“No,” I reply sharply. “We’ll step out, thank you. While we’re gone, I suggest you revisit the FBI manual to refresh your understanding of Miranda rights.”
Once we’re out in the hallway, safely away from any recording devices that might be running inside the interview room, I look up and down the hallway of closed doors before I turn to Rick. “Is there something I should know? Drinking issues they’re going to unearth?”
“Nothing that isn’t bullshit,” Billy retorts angrily.
Rick’s flinty eyes narrow. “What the hell does that mean, Tony?”
“I’m just doing my job and trying to figure out what the hell is going on here, guys,” I reply while holding my hands up in a peacemaking gesture. I tilt my head back toward the interview room. “Those two are gnawing at a bone someone has tossed their way. Worse, they’re not affording you your basic legal rights. So far as I know, that’s not the FBI’s usual style. I’ll deal with that later. For now, I need to know if there’s something to what they’re digging into. Is there?”
Rick and Billy exchange a glance that sets off alarm bells.
“Out with it,” I say firmly. “There can be no surprises.”
“Our insurance company heard allegations from someone suggesting that Rick’s liver transplant was the result of alcoholism,” Billy says. “Our policy just came up for renewal and they canceled it. They told us that Rick’s supposed drinking is evidence of poor character and that we were negligent by hiding it from them.”
“Anything to it?” I ask Rick.
He shakes his head. I hold his gaze for a long moment to satisfy myself that I’m getting the truth. He stares back resolutely. So what is this about? I roll several possibilities through my mind. If the insurance company is claiming that it canceled because of a fraudulent application that didn’t disclose alcoholism, I can imagine the insurer trying to skirt liability claims arising from a legal claim of responsibility for the crash. These guys will be royally screwed if that scenario plays out. Where will Penelope and I get the money to go after the insurance company if it comes to that? It would cost many thousands of dollars to take on the insurer, and these two probably don’t have more than a few thousand lying around between them—if that. The color drains from their faces when I explain the possibility of their being found liable without insurance coverage. I cross my arms over my chest. “True or not, why the hell didn’t you tell me about this?”
“Because it’s BS!” Billy shoots back.
“And who might have put that bug in the insurance company’s ear?” I ask. “Did you ask yourselves that?”
Their blank expressions are answer enough.
“Figure it out,” I suggest. Then I wait.
“The insurance company knew about the transplant,” Rick finally says. “We made a disability claim on our key man disability policy for the time I was off. The same company holds all of our company policies.”
“Yet they didn’t question things when you made the claim?” I ask.
They shake their heads.
“Which suggests someone tipped them off to the alcoholism possibility fairly recently. Who might do that?”
They exchange a bewildered look.
Windy City, that’s who. I drop my shoulders and sigh heavily. “Okay, let’s set that aside and see what else our FBI friends have on their minds. Don’t answer a single question unless I give you the okay. Understood?”
They nod before I lead them back to the interview room.
My eyes cover both agents when we resume our seats. “Miranda?” I ask pointedly.
After King belatedly reads Rick and Billy their rights, I place my hands on the table and eyeball the agents. “Nothing said to this point counts for shit. Whatever recording you’re making of this better make note of that. Understood?”
Agent Johnson nods reluctantly.
“All right, then,” I continue. “We’re done with the transplant topic. What else is on your minds?”
Johnson turns his attention to Billy. “The subject aircraft was due for a hundred-hour inspection in August. Was that done and, if so, when?”
“Go ahead,” I tell Billy.
“I don’t have an exact date off the top of my head, but it was done around the middle of the month,” he replies.
“You sure about that?” the agent asks with a hint of skepticism.
Billy looks confused by the line of questioning. “Yeah.”
The agents remain silent, as if they’re feeding Billy plenty of rope to tie around his neck if he’s so inclined.
“We gave a copy of the inspection report to the NTSB,” he tells them.
“Yeah, we’ve seen it,” King says dismissively. “What about a billing statement to Windy City Sky Tours for the work?”
If they’ve seen the paperwork, why are they questioning it?
Billy and Rick exchange a look. I recall Ben Larose mentioning that an NTSB briefing mentioned a wing strut showing signs of failure, but hadn’t the spokesman also said they were unable to determine if the strut had failed before the plane hit the water? I probably should have explored that in more depth when Larose first told us about it. If I had, I might be better prepared for what I’m hearing now. I don’t like where this seems to be leading, but I want to know exactly where the FBI is going with this line of questioning. I decide to let it play out and nod at Billy to answer.
“We sent one,” he says.
“Have you got a copy of their payment?” King asks.
Billy frowns and looks to me. I nod again. There’s a note of exasperation in his voice when he replies, “No, we always have to chase them for payment.”
“We’re lucky if they pay any sooner than sixty days,” Rick adds. “As if we can afford to float credit to a bunch of millionaires on a regular basis.”
My mind has shot ahead during this exchange. Is someone suggesting R & B is guilty of fraudulent record keeping? Is that why the FBI was called in? The questioning is suggestive of neglect or worse. My clients either said something to the NTSB investigators that
