by Don Potter
“Will you swear to that?”
“Absolutely.”
“Sorry to be so rough on you, Harriet. Ray affectionately put his arm around her. “I had to determine what you truly believed and figured the best way to do it was to push you a bit. The DA’s troops will certainly come on strong when you’re cross-examined. By the way, do you know the name of the bar tender on duty this afternoon?”
“Ed, I think that’s his name. Right, JJ?”
“Yeah, he came on at four just before you got there. But Alfredo was serving up the drinks when I started drinking about one.”
“What?” Ray exclaimed. “Why didn’t you say you were drinking all afternoon before having more drinks with Harriet?”
“Because nobody asked me.”
“What do we know about this Alfredo guy?” Ray asked after tracking through the details about the afternoon for the fifth time.”
“Who cares? He’s just the lunchtime bar tender.” JJ said.
“This man could be your devil or your angel, so you better care. If he can pinpoint the number of drinks you had, his testimony could put you behind bars or let you walk away scot-free.”
“But he wasn’t there when I left, so he can’t really say how many I downed.”
“JJ, have you considered the fact that the DA as well as jury members can do simple math? All they have to do is take the number of drinks you consumed between one and four this afternoon plus those downed after Harriet arrived and divide them by the number of hours you were at the bar to determine the average number of drinks per hour. Then factor in your weight and they’ll have a good idea as to whether you were drunk or not.”
“Ha, that’s were they’ll be wrong. Several people bought me drinks, so that won’t appear on my tab,” JJ said with a knowing smile.
“And who poured the drinks that other people bought?”
“Oh, yeah. Alfredo, huh?” The smile quickly turned into the look of a scared little boy who was about to cry.
Adam Gold, the publicist, arrived in a huff. This was his usual entrance, since he was always overwhelmed with too little time to accomplish all that was on his plate.
“That’s enough from you, JJ. Time to talk about managing the news, now that our publicity man is here.” Ray waited for Adam to get his pad and pen out before starting. He provided a brief overview and launched immediately into his game plan.
“As I see it, we’ve got to make JJ the victim in this case.”
“That’s going to be damn near impossible based on what you said happened.” The publicist shook his head. “JJ killed a kid today while under the influence and took off without knowing if the boy was dead or not. How does he become the victim?”
“Either you’re tired or you weren’t listening to me, Adam. The boy’s gone and that’s too bad. But JJ has been suffering from terrible migraines, so we can’t really blame him. Can we?”
“That may be how you see it. However, this story will be a tough one to sell to the media. JJ has too much history with drinking and drugging. He’s also had a few incidents with his driving. We’ve gone to the well too often with flimsy excuses. So I expect the press to be doubtful at best and some of them won’t buy any of it. If that’s the case, they’ll be down-right hostel.”
“Doc can back up this story because it’s true. Remember, this is America. A man is innocent until proven guilty. Develop the story and we’ll all stick to it. Once his adoring fans buy it, we’re home free – at least in the court of public opinion.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“Get on your laptop and bat out the talking points. Then write your basic news release. After we agree on it, call the friendliest reporters you’ve got and plant the story with them. Tell ‘em they’re getting it first. There’s less chance these guys will edit your stuff if they handle it as breaking news. After that, blast the stuff out to all media outlets, and let the chips fall where they may. I think we’ll be fine.”
“Whatever you say. You’re calling the shots, Ray.”
“It was fitting and touching.” Joan tried to comfort her sister as they passed the front gates of the cemetery following the small family service in the chapel and again at the grave site. It was only a week since the accident.
“How come Mr. Hollywood is free to go wherever he pleases while my poor Robby is trapped in his grave and I walk around with a broken heart?”
“His day will come. In the meantime, you have got to get your mind off of Jarrod James and back on taking care of yourself.”
“I am. I am.”
“Then why do I hear you pacing the floor every night?”
“Just not used to the bed in the guest room.”
“Really? Haven’t heard that complaint before.”
“I’m not complaining. It’s probably time for me to go home. There are bills to pay and I can’t afford to lose any clients.”
“Why don’t you go back to work if you think you’re up to it? But stay with us for a little longer. The grieving process is not over yet.
“It never will be when it comes to Robby.”
“I understand.”
“Sorry, Joan, but I don’t think you do. Burying a child is not the natural order of the universe. Part of me died with Robby. And that part will never be alive again, not until justice is served.”
“I was thinking, maybe you ought to visit the doctor and get some sleeping pills. And something to calm you down too.”
“Don’t need ‘em. I’ll be all right. Thanks anyway.”
“You’re getting lots of media coverage, JJ. And the bottom line is not all that bad.”
“Adam did a good job.”
“He did a good job of implementation. But if I hadn’t developed the strategy and made him stick with it, you’d be whistling a different tune,” his attorney said.
“Come on, Ray. Cut the guy some slack.”
