Jack measured his response, trying to be polite. “Rene, I appreciate your concern for the family. But I have no intention of filing yet another frivolous lawsuit against a media giant whose television program allegedly provoked some loser to commit a violent act. Those claims just don’t cut it.”
“I hear you,” she said. “And clearly, Faith Corso was talking about a claim along those lines when she broke the news that the Laramore family was considering a lawsuit against BNN.”
“I’m aware of that report,” he said, stating the obvious. “But I can’t talk to you about what the family is considering.”
“I understand. I didn’t come here to find out what’s under consideration. I’m here to tell you what you
“Fair enough.”
“I don’t think it was a coincidence that BNN was the first to report that the Laramore family is planning to sue them. They know what they did wrong. Faith Corso just got out in front of the story, trying to obscure the fact that the cause and effect is much tighter than anyone would ever suspect. Much clearer than BNN would like anyone to believe.”
“Meaning what, exactly?”
Rene leaned closer, folding her hands atop the table, locking eyes with Jack. “Meaning that in both a medical and legal sense, BNN is directly responsible for what happened to Celeste Laramore.”
“That’s easy to say. But proving in a courtroom that BNN was the legal cause of Celeste’s coma is the Achilles heel in the case.”
“I didn’t say it would be a breeze. But I can help you prove it.”
“How?”
Her eyes narrowed, her stare tightening. “Do you think a television network could have a problem if its news-gathering tactics interfere with a hospital’s ability to treat an injured patient?”
“Possibly,” said Jack. “It might depend on what those tactics are.”
“Fair point,” she said. “But listen to what I’m saying, Jack. Because this time, BNN went
Chapter Fifteen
Jack reached Cy’s Place in time to catch the 7:10 P.M. start of the Marlins’ game on TV. Theo wanted to hear all about his meeting with Rene. Jack gave him next to nothing, sharing instead nearly everything else he’d done since. An hour wasted at the courthouse on a calendar call. Another hour driving Abuela to a friend’s house for the night so she wouldn’t be alone. A useless follow-up with Detective Rivera, who was still without leads on Jack’s attacker. A phone call to Andie.
“Andie who?” said Theo.
“Very funny,” said Jack.
The conversation seemed to stick on Andie, mostly Jack’s doing, which prompted Theo to render more pithy advice on “temporary” versus “permanent”-pop psychology on the order of Charlie Brown, Lucy, and “THE DOCTOR IS IN.” A lonely customer a couple of stools away overheard and joined in.
“I know the feeling,” he said as he loosened his tie. He had out-of-towner written all over him, a businessman who had wandered over from one of the Grove hotels. “Just got divorced myself.”
Jack nodded but said nothing, wanting no part of that conversation. Theo overrode him.
“Okay, I’ll bite,” said Theo. “What’s your story, pal?”
He leaned closer, resting one elbow on the bar, as if he were about to divulge the secret formula for Coca- Cola. “My wife called me a wimp.”
Jack blinked, not quite comprehending. “You divorced your wife for
“No. She divorced
Jack had an inkling, but it was Theo who said what they were both thinking.
“Because you
“No,” he said, smiling awkwardly, not sure it was a joke. “I had knee surgery. Torn ACL. Hurt like you wouldn’t believe. Did I get even one minute of sympathy from my wife? Hell, no. All I ever heard from her was that I don’t know what pain is because I’ve never had a baby.”
“She has a point,” said Jack.
“No, you’re both wrong. Just because I’ve never felt that kind of pain doesn’t mean I’m not in pain. That’s like saying I’ve never had the pleasure of sex because I’ve never had sex with a porn star.”
“You told her that?”
“Damn right.”
“So, lemme get this straight: You made a point about pain that disrespects women by drawing an analogy to sex that totally disrespects women. Is that basically the picture?”
The man fell silent, searching for a response. Finding none, he slapped a ten-dollar bill on the bar and walked away, muttering something to the effect of, “Everybody takes that bitch’s side.”
Theo cleared away the empty beer glass. “I was wrong.”
“About what?”
“What I said at your house this morning. About you being single. You’re sounding more married all the time.”
“You agree with that guy?”
“I’m just saying.”
Theo brought him a fresh bowl of mixed nuts. Jack cherry-picked the cashews and the almonds while watching the Marlins load the bases but fail to score in the bottom of the first inning. His cell rang during the commercial break, and he practically fell off his stool as he reached for it, hoping it was Andie. It wasn’t.
“Guess who.”
He recognized Sydney’s voice in an instant. Jack closed out the bar noise with a finger to his ear. “Where are you?”
“None of your business.”
The threat from his attacker was still fresh in Jack’s brain:
“Actually, it is my business.”
“Jack, I need help, and I can’t talk long, so please just listen to me.”
The reception was poor, and the bar noise didn’t help. Jack hurried to the exit and found a quiet spot on the sidewalk beside a five-foot-tall fiberglass peacock. The extra few seconds was time enough for him to think better of responding to her jab in kind. “All right, I’m listening,” he said.
“I need to know if you really are the lawyer for the Laramore family.”
“They asked me to represent them. I haven’t made a decision yet.”
“Faith Corso said you’re planning to sue BNN. Is that true?”
“If I agree to be their lawyer, that decision will be between the Laramore family and me.”
“You
“Sydney, even if I end up not taking their case, my conversations with the Laramores are still privileged. I can’t talk about this.”
There was a brief silence, but Jack suspected that Mount Sydney was on the verge of eruption. Her response was at least an octave above shrill: “How could you do this to me?”
“It’s not about
“Yes, it is! It’s me who people turn on their TVs to watch, not you. I’m the one people talk about. I even had an agent pick me up in his airplane.”
“Right. And how did that work out for you?”
“It’s been hell, okay? Complete hell. I’m done with him.”
“What a shock.”
“Stop treating me like I’m some kind of joke. The fact is, we were
