CHAPTER 19
THE ACCIDENT
When I got up the next day, I was excited about going to work for the first time in weeks. I had been so lonely without Stan it would be great having him back. I hoped he had missed me as much as I had missed him. It was a special day and I wanted Stan to notice me, so I searched through my closet for something memorable. After awhile I narrowed it down to a pinstriped suit with satin lapels and mini skirt, and a two-piece red crepe suit, both with plunging necklines to remind Stan I could be so much more than simply his partner. It was a tough decision but I finally went with the pinstriped suit so my intentions would be less obvious. I finished it off with a dangling crystal necklace that would draw Stan’s attention right where I wanted it.
I was too keyed up to eat so I settled for a light breakfast of cantaloupe and orange juice. Then I put the final touches on my makeup and left. As I drove my black BMW out of the parking garage I was expecting to see my two bodyguards but they weren’t on duty. I looked at my watch and realized it was only 7:30. I was thirty minutes ahead of schedule. I figured they were probably still at Dunkin Donuts.
As I turned onto Keller Springs Road toward Preston Road, a jogger came out of nowhere and ran in front of me. I slammed on my brakes and swerved to the right but it was wasn’t enough. There was a loud “thud” and the lady went rolling across the roadway. As I came to a halt, I opened the door and rushed over to the young Hispanic lady and knelt down beside her. My heart was pounding. She was moaning and rubbing her left hip.
“Are you okay? . . . I’m so sorry. I never saw you.”
“My leg, it’s killing me. Why did you run me down?”
“I didn’t—”
A car stopped and two men jumped out. They rushed over and started talking to the woman in Spanish. To my shock, they picked her up and carried her to their car.
“What are you doing? She shouldn’t be moved! “ I yelled.
“It’s okay, senorita. We’re going to take her to the emergency room.”
“No, let’s call an ambulance. You may make her injuries worse.”
The two men ignored me and put the lady into the back seat of their car. I was beside myself, but there was nothing I could do. As the car started to leave I said, “What’s her name? Where are you taking her?”
Again they ignored me and drove away. Suddenly I was alone. I didn’t know what to do. Should I call the police and tell them what happened? They’d think I was nuts since I didn’t know the victim’s name or where she had been taken. Damn it! For several minutes I stood in front of my car and pondered the situation. Cars drove by and people stared at me standing on the side of the road dressed to kill. Finally, I let out a frustrated cry of despair and got back into my car. As I drove off I noticed blood on the pavement where the woman had fallen. When I got to the office, I rushed inside and grabbed the telephone book.
Because it was the closest to the accident scene, I called the emergency room at Presbyterian Hospital to see if anyone had been admitted. No luck. Then I called Brookhaven and Parkland Hospitals. Still no luck. I got up and started pacing back and forth when I noticed a police car pull up out in front of our offices. Two cops got out and walked over to my car and carefully inspected it. They lingered and my curiosity got the better of me so I walked outside to talk to them.
“Hello, ma’am.” One of them said. “Is this your car?”
“Yes, it is. Is there a problem?”
The officer nodded. “Yes, ma’am. It looks like this vehicle was just in an accident.”
“Well, it was. I was just trying to find out what hospital they took the lady who I hit to.”
The officer frowned. “The ambulance took her to Parkland.”
“Ambulance? But some men took her to the hospital. They didn’t tell me where they were going so I came here to call and find them.”
“Have you been drinking, ma’am?”
“No! It’s eight o’clock in the morning.”
“Well, we just left the scene of the accident and the lady was still lying in the street. She said you hit her and then ran off.”
“What! No way! That’s a lie.”
The officer rolled his eyes at me. “Listen lady, there are two witnesses who saw you take off just after you hit her. I’m afraid you’re going to have to come with us.”
