The Trial (33 page)

Authors: Larry D. Thompson

It was five fifteen when Luke climbed the steps to his house. Samantha and Cocoa were waiting on the porch. “Did we get a verdict, Dad?”

“Not yet, kiddo.”

“Does that mean we’re losing?” Samantha asked, a frown on her face.

Luke sat down beside Samantha and scratched Cocoa’s head. “Not at all, Sam. You never know what a jury is thinking. Best guess is we’ll win. We turned the corner when we got that study from Ryan Sinclair’s wife. Still, long ago I quit trying to second-guess juries.”

Samantha reached for her dad’s hand. “Thanks, Dad. I don’t care what happens. You’re the best dad in the world.”

It took a few seconds for Luke to control his emotions before he could speak. “I love you, too, Sam.”

The father and daughter gazed out into the evening, content to be alone with each other. Suddenly the office phone rang.

“Probably some damn reporter. I’ll get rid of him.” Luke walked into the house. Samantha could hear him talking but could make out only a few words.

Luke barged through the door. “Sam, that was Metcalf. She says her company will pay five million dollars to settle before the jury comes back. The only stipulation is that it has to be confidential, meaning we can’t tell anyone the amount. That’ll get you a new liver and lifetime follow-up care. I’m going to call her back and tell her it’s a deal.”

Samantha was silent as she thought about what her dad had said. Then she again grasped his hand. “No it’s not, Dad.”

Luke was stunned. What had gotten into his daughter? Maybe her illness was now affecting her brain. “Sam, what are you talking about?”

“Dad, I heard your argument. I believed what you said. Ryan Sinclair died because he wanted to get Exxacia off the market. I don’t want to die, but I think the jury will do what you asked. If we get a big verdict, it’ll do something that I would never be able to do again in my life. Tell them no. The jury will take care of me.”

Luke held his daughter’s hand and said nothing for several minutes as they rocked quietly. “You’re an adult, and you get to make the call. Are you sure, Sam?”

A determined look came over Samantha’s face as she nodded. “I’m sure, Dad.”

119

The courtroom was again packed the next morning. Metcalf took Luke aside and tried to get him to persuade Samantha to take the money. Luke shook his head and returned to his table, where Sue Ellen and Samantha sat. After two hours the sound of two buzzes from the jury room announced the jury had a verdict.

Judge Nimitz came from his chambers, and the jury filed in. No one could read their faces. “Ladies and gentlemen, do you have a verdict?” the judge asked.

“We do, Your Honor,” a middle-aged woman on the front row replied. She handed the verdict to the bailiff, who carried it to the judge. Judge Nimitz flipped through the pages and confirmed it was in order and unanimous.

“In answer to Question One, as to whether Ceventa is responsible for the injury to Samantha Vaughan, the jury answers yes. In answer to Question Two about actual damages, the jury finds one hundred million dollars.”

The courtroom erupted. Several of Samantha’s friends yelled. Simon Rothschild demanded order. Eventually, everyone sat down and watched the judge.

“In answer to the question about punitive damages, the jury finds one billion dollars.”

“Your Honor,” Audrey Metcalf said as she rose to her feet, “Ceventa gives notice of an immediate appeal!”

120

Sue Ellen and Josh walked up the steps to the Vaughan house. As they stepped inside, Sue Ellen called, “Bright, young, well, not so young, but good-looking lawyer requests permission to come aboard.”

Luke rounded the corner from his office and put his arms around her. Then he turned to Josh and looked him up and down. “Well, son, you don’t look any the worse for the experience.”

“No, sir. Matter of fact I’m kinda a celebrity at school these days. Where’s Samantha?”

“She and Brad are out in back, watching Whizmo make some toy for one of his grandkids. Come on out.”

“Wait just a minute, Josh. I want to say something to Luke,” Sue Ellen said. “Luke, I’m sorry I created such chaos during trial. I’m just glad it didn’t distract you. All I can say is that I’m a mother first.”

