Chapter 23
Jodie Marshall
It was several weeks later and Robert Goldberg had finally agreed to let Jodie take Herb Stein’s deposition. Jodie had arrived early at Goldberg’s Oak Lawn offices and was setting out her notes, legal pad and mentally preparing herself to get started. The court reporter was setting up her machine at the head of the long oak table. At the appointed hour Goldberg and Stein walked in the conference room.
“Jodie,” Goldberg said like he was her long lost friend. “It’s great to finally meet you.”
“Yes. It’s nice to put a face with a voice,” Jodie replied forcing a smile. She gestured toward her client. “This is Bob Larson.”
“Nice to meet you,” Larson said as they shook hands.
Goldberg turned to his rotund client. “This is Herb Stein. I guess you two have met.”
Larson nodded to Stein who didn’t smile or offer to shake hands.
“Alright. Let’s get this over with,” Goldberg said as everyone took their places.
The court reporter asked for agreements and Jodie and Goldberg stated that they had none and that the deposition would be taken in accordance with the rules. This meant objections would be reserved for the judge to determine at the time of trial. The court reporter swore Stein in and the deposition began.
“Mr. Stein. Please state your full name for the record.”
“Herbert Lewis Stein.”
“How old a man are you?”
“Fifty-seven.”
“Are you married?”
“Yes.”
Jodie went through a long list of personal questions designed to uncover his family history, education, training, and current occupation. Then she began asking him about his business.
“So, how is it that you became the owner of the Plano Jewelry Mart?”
“I had been working at Dallas Gold & Jewelry for ten years and I decided it was time to start working for myself instead of making my boss rich. So, I started looking around for jewelry stores that were up for sale. About six months into my search I saw an ad for the Plano Jewelry Mart. The owner had died and his estate was selling the store “as is.” The owner had been sick for several years before his death so he had really let the store go. The inventory was low and he’d done little maintenance on the place in years, so I made a small offer citing the low inventory and poor condition of the store. Much to my surprise the estate accepted the offer and I was in business.”
“When did you purchase the store?”
“That was in June 1991.”
“So, you’ve owned the store for about six years?”
“That’s correct.”
“What do you sell in your store?”
“Fine jewelry, watches, and accessories.”
“Do you deal in gold and silver?”
“We buy and sell gold and silver jewelry but not coins or bars.”
“What about loose diamonds?”
“We trade in loose diamonds on occasion.”
“Describe to us your security system at the Jewelry Mart.”
“It’s a state of the art burglar alarm system. All the doors and windows have alarm sensors and we have motion detectors within the store. If any alarm is tripped our security company calls the police.”
“Have you had a lot of problems with burglaries and robberies?”
Stein shrugged. “We’ve had our share.”
“Do you carry insurance to cover theft?”
“Of course.”
“Who is your insurance carrier?”
Stein looked at Goldberg. “How is this relevant?”
“Go ahead and answer. The judge will strike anything irrelevant at trial.”
Stein turned back to Jodie. “Travelers.”
“Have you had other carriers in the past?”
“Yeah. Old Republic and State Farm.”
“Why have you switched carriers?” Jodie asked.
“Why does it matter?”
“If you don’t mind, I’m asking the questions.”
“Objection form,” Goldberg said.
Jodie smiled at Stein. “You still need to answer the question.”
Stein shook his head. “Sometimes we shop around to see if we can get a better deal.”
“Isn’t it true you’ve been canceled several times?”
“Yes. As soon as you file a claim some companies will cancel you. That’s happened a time or two.”
“Or three? Hasn’t your liability insurance coverage been canceled three times in six years?”
Stein shrugged. “If you say so.”
“Well, I’m asking a question. Was your insurance canceled three times in six years?”
“That sounds about right.”
“And what was the reason for the cancellations?”
“Like I said as soon as you file a claim some insurance companies will automatically cancel or terminate the policy at the end of its term.”
“How much were you compensated for your first loss?”
“A hundred grand or so?”
“Could it actually be about $132,000?”
Stein shrugged. “Well, if you say so.”
“Was that the retail value or wholesale?”
“Wholesale or our cost actually.”
“And was the second loss $145,000, eighteen months later?”
“That sounds about right.”
“And then a third loss of $160,000?”
“Okay.”
“Did you provide each insurance carrier with proof of your costs or did they rely on your affidavit as to values?”
“A lot of our stuff is acquired through trade-ins or purchases from probate or bankruptcy estates so we can’t always calculate a cost on each item.”
“So the insurance company takes your word for the value of an item when it is stolen and you have to file a claim?”
“Usually. Sometimes they reject portions of the claim if we can’t prove the value of a specific item.”
“Do they ever question whether an inventory item even existed?”
Stein shrugged. “No. How could they unless they inventoried the store just before the robbery?”
