"So you disagree with the nurses' notes."

"Yes."

"That is all. Nothing further," said Thaddeus.

A look of panic crossed Latoya's face. "That's not all," she blurted out. "I left something out!"

The attorneys and judge froze. Before any response could be made, Latoya locked eyes with Morgana.

"I left out that I'm praying for you, Miss Bridgman. I'm praying that you do the right thing and admit this doctor hurt my baby."

Morgana couldn't have been more gracious. "Thank you for that."

47.

Following Latoya's testimony, Morgana hurried into the women's restroom. She was just washing up when Manny Rodriguez entered.

"I know it's the ladies' restroom. Call me a peeping Tom."

"A peeping Manny."

She rolled out several sheets of paper towel and began drying her hands.

Manny scowled. "Did that feel good to nail the mother in court just now?"

Morgana. "That fucking hurt. I'm hoping I lose this fucker but I keep winning even when I don't mean to."

"Sandy looks ecstatic. I know they think you destroyed the kid's case. I do too."

"You heard it all?"

"I've been here since opening arguments. Haven't missed a word. Your opponent is excellent with expert witnesses, by the way."

"Thaddeus?"

"Yes. That doctor for UC Medicine was terrific. Jury was hanging on every word. Unfortunately, Thaddeus can't get around the doctored nurses' records. He's going to lose because of those."

"I guess you're right. Crap. I feel horrible for that baby."

"That makes two of us. I have half a mind to go to the judge and ask him to call me as a witness."

"You'd wind up putting me in prison."

"You've got leukemia. They'd have mercy."

"I'd lose my law license."

"True that."

"So please. Keep still. Something will happen."

Manny leaned with his hands against the sink and studied his eyes. "You're very good in there, Morgana. "You don't need the help of these criminals to win your trials."

She balled up the paper towel and tossed it at the wastebasket. "This case should have been settled. This is inexcusable."

"You can still make something happen. Settle the fucking case, do the right thing."

"I can't. I recommended ten million to Sandy and he laughed at me a few minutes ago. He knows we're chewing them up and spitting them out."

"Because he's got the phony records."

"And Nurse Andrea is in Europe some place on active duty with the National Guard. Thaddeus probably can't locate her to ask about the notes."

"Figures. Settle the fucking case, girl. It's the only act of redemption you have left."

She violently shook her head. "Stop! Is settlement the best I can do? If it is, we're all fucked, not just Chase, all of us. No, you and I need to figure this out. We're smarter than these idiots."

"Now you're talking! Let's sabotage the bastards."

"Lay a trap."

"What are you thinking?"

"Maybe I'm thinking you should testify, like you mentioned. Maybe that's a pretty hot idea."

"Just let me know when and I'll take the witness stand."

"You know, this just might be a great idea. What if we actually got you on the stand? Could you help?"

Manny pushed away from the sink and straightened his shoulders. "Try me. I'll nail these assholes to the door."

"Let's think about this. Did you ever talk to Nurse Andrea?"

"I did," he said. "When I was first reviewing the doctored notes. I wanted to know about the real notes. So I tracked her down."

"Where is she?"

"Ramstein Air Base, Germany. She works out of the hospital there."

"I wonder how Thaddeus would like to know that?"

"Want me to tell him?"

"Give me a day. Let me think it through."

"I won't wait until it's too late."

"I won't either. Trust me, Manny."

"You know I do."

"Gotta get back. It's been fun."

"Later."

48.

At 4:35 p.m. on the second day of trial, the judge recessed for the day with the last witness called and cross-examined. Immediately Sandy, Morgana, and A.W. met in the court conference room. A.W. loosened his tie and Sandy pulled up a window and sat on the sill and lit up. He blew cigarette smoke out the window.

"That's healthy," said Morgana.

"I'm hooked. Dying for a weed," said Sandy.

Morgana shook her head. "Well, I'm not staying unless you put it out right now. Secondhand smoke is all I need."

Sandy doused the cigarette in his coffee. "Your wish, oh smart one."

"Thank you."

"I've got to meet the missus," said A.W. as he checked his watched. "Let's wrap up."

"So how'd we do," Morgana asked, though she already knew the answer.

Sandy smiled his best smile. "Well, on behalf of Hudd Family Healthcare let me just say that went exceedingly well."

