“Why?”
Tapping his pen against the index cards, he answered, “Because if there’s paperwork around that documents your belief that Gerry Fletcher was hurting himself because of depression, it’s going to look bad for us.”
“He wasn’t depressed,” Megan said. “He was scared. I only used that as a wedge to get inside the family.”
“Okay, but it may come back to haunt us. And that brings us to another issue. To the jury, it’s going to look like you were tampering with the evidence. Setting Boyd Fletcher up to fall. The jury may view the case as tainted from that point on.”
“Boyd Fletcher was beating his son.” Megan couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “It was the only thing I had to use.”
“I understand that. Really, I do. I know that you did the best you could, Megan. I know that. But what I also know is that the opposing counsel is going to have a field day with the ammunition you’re inadvertently giving him.”
Megan took a deep breath and released it. “If you’re thinking that maybe this case is getting shaky and you want out, Lieutenant, all you have to do is say so.”
Benbow looked at her in surprise. “That isn’t what I’m saying.”
“It sounds like it from here.”
“Megan, I’m on your side. I believe in you.” Benbow’s voice softened. “I wish I had more time to prepare, that’s all.”
His meaning wormed through her angry, conflicted thoughts. “They’ve set the preliminary hearing?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three days from now.”
“What?” Megan struggled for a moment to remember what day it was. “We’re going to start on Monday?” Saying that seemed to make the whole ordeal even more fearful.
“Yes.”
She took a deep breath.
“Scared?” Benbow asked.
“Oh, yeah. Terrified. I really thought you’d have been able to quash this thing before now.”
“I tried. It just won’t go away.” Benbow hesitated.
“Say it,” Megan said. “You’ve already thought it.”
He looked at her.
“Body language,” Megan said. “I’m a trained counselor, remember?”
“I suppose so.” Benbow wiped at his face tiredly. “This should have gone away, Megan. Really, the charges should have been dropped. The provost marshal’s office should have conducted a cursory investigation, churned some paper, and left you alone.”
“Then why isn’t that happening?”
“Because General Braddock can’t let the situation go away now.”
“Why not now? What’s changed?”
“Boyd Fletcher’s new attorney won’t let the general drop the charges.”
“This new attorney is going to be involved with the hearing?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Boyd Fletcher’s new attorney is a civil suit lawyer who specializes in claims against the military.”
“Civil suit?” Slowly, with terrifying certainty, Megan understood the ramifications of the attorney’s chosen venue.
“Yes. Fletcher’s attorney plans on suing you and the army, Megan. It’s not part of the criminal trial the military is putting you through. He’s going to sue you for damages for the time Gerry was held at the hospital without his parents’ knowledge.”
“Why?”
“Because the army has deep pockets,” Benbow stated. “Fletcher’s specialist, an Atlanta attorney named Arthur Flynn, has been successful in a number of cases against the military.”
Megan thought she remembered the man’s name from the news, but she couldn’t recall the story or stories.
“Flynn’s got a big interest in the army’s case against you. General Braddock can’t let the provost marshal’s office dismiss your case because it will look like the post is trying to cover up wrongdoing on their part.”
“Then why press charges against me?” Megan asked. “If they find me guilty, won’t that make them guilty, too?”
“Not necessarily.” Benbow shifted, looking terribly young and uncomfortable. “If they find you guilty of dereliction of duty and move on to prove that you were unfit that night, the army can possibly distance themselves from you. They can show good faith that they are dealing with the fact that you were unfit for your job and that they dealt with the matter as soon as it reached their attention. That might be enough to keep the army, Fort Benning, and—probably most of all—General Braddock out of the legal storm that’s headed this way.”
“That’s what General Braddock wants to do? Distance his post from me?”
“That’s what I’ve been told.”
“Not exactly an exhibition of loyalty, is it?”
Benbow sighed. “No.” He paused. “The thinking is that you’re civilian, Megan. Not military personnel. You’re an acceptable loss. The military is all about acceptable losses.”
“What about the ‘never leave a man behind’ way of thinking?”
“General Braddock doesn’t feel that applies to you.”
“So what happens if this attorney Flynn successfully sues me?”
“Let’s not think that way.”
“I have to.”
Benbow hesitated. “If Fletcher wins his suit against you, you and Goose could lose everything. The retirement you guys have put back. Property you own. And if he gets a judgment against you, you could end up paying him for the rest of your lives.”
Megan tried to understand all the ramifications. How could everything she and Goose had worked for be taken from them so easily? It wasn’t fair. But she knew judgments like that happened. She’d seen court cases in the news where events had gone exactly as Benbow was describing them.
Only those people deserved what they got. Didn’t they? Megan forced herself to calm down. “Even if Fletcher got all that, Goose and I aren’t rich. There’s some money, enough to make our lives comfortable, but not enough to interest somebody like this Flynn.”
“Flynn considers you a stepping-stone. If he gets a judgment against you, he gets a shot at the army. He’s going to try to prove that the post was culpable in the civil matter as well. If Fort Benning hasn’t built a strong enough case against you, he might make it stick.”
“And if Flynn is successful against me and the army? What does he get?”
“I don’t know.” Benbow shrugged. “That’s what everyone at the post—and higher up in the military circles—is concerned about. With the present hysteria in the country, with so many people feeling that the disappearances are somehow related to what the American military has done globally, or with President Fitzhugh’s current political stance, a civilian jury could find