“So, they pretty much have to take your word for it.”
“Of course.”
“So, they took your word that you lost inventory valued at $450,000 and wrote you checks totaling that amount.”
“Yes, for all three claims.”
“Did they reject any portion of your claims?”
“Yes, they knocked about twenty percent off, actually.”
“So, it’s a negotiated amount. You file a claim and then they offer to pay so much for the loss and you go back and forth until you reach a compromise, right?”
“Something like that.”
“So, knowing that it’s a negotiation, is it your standard practice to inflate your claim so when you come to an actual amount it is close to what is fair?”
Stein looked at Goldberg. Goldberg shrugged. “Actually I don’t negotiate the claim. I have an expert who handles it.”
“Who is that expert?”
“Walt Snider.”
“How did Mr. Snider become an expert on negotiating insurance claims?”
“By being a claims adjuster for five different companies for a combined total of twenty years.”
“I see. So he knows the claims process inside and out?”
“Yes. You could say that.”
At this point Jodie took Stein through the robbery minute by minute and his story was substantially the same as other witnesses had related it. Then she asked him about the vault.
“Now, you’ve testified that Michael Mahoney’s main objective was to get into your vault, right?”
“Yes.”
“But he never got in the vault due to the intervention of the defendant Bob Larson, did he?”
Stein looked over at Larson without smiling. “No, he did not.”
“What was in the vault?”
Stein didn’t respond.
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“Objection,” Goldberg said.
Jodie frowned at Goldberg and then said, “You may answer.”
“What difference does it make?”
“I don’t have to argue that now. The judge will decide relevance later. Just answer the question.”
“Loose diamonds, cash, a .38 revolver, my passport and other important papers.”
“Is that it?”
“That’s all I can remember right now.”
“Were there any drugs in the vault?”
Goldberg let out a sigh and shook his head.
“No,” Stein replied sternly.
“Have you ever been arrested?”
Stein looked at his lawyer. Goldberg nodded. “Yes. I was arrested for DUI once.”
“Were you convicted?”
“Yes, I served thirty days in county jail.”
“Any other arrests or convictions?”
“No.”
“Did your store make a profit in 1996?”
Stein glared at Jodie. “No.”
“How much did you lose?”
“About $40,000.”
“So, how many unprofitable years have you had in the six years you’ve been in business?”
“Six.”
Jodie raised her eyebrows. “So, you’ve never shown a profit the entire time you’ve been in business?”
“Well when you get cleaned out by thieves every other year it’s hard to be profitable.”
“So, you’re saying the robberies have hurt your business?”
“Yes, because every time I’m robbed I’m out of business for three or four months until I settle the insurance claim. And when I’m out of business I lose customers. It’s been a real struggle just to survive.”
“Alright,” Jodie said. “In your notice of deposition was attached a subpoena ducus tecum requiring you to bring documents and tangible items to this deposition. Did you bring anything responsive to that subpoena?”
Goldberg slid over a pile of documents to Jodie. Jodie looked through the documents briefly and then asked. “Is this everything you have?”
Stein nodded.
“What about the video tapes?”
Stein looked at Goldberg. Goldberg sighed, reached into his briefcase and pulled out a video tape. Jodie extended her hand and Goldberg gave it to her.
“Alright. Pass the witness.”
“We’ll reserve our questions for trial,” Goldberg said as he started gathering his things together to leave.
Jodie put the documents and video into her briefcase and stood up. Larson stood up shaking his head.
“You got something you want to say to me?” Stein spat.
“Yeah, you’re an ungrateful son of a bitch!” Larson replied bitterly. “I risked my life to help you, you bastard!”
Jodie put her arm on Bob’s shoulder. “Settle down. Yelling at each other won’t help.”
Goldberg smiled. “Alright. That’s enough.”
Jodie took Larson’s arm and escorted him out of the room. When they got out of Goldberg’s offices he said, “It’s a good thing there was a table between us or I’d of beat the shit out of him.”
“You can’t do that at trial, Bob. That kind of outburst could seriously prejudice your case. You never know how a jury will react to something like that. If Stein says something like he did just now, just ignore it. He’s baiting you.”
Larson sighed. “Okay. It just makes me so mad that I’m having to go through this crap.”
“I know, but I think we should be able to turn the jury against him at trial. Just keep your cool.”
When Jodie got back to the office she eagerly watched the video tape but didn’t see anything on it that contradicted the witnesses she’d interviewed. She was going to watch it again but realized it was time for their third aerobics class with Evelyn Sanders. At their first two sessions Jodie tried to get to know Evelyn and thought she’d made progress. Today she wanted to get them in a social setting away from the club where she could bring up the murders. After their class Jodie went up to Evelyn.
“That was a great workout. I really feel good.”
