The Alligator Man (29 page)

K
evin got up at five the next morning and headed out for St. Albans. He wanted to get home early enough to see his father and Kate and meet with Jeanette. He didn’t want one extra day to pass before he put that memo in her hands. Jeanette was the person to give it to since she was intimately aware of all the players and would understand its significance.

When he was thirty miles outside of St. Albans, he called his father. Kate answered Tom’s cell phone.

“Where’s my dad?” he asked.

“He’s in the hospital. He can’t come to the phone right now.”

“When did this happen? I just talked to him last night.”

“Three days ago.”

“Three days ago?”

“Yes. He didn’t want you to know. He thought it would distract you from what you were doing.”

“How bad is he?”

“He’s in a lot of pain and he hasn’t been sleeping much.”

“He seemed fine when I talked to him.” Kevin wasn’t questioning Kate’s veracity. He was just having a hard time processing the information.

“He pumped himself up for your conversations,” Kate said. “He knew you were relying on him.”

“What does Alex say?”

“Alex is in Africa for a month on one of those medical missionary trips. He didn’t want to leave, but Tom insisted. His partner has taken over Tom’s care. He’s competent, but the personal touch is not there. The guy is a little arrogant, to tell you the truth.”

Kevin had never heard Kate say a bad word about anybody since he’d met her. This was bad, very bad.

“I’ll be there in a half hour.”

Kate was standing outside the door of Tom’s room when he arrived. Her physical condition told him all he needed to know. There were black circles around her eyes, which looked almost hollow. Her shoulders slumped. She looked totally exhausted and there were tears in her eyes.

She tried to straighten up when she saw Kevin. “He’s sleeping. They put him on an IV when we got here because he was so dehydrated. The nurse says he’ll look a lot better tomorrow.”

“What happened?” Kevin asked, still a little in shock.

“He just stopped eating. I kept telling him he had to eat even if he wasn’t hungry, but he couldn’t do it. Every time he ate something it came right back up a few hours later. Then he stopped drinking and I knew I had to get him into the hospital.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you three days ago, Kevin, but you know your dad well enough now.”

“I understand, Kate. Now, do me a favor. I’ll sit with him. You go back to the house and go to bed. You’ll want to be well rested when he wakes up tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she said. She had no resistance left.

He almost forgot to call Jeanette. It was a little after nine when he remembered.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t call you earlier,” he told her when she answered the phone, “but I got tied up here at the hospital.”

“Are you okay?” Jeanette asked.

“It’s not me. It’s my father.”

“Is he okay?”

“I don’t think so. I haven’t talked to the doctor yet, though.”

“We can put this meeting off for as long as you like.”

“No, we can’t. I have to meet with you. It’s extremely important.”

“How about lunch tomorrow?” she suggested. “I’ve got some business in St. Albans. I’ll come to you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I’ll call you when I get to town. Let’s plan on noon.”

“Okay.”

T
he nurse was right. The IV did perk up Tom somewhat. Kate was at the hospital at seven the next morning and he was already awake, smiling and talking up a storm, although he looked like a ghost.

“Kevin’s here,” Kate told him.

“Good,” Tom said, becoming emotional all of a sudden. It was so unlike him. “It’s been great having him here, Kate, and I have you to thank for it because I never would have made that call.”

“I know.”

“God certainly works in strange ways, doesn’t he?”

Kate just looked at him.

“What?” he asked.

“Is that you, Tom Wylie, talking about God?”

“I’ve always thought there was a God. I mean, people like you don’t just show up to rescue people like me without there being some kind of divine plan.”

Kate leaned over and gently kissed him on the forehead before putting her hands on his cheeks and looking into his eyes.

“I think you’re right. I think there has always been a divine plan at work here.”

Ray Blackwell was in to visit later that morning when Kate and Kevin were both there. He brought an old friend.

“You remember Eddie O’Brien, don’t you, Tom?”

“Of course, how could I forget one of the world’s worst fishermen? How are you, Eddie?”

“Fair to middling, Tom. How about yourself?”

“Couldn’t be better. I’m just in here for a few days for sympathy purposes. Kate won’t give me any attention otherwise.”

Kevin was somewhat surprised by the repartee since Eddie O’Brien was wearing the clerical garb of a Catholic priest, complete with collar.

“Kate, good to see you,” Eddie said as he hugged Kate.

“Eddie, this is my son, Kevin,” Tom said.

Eddie O’Brien shook hands with Kevin. “Nice to meet you, Kevin. I’m not usually so informal but your dad, Ray, Kate, and I have shared a glass or two over the years.”

“Or three,” Ray Blackwell added.

They stayed for almost two hours, sharing stories about fishing and the social events that went along with it. Kevin watched his father. He really had picked up during the visit. Billy arrived in the middle of it all and everybody congratulated him on his victory. Then Tom started to nod off and they knew it was time to go.