Luke hugged her again. “I’m the one who ought to be apologizing. We both made decisions that we thought were best for our kids at the time. We were all caught up in a nightmare. Fortunately, we survived. Now, let’s go outside.”

They found Samantha in her wheelchair, talking to Brad and Whizmo, who were seated on the steps to the garage apartment. Whizmo got to his feet as they left the house.

“Well, well,” Whizmo said. “Looks like the gang’s all here.”

“I’ve got some news,” Sue Ellen said. “Kingsbury’s being charged with Josh’s kidnapping. Those two goons turned on him. Boatwright is still barely alive, and they won’t admit to anything about him. The DA thinks he’ll be able to nail Kingsbury on that, too. We just don’t know if the charge will be murder or attempted murder. And the authorities in Maryland are close to indicting him for Ryan Sinclair’s murder.”

“Thank God,” Samantha said.

“Sue Ellen, if you’re through, we have some news, too,” Luke said. “Samantha, you want to tell them?”

Samantha turned her wheelchair so that she could see everyone. “It’s this way. This is all supposed to be confidential, but you’re part of my team. Ceventa offered me five million dollars to settle before the jury came back. I turned them down because they wanted it to be kept quiet.”

“Wow, sweetie, you’ve got some backbone,” Whiz said.

“By then, Dad had already told me that we were probably going to win. I wanted to send that message that Dad talked about in closing argument.”

“Go on, Sam,” Brad said. “There must be more.”

“Well.” Samantha smiled. “Just this morning Ceventa raised the offer to twenty million, payable immediately. Dad and I talked, and I decided to take it if they would issue a press release saying that they were withdrawing Exxacia from the market.”

“And they agreed!” Luke interrupted. “Papers are being drawn as we speak. Exxacia should be off the market by the end of the month. Thanks, everybody. We couldn’t have done it without each of you.”

* * *

It was the middle of the night when the phone rang. Luke shook the cobwebs from his head and answered.

“Luke, Clyde here. We’ve got a liver that matches. Dr. Stevens is waiting for you at his hospital in San Antonio. I’ll be by to pick you and Sam up in fifteen minutes.”

An hour later they were pushing Samantha through the emergency department door, where Shepherd Stevens met them with a smile on his face. “Samantha, there’s been a tragedy, but out of it comes hope for you. A twenty-year-old college student was killed in a traffic accident. When her parents realized there was no chance she would survive, they signed an organ donor authorization. You and she have the same blood type. You ready to go?”

“I’ve been ready for a long time now, Dr. Stevens.” Samantha smiled.

They wheeled Samantha to the operating room holding area where the transplant team had assembled. Luke kissed Samantha and said, “I’ll see you when you wake up.”

The surgery took four hours. Luke figured he must have walked ten miles up and down the corridor outside the operating room visitor area. Then the double doors opened and Dr. Stevens and Clyde stepped out. “Everything went fine,” Dr. Stevens said. “She’s going to do well. We’ve got her in the PACU, and she’s starting to wake up. You can come in.”

Luke followed the two doctors back into the recovery room. Samantha had already been extubated and was breathing easily. Luke sat beside her bed until she murmured, “Did it go okay?”

“Couldn’t have gone better, kiddo. You’ll be back to normal in no time.”

Then Samantha drifted off.

The next morning she was moved to a room. Luke came in, bringing yellow roses. “I seem to remember you bringing me some of these back in another life.”

Samantha smiled.

Luke sat beside her bed and took her hand. “I’ve been thinking, Sam. Next semester, if you want to return to A&M, I’m good for it.”

Samantha looked at her dad and squeezed his hand. “No thanks, Dad. I’m going to live at home with you until I graduate. Then I’m going to law school at Texas. I expect to be a junior partner in the Vaughan law firm in a few years.”

ALSO BY LARRY D. THOMPSON

So Help Me God

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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THE TRIAL
. Copyright © 2011 by Larry D. Thompson. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.