Evelyn smiled. “That means you’re starting to get into shape.”
“You think? I hope so. . . . Hey. Brandon and I are going to get some Italian for dinner. You want to come along?”
Evelyn thought a moment then shrugged. “Well, ordinarily I’d be eating with Chris but he’s tied up tonight. So yeah, why not?”
“Good. We’ll meet you outside after we take a shower.”
“Sounds good,” Evelyn said with an appreciative smile.
After they’d showered Brandon and Jodie went outside to wait for Evelyn. Five minutes later she walked out and joined them. They got in Brandon’s car and took off on their way to Emilio’s Italian Restaurant. As they drove into the parking lot Evelyn’s face paled.
“We’re going here?” Evelyn asked.
“Yeah. They’ve got really good food,” Jodie said.
“Didn’t you hear about the murders?”
“What murders?” Jodie asked feigning ignorance.
“Four people were poisoned here two or three months ago. Three of them died.”
“Oh, yeah. I heard about that. This is the place?”
“Yes. I was here with my boyfriend. I saw the whole thing. It was horrible.”
“What happened?” Jodie asked.
“We had just been served our orders when the waiter seated the four victims. After they’d been served drinks and rolls he brought them appetizers. Then he went around and asked them if they wanted Parmesan cheese. They all said yes and soon everyone was eating. The first hint that something was wrong was when one of the ladies took a bite of her appetizer. I’ll never forget the look on her face. Then a minute or two later they all started getting sick. It was horrible.”
“What did you and Chris do when people began getting sick?”
“Chris had just left to go to the bathroom so he missed the whole thing. When he got back to the table he said we should leave.”
“So you didn’t tell any of this to the police?”
“No. Chris has a record, so he avoids cops at all costs.”
“So, did you see the waiter put poison in the cheese?”
“No. I didn’t see anything suspicious like that.”
“Did you see them put the bowl of cheese on the table?”
Evelyn thought a moment. “No it was there when we sat down, I think.”
“Did you leave your table for any reason before the incident?”
“Well, I always go to the ladies’ room when we first get to a restaurant to freshen up and make sure my hair isn’t a mess or my makeup smudged. You know.”
“Sure, I do the same thing. So, it could have happened while you were away in the restroom.”
“Sure, but then Chris would have seen it and he didn’t mention anything to me.”
“Right,” Jodie said looking at Brandon. He raised his eyebrows. “So, should we go somewhere else to eat?” Jodie asked.
“Yes, if you don’t mind. I know it won’t happen again but I just wouldn’t be comfortable here.”
“That’s fine. We’ll go somewhere else.”
Jodie wanted to ask more questions but felt if she did Evelyn would get suspicious. When they got back to the office she was feeling pretty good about what she’d learned and went in to Paula’s office to tell her about it.
“I wonder what Hunt did while she was in the rest room?” Paula said.
“I think he put the poison in his bowl and then made a quick switch. It’s not likely anyone would have seen him.”
“Well, you better call Agent Lot and tell him. I’m sure they are going to want to talk to her.”
Jodie left to go call Agent Lot. She knew that if Evelyn refused to cooperate she or Brandon could be called as a witness as to Evelyn’s admissions. Normally that kind of testimony would be hearsay but there were exceptions that might apply in this situation. She
was glad she’d brought Brandon along so he could be the one to testify if need be. If she had to testify she might be excluded from being a co-counsel at trial which she didn’t want to happen. Agent Lot wasn’t in when she called, but he called her back an hour later.
“I’ve been talking to Evelyn Sanders,” Jodie advised him.
“Good. Did she have anything interesting to say?”
“Yes. She claims not to know anything about the murders but she did say she left Chris Hunt alone at the table before the victims were seated. So he had the opportunity to lace the bowl with rat poison.”
“Good. I’ll go pay her a visit. Where can I find her?”
“President’s Gym on Forest and Preston. Don’t tell her I’ve talked to you.”
“No. I won’t.”
“Brandon can testify if you need him to at trial to relate her story.”
“Excellent. We may have to use him if she lawyers up.”
Jodie wanted to ask Agent Lot how their investigation was coming along but she knew he couldn’t talk about it. “If I find anything else out, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks,” Agent Lot said and hung up.
Jodie sat back in her chair and tried to relax. It had been a long day but all in all she felt like she’d accomplished a lot. She started gathering her things together to go home when Maria’s voice came over the intercom.
“Carl on line two.”
Jodie smiled and picked up the telephone. “Carl?”
“Jodie. Didn’t you have lunch today with an Evelyn Sanders? The ex-Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader?”
“Yeah,” Jodie replied tentatively.
“I just heard it on my radio. She’s been found murdered.”
“Murdered?”
“Yes. I’m afraid so. She’s dead.”