“If I backed off he won’t try as hard as he does to avoid my wrath. All I’m saying is it takes a great attorney to make a publicist good.”
“Whatever you say. I just don’t want Adam having a heart attack or something over this thing. That’s all.”
“Don’t worry about it. He knows how the game is played.”
“Can you do something about the mob of reporters and paparazzi camped in front of my house?”
“Hey, you’re news. Besides, you’ve been through this before.”
“Never this long. It’s been two weeks.”
“This is the first time you killed someone.”
“Sometimes you’re so insensitive, Ray.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. It’s part of why you pay me. You can be nice, even caring to the world while I’m the one that takes the arrows of resentment. This arrangement works pretty well for all concerned.”
“Except for the mother of the boy I hit.” JJ could not bring himself to say that he killed the child. That would be an outward admission of guilt and an inward confession of a sin, something that was a carryover from his Catholic upbringing.
“Get off the cross, JJ, we need the wood.” Ray knew it was a bad joke but he did not want his client slipping into the role of victimhood, even though that was precisely what he wanted the media to report in order to sway public opinion away from the dead boy and have them feel sorry for JJ who was a victim of circumstance. He knew it was a difficult task but believed it was the right approach.
“You never answered my question.”
“What question?”
“About the media being outside day and night.”
“Oh, I thought I had. Anyway, it works to your advantage. We can drop information on them when we want as long as it’s something new. Today, for instance, we’re going to have Dr. Fisher tell them that you have been responding favorably to the new drug he has been injecting you with to keep those migraines under control.”
“I hate those needles twice-a-day. The stuff makes me feel a little weird.”
“Good. That’s m
eans the shots are working.” Ray laughed.
“Is this charade doing any good with the DA’s office?”
“Hard to say. The tide rises and falls everyday down there. There’s not a lot of evidence. The case is pretty straight forward. But they jump on each rumor as if it were true. So far, my sources tell me, there’s nothing for them to hang their hat on.”
“Have they interviewed everyone from the bar?”
“All except Alfredo.”
“He’s the one that knows how much I drank before Harriet got there.”
“Seems his dear mother, down in Mexico, became quite ill and he left to be with her the day after the accident. No one knows the exact town where mama lives or when her devoted son will return.”
“How did you pull that off?”
“The night manager is a friend of mine. He told me Alfredo was single and lived alone in Mar Vista. Someone from an outside firm I use visited the man before anyone even knew he was working the lunch shift. Alfredo didn’t like his hours. He’d rather work nights. So it didn’t take much money to convince him to head south for a few months and not to come back to LA before he spends all his dough. He’ll check in with us when the time comes.”
“You could go to jail for that.”
“I’m two-steps removed from any association with Alfredo. It’s a good thing we did this, because he told my guy’s guy that you had at least ten Jack Daniels’s on the rocks that afternoon. So don’t be acting holier than me. His testimony alone could put you in prison.”
“What else are you holding back from me?”
“Look, JJ, I don’t want to burden you with the details of how I’m keeping you out of the slammer. If you know more than you should, the DA can whittle it out of you in a deposition or on the stand.”
“You mean what I don’t know can’t hurt me?”
“Exactly.”
“But I don’t want to commit more crimes in order to walk away from the accident charges.”
“That’s why you must trust me to provide information only on a need-to-know basis.”
“Guess I’m in too deep to say no.”
“That’s the smartest thing you said today.”
“The case is not getting any traction, Ms. Kingman,” the assistant district attorney said.
“You mean in the papers and on TV?” Laurie asked knowing that the media was being more than sympathetic to Jarrod James.
“That too. But I was referring to the court case.”
“He admitted to killing my son and leaving the scene. What could not be going well?”
“No witnesses have come forward to state that James drank too much, and there’s no laboratory proof that he was drunk. Indications are that he has a real migraine condition and that’s what impaired his driving and affected his judgment after the accident.”
“You mean murder. He was drunk, killed Robby and ran away afterward. If you can’t find anybody to testify against James, maybe I can.”
“Please, Ms. Kingman, don’t insert yourself in the investigation. It won’t help and could prove to be detrimental.”
“Detrimental to you or to me?”
“Certainly not to Mr. James.”
“I want him to pay for what he did. If you can’t or won’t get the evidence needed to put him away then I have no choice but to act on my own.”
“Wait until we have a complete review of the facts before jumping into the case. At that time you can decide what to do.” The assistant DA hoped this would keep the distraught mother from making things worse but doubted his words would be heeded for long, if at all.
“When can we have such a meeting?”
“Within a week. Ten days tops.”
“All right. I won’t take any action until we discuss the case in a week or so. But no more delays and no more doubletalk.” Laurie did not intend to wait. She would talk with a private detective about doing an investigation the way it ought to be done. Maybe she’d do some snooping around herself.
