Hungry for Love (45 page)

The fact was that Kevin was a respected doctor and that meant something in
Beverly Hills
.  And when he spoke
,
people listened.  Today it would be a judge listening to him and this mess would be on its way to a solution.  Then Kevin could get on with his life.  Everything would be resolved and hopefully that maniac would ultimately be in jail. 

Kevin pondered the situation.  There was that supposed father of the seemingly nice sandwich girl.  It was tempting to consider it a conspiracy
,
but he had been treating this girl for many months and pulling off a caper like that would be virtually impossible.  Come in fat
,
get thin
,
months later her pseudo (or real) father begins attempting to run him off the road.  Even at his most irrational he couldn
’
t concede the probability of this conjecture—and Kevin had eaten regularly in the last couple of days and knew that his low blood sugar had been resolved
,
thus extinguishing any metabolic lack of clarity.  More likely was it that in this instance Cop Crapper was correct—it was a popular car
,
the man was the girl
’
s father
,
and by coincidence the vehicles were the same.

Kevin thought briefly about the other driver.  Who that was he had no idea.  No matter to what extent Laura was angry at him
,
she would not instigate anything as insane as this ongoing road rage.  It just wasn
’
t like her.  And nobody else was angry at him
,
were they
?
  Bill was angry just now but there was no way a guy as rigid and dull as Bill would pull such a stunt and besides
,
Bill was clearly shocked to find him in bed with the chocolate queen
,
and the chases had been going on before this occurred
,
so clearly it wasn
’
t Bill.  That left—nobody.  What a puzzle.

And then Kevin realized something at once comforting and distressing—it was a case of mistaken identity.  Perhaps it was the car.  Maybe someone else
,
someone in the line of fire
,
drove a car like his and they were following him by mistake.  Maybe they even had the number from his license plates
,
surely they did.  That meant that it would be extremely difficult to find them because no connection existed between Kevin and them.  It was like Strangers on a Train or one of those other thrillers from another era.  There was only one solution.  Kevin would have to sell his car.

Oh how this realization triggered pangs in his heart.  He had loved that Porsche from the moment he
’
d bought it and even more since this psychosis had been visited upon him because of the security it provided him by being the excellent vehicle it was.  He didn
’
t really see himself in a Ferrari—and that was buckets of dough
,
plastic surgeon dough
,
anesthesiologist dough
,
not internist dough.  So where did it leave him
?
  He
’
d have to consider his options.  This was a true tragedy and utterly unfair.

Briefly Kevin thought about what was imminently to come and the fact that he hadn
’
t even engaged a lawyer.  He had called the attorney who drew up the papers for the practice and was informed that he could not be represented because Bill had a prior claim.  More psychosis he would have to unravel.  Perhaps the partnership would end.  Nobody looking over his shoulder and complaining about every little thing.  How could he tolerate that
?
  No
,
he
’
d be fine without Bill and today without a lawyer.  He was intelligent
,
articulate
,
for Christ
’
s sake
,
he was a doctor.

Standing erect
,
his clothes expensive and well pressed
,
Kevin strode into the courtroom and took a seat.  Soon he would have his justice.  Thank the lord.  Look—there was Billy the Kid sitting off in the distance.  He hoped to mop up the floor with that moron.

Then the bailiff entered and spoke. 
“
All rise
,
court of Honorable Justice Samuel A. Antimangia presiding.
”

That was a familiar sounding name
,
Kevin thought.  Where had he heard that name before
?
He couldn
’
t quite place it.  And then Angie
’
s dad entered the court in his robes and locked eyes with Kevin
,
both men glaring like bulls who
’
d just been engaged by a matador.

Naturally he called Kevin
’
s case first. 

Kevin took a deep breath
,
remained calm and said confidently
,
“
Your honor I am an innocent party here.  Someone has been trying to run me off the road.
”

“
I
’
ve heard
,”
said the judge snidely.

“
It
’
s clearly a case of mistaken identity.  I
’
ve finally determined that.  Nobody in my life would be responsible for this constant vehicular harassment.
”

“
Why sell yourself short
,”
said the judge jauntily
,
squinting toward Kevin with wrath in his eyes. 
“
They
’
d probably fight for the privilege.
”

“
I
’
ve been victimized and traumatized several times
,
all without the help I deserved.
”

“
No psychiatrists on your speed dial
?”
asked the judge sardonically
,
as Kevin look horrified at this rancid little man. 
“
I
’
ve heard enough
,”
said Antimangia preemptively.

“
But your honor….
”

“
You realize I could put you in jail
?”
asked the judge
,
while Kevin nodded miserably and remained silent.  The bailiff looked quizzically at the judge
,
someone he knew to behave as a cranky old sod
,
despite not being as old as he acted
,
as Antimangia
,
who was a decent judge
,
rambled
,
“
I
’
d love to put you in jail
,
no not jail
,
prison.  Death row.
”

The bailiff cocked his head toward the judge and the stenographer looked up
,
not wanting what she was hearing to go on the record
,
but the judge was invested in his comments and neither of them could interrupt. 

“
Capital punishment is underrated
,
I think.
”
  As Antimangia said this
,
the people in the courtroom seats registered a visible level of nervousness.  If it were the old West
,
they
’
d be whispering that he was a hangin
’
judge.

“
What happened to those chain gangs
?”
posited the judge. 
“
Liberals
,
that
’
s what happened to them.  Frizzy headed women lawyers
,
that
’
s what happened to them. Humanitarian—if you ask me
,
it
’
s a four letter word.
”

Far in the back
,
a young man wearing shirt sleeves and shorts—the vacation clothes he
’
d brought on the trip
,
never expecting to need dressier attire in casual Los Angeles
,
leaned in close to an attorney next to him and whispered
,
“
Just plead me guilty.
”

The lawyer put a steadying hand on the man
’
s arm and replied
,
“
You
’
re the guy he ran off the road.
”

The bailiff leaned over to speak to the judge
,
words nobody heard
,
then Antimangia passed sentence. 
“
Fine of $2
,
000
,
damages to cover auto repair and $5
,
000 emotional injury for that young fellow over there
,
six months community service
,
psychiatric evaluation.  Must be some clinic somewhere that needs a free quac—doctor.  And stay the hell away from my…courtroom….  And anywhere else I happen to be.  Do you get me
?”