Chapter 9
A dense fog engulfed Matt as he walked toward the sound of ocean waves crashing onto the shore. The familiar salty odor of the sea filled his lungs. He was a child walking alone along the beach he loved so much. There was laughter ahead which made him quicken his pace. He stopped and looked at his grandmother and grandfather sitting in front of a raging fire. His grandmother saw him.
"Matt, where have you been? I made a hot dog for you. It's in the picnic basket."
"Thanks. . . . Hey grandpa, I think I saw some grunion coming in down the beach a ways."
"Oh, really?" he said and looked down at his watch. "They're not due until seven forty-five."
"Maybe they're going to come early."
"Well, get your hot dog and then go back to the beach and keep a lookout. Take your brother with you. Yell when you see them."
"Okay."
Matt got his brother, Ryan, who was building a sand castle, and took him down to the water's edge. Matt watched as the sun dipped beneath the sea and it began to get dark. Soon the beach was lit only by the full moon and a sky full of radiant stars. Suddenly the sand began to sparkle as thousands of shiny grunions flooded the beach.
"Grandpa! Come quick! They're here." Matt said as he began to jump with joy.
Grandpa and Grandma hurried down to the shore with several gunnysacks in hand.
"Quick! Grab a gunnysack and fill it up!"
Matt and Ryan reached down and tried to pick up the grunion, but they were so slippery they couldn't catch them. Suddenly a wave crashed in front of them and knocked them over.
"Be careful kids," Grandma said as she helped Matt and Ryan back up on their feet.
Grandpa had his gunny sack half full of fish which made Matt mad since he hadn’t been able to catch any.
"Ryan, hold the bag for Matt so he can use two hands."
Working as a team, the two children began to fill their sack more effectively. Then just as quickly as the silvery fish had come, they were gone.
"Wow, that was the best catch I think we've ever had," Grandpa said.
"God, what are we going to do with all those fish?" Grandma said.
The scene faded and Matt found himself alone in the darkness. It was quiet except for the faint sound of a TV in the distance. Suddenly he was jolted from his unconsciousness. He picked up his head and looked around. The room was spinning. He struggled to his knees and crawled over to the end table. Placing his hand on the table, he pushed himself to his feet. The objects in the room began to come into focus. After taking a deep breath he walked over to the window and opened the drapes. The bright sunlight stung his eyes. Quickly closing the drapes, he looked down at his watch and saw it was 11:13.
"Jesus! I've been out for over twelve hours."
The phone rang. Matt looked at it but didn't move. It rang again, so he struggled to his feet and slowly made his way over to it and picked up the receiver.
"Hello,” he whispered.
"Matt, where in the hell have you been," Lynn said.
He rubbed his aching forehead, struggling to think. "Unconscious, I think."
"Unconscious?"
"Yeah, Jason and I went to Louie's last night and some broad insisted on having a drink. I told her no but she wouldn't take no for an answer. I think she slipped me something. . . . Oh, God! I bet she robbed me."
Matt reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He quickly searched it.
"Huh. Everything's here. I don't know what's going on."
"You didn't sleep with her, did you?"
"No! Of course not. I tried to get away from her but whatever she gave me knocked the shit out of me."
"Ohhh! You better be telling me the truth."
"I wouldn't lie to you. You know me better than that. I could kill Jason for deserting me."
"Why did he desert?"
"He saw some blond and got a hard-on. They hit it off and he was gone. . . . I didn't have a ride home, so I was going to take a cab. This broad seemed to know who I was and insisted on taking me home. I was so out of it I had no choice but to go with her."
"You better go see the doctor. I'm coming home on the first flight. Can you pick me up?"
"I think so. Everything seems to be coming into focus now."
"Take a hot shower. That should help. I'll call you back after I call Southwest and get an arrival time."
"Okay, I'll be here."
"You better be. . . . God, I go away one day and look what happens. Jesus!"
Matt got in the shower. He suddenly felt hungry. After he was done, he went into the kitchen and made himself some toast and coffee. Then he went outside and got the newspaper. The bright sunlight nearly blinded him so he quickly went back inside. After putting some butter and jam on his toast, he sat down to eat and read the newspaper. He picked up his coffee and took a sip as he unfolded the newspaper. The picture on the front page jolted him. Hot coffee splattered on his hand.
"Ouch! Shit!" he said as he starred incredulously at the photo. It was he and Monica in front of Louie's Place. The caption read: "Bankruptcy attorney Matt Coleman, photographed with a prostitute, Monica Sommers, outside Louie's Place in Addison. Was he helping her file bankruptcy? Mr. Coleman has been unavailable for comment."
Matt dropped the paper just as the phone rang again. He went to the wall phone and picked it up.
"Hello."
"Mr. Coleman, this is Randy Bealle from the Dallas Morning News. We wanted to ask you what you were doing with a hooker last night?"