Adrenalin flooded through my system. I felt light headed and grabbed the officer's arm to steady myself. What was happening to me? I would never hit someone and run. This had to be a setup—a scam of some sort. The officer gently steered me to his car and put me in the backseat. I felt embarrassed and looked around to see if anyone had seen me be arrested. Fortunately no one seemed to be around. Then I saw Stan’s car coming toward us. He slowed down and frowned when he saw me in the squad car. He parked the car and came over to the officer. They were close enough so that I could hear the conversation.
“What’s going on here? Why do you have Miss Waters in your car?” Stan asked.
“And who are you, sir?” the officer asked.
“I’m her partner, Stan Turner. We’re attorneys.”
The officer raised his eyebrows. “Attorneys. Huh. . . . Well, your partner is being taken in on suspicion of hit and run. She ran down a jogger about a mile from here.”
“What? She’d never do that. She used to be an assistant DA for christ sakes.”
The officer shrugged. “Well, I got two witnesses who saw her hit the lady and then drive off. I thought maybe she was drunk or on drugs but she seemed clear headed. I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Can I have a word with her before you take her in?”
“Just two seconds. I’m not supposed to allow it, but since you’re her lawyer I guess it will be okay.”
Stan thanked the officer, walked over and stuck his head in the window.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m fine. Stan, I didn’t do it. It’s some kind of scam.”
Stan nodded. “I know. Just keep your mouth shut and I’ll be right over to the jail to bail you out.”
“Oh, Stan. I can’t believe this. After everything that’s happened and now this,” I moaned, and then started to cry.
Stan took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “It’s gonna be okay. Just hang in there. I’ll have you out in a jiffy.”
“Call Bart if you need any help,” I said as Stan started to leave.
He nodded and walked back to the officer.
“Where are you taking her?” he asked.
“City jail,” the officer replied.
Stan thanked the officer and went inside our offices. The officers got back into the squad car and we drove off. They took me back to the scene of the crime where several crime scene investigators were already at work. I saw the two men who I had seen earlier talking to a detective. The car stopped and one of the officers went over to the detective. They talked a few minutes and then he came back to the car.
“Okay, we’re going to take you in now. I talked to Detective Besch and he confirms that both the victim and two witnesses confirmed you left the scene of the accident.”
“That’s a bunch of crap,” I said. “They took the woman and left me here alone.”
The officer shook his head and we were off. I had been to Dallas City Jail dozens of times, usually conferring with the arresting officer to determine if we should prosecute an offender. It felt so strange to be on the other side of the fence. I prayed Stan or Bart would be there so I didn’t have to be processed into the system. That would be so humiliating, and I didn’t know if I could handle it. Fortunately both Bart and Stan were there at the intake desk when they brought me up. Bart came over to me.
“What in the hell happened?”
“Bart, you’ve got to believe me. I didn’t do anything wrong. There’s something fishy going on.”
“Yes, that’s what Stan said.”
We embraced and then Bart said, “I’m afraid you’ll have to be booked, but by the time they are done wit
h you Stan will have your bond arranged. I’ll stay with you each step of the way. You should be out of here in an hour.”
“Thank you, Bart. I’m so embarrassed. How did this happen?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll get to the bottom of it,” Bart said and then gave me a hard look.
“What?” I said.
“You usually dress like that for work?”
“Ah. . . . Well, not usually. . . . But I had a luncheon appointment with an important client.”
Bart raised his eyebrows but let my flimsy explanation slide. By the time I had been booked, Stan’s bondman showed up with a $10,000 bond. After completing a little paperwork I was released. With all the stress of the arrest and booking I wasn’t feeling so hot, so I asked Stan to take me home. He agreed and we arrived at my condo about noon.
“I’m sorry we weren’t able to work on the Dusty Thomas case today. I really wanted to spend the day on it, but I’m in no condition to work now,” I said.
“Don’t worry about it, Paula. I totally understand. Are you going to be all right?”
“Well I’m worried about the lady I hit. Would you call the hospital and see how she’s doing?”
“Sure, where did they take her?”
