Chapter 14
Tony climbed out of his truck, stretched, and walked up to Staci’s door. Before he even stepped on the porch, the door flew open and she stood there with a gigantic grin on her face.
“Hey,” he said, and grinned when she stopped him from entering with a hand on his chest, and stood on tiptoes. He took the opportunity to bend down, wrap his arms around her and lower his lips to hers. They locked their lips for several minutes before they broke apart.
“Wow, what brought that on?”
“I missed you, and I wanted to soften you up.”
“For?” Tony tilted his head to the side and scowled. He allowed her to take his hand and pulled him into her cabin. He wiped his feet and stared at her, waiting for an answer. That was when he saw all the boxes of files on the floor beside the table.
“Coffee?”
“It looks like I’m going to need it.”
She poured them each a cup and they settled at the table. “I am smart.”
“I know this.”
“Okay, did I tell you about how my professors invited me to work with them, then when I perfected my research, they kicked me off the team and took me to court saying that it was their research. I had proof it was mine. I won in court.”
“Okay.”
“I invited you here because my lawyer from that case called me today.”
“Okay,” Tony said slowly, not knowing what else to say.
“Paula called me to tell me she received papers where these three professors are suing me again stating they have new evidence that I stole their research. I was talking to Katherine and Caleb, and wanting to know how I could talk to Jason and Ilsa. I might be smart, but I’m unsure of some things.
” She shook her head and held up her hand.
“Like was I supposed to go over to Erin’s Way to talk to them, call them, or go knock on their door when they got home. ”
“Ah, and without them having a formal office, it would make it more difficult to know what to do.”
“Correct. Anyway, Katherine called her mother, and they’re going to stop by here on their way home.
I called to invite you here so you’ll know what I’m going through.
I’m not saying it will happen, but I might be too busy in the coming days.
” There was a knock on the door, and Tony stood and went to the door, inviting both Jason and Ilsa inside.
Coffee was passed around, and as both the newcomers brought out a fresh pad of paper, the meeting got underway.
Staci started out by telling them how she became involved with the professors way back before she had turned eighteen and how she met them, then how she came to work with them.
During her talk, Tony served the coffee and started making dinner for them all, listening the entire time.
“Those green boxes are the files from the first time the professors took me to court. I won that case, and the notice I received from the court is on top of box seven.”
“Wow,” Jason said with a shake of his head as he looked up from taking notes. “You won?”
“Yes, do you want me to show you?”
“Yes,” Ilsa said. They watched Staci stand and go to the green boxes.
She lifted the lid of the top one and pulled out the top sheaf of papers, which she handed to Ilsa.
No one said a word as the two lawyers read the notification.
While they did that, Stacy pulled a white box toward her and removed the contents to place on the table.
Tony had only made sandwiches, and set a plate of them in the center of the table with plates and napkins.
He refilled their coffee mugs again, and settled at the table.
“Yes,” Jason said as he looked up from reading.
“I know you won’t know this, but the tone of this notice is basically the judge’s words.
The tone is saying that he’s laughing at the professors for taking this matter before his bench.
” He looked between Staci and Tony. “I was a lawyer for the DOD in Washington DC for over twenty years. I know the tone of the judges. This judge agreed with everything you presented and was laughing at the plaintiffs.” He reached for a sandwich and took a healthy bite.
The others did the same, then he nodded as he finished chewing. “Why are we here now?”
“Earlier today, my lawyer from that first case contacted me.” She laid her hands on the three stacks of papers, each one at least six inches tall.
“This is what she sent me. Apparently, the professors found another lawyer to take their case, stating they have new evidence that I stole their research. She was sent the information because she was my lawyer back then. She was able to go to court and ask for a continuance for six months. She stated it was because I no longer lived in the state of Washington, and I would need time to find counsel.”
“Very smart on her part,” Ilsa said. “That’s their new case against you?”
“Yes, I’ll tell you now that it looks like they are trying the same tactic they did before.”
“Which is?” Tony asked. “Sorry.”
“No, don’t be, that’s why I invited you here, to know what I’m facing.