“Thank you Ms. Kingman. You made the right decision.”
“Yes, I think I did.”
The detective agency office did not look anything like the ones Laurie Kingman had seen in the movies. The one she chose was located in an old Hollywood office building. After that the similarities ended. To the casual observer, it could have been the home of a small accounting firm, an insurance sales branch or a dating service. The furnishings included lots of metal file cabinets, a few particleboard desks and several uncomfortable chairs.
“How may I help you, Ms. Kingman?” Howard Walker, the man whose name was on the door, asked.
“Start by calling me Laurie. I’m sick and tired of the police and the district attorney’s people addressing me in such a formal way.”
“Fine, Laurie. Call me Howard.”
“Okay, Howard.” She went on to explain the accident and the pending case in complete detail and as accurately as possible. Laurie also inserted her opinions into the conversation, which she did with some frequency.
“First, I want to go back over what was done by the cops and the DA. This means talking to everyone they spoke with and seeing if we can wake up their memories. Hopefully we get a nugget or two that could prove useful. Another reason to interview them again is to find out if anyone knows someone else we should talk with.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We let them know we are not the police or working for the DA. Rather we work for the mother of the dead child. This approach tugs at the heartstrings and could produce unexpected results.”
“Yes, I see.” Laurie wiped away the tears that were beginning to form in the corners of her already red eyes.
“What we get from this effort will determine the appropriate next steps in the investigation. I must say the authorities frown on bringing us in. They look at it as trying to discredit their work and throw up roadblocks whenever they can.”
“They didn’t mince words with me. They said no outside help and for me not to get involved.”
“We must ask you not to try and help. Only professionals should engage in the investigation. Can you agree to that, Laurie?”
Her response was a reluctant nod.
“I believe we can plead this down to a suspended sentence at worst. Or if I’m as good as I think I am, you may get away with probation,” Ray said.
“What’s the difference, as long as I don’t go to jail.” JJ was making a statement rather than asking a question.
“I won’t try to explain the legal ramifications to you. But in essence, you’re right. No prison for JJ.”
“So I’ll be totally free.”
“Not totally. You can expect some community service.”
“You mean picking up trash at the freeway ramps while wearing a Cal Trans jumpsuits? That’s not for me.”
“Playing the humility card may gain sympathy from your fans and the public in general. Harriet thinks it could be a career booster.”
“Fine let her do it.”
“Hasn’t this ordeal affected you in any way?
“Sure. My car insurance rates are going to go up.”
Ray Seymour was a cold, tough attorney and brutal negotiator. He was a street-wise guy and worked his way through a third-level law school to become a sought after attorney by the bad boys and girls in Hollywood. Ray knew how to deal with the fragile egos of celebrities - many of whom demonstrated sociopathic tendencies. After representing Jarrod James for the better part of a decade, he concluded that JJ was a man with enormous personality and very little character.
“Besides paying more for insurance, you can expect a wrongful death law suit.”
“Let’s get ahead of this by offering the Kingman woman a cash settlement as soon as you get me cleared of the hit-and-run rap.”
“How much of a cash settlement were you thinking?”
“As little as possible.”
Ray’s cell phone erupted into the Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. He felt the familiar “Da-d
a-da-dah” performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra provided important drama to every incoming call while making the attorney appear to have a degree of sophistication. It did not accomplish either goal, but no one dared to tell that to him.
“We have a situation,” he said to JJ and turned off the phone.
“A problem?”
“Depends on how you look at it. I like to think of it as an opportunity.”
“Whatever you call it, does it need fixing?”
“It might require an explanation. We thought there was no one who saw you both come in as well as leave the bar on the day of the accident. That was until now.”
“Didn’t you talk to everyone on the duty roster for the day?”
“We covered those on the inside. There’s a parking concession that employs the valets. The bar manager told me there’s a different team for the daytime and another for the evening. Shifts change at four as well.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“On the day in question, one of the evening attendants called in sick. The one who parked your car at one o’clock was also the one who gave it back to you at six.”
“What’s that prove?”
“To some it may suggest that you spent the entire afternoon at the bar and were drunk when you left.”
“Did the parking attendant say I was drunk?”
“Conveniently, he can’t remember anything except that you picked up the car, which was parked in the premier spot in the front of the lot. But if the other side gets wind of this, it could push the case closer to a trial than a settlement.”
“Use your imagination, Ray.” JJ laughed. “Don’t you remember I was talking about redoing my home? So I dropped off the car and walked over to Beverly and Robertson to get some ideas at interior design showrooms.”
“If so, somebody would have recognized you.”
“No I was only window shopping.”
“How long did you do that?” Ray played into the sham.
“Probably a couple of hours.”
“That’s good enough for now.”
“Ya know, maybe I ought to find a role as a celebrity lawyer or a high-end detective. Remind me to mention this to Harriet.”