Chapter 22—The Right Stuff

Duke DuQuesne walked into the glaring white room and placed his paperwork on the table. Putting aside the events of Christmas Eve, he sat down and faced Rick Stetler as well as the gray-haired, steely-eyed arbiter. He would be the seasoned trial lawyer he always was. He knew what was riding on this.

Rick Stetler leaned forward on the table, cupping his hands. "Mr. DuQuesne, who are you representing?"

Duke tipped his head up and raised his eyebrows. "Sergeant Stetler, I'm representing the interests of your defendant, Emmalyn Stockburne."

Rick eyed him warily as he glanced down at the papers in front of him. "Mr. DuQuesne, I personally conducted the investigation. Although much of the physical evidence is missing from the crash scene in Charlotte County, my findings lead me to believe that Miss Stockburne may have been driving at a high rate of speed for the conditions when she went off the road, thus causing three hundred and fifty-thousand dollars in damage to Dade County property and the loss of Lieutenant Caine's firearm."

The white-suited lawyer flipped through his pages. "And Sergeant Stetler, I intend to prove that not only did Miss Stockburne take every reasonable precaution to avoid that accident, but that she acted in the interests of the County as well as Lieutenant Caine. I also intend to prove that evidence is insufficient and that you actually railroaded Miss Stockburne."

The IAB agent knew he couldn't flinch. "Please demonstrate."

The arbiter's weathered brown eyes darted between the wary IAB agent and the attorney.

"Sergeant Stetler, why don't you begin with how you arrived at the conclusion that Miss Stockburne may have been responsible for the crash, as you so eloquently stated?"

Rick breathed deeply. "In a sworn statement at the Charlotte County Hospital, Emmie Stockburne stated that she had swerved sharply to avoid what she thought were three dead alligators on a remote two-late road." He handed the arbiter a photo. "Charlotte County CSI took a photo of the crash scene. Here you will see the tire marks of Lieutenant Caine's Hummer, but no dead alligators."

The gray-haired, bespectacled man studied the black and white photo carefully. He then glanced up. "Mr. DuQuesne? You have a rebuttal?"

Duke smiled slightly. "Well, Sir, according to the National Weather Service, the floodwaters rose to about seven feet on the morning of December 21st. The waters rose with enough strength to carry the police vehicle nearly fifty feet, so it stands to reason they could wash away three dead alligators. The Charlotte County CSI's did a great job, and they claimed to have found two dead alligators that simply died. How do we know those weren't the alligators that caused Miss Stockburne to swerve off the road? I want to direct your attention to those tire marks. Charlotte County CSI's confirmed that the Hummer was traveling at fifty miles an hour, which is within the legal speed limit for that road in the state of Florida. You'll then notice that the tire marks swerve sharply to the left, indicating a panic stop."

"Miss Stockburne was driving fast for the conditions" Rick insisted, his hands folded on the table.

"Sergeant, just how fast should she have been driving? Can you recommend a posted speed limit for the heavy rain Charlotte County had that day?" He then glanced at the dumbfounded faces. "Nobody can tell Miss Stockburne how fast she should have been driving. Under the conditions, she was driving in a 'reasonable and prudent manner' to avoid an accident. And if you'll take a look, Sir, you'll notice that the road comes into a blind curve. There's also vegetation that blocks line-of-sight distance."

"She should have slowed down in that curve" Rick argued. "Those tire marks show that she swerved suddenly as though she didn't anticipate anything."

Kenwall DuQuesne was unfazed as his weathered blue eyes met Rick's brown eyes. "Sergeant, there's no evidence as to whether she slowed down, sped up, or kept the same pace, is there?"

"Well, nobody can really be sure..." he started to say.

The Louisiana attorney never flinched. The arbiter now had eyes on the IAB agent.

"Is there, Sergeant Stetler?" he asked again.

"No."

"Thank you, Sir."

Rick immediately gathered himself. "Miss Stockburne admitted to me when I questioned her that she really didn't remember."

Duke smiled slightly. "Sergeant, would you turn to Page Ten in the investigative report, please?"

Rick made a slapping sound as he frustratingly flipped through pages. The arbiter followed along on his copy.

