In Sickness and in Death (12 page)

He sought consolation in his father’s company. “I just don’t know what more I can do, Dad,” he lamented. “It seems as if whatever message I send to her, she does the opposite.”

His father sighed. “We all have free will, Brian. Regardless of the influences of others, we always have to make our own decisions. If she’s choosing to pursue a path different than what you would like for her, you just have to accept it.”

“I know. It just makes me feel so – sad – I guess is the best way to put it.”

“Yes, it’s painful to watch someone you love make serious mistakes. You try to help and it does no good.” He sighed. “Then, I guess, you just have to let go.”

“I guess,” Brian agreed, his head hung low.

His father smiled. “But look on the bright side. Your mother seems to be doing much better. She seems much more determined than I’ve seen her since this whole thing started. She’s not nearly as depressed and weakened as she was there for a while.”

“That’s good. Do you know if she’s gone to see a lawyer yet?”

“I don’t think so, but I’m sure she will call him any day now.”

Brian kept closely tuned in to the vibrations of his mother and checked in on her frequently. About two months after her luncheon with Adrienne, he found her entering the offices of the law firm where Bob Price worked.

When she was shown into his office, the lawyer rose from his desk, wearing a bright smile, and with his hand extended.

“Vivian, it’s a pleasure to see you. How have you been?”

“Oh, I’ve been doing all right, Bob, but . . . Well I came to see you because I think I may have a problem.”

A frown creased his forehead as he waved her toward a chair. “Have a seat. How can I help you?”

Vivian paused. “I guess you know about Brian.”

“A fine young man. How’s he doing?”

Tears welled in her eyes, and the lawyer leaned forward with an expression of concern. “Vivian, what’s wrong?”

“Well,” she said slowly. “Several months ago, Brian suddenly disappeared and was nowhere to be found. His office hadn’t heard from him and his girlfriend kept insisting that he was just busy.” A tear slid down her cheek. “I called the police to file a missing person’s report and, after several days, they called to tell me they had his
death
certificate
!”

“Oh, no. What’d happened?”

“I still don’t know for sure.” She slipped a tissue from her purse, wiped her eyes and blew her nose. Then she took a deep breath and continued, “Anyway, a couple of months ago, his girlfriend called me and suggested that we have lunch together. I met her and asked – no, demanded – that she tell me what had happened to Brian.”

“What did she say?”

“She told me how he had been in this horrible traffic accident and . . . and his body had been mangled beyond all recognition.” Fresh tears flowed and Mr. Price handed a box of tissues across the desk. After a few moments, she regained her composure. “Then she told me how Brian had always wanted to look after me and that she felt it was her duty to carry out his wishes. She said that she had found a terrific investment broker and, if I would sign my CDs over to her, she would invest the money for me and I’d earn a much greater return.”

“And you did that?”

Vivian nodded. “I did. They were worth two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. You see, I was so upset by what she’d told me about Brian that I just wasn’t thinking straight.”

She paused and then looked him directly in the eye. “I think she just took my money.”

“Why do you say that?”

Vivian shrugged. “If she had invested it
for
me, I should’ve heard something from the investment firm by this time and I haven’t heard a thing. I’ve tried calling every firm in the phone book, but none of them will tell me anything unless I have an account number. And of course,
that
I don’t have. I thought maybe you could . . . I don’t know, have their records subpoenaed, or something. Find out somehow what happened to my money.”

Price withdrew a yellow pad from a drawer of his desk and plucked a pen from the holder. “Now,” he said, poising the pen above the paper. “What do you know about this young woman?”

“Not much, actually.”

“Name?”

“Adrienne Porter. She works at Central Hospital. She’s a nurse there.”

He looked up from the pad. “Home address?”

“She and Brian were living in a condo . . . somewhere on Elmwood Drive. I’m afraid I don’t remember the exact address. I was never there.”

He nodded. “I’m sure we can find that out from the hospital. Is there anything else you can tell me?”

Vivian slowly shook her head. “Not that I can think of right now.”

