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“You have no idea how complicated these cases are, or how hard it is to prove wrongful death,” Wendy said, her voice terse. “This firm wasted tens of thousands of dollars investigating that woman’s claim. What we’ll recover is a pittance of what we spent. You can go on back to the bullpen now, Drue. I’ll cover the phones for the rest of the day.”
Drue walked over to the seating area and picked up the abandoned art supplies. She scooped up the markers and looked down at the top piece of paper. The little girl had drawn an undersea tableau featuring a mermaid with long, flowing yellow highlighter hair, a grinning crab and a jolly yellow flounder. On the bottom, she’d signed her name in the tiniest letters possible.Aliyah.
When she got back to her cubicle, Drue pinned the drawing to the wall above her computer screen.
11
“Okay, team, listen up.” Wendy stood at the head of the long table in the law firm’s windowless conference room. She wore a sleeveless, form-fitting white dress and sling-back nude stilettos that, Drue thought, must be excruciatingly uncomfortable.
“Today is day one of our new elder abuse ad campaign. Last night, duringWheel of Fortune, we started airing the new commercials. Those will be on heavy rotation for the next six weeks. We’ll supplement with radio commercials, and of course, print and social media, with a heavy emphasis on Facebook advertising. We’ve also bought three billboards, one over near the Bay Pines VA hospital, the other on I-75, north of the first Tampa exit, and the third on U.S. 19 in Clearwater.
“Last night’s shift experienced a huge volume of calls spurred by the new campaign, and I’m expecting the same today,” Wendy went on. “We know from our market research in Arizona, California and, of course, Florida that juries are more and more willing to award huge settlements for these nursing home cases, which also means insurance companies are being pressured to settle quickly, and out of court. So I’m giving all of you a new case quota.We want to see three confirmed ‘viable’ cases from every member of the team this week. And for every prospective client who does go ahead and sign with us, that team member will be entered into a drawing for a one-hundred-dollar Visa gift card!”
“Awesome!” exclaimed Ben, who was, as usual, sitting beside Drue.
“Okay, then,” Wendy made a sweeping motion, “everybody get out there now. I want to hear those Justice Line phones ring!”
“Good morning.” Her first caller, Drue thought, sounded surprisingly articulate. “I believe I might have an excellent case against the assisted living facility where my mother has been living for the past two years.”
Drue went down the questionnaire, filling in the potential client’s information, her excitement mounting. She had a referral!
“It’s probably financial abuse more than anything,” the woman said. “You see, my late father was meticulous in his financial planning. Mother has a set amount of money in her bank account, and up until now that’s been more than sufficient. But lately, we’ve noticed that her spending habits have gone through the roof. It’s only May, and she’s already run through all her money for the year.”
“Okay,” Drue said. “Do you believe she’s being coerced, or somehow blackmailed by one of the employees? Is it embezzlement? Or possibly identity fraud?”
“Nothing like that,” the woman said. “It’s the damned Home Shopping Network. I’ve asked, I’ve put it in writing, I’ve even gone to the director of the home himself, but they refuse to do anything about it.”
“About what?”
“The Home Shopping Network! I want it blocked. Or disabled. Or something. Her entire suite is full of Capodimonte porcelain shepherdesses and sets of nonstick copper cookware. Cookware! She didn’t cook when she had a kitchen. And don’t get me started on the electronic toothbrushes that arrive every month like clockwork. Mother wears dentures! Now they’re shipping the stuff to my house. My garage is full of this crap. It has to stop!”
Drue looked at the other cube rats, all of them busily typing away.
“I guess I don’t understand how that constitutes abuse. Or neglect,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “Maybe you could just have a talk with your mom? Explain that her spending has gotten out of hand? Take away her credit card? Or, I don’t know, remove the television?”
“I took Mother’s credit card away and she called her attorney and directed him to have me written out of her will,” the caller said. “And did you just say take her television away? You have no idea what you’re suggesting,” the woman said. “That television is her best friend. Her only friend. I just want them toblockthe damned HSN.”
Drue took a deep breath. “All right. Well, I’ve got your information, and I’ll, uh, forward that to the appropriate associates.”
She disconnected, switched her phone to Off and headed for the break room.
Jonah was standing with his back to the counter, sipping from his mug of coffee. He spotted her before she could slink silently away. They were the only ones in the room.
“How’s it going?” he asked. “Sign up any cases yet?”
“Not really. You?”
“I’ve got one really solid prospect. The caller claims his grandfather’s nursing home was negligent because they allowed the old guy to have unsupervised visits with his wife,” Jonah said.
“I know I’m going to regret asking this, but how is that negligent?”
Jonah sniggered. “It turns out the granddad is quite wealthy, eighty-two and frail, and the wife, it turns out, isn’t legally his wife at all, but a twenty-eight-year-old ‘masseuse’ whose brother is a maintenance worker at the home. Seems the maintenance worker struck up a friendship with the patient, who expressed his, ah, longing for female companionship. Apparently some money changed hands and a date was arranged.”
“I’m guessing the date did not include scripture readings?” Drue asked.
“You are correct,” Jonah said. “And to make sure the patient and hisbogus wife were afforded privacy, the maintenance worker stood guard outside the room. Eventually things got a little rowdy, and the patient actually fell out of bed and fractured his hip.”
“You’re making that up,” Drue said, struggling to maintain a straight face.