A.W. agreed. "Yes, Morgana, excellent cross of Mrs. Staples."

Morgana tossed her head and scowled. "Gentlemen, this baby is catastrophically injured. Sometimes I think about him and it brings tears to my eyes. I know that if I feel that way and I'm adverse to him, then the jury is going to be crying its eyes out and award him a bundle if this thing goes south. I am going to counsel you that I believe it's time we seriously consider settlement. Run ten mil by Thaddeus and see if he bites."

Sandy shook his head. "I have seriously considered settlement and I've rejected the notion. We have the smoking gun in our nurses' notes and the time differentials between Mrs. Staples and the nurses' notes. No reason to settle, not that I can see."

She slowly shut her eyes and counted. Her face reddened. "But we all know those notes are fabricated. They're a lie and a hoax. When are we going to get real about this baby's severe injuries that our doctor caused?"

Her senior partner disagreed. "That cross-examination was real. You just proved to the jury that you're relying on the nurses' notes too in order to trip up Mrs. Staples' testimony."

She slammed a fist into the table. "Goddamn it! Is anyone hearing a single fucking word I'm saying? There is a real baby somewhere out there with real, catastrophic injuries that our client caused. Hudd Family Healthcare owes him. I recommend an offer of ten million dollars."

Sandy laughed. "Hudd owes him nothing. It's up to his lawyer to prove we owe him something. So far his lawyer has fallen far short of proving us negligent."

"Don't be an asshole, Sandy. His lawyer hasn't had the benefit of seeing the real records in this case. If he did we would be dead in the water. You'd have hundred-dollar bills shooting out of your ass like lightning."

"There's an image," said A.W. "Nice."

Sandy wouldn't budge. He said to Morgana, "You've done your job well, you've protected the truth."

"I've lied."

"You've acted as a lawyer."

"That's what I just said. We're fucking pathetic."

"Just close your eyes and plow ahead. You'll be richly rewarded for your work here."

A.W. added, "It's a war, Morgana, and you're the-"

"-I know, I'm the warrior. You fucking people just don't get it, do you. I've got to pee."

49.

Thaddeus was playing a video for the jury. It depicted a day in the life of Chase Staples, from the moment he awoke until midnight when he would finally drift off to sleep for fifteen minutes or so, but never more than a half hour at one time. The video showed the baby in various degrees of distress and upset, of crying fits, seizures, and general chaos. Chase's life was disturbing and deeply moved the jury and the trial participants, including Morgana. When the lights went back on in the courtroom there were no dry eyes. Even the judge was dabbing his eyes with a tissue. The ordinarily unflappable bailiff turned away, hiding his red eyes and he refused to turn back around for several minutes. Then he was staring at his desktop. The court reporter had swiveled in her chair to view the video and she now turned back around and retrieved a handkerchief from her purse. She noisily blew her nose and dabbed her eyes. Several jury members passed along a box of tissues and all of them were grim-faced, unsmiling, and very restrained.

Thaddeus nodded to himself. The video had had the desired effect. If you couldn't overwhelm the twelve jurors with the facts, then hit them with emotion. Which was exactly what the video had done.

He had sent Latoya and John out of the courtroom while the video played as there was no reason for them to again review the tragedy that was their son. Chase was with his grandmother, besides, so it gave the couple an abnormally long time together in the witness room outside the courtroom where they could talk and even, at one point, agree to lay down the gloves and quit fighting between themselves, if for no reason other than the children.

But Thaddeus was perplexed and struggling. The video was as good as his case was going to get. Without some way of attacking the nurses' notes he could invent no other plan of attack.

"That nailed their ass," whispered Christine when the lights went up. "Well done, Thad."

He whispered back at her. "Yes, but we're out of bullets. I got nothing else."

"How about we put a blanket on the floor in front of the jury and have Latoya feed him, change his diaper, try to show him love, and just let them see how hard it is from her standpoint. We haven't shown her side of it, yet."

"Excellent idea. We'll recess for the day and have her bring Chase in first thing in the morning. Then we'll recall Latoya to the witness stand. Find her and tell her to bring a blanket and Chase in the morning. Have them bring Grandma, too, for quality control."

"To manage the baby."

"Exactly."

"Done."