Misdemeanor Trials (9 page)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

JAX

“I can't breathe.”

----Barton Herbert, who spent decades in an iron lung, when he was asked by a child why he was in the iron lung.

"Good morning from KCBS,” said the female voice.  “I'm Kay Riesling.”   A male voice followed, “and I'm Gary Lesh.  It's five AM and it is a cold day in our great city.  It is close to freezing right now, and it looks like we have a slight chance of a rainy day---"

Slam! Jax hit the snooze button on the alarm clock with such force it was as if he was hoping to cause permanent damage.  He realized he shouldn't be blaming the alarm for his pounding headache and nausea, but it seemed appropriate at the time.  He turned over and saw a naked girl lying next to him, who he didn't immediately recognize, and his head started pounding with a vengeance.  "Was that last shot of Tequila really necessary? I'm an idiot!" He scolded himself.  He ran to the bathroom and dry heaved to the point it felt as if his intestines were going to come right up.  Great ab workout though.  He thought to himself that he should mention this to his trainer. The naked girl stirred and Jax didn't want to have to deal with this right now.  He splashed some water on his face, grabbed some scrubs from the closet and left a note that he had to go to early surgery.  "Thanks for last night, I'll call you." So cliché.  Such a lie.  He would have asked her to lock up when she leaves, but he was actually going to be waiting outside until she left so he could head back inside and crash.  He didn't actually have a job to go to anymore.  The hospital told him he no longer had physician privileges at their facility.  But the girl didn't know that.  Hell, no one outside of his partner knew it - the standard line given to his patients at the hospital was that he had "personal time after a death in the family."   No one needed to know the "death in the family" was nine years ago or that the "personal time" meant "fired".  His mom wouldn't be surprised if she found out.  Her bright shining star of a son had failed before.  Letting her down was easy, especially when you messed up all the time.  Her big heart refused to stop loving him, even if he broke it again and again.  Dad had been gone from the house for years, barely acknowledging their existence anymore.  His dad focused more on the Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune, at least from what Aunt Anne told us.  So much had changed, so much had been lost, and there was no way to get any of it back.

Jax waited at the bus stop shelter a block away.  It was a brisk morning and he felt the chill through the thin cotton scrubs.  There were no cars on this thinly traveled street and he waited quietly alone, watching the front door of his apartment house.

A van pulled up to the bus stop and the passenger side window lowered.  A man inside said, “Are you a Doctor?”

Jax replied, “Yes, I am.” The passenger door of the van opened and a man got out.  The first thing Jax noticed was a very large automatic pistol hanging from the right hand of the passenger, whose dark wavy hair and short beard made him appear sinister.

“Get in the back,” he said.  The van's sliding door opened.  Jax was petrified.  He could not run.  He could hardly move, and could not scream for help.  The passenger pushed Jax into the van, and the man in the back closed the door.  On the floor Jax saw a man lying with blood on his shirt, conscious, but clearly in pain.  In a weak voice the man on the floor said, “Help me.  I can't breathe.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

HOT CAR

“Weather forecast for tonight: dark.”

--George Carlin

Monday morning, Trader received ten new files slated to go the shake-out or trial that morning in Judge Crawford’s department.  John read through them quickly before heading over to the courtroom.  He recognized some of the cases that he had issued on one of the many rotations he had as officer of the day.  He looked forward to the shake-out.  He felt comfortable going to trial on the cases he carried to court.  There were six DUI’s, three drug influence cases, and one misdemeanor child abuse where a woman left her child in a car while she went shopping at Wal Mart.  The shake-out proceeded and Judge Crawford officiated the dialogue between the defense attorneys, the Public Defenders and Prosecutors.  At the end Judge Crawford said, “Well, Mr. Trader, it looks like you have another case that is going to trial today.  Your offer to settle was not appropriate.  The child was not injured, the mother was only gone into Wal Mart for twenty minutes, and she has no prior record.  Some counseling on child care, followed by a dismissal would have settled the case.  Mr.  Jacoby here told us his client would accept that offer.”

John responded, “Yes, your honor, but this case was last Summer.  It was ninety-five degrees outside, and about one hundred degrees inside the car.  The police had to break a window to get the child out.  Also, the defendant has a misdemeanor arrest, I think it was shoplifting.  She was given diversion counseling and when she completed that, she got the case dismissed.  She has had one break, so I don’t see a reason to give her another break now.”