"I didn't know she was a hooker. She just drove me home. That's all. Nothing happened."
"Do you really expect anyone to believe that?"
"Yes, it's the truth. . . . Goodbye," he said and hung up the phone. It immediately rang again. He looked at it a moment and then answered it.
"What do you want?"
"Hey, don't bite my head off. I didn't take that picture."
"You might as well have, you son of a bitch! Why did you have to desert me last night?"
"I'm sorry. I had no idea something like this would happen. What did happen, anyway?"
"I got set up! Some sleazy bastard hired a hooker to drug me so I could be led in front of a photographer."
"Damn. Is there anything I can do?"
"Yeah, see if you can find her. I want to know who put her up to this."
"How am I going to do that?"
"Her picture's in the paper. Her name is Monica Sommers. Find her for me. It's important."
"Okay, I'll try, but I'm no detective."
"Just do your best."
"Okay, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to the doctor. Maybe he could do some tests to prove I was drugged."
"Good idea."
"I'll see you later."
"Bye."
Matt checked in with the admissions clerk at the Medical City Hospital Emergency Room. His doctor had told him to meet him there as his office was closed on Saturdays. As he waited, he began to worry about Lynn's reaction to the newspaper photograph. He hoped she wouldn't see it before he picked her up.
The nurse called his name so he got up and walked over to her.
"Yes, I'm Matt Coleman."
The nurse gave him a hard look and then said, "Dr. Monroe is here. He told me to put you in an examining room."
"Good, thanks."
Matt followed the nurse into a treatment room. She told him to sit on the examination table and wait for the doctor. Matt read the chart on the wall depicting the upper respiratory system. Then he scanned the contamination warning on the trash can. He tapped his foot against the table leg for a while and then read a brochure about the latest in antibiotics. Finally, the door flew open and Dr. Monroe appeared.
"Matt."
"Hi, Doc."
"What's this about being drugged?"
"Did you see the newspaper this morning?"
"Yeah, what were you doing with a hooker?"
"She cam
e on to me at Louie's and slipped me some kind of drug. You've got to do some tests or something to prove what I'm saying is right. If you don't, I'm screwed."
"Okay, I'll get a urine sample and do a blood test. If you were drugged there should be traces of it."
"Good. How long will it take?"
"The test results should be back in a day or two."
"That long?"
"Yeah, the lab has a big backlog. It will be a while before they can get to it."
"All right, I guess I can fend off the press for two days. Call me as soon as you get the results."
"I will. I'll have the nurse come in and get some blood," the doctor said and then handed Matt a paper cup. “In the meantime, give me a urine sample."
"Sure. Thanks for your help, Doc."
"No problem. I just hope the test proves your theory."
"Huh. Tell me about it."
Matt barely arrived at the airport before the flight from Oklahoma City landed. He waited nervously as the passengers began to disembark. When he saw Lynn, he smiled and waved. She hurried over to him and they embraced.
"God, am I glad to see you," Matt said.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah, the doctor said I was fine. He's doing some tests to see what drug the bitch gave me."
"Huh. How did it make you feel?"
"Like I was completely drunk but not sick drunk, you know. It felt kind of good actually. I don't know how I kept her out of our apartment but I do remember shutting the door in her face."
"You better not be lying to me."
"Honey. I swear to God."
Lynn took a deep breath as she looked at Matt warily.
"I've got some more bad news."
"What?"
"This whole thing was a setup to embarrass me."
"What do you mean?"
"Somebody hired this hooker to drug me so she could drag me in front of Louie's to be photographed."
"Photographed? What are you talking about?!"
Matt handed Lynn the newspaper. She quickly opened it and let out a gasp.
"Oh God, no! Matt, look at this. What will people think?"
"After the test results come back, we'll have a news conference and explain how I was set up. Everything will be all right."
Lynn began to cry. "Why is this happening? Our life was so perfect."
"I know. But we'll get through this."
"Who would do something like this?"
"I don't know. I doubt if it's the State Bar."
"I hope not."
"Tom told me I was making a lot of enemies. I guess he knew what he was talking about."
"We can't let them beat us," Lynn said. "This really pisses me off. You know it?"
"You and me both."
"They think they can scare us into backing off. They must be really worried about what we’re doing. The bastards."
"Who are they?" Matt asked.
"I don’t know—bankers, finance people."
Matt said, “Yes, but there are a lot of people who fit into that category but I don’t think they are linked together in any manner."
"True, it’s probably some officers or directors at a bank or finance company who has or will soon be hurt by our campaign.”
"Maybe Tom is right, we should back off awhile and let things die down," Matt said.
"No, we can't give in. Let’s go on the offensive."
"Huh?"
"It's time to open offices in Houston and San Antonio," Lynn said.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, if they think they can intimidate us they're in for a rude awakening."
Matt laughed. "Where did I get you? You've got more balls than a Marine drill sergeant."
"Thank you. I love you too."