“Parkland, I think. . . . I just want to take a hot shower and unwind. I’m so stressed out I can hardly think.”
“Go take a shower and relax,” Stan said. “I’ll call you later.”
“Well, I really don’t want to be alone right now. Why don’t you come up? You can order us a pizza and call the hospital while I take a shower. I feel so dirty after being in the jail all morning.”
Stan shrugged and said, “Okay, I’ll stay a little while but I’ve got piles of work waiting for me back at the office.”
“I know. I really appreciate you being with me today. It has meant a lot to me.”
“No problem. I’m glad I was here when this happened.”
I escorted Stan up to my condo and showed him to the den where the phone was located. He picked it up and started dialing. My bedroom was just off the den and with the door open he had a clear view of me inside. I started to close the door but then changed my mind. After kicking off my pumps I carefully removed my suit and nylons. I could feel Stan’s eyes on me as I removed my bra and panties. When I glanced up at him, he turned his head. I smiled, went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Thirty minutes later I put on a bathrobe and joined Stan in the den.
“I feel so much better, ” I said.
Stan smiled and said, “Good. The pizza should be here any minute. I hope you like pepperoni.”
“Sure, that’s fine. . . . Did you call the hospital?”
“Yes, she was treated for cuts and bruises, a concussion and some broken ribs. She’s been admitted and is expected to be released tomorrow.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” I said.
“No, it sounds like she should fully recover.”
“I’m just so confused,” I said. “They took her to the hospital. I was standing next to my car all alone. I’m not crazy.”
“So, what do you think we have here, an insurance scam?” Stan asked.
“I don’t know. The whole thing was so bizarre I don’t know what to make of it.”
“It’s not unusual at all. Insurance companies pay out millions of dollars every year on bogus claims.”
“But why frame me for hit and run?”
“So they can press criminal charges, file a big lawsuit, and force you to pay them a bunch of money. Most people don’t want to be dragged through the courts so they settle even if they did nothing wrong.”
“Not me, I won’t pay those bastards a dime.”
“Good. I don’t think you should. I’ll have Monty do a background check on all three of them. Maybe they’ve done this scam before. If so, he might be able to find some other victims.”
“I hope so. I’d hate for this to drag on and on.”
“Just as a precaution, you better notify your insurance carrier of the incident. They probably will deny coverage based on the facts alleged, but they will still have to defend you in any civil litigation which will save you a lot of money.”
“Okay, I’ll call them tomorrow.”
The doorbell rang and Stan went to the door and got our pizza. He took it to the kitchen table while I got us some wine to drink. I felt so safe with Stan with me in the condo I didn’t want him to leave. We talked and reminisced about old times for quite a while and in the process consumed quite a lot of wine. After we moved back into the den, Stan gave me a detailed account of his escapades in Ecuador.
“God, you’re so lucky to be alive,” I said. “When are you going to wire General Moya the money?”
“Tomorrow, I guess. I’m just worried about the FBI though. They’ve been watching me pretty close and when I wire the money they’re going to know about it.”
“What do you think they will do?”
“I don’t know, but it could open a can of worms.”
“Can you get the money to General Moya any other way?”
“No, the wiring instructions are all I have. I wouldn’t know where to send a cashier’s check.”
“Maybe you should just tell the FBI you’re paying a ransom. That way they won’t go ballistic when you wire the money.”
“If I have to, I will. But I don’t want to compromise Tex if I don’t have to.”
“I’m so worried, Stan. What’s going to happen to us next?”
Stan smiled and took my hand. “Don’t worry, it will all work out. You just have to have faith.”
I snuggled up close to him and put my head on his shoulder. He put his arm around me and squeezed me gently. I wanted him so badly, but I knew I couldn’t be too pushy. This was the closest I’d come to seducing him and I didn’t want to blow it. We sat there quietly for several minutes then I couldn’t stand it any longer so I leaned over and gave him a kiss. He didn’t push me away.