“A window was cracked,” said Crawford.  “There was sufficient ventilation in the car, and I think you’re going to have a tough time in my courtroom.  We’ll see you both at one thirty.  Be prepared for your
in limine
motions and jury selection.”

At one-thirty Trader waited in the courtroom.  The defendant was a fat thirty year old woman dressed in a sweatshirt, and she wore flip-flop sandals.  Her hair was disheveled and she wore no makeup.  She sat next to Jacoby while they waited for the Judge to enter the courtroom.  Trader had his computer template of general
in limine
motions that he had tailored to this case during the lunch hour.  He had filed them with the clerk immediately upon entering the courtroom.  At 1:30 sharp, Judge Crawford entered the courtroom.  The bailiff, the court clerk, the court recorder, Jacoby and his client and Trader were the only ones in the courtroom.  When the Judge sat in his black oversized chair the bailiff said, “Be seated.” The Judge looked at Trader.  “What motions do you have, Mr. Trader.”

John stood up.  “I have filed with the court my
in limine
motions.  I have given a copy to the defense.  I would like a list from the defense of all witnesses they intend to call at this trial.  I would like to insure that the defense has complied with all discovery issues, including statements by witnesses the defense intends to call to trial, a list of all exhibits the defense intends to present at trial, including any photos the defense may have.  Also, I will want any witnesses excluded from the courtroom until their testimony.” Excluding witnesses who were slated to testify was typical in any trial.  If they were not excluded, they could conform their testimony with any other friendly witnesses who had testified before them.  Unfortunately, he could not have the defendant excluded.  Defendants were usually the last to testify in any trial, after the prosecution’s witnesses and all of the defendant's witnesses.  The defendant could tailor his testimony to be consistent will all of his friendly witnesses.

Crawford turned to Jacoby.  “Mr. Jacoby?”

“Your honor,” said Jacoby.  “I have given a list to the prosecutor.  There may be other witnesses, but we don’t intend at this time to call any additional witnesses than those on the list, however, that could change as we see the case presented by the Prosecution.  I have no audio or written statements from any of the witnesses, other than appears in the police report.  As far as exhibits, I have several photos of the Wal Mart parking lot, including a DVD from the Parking Lot showing my client leaving her car ten minutes before the police arrived.  I have already supplied the exhibits to the Prosecution for inspection.  I will stipulate to excuse all witnesses from the courtroom until called.”

“Mr. Trader, are you satisfied?”

“Yes, your honor,” said Trader.

“Mr. Jacoby, do you have any motions.”

“No, your honor.  I spoke with the Prosecutor’s Legal Assistant last week and was assured I had all appropriate discovery.”

Judge Crawford looked at the bailiff and said, “Deputy Bledsoe, call in the jury pool.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

RANSOM

“Roger.”

--The term translates to 'understood' during police radio transmissions.

Not unlike 'Amen' at the end of a prayer.

Uniformed officer Kinsey followed the gurney carrying Jax into the hospital emergency room.  The ER Nurse Stopped the officer from following the gurney further, and said, “We can take it from here, officer.  I'll let you know.” As Kinsey turned to leave he received a dispatch call over the radio clipped to his shoulder.  “54 Romeo 12, contact assault unit on a landline as soon as you can.” Kinsey called the assault unit and identified himself.

“Kinsey, this is Detective Ransom.  Is the vic alive and conscious?”

“Negative.  He is still alive, but never regained consciousness.  Looks like he might not since he has a bullet hole in his head,” said Kinsey.

Ransom said, “Stick around the hospital for a while, and if he wakes at all, let us know ASAP.  We can't figure out how this guy ended up on the side of the road with a hole in his head.  We went back to the apartment address on his driver's license and some gal answered.  She said she never saw the guy before last night.  She woke up, and he was gone.  She looked like she had been rode hard and put away wet.  Seems this Doctor will be the only one who can tell us what happened.”

“Roger,” replied Kinsey.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE DONOR

“No one who comes to E.R. has clean underwear.”

--Denise Anderson, E.R. Nurse Philadelphia Central Hospital

Jax recognized the odors of a hospital, but it was different.  He could hear the sounds of a hospