Read Once We Were Brothers Online
Authors: Ronald H Balson
Tags: #Philanthropists, #Law, #Historical, #Poland, #Legal, #Fiction, #Chicago (Ill.), #Holocaust survivors, #Historical Fiction, #General, #Nazis
“It’s like I told you on the phone,” Elliot said, sitting in his leather chair, his back to his bay windows. “It’s Solomon, the same damn lunatic that’s been stalking me since last September. Now he’s sued me in the Cook County courts for all the world to see. He’s sued me for being a Nazi executioner.”
A Chicago Sun-Times, early edition, sat on the desk with a banner headline, reading: “Prominent Chicagoan Sued Over War Crimes.” A three column picture of Elliot sat above a subscript posing the question: “Elliot Rosenzweig: Nazi or victim?”
“Actually, he’s sued you for taking his property. It’s a suit for money damages.”
“I can read, Gerry.”
“The lawsuit says he made a demand for return of specific property and you failed to return it. Do you have any idea what he’s talking about?”
Elliot nodded. “About a week ago I got a letter demanding that I deliver a whole list of things to Solomon. It was bullshit. I threw it away.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“Because it was bullshit. Look, we need to counter this as strongly as possible, both in the courts and in the media. Look at this newspaper,” he said, holding up the front page and furiously rattling the pages.
“Settle down. I’ve called a press conference for this afternoon at my office. These allegations concern things that happened sixty years ago. They’re probably all time-barred by the statute of limitations. I’ll express our outrage, announce our intention to immediately move for a dismissal and file a countersuit against this moneygrubber for defamation.”
“Are you nuts? Dismiss the case on a technicality? That’s like saying I’m guilty but you didn’t sue me in time. No, he either has to withdraw this case and make a public apology or we have to beat him on the merits of the case. And forget about suing him for defamation. What’s the public going to think when a billionaire sues some poor crazy old man?”
“Okay, calm down, we’ll take care of it.”
Elliot rose from his chair and walked to the windows. The December skies, a persistent, dispirited blanket of low-hovering gray that wouldn’t snow and wouldn’t go away, mirrored Elliot’s mood. He stared at the silver-gray lake. The reflection of the clouds made the horizon imperceptible. He took a deep breath and turned to face his lawyer. “This man threatens to eradicate an entire legacy. All a man has is his reputation. Everything that’s gone before – my work, my charities, my foundations – everything that I’ve accomplished in my life will be tarnished if these accusations continue to find safe harbors. They must be recanted! He must concede he has made a mistake and that in his confusion he has misidentified me.”
“You shouldn’t have interfered in September. If you hadn’t urged the State to drop the charges, Solomon’d still be behind bars. What’s happening with your stake-out of Piatek’s house in Cleveland?”
“Nothing. The house is vacant. Wuld thinks Piatek split for Europe. He wants me to send him to Poland. I may do that.”
“Earlier this month,” Jeffers said, “I used all my influence to persuade Jenkins and that woman lawyer, what’s her name, Lockhart, to drop Solomon as a client. Jenkins saw the light and agreed, but Lockhart left the firm and now I understand she’s working out of her house.”
“Then you should be able to make it go away quickly. The longer it continues, the more damage it causes. Rumor feeds upon itself. The public loves to see successful people trashed; that’s how the tabloids were built. Gerry, I know I don’t have to remind you how much business we throw your way. This has to be, right now, the most important case in your office.”
“I understand perfectly. I’ll put half a dozen lawyers on it. We’ll bury her with court time and paperwork. She’s on her own and there’s no way she can keep up. We’ll smash her in court.”
“It’s not just a matter of beating someone in court. Why do you lawyers always think like that? Why do you fail to see the big picture? I am accused of being a Nazi. The world is my court. It wants to know, ‘Is this man a Nazi?’ We have to show the public that I am wrongfully accused. If we can’t get him to retract, we have to make a public fool of Solomon in court, show him to be a madman possessed. That’s the only way to clear my name. I got a call this morning from Carol Mornay at NBC. She wants a televised interview.”
“I’m advising against it, Elliot.”
“I’m going to give her the interview. I’ve sat with her before. I’ve known her for some time. It’ll go well. Don’t worry.”
“If you insist, but I want to go with you. They’ll have legal questions.”
Elliot shook his head. “It gives the whole matter too much credence. If I sit there with my lawyer, the public will think I have something to hide. If I go on by myself and show I’m willing to answer questions, just she and I, it’ll create a more informal atmosphere. It’ll have the desired effect.”
“I’m not happy about this, Elliot. You never know what these journalists will dig up. I’ve had clients burned by the media.”
“I’ll have to take that chance. I need to fight the battle of public opinion. You need to fight the battle in court. If Solomon won’t recant, I need for you to prove that I am not Piatek.”
“It’s not your burden to prove you’re not Piatek. It’s Solomon’s burden to prove his case – that you are, in fact, Piatek. He’s the one that has to have the evidence in court.”
Elliot nodded and together they walked to the portico where Jeffers’ car was waiting. “Of course, you’re right, Gerry, I shouldn’t have had him released after the opera incident, but I took pity on him. So many of us survived the war physically but not emotionally. I don’t wish anybody any harm, but this guy has to be stopped.”
Jeffers slid into the driver’s seat. “Call me after you’ve spoken to Carol Mornay. Meanwhile, we’re going to kill a lot of trees and paper Lockhart to death.”
Chapter Forty-one
Chicago, Illinois December 2004
Catherine was in the midst of making her morning coffee when her phone rang. Two weeks until Christmas and she still hadn’t started her shopping. Despite the demands of the lawsuit, this was a day she had set aside for Michigan Avenue. She had her eye on a digital camera for Liam. She thought she’d shop for a warm sweater for Ben.