Duke tipped his head up as he looked at the stapled report. "Is that your signature with date and time, Sergeant Stetler?"

"Yes, it is."

The weathered lawyer nodded knowingly. December 22nd, three-thirty in the afternoon. According to Miss Stockburne's hospital records, she had been given heavy doses Tylox, Motrin, and a Heparin IV. In other words, when you questioned my client, she couldn't possibly have been of sound mind. Isn't that one of the provisions for investigative questioning, Sergeant Stetler?"

Rick huffed now. "Miss Stockburne was alert enough to help Tyler Jensen with an important case. The first time I saw her, she was working on a laptop computer from her hospital bed."

"I understand that. But that's something she's done for years. There's a difference between something you've done for years and something you've done once, wouldn't you agree?"

Duke poked his head out the door. "Emmie, would you come in here, young lady?"

Carefully, Emmie hoisted herself up on her crutches and placed them under her arms. The pain killers still numbed her.

"Want me to go in with you, Sweetheart?" her father asked.

The computer tech dipped her head. "I'll be okay, Dad. Whatever happens happens."

Her father nodded. "You'll be okay."

Emmie stood on her crutches and faced the gray-haired arbiter as Rick looked on, obviously weary from the argument.

"Miss Stockburne, it is the findings of this arbitration hearing that the cause of the crash on December 20th is inconclusive. From what little evidence Internal Affairs was able to gather, and in light of your heroic acts during the storm in which you saved the life of Lieutenant Horatio Caine, this arbitration board finds you not guilty of any negligence. There will be no marks on your employment record, and you will not be charged in any way for the damages caused. This arbitration is legally binding. With that, the matter is closed."

Despite the numbing of her pain killers, Emmie propelled herself out into the hallway with an unmistakable smile. Frank Stockburne and Duke DuQuesne stood up to meet her. She immediately hugged her father. "He did it!" she nearly sobbed into his shoulder.

When Frank Stockburne released his daughter, he immediately shook the Louisiana lawyer's hand. "Mr. DuQuesne, I wish I could thank you enough. The job's yours. Can you be there Monday morning?"

Duke gripped the CEO's hand with a proud, tired smile. "Well, Sir, I'd be more than glad to. I tell you, it's nice to know I've still got it."

"You've still got it. We're gonna need somebody like you."

Calleigh stepped into the hallway. "Hey, Dad. Sounds like a celebration." She had an expectant smile. "Well?"

"Lambchop! You're looking at the new head of legal affairs for the Stockburne Holdings office in New Orleans" he said with a proud smile.

The ballistics expert hugged his arm. "I knew you could do it, Dad."

Frank smiled as he shook hands with Calleigh. "You must be Calleigh DuQuesne. I'm Frank Stockburne. I'm Emmie's dad."

Calleigh smiled at him now. "Nice to meet you. And thanks for everything."

He nodded proudly. "The company's been looking to open a New Orleans office to help rebuild after Katrina, and we'll need legal counsel. I told your dad that if he could clear my daughter of this investigation, the job was his."

Calleigh smiled proudly to her father. "See, Dad? I knew you still had it."

"Well, I'm afraid I'm not gonna be seeing you much, Calleigh. Mr. Stockburne here says I'm gonna hit the ground running, and I'll be going back and forth to New Orleans once in a while. But I'll be sure to bring you back something every time."

"That's okay, Dad" his daughter whispered as she held his arm. "Just take it easy on the drinking, okay?"

Frank Stockburne could only hug his daughter as she balanced on her crutches. "I'm just glad you're okay, Sweetheart" he said as she held him tightly.

Emmie rested her head on her father's strong shoulder for what seemed a long time. Nobody paid attention as the room behind them had emptied. Rick had nothing to say to anyone. He simply glanced at the celebratory hugs and carried his folders down the blue hallway.

Calleigh hugged her father's arm. Emmie held her father tightly. Finally, Frank Stockburne and Kenwall DuQuesne faced one another and looked into each other's eyes. Both of them just laughed as their proud daughters watched.

"See you bright and early Monday, Duke?" Frank Stockburne asked, shaking his hand.

"You got it, Sir" he assured.