To answer your question, during the last case, instead of killing me with kindness, they killed us with paperwork.
Those seven boxes could have been compiled into one, maybe even one three quarters full.
But they tried to bury us in papers. At one point, the judge was pissed.
You’ll have to double check, but I believe their items submitted into evidence was all the way up to triple m’s. ”
“What’s that mean?” Tony asked when Jason and Ilsa swore.
“It means,” Jason said, “That when you enter something into evidence, you label it. Like A, B, C, and so on. Once you go through the alphabet you start over with AA, BB, CC, and again, once you go through it again, you start with AAA, BBB, CCC, and these jackals went all the way up to MMM. I can’t wait to get my hands on the first trial papers.
” He looked at Staci then. “I will take your case, but I need to read the original case before I jump into this new one. Six months you say?”
“Yes.” She leaned back and reached into her pocket to pull out a folded piece of paper.
“This is Paula’s contact information. Her parents represented me back then, but she was third chair at that case.
They have since retired and she’s taken over their practice.
She told me to give you this information so she can answer any questions you might have. ”
“Good,” Ilsa said as she reached over and took the paper, after reading what was on it, she tucked it into the edge of her legal pad. They continued to eat, leaving the upcoming court case silent. Now that she had given them the information, she felt relieved she had legal representation.
It was left that the boxes would be left there at Staci’s until the next day, when Jason and Ilsa would stop on their way over to Erin’s Way and pick them up. At one point, Staci sat up straighter and stared at them.
“What?” Ilsa asked.
“My case won’t take you away from Erin’s, will it? Or whatever you’re working on?”
“No, we’ll be fine,” Jason said, then smirked at her. “Can I ask what part of Washington did this case take place? Where do the professors live or work?”
“Seattle.”
“Perfect,” Jason and Ilsa exchanged looks.
“What?” Tony asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“We have an ace up our sleeve. Kevin Lassiter, Caleb’s father, is a homicide detective with the Seattle police department.
Sure, he’s a homicide detective, which deals with dead bodies, but he’s been there long enough to have plenty of friends that would help us if we needed some dirt found on the professors. ”
“Do you think it will come to that?” Tony asked.
“I’m thinking it might, and this is without even reading anything that happened in the past. If the first case was in Staci’s favor, but now they are fabricating new evidence, it feels like they are grasping at straws.
These guys are reeking of desperation. We’ll get started on the case tomorrow, and when we have the names and other information on the professors, we’ll contact Kevin and have him start a background check on them. ”
“Wait,” Tony said and held up his hand. “I’m not telling you not to, you can, but what about having others look into them also.”
“What do you mean?” Ilsa asked.
“What about involving Duane? Or what is the name of that man over in Fool’s Gold that helps with background checks?”
“Jake Cogburn from Brotherhood Protectors,” Jason nodded.
“Yes, this way we can get his take, Duane can use his former FBI contacts, and Kevin can use his police connections.” Jason nodded, satisfied they were all on the same page.
Within the hour, Jason and Ilsa left, thanking Tony for the sandwiches. “We can hit them with a triple whammy.”
Tony stayed for a few more hours and as they continued to eat, they discussed her previous case, and Tony felt like he knew what Staci faced in the future.
After he left, Staci felt hopeful that she could win the upcoming battle.
She went to bed with a clear conscience that she had never done anything wrong.
That night was the beginning of Tony and Staci taking their relationship to the next level.
If Tony wasn’t at Staci’s cabin after work, she went to his.
While they got to know each other better, they discussed their pasts.
After two weeks of spending every night with each other they were settled in the living room before the fire when Staci turned to Tony.
“So, is there anything in your past that might come back and haunt you?”
“I don’t know if I understand what you’re asking?”
“Your accident with the military. Did it get settled, not that it’s any of my business, but I don’t know how things like that work.”
“Ah, no,” Tony said sadly. He drew in a deep breath, scrubbed his face, and looked at her in anguish. “The guy that messed with my and Marcia’s parachutes.” He stopped when she held up her hand.
“Remind me again why he messed with them?”