“Catherine, it’s Walter Jenkins. I need to talk to you about this Rosenzweig lawsuit.”
“I’m listening.”
“Can you come by this morning?”
“Why, Mr. Jenkins? Why would I come by? So that you can pressure me again?”
“Please, Catherine, would you just show me the courtesy of stopping in to talk to me? This firm was good to you. You owe me.”
“Charming. You certainly have a way of ingratiating yourself,” she said.
“Please, Catherine. I’m asking you.”
“Very well. I’ll come in around eleven.”
No sooner had she set down the phone than the doorbell buzzed. A FedEx driver delivered a box from Jeffers’s office. Inside was a stack of legal papers and clipped to the top was a letter from Jeffers.
“Dear Ms. Lockhart:
Pursuant to the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure and the Rules of the Supreme Court, we are enclosing the following discovery demands, and we expect compliance within 28 days:
We are also enclosing herewith three motions which we have set for hearing before Judge Ryan on December 20, 2004:
We remain open to discuss amicable resolution of this matter at any time.
Very Truly Yours
Storch and Bennett
By E. Gerald Jeffers”
* * *
“I guess I should have realized this was coming, Liam,” Catherine said into the phone. “Of course, it’s physically impossible for me to cover all these demands within the time they’ve scheduled. But that’s their game plan.”
“Won’t the judge give you relief? You’re only one person.”
“I’m sure he will, but as to how much leeway he’ll give to me, I won’t know until Wednesday. That’s when Jeffers’s motions are scheduled to be presented to Judge Ryan. Meanwhile, I’d like to do some brainstorming. Would you bring Ben here tomorrow morning?”
“I’ll call him.”
Catherine bundled herself up for the winter cold and headed downtown for what she hoped would be a very brief meeting with Jenkins.
* * *
The office receptionist, dressed in a red sweater adorned with sequined reindeer, smiled broadly as Catherine walked into the reception area. “Why hello, Miss Lockhart, it’s so good to see you again,” she said. “Mr. Jenkins is waiting for you in his office and he said to send you right back. I’ll tell him you’re on your way.”
Jenkins rose and greeted Catherine with a smile and a warm handshake. He shut his office door and gestured toward the couch.
“May I offer you a cup of coffee?” he said. She politely declined and sat on the edge of the leather couch, her legs together, her hands on her knees, as if she expected to leave at any moment.
Jenkins took a seat behind his desk. “Let me get right to the point. Just as I predicted, this Solomon case has become a disaster for us. In the past week we’ve lost three of our insurance clients and there are threats from others. They don’t want to offend Rosenzweig, so they’re taking their business elsewhere. It’s a damn row of dominoes.”
“Why? This isn’t J & F business. I’m no longer with the firm.”
Jenkins parried with a quick wave. “Yesterday, Judge Miller called me. ‘What the hell is Lockhart doing? Why can’t you stop her?’ And you know what, Catherine? We have several cases on his docket. He can hurt us.”
“Judge Miller? What does Judge Miller have to do with it? Judge Ryan’s got Ben’s case.”
“It’s all over the courthouse.”
“Did you tell him I quit a month ago?”
“Of course I did. He didn’t care. Like everyone else, he still associates you with Jenkins and Fairchild. Let’s face it, Catherine, you were working up the case in this office on my time before you left the firm. It’s not like we weren’t involved.”
“Well, Mr. Jenkins, I don’t know what you want me to do about this. I’ll call Judge Miller and tell him I’m not with the firm. I’ll tell him that you insisted I decline the case but I refused and that was the reason I left the firm. Is that what you want?”
“What I want? I want you to drop this madness. Non-suit the case.”
“You know I won’t do that.”
Jenkins leaned back and took a breath, ready to play his hole card. “I’m prepared to make you a generous offer. I’ll give you your job back, increase your salary by two hundred thousand dollars and give you a fifty thousand dollar bonus, payable upon dismissal of the Solomon suit. And we never had this conversation.”
Catherine rose and walked to the door. She stopped and turned to face Jenkins. “Thank you, Walter. You did me a favor.”
“I did? You accept?”
Catherine shook her head. “No. You’ve set my mind at ease. No second thoughts now. You’re entirely unprincipled. Your unethical, illegal and immoral offer is rejected. Nice try, though.”
“Damn it, Catherine,” he called after her, “you’ll be sorry. There won’t be a firm in Chicago that’ll touch you.”
Chapter Forty-two
“There are thirty-thousand lawyers in Chicago. I doubt that either Jenkins or Jeffers speaks for the entire legal community,” Liam said, unfolding a long collapsible table in Catherine’s home office.
“I know, but I thought about it all afternoon. The bastard put a damper on my shopping. I couldn’t get him off my mind,” Catherine said. “It’s not so much that Jenkins has influence. I’m not worried about my position; I’ve already burned that bridge. And it’s not that I care whether any mega-firms like J & F will hire me. I don’t want that kind of work anymore. What bothers me is the magnitude of the case. I’m worried about my ability to handle this case alone. I worry that I’m simply inadequate, that I’m not a good enough lawyer, and that, at the end of the day, I’ll fail my client because of it.” She lifted a color printer from the shelf and set it on the table. “I’m going into battle hopelessly outmanned. They’re overstaffing me. They’re pushing hard with depositions, some of them to take place in Europe, dozens of interrogatories, and now they’re starting with the motions. And it’s all scheduled to happen within a month.”
“Don’t worry. Judge Ryan will give you time. It’s routine to extend the time to complete discovery.”
“I’m sure he’ll give me some time. I’ve appeared before him on several occasions and he’s always been reasonable. But Jeffers has filed a motion to expedite the case, so I don’t know how much time he’ll give me.”