“Okay, if you think of anything else, give me a call. Meanwhile, let me do a little digging and see what I can come up with. We have some very good investigators that we use on occasion. I’m sure they can find out what we need to know.”

“I’m . . . I’m just sure she’s stolen my money.”

“If that turns out to be the case, we’ll certainly take whatever steps we can to get you justice.”

Vivian rose from her chair and extended her hand. “Thank you so much, Bob. I appreciate anything you can do.”

He accompanied her to his office door. “Don’t worry. I’ll be in touch.”

As Vivian left the lawyer’s office, Brian paid a visit to his father.

“She did it, Dad. She went to see your lawyer.”

“Good. What happened?”

“Not much that I could tell. She told him what had happened and he took down whatever information she was able to give him about Adrienne and said they’d look into it. I guess now all we can do is to wait and see what happens.”

His father nodded his agreement. “We’ll just have to keep checking on her.”

“I intend to do that every day. I hope she can get her money back.”

A couple of weeks later Brian popped in on his mother and found her on the phone with Bob Price.

“Anyway,” the lawyer was saying, “the investigators found out that the death certificate reads ‘natural causes’ and she is still living in the condo she’d shared with Brian and driving a new Corvette.”

“Yes, Brian bought that car last year.”

“We felt that she was living far beyond the means of her nurse’s salary . . .”

“Yes,” Vivian interjected. “Apparently Brian was having some trouble meeting their bills, even after he got that nice promotion.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I remember when we all had dinner together last Christmas. Adrienne wanted to take a cruise somewhere. She explained how Brian really needed a vacation and he kept saying that they couldn’t afford it. I offered to lend him the money for the cruise, if he really needed a vacation, but he said that he
didn’t
need a vacation and that Adrienne just wanted to take a cruise. He insisted that the matter be dropped.”

“That’s interesting,” Price said thoughtfully.

“I’m sorry I interrupted you, Bob. What were you saying?”

“Oh, yes, I was telling you about her lifestyle. So, I decided to have her bank records subpoenaed.”

“What did you find out?”

“Interestingly enough, she deposited nearly two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in her account just a couple of days after you said that the two of you had lunch together and you signed over the CDs.”

“So that proves it! She did steal my money!”

“Well, it convinced
me
that that’s what happened. Now I’ll just have to convince the DA.”

“But that shouldn’t be a problem. It’s all right there.”

“Not quite. The only thing that proves is that she deposited approximately the same amount of money that you say you signed over to her. She can still say that you gave it to her.”

“But that’s a lie! Why would I ever
give
her that kind of money?”

“What we have to prove is that you were under duress.” He paused for a long moment and Vivian waited. “Tell me, when you first found out about Brian, were you under a doctor’s care?”

“Why, yes, I was. I had such a hard time dealing with the fact that he was gone.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m still having some difficulty.”

“I understand. Who was the doctor?”

“I went to Benjamin Hoag. I’ve gone to him for years.”

“Did he give you any medication?”

“Oh, yes, several things – an antidepressant, I think some kind of tranquilizer or nerve medication. I really don’t know what all.”

“Do you think he’d be willing to testify to your mental state at that time?”

“Oh, I’m sure he would – if you think it’s necessary.”

“It could be,
if
the DA finds our evidence convincing enough to take the case to a Grand Jury. How about the bank officer you saw that day you went in with Adrienne?”

“Mr. Morgan?”

“So he knew you before that day?”

“Oh, yes, I’ve dealt with him ever since I’ve been at that bank.”

“Well, Vivian, I think we may have the beginning of a strong case. You take care of yourself and I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks, Bob.” Vivian hung up the receiver with a smile and, humming under her breath, went into the kitchen to fix a cup of tea.

When Brian entered the courtroom he first noted that Adrienne, looking as beautiful as ever in a dark, fitted suit and white blouse, sat next to a distinguished-looking man, probably in his early forties, at a long table along the left side of the room. They faced the jury box where thirteen people of varying ages were already seated. Directly in front of the railing was another table with two gentlemen that Brian didn’t recognize.
Must be the
District Attorney and possibly an assistant.

The hallway door opened and Bob Price entered, taking a seat in the second row of benches.

