby or someone checking her mail. Wait, now that I think about it, there’s one more thing. I want to be sworn in as a reserve deputy sheriff. Can I drop by tomorrow and get you to do it?

“Why do you want to be a deputy?”

“Once we get the information, J.D. and I may do a little investigating ourselves. I figure that if I’m a Tarrant County deputy, the cops in some of these counties may be a little more candid.”

“That’s a little tougher. Our reserve deputies have to go through a training program and pass a test.”

“Tell the sheriff that I was in the 101
^st
and was in combat in Iraq. That ought to count for something. I can qualify on the range with any weapon he chooses. Then, I’ll study the Texas Criminal Code and take the test.”

There was silence on the phone while Joe thought about it. “Okay, I’ll call in a couple of favors with the sheriff. Understand, Jack, I’m putting my ass out there for you. You create any problem and it’ll be your ass.”

50

Jack knew the motion was coming. The postman delivered the certified envelope while Jack was sitting at his desk in the RV, reviewing documents brought to him by a Hispanic man seated across the table from him. He mowed yards for a living and was in danger of having his pickup repossessed by an Allison Southwest dealership. When there was a knock on the door, Jack opened it to greet the postman.

“Morning, Dave. What do you have for me?”

“Looks like the usual, a couple of letters from lawyers, some junk mail and one certified that I need you to sign for.”

Dave handed the mail to Jack who signed the green card and handed it back to the postman.

“You need a bottle of water? It’s already pretty hot out there?”

“I’d appreciate that, Jack.”

Jack went to the refrigerator and returned with the water. After the postman left, Jack said, “Here’s what we’re going to do, Frank. I’ll file an injunction to delay them from going through with the repossession. That’ll buy us a little time. Maybe I can talk them into refinancing with a lower monthly payment.”

Frank nodded his head. “Thank you, Mr. Bryant. “I’ll keep looking for some more jobs. I never had any problem with making the payments until this past year. Now a lot of my old customers are mowing their own yards.”

After Frank shook Jack’s hand and left the RV, Jack turned to J.D. who had been sitting quietly in the driver’s seat. “J.D., get on the computer and find a form we can use for an injunction. This certified letter is from Ace Leyton. I suspect I know what it is.”

While J.D. moved to the computer, Jack poured himself another cup of coffee, settled into a seat in the living area and tore open the envelope. The document was Leyton’s motion for summary judgment, asking the court to find as a matter of law that Allison Southwest was entitled to the proceeds of the life insurance policy on William Davis. The motion relied on an employment agreement attached as an exhibit where the fine print permitted Allison Southwest to take out a policy on Willie’s life in any amount as long as at least $10,000 went to Willie’s heirs. Further, the document stated that Allison Southwest could keep the life insurance in force even after termination or retirement.

Jack flipped to the back page and saw Willie Davis’s signature and the date of March 31, 1980. Below Willie’s signature was the signature of Henry Simon, apparently a manager of some kind at the Cadillac store. Jack took a sip of coffee and went back to the first page of the document and read each of the paragraphs slowly until he was back to the signatures. He knew that June never got the $10,000, but also knew that could be solved by Leyton if he raised it. Leyton would have a check in hand at the next appearance before the judge. Jack presumed McDowell would accept an apology and tender of the check. He wasn’t in this fight for ten thousand dollars. Still, when he finished reading the document a second time, he smiled.

“J.D. when you get to a stopping point, let me have the computer. Leyton’s filed a motion for summary judgment, but I think I’ve figured out a way to beat it. And remind me that we need a second computer in here. When we go out for lunch, we’ll buy one.”

Four weeks later they were back in Judge McDowell’s court. Once again McDowell moved them to the head of the docket.

“Morning, Judge,” Jack said as he approached. He had a pretty good idea that McDowell was in Leyton’s back pocket, but he had an ace up his sleeve.

“Morning, Mr. Bryant. Mr. Leyton, you may proceed on your motion.”

“Your Honor, this is a very simple motion that should end this lawsuit. Attached as an exhibit is the original of the employment agreement between one William Davis and Allison Southwest. It’s pretty old and my client had to dig it out of storage, but the document speaks for itself. William Davis clearly consented to everything that has transpired with this life insurance policy. There’s no fact issue and my client is entitled to a summary judgment.”

Judge McDowell turned to Jack. “Seems pretty clear-cut to me. Do you see a fact issue anywhere, Mr. Bryant?”

Jack couldn’t resist taking a shot at the judge. “I presume, Your Honor, that you didn’t have time to read my response. If you had, you would not be taking that position.”

McDowell narrowed his eyes at Jack as he spoke. “Mr. Bryant, you’re suggesting that I don’t do my job?” The judge flipped through the file until he picked up a document. “Here it is. Must have gotten buried under something else. Proceed, Mr. Bryant.”

“Judge, there’s definitely a fact issue that will require you to deny Mr. Leyton’s motion. Someone has written William Davis’s name on a line on the last page. However, the signature is not notarized, and there has been no proof that William Davis actually signed this document. It could have been done after Willie died for all we know.”

The judge leaned over his bench and used his most intimidating judicial stare as he spoke. “Mr. Bryant, are you suggesting that Mr. Leyton, a long time distinguished member of the bar in this county, is attempting to perpetrate a fraud on this court?”

Jack had been before too many judges to ever be intimidated. “Nothing of the kind, Your Honor. He has a duty to somehow authenticate this signature, and he has failed to do so. If you grant his motion, I’m giving notice that the next stop with this case will be at the court of appeals.”

The judge put down Jack’s reply and picked up Leyton’s motion. He looked at the signature page, then put the motion down and folded his hands. He stared at his bench for nearly a minute before he looked up. “Mr. Leyton, he may have a point here. Understand I could grant your motion, but I don’t like getting reversed.”

“Your Honor…”

“Wait, Mr.Leyton. I’m not through. There’s another signature on this document. Henry Simon signed it for Allison Southwest. Can’t you get an affidavit from him, confirming that he was there and saw Mr. Davis sign the document?”

Leyton shook his head. “Judge, I’ve already checked into that. Mr. Simon died five years ago.”

McDowell pursed his lips and then ruled. “I’m sorry, Mr. Leyton, but I have to deny your motion.”

Leyton nodded at the judge and walked out of the courtroom. When he got to his pickup, his cell buzzed. It was Dwayne Allison.

“I suppose you won our motion. Get me a certified copy of the judgment and I’ll fire it off to Euro Life. My insurance department had to notify them of this case, and they’re worried that they may have to pay for this death twice. I need to let them know we have it under control.”

“Hold on, Dwayne. Judge McDowell denied our motion.”

“What? That son of a bitch. I just had twenty of my employees contribute to his campaign. And, and you told me this was a sure thing,” Allison fumed. “What the hell kind of lawyer are you? I don’t pay you four hundred and fifty dollars an hour to lose. Maybe it’s time for me to find a lawyer who can win.”

“Dwayne, calm down. First I didn’t say this was a sure thing. I said the odds were in our favor that we could win this motion. Bryant pointed out that no one had authenticated Davis’s signature and the judge bought into it.”

“Dammit. You should have seen that coming.”

“You’re right. I can only apologize, but I have a plan. I’m going to subpoena June Davis and get her to confirm that was her husband’s signature. Then, we’ll ask for a re-hearing.”

“You do whatever you think is necessary,” Allison yelled. “I’ve already deposited that check.”