“Eddie,” Tom said after all the good-byes were said and Father O’Brien was about to leave the room.

“Yes, Tom.”

“When the time comes, will you say a few words for me?”

“It will be a privilege, Tom.”

J
eanette called Kevin as he was leaving the hospital. They made arrangements to meet at a local restaurant. She was already there sitting at a table when he arrived. Her hair was down and she was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, a much different look than her courtroom appearance. She seemed so relaxed and casual.

They each ordered a sandwich and a drink.

“So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?” Jeanette asked when the waitress left with their order.

Kevin took Bernie’s memo from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. Jeanette read it once, then read it again.

“So Bernie did represent Roy Johnson back in 1982 and he was handling the money.”

“Seems like it.”

“How long have you had this?” she asked.

“I got it Monday night.”

“So you had it in your possession when Bernie was on the stand? Why didn’t you ask him about it?”

“That memo is a copy.”

“So?”

“So, I don’t have the original. If I asked Bernie about this memo, he would have just claimed it was a fraud.”

“It’s hard to believe you sat on this.”

“I couldn’t get it into evidence and it wouldn’t help my case so there was no decision to make, really.”

“I’m not questioning your analysis. I think it’s accurate. It just took great self-discipline not to at least give it a shot.”

Kevin told her about David Lefter. How he had asked David to get the files from the warehouse. How David was murdered soon after that. And how Sal had found the copies in the back of his truck.

“I don’t want David Lefter’s efforts to have been in vain.”

The waitress came with their orders and they took a break to concentrate on their meal. Kevin wanted Jeanette to have a minute or two to absorb what he had said.

“I don’t know what you want from me, Kevin. I have the same problem with a copy of this memo. I’m not going to be able to use it.”

Kevin looked at her and smiled. She was right where he wanted her to be.

“Just hear me out,” he said. “I asked David to go to the warehouse and take the originals, copy them, and put the copies back. He did everything I asked, except he put the originals back.”

“So?”

“So, at David’s funeral, Bernie threatened me. Said if I tried to use the files, I would regret it. Somebody must have seen David take the originals and told Bernie. He killed David because he thought David had the originals. He threatened me because he thought I had the originals. When I had him on the stand the other day, he was squirming. He
still
thought I had the originals. I winked at him to try and let him think that his threats had worked, that I had them but I was not going to use them.

“If I had tried to get the copy of the memo into evidence, Bernie would have known I didn’t have the originals. He would have gone looking for it and destroyed it.”

“Where are the original files?”

“I think they’re still in the warehouse where David put them.”

“And you want me to get a search warrant and get them?”

“Exactly. This memo implicates Bernie Stang in money laundering, conspiracy, and racketeering and also establishes that Bernie and Randy Winters committed perjury. It is also the reason David Lefter was killed.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll need an affidavit from you about what you’ve told me.”

Kevin reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out some papers and what looked like canceled checks. “Here is your affidavit.”

“You came prepared. What are the canceled checks for?”

“They’re my old payroll checks. They all have Bernie’s signature on them, just in case your handwriting expert needs some samples.”

“You think of everything.”

“I try.”

“My friend Phil Roberts runs the FBI office in Miami. He will jump on this, I can assure you. He’d love nothing better than to put Bernie behind bars. He knows Bernie will get wind of this soon enough. I’ll need to get a U.S. attorney to draw a federal warrant but that’s not a problem. If we can get the search warrant Monday morning, Phil will be in that warehouse Monday afternoon.”

“Thanks, Jeanette.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m just doing my job.”

T
he next day, Friday, Tom didn’t wake up until almost noon, and when he did, he was very lethargic. Dr. Blake Patterson came in to see him while Kate was out running some errands. Kevin was there by himself. The doctor smiled at Kevin but didn’t introduce himself. He briefly glanced at Tom, who was sleeping, as he read Tom’s chart, but that was it. He never touched him, never even felt his pulse.

This is the guy that Kate doesn’t like,
Kevin thought,
and with good reason.
He followed Dr. Patterson out into the hallway.

“Doc, can I have a word with you?”

Blake Patterson continued to walk as he talked to Kevin. “I’m in a bit of a hurry. I have rounds to make. What’s on your mind?”

“Can you stop for a minute?”

Dr. Patterson stopped but he was perturbed. He was a tall, good-looking guy with brown hair and blue eyes and manicured nails.

“I can’t waste my time on terminal patients,” he said. “I can give you a minute.”

“What did you say?”

“You heard me. What’s your question?”

Kevin stepped closer to the doctor, so he was in Blake Patterson’s space.

“I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but that’s my father lying in there. Don’t talk to me like that.”

The good doctor was flustered for a moment until his arrogance returned.