The DA murmured something to the man beside him and rose from his chair. He came through the gate and leaned toward Mr. Price. Brian glided closer so that he might overhear their conversation.

“Is your client here?”

Bob nodded. “She’s waiting in the witness room.”

“So, she’s ready to testify?”

“If that’s what it takes, but it’s really going to be hard on her.”

The DA nodded his head firmly. “Tell her I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s any way around it. I think she should go on first and then the others can simply corroborate what she has to say.”

“Okay, I’ll tell her.”

The DA returned to his seat and, a moment later, Bob Price slipped out of the courtroom with Brian following.

As the attorney took the chair next to her, Vivian smiled wanly. Brian noticed that she looked tense and nervous. “They want you to take the stand right off,” he told her. She nodded and, with a faint smile, said, “I guess it’s better to go ahead and get it over with.”

“Exactly and, once you’re done, you can go on home if you want.”

“I think I’ll probably stick around – just to see how it’s going.”

“It’s up to you.”

Brian left them and returned to the courtroom. The attorneys sat shuffling through papers at their respective desks; the various members of the jury glanced around the room, their gazes lingering on the various players, while Adrienne surreptitiously surveyed them.

All eyes turned toward a door in the back of the room that suddenly opened and the bailiff entered. Standing straight as an oak, he bellowed, “All rise!”

Obediently, everyone in the courtroom stood and waited while the Judge entered and took his seat behind the bench.

At the Judge’s request the Court Clerk stood and read the charges that had been brought against Adrienne. “. . . charges that the defendant, Ms Adrienne Porter, did fraudulently obtain moneys from an individual citizen for her own benefit.”

Brian’s mind wandered while the jury was sworn.
Fraud. That’s what they’re
charging. I guess that’s true when she told Mom she’d invest the money for her.
The Judge instructing the jury recaptured his attention.

“Please remember that under our laws, everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It is the duty of the Prosecutor to convince you that it is most likely,
beyond a reasonable doubt,
that the defendant actually committed the act of which she is charged. If you are so convinced, then you must bring back a verdict of guilty. If you are not so convinced, you must find the defendant not guilty.”

The Judge turned toward the Prosecutor. “Mr. District Attorney, are you ready to proceed?”

The DA rose from his chair. “We are, Your Honor.”

“Very well. You may call your first witness.”

“The State calls Mrs. Vivian Forrester.”

Brian watched the Bailiff get up and proceed through a side door, returning a moment later with Vivian at his side. Although she looked calm enough, Brian knew from her grip on her purse and her compressed lips that she was extremely upset.
I wish there was some
way we could spare her from all of this.

Vivian was sworn in and, subsequently, directed to the witness stand. The DA rose and smiled at her. “Now, Mrs. Forrester, will you please tell the court what occurred on the morning of September fourteenth?”

“Well, I was just finishing cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast when the phone rang. It was Adrienne calling to ask me to meet her for lunch.”

“The Adrienne you refer to is the defendant, Ms Adrienne Porter?”

Vivian nodded. “That’s correct.”

The DA asked, “And how did you know Ms Porter?”

“She . . .
was
my son’s girlfriend. I hadn’t spoken to her for quite some time. Not since my son disappeared.”

“And is this Adrienne Porter in the courtroom today?”

“Yes,” Vivian answered, barely above a whisper.

“And will you point her out for the Court?” Vivian pointed toward the Defense table.

“Let the record show that Mrs. Forrester identified the defendant. Now, Mrs. Forrester, will you please tell us exactly what occurred at that luncheon?”

Vivian again began to relate the conversation at the restaurant. As she got to the point of the accident her hands began to shake. At the ‘mangled body’ her voice broke and tears flowed.

The bailiff rushed to place a box of tissues on the stand next to her and then hurried out the door. Brian saw Adrienne lean over and whisper something to her attorney, who nodded. The bailiff returned with a glass of water that he also placed on the stand. The courtroom was silent except for Vivian’s sniffling and blowing her nose. When she had regained her composure, the DA asked, “Are you ready to continue, Mrs. Forrester?”