“I don’t appreciate being threatened,” he said. “I could have you removed from this hospital.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you appreciate, Doc. I’ll do more than threaten you if you don’t talk to me in a civil manner about my father’s condition.”

Apparently Dr. Patterson decided it might be good for his own personal health to just answer the question. “We don’t know for sure. We haven’t taken a CAT scan. His vital signs are fluctuating, though, which tells us his tumors are growing. He’s a very sick man.”

“That wasn’t too hard, was it? You actually sounded like you cared. You should try it more often.”

Tom was still sluggish on Saturday morning, although he picked up somewhat later in the day when visitors started coming. How they knew to come was anybody’s guess, but they came in a steady stream both that day and on Sunday. There were lawyers Tom had worked with and tried cases against, judges, clients, and old friends. Ray Blackwell came late in the day on both days. Billy was there as well in the afternoon.

Kevin watched in amazement as his father tried to greet everybody and pretend that things were going well. The visitors would pretend too. They’d talk and laugh about people and cases and things that they had shared with each other over the years. Then they’d say good-bye and promise to see each other soon.

It was in the hallway that Kevin would see the tears in their eyes and the shake in their heads and shoulders as they walked away. One of them was a lawyer he knew from Miami.

“Hi, Jack. Thanks for coming.”

“I’d have been here sooner, Kevin, if I’d known,” Jack Tobin said. “Your dad is so special to me. I’m sure you know that he represented me when I was charged with murder. He took my case only because it was the right thing to do—and he saved my life. I love the man.”

A large black man was standing next to Jack. Kevin did not recognize him. The black man stuck his hand out.

“I’m Henry Wilson.”

Kevin shook his hand. He remembered the name. “I feel like I know you, Henry,” Kevin said. “I’ve read so much about you and Jack.”

Henry could see that Kevin was a little confused about his connection to Kevin’s father.

“I read about your dad’s work with the civil rights movement when I was in prison,” Henry said. “So I visited him when I got out and we became fast friends. I was the one who asked your dad to represent Jack.”

Kevin did not know what to say; he was both surprised and overwhelmed.

Kate and Kevin took turns staying overnight. They didn’t want to leave Tom alone. Hospice was brought in on Monday and they started giving him morphine for the pain that was becoming noticeably worse.

Each morning, Kate gave him a sponge bath. She had to be careful because his skin was so sensitive. Kevin just watched. The morning ritual was an act of love between them.

On Tuesday morning Tom called his son close to his bedside. He could only talk in a whisper now.

“I want to go home,” he told him.

“Okay, Dad,” Kevin replied and turned to Kate. “Will you get the car and meet me out front?” Kate practically flew out of the room.

Kevin took the IVs out of his father’s arm, unhooked all the other monitoring devices, and took his father in his arms. He was shocked at how light he was.

As he started for the door, a nurse walked in. “Where are you going?” she demanded in her most authoritative tone.

“We’re leaving,” Kevin replied as he walked past her.

By the time he entered the hallway two orderlies were walking toward them, followed by Dr. Patterson himself.

Dr. Patterson repeated the nurse’s question. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“We’re going home,” Kevin replied as he continued walking.

“You can’t do that,” the doctor told him. “This man is not authorized to leave the hospital.”

Kevin just kept walking, holding his father close. “Who’s going to stop me, Doc? You? And them?” He looked at the orderlies who were already retreating. They weren’t getting in the way of this crazy man.

“You’re killing him,” Dr. Patterson said.

Kevin kept going. “He wants to die at home and that’s where we’re going.”

Kate was right outside the front door when he arrived. Security personnel were on their way. Kate opened the back passenger side door, and Kevin and Tom slipped in as she took off, letting the speed of her exit close the door. As they drove, Kevin looked down at his father. Tom’s eyes were closed but he had a wry smile on his face.

At the house, Kevin placed him in his bed. Kate pulled the shades down because the sunlight hurt his eyes. Together they took care of him, washing him and wiping him like a mother would a newborn baby and feeding him morphine when he appeared to be in pain. Tom was in and out of consciousness now. He could hardly speak.

On one occasion, he tapped Kevin on the cheek like he’d always done when Kevin was a boy. On another occasion, he gestured to Kate to come near. He put his hand on his heart. “
Mi amore
,” he whispered. Kate pressed both her hands to her own heart before kissing him softly on the lips.

On Wednesday morning, sunshine had already started creeping through the crevices in the blinds. Kate was sitting at his bedside while Kevin was in the chair by the bookcase. Tom’s favorite album
Stardust
was playing and Willie Nelson was singing “Someone to Watch over Me.” Kevin simply had a feeling like a whisk of air blowing by, but not exactly—something he would never in his life be able to describe in words.

“I think he’s gone,” he whispered to Kate.

“I know,” she replied.

They sat there in silence for the next hour or so, both of them lost in their own thoughts about the soul that had left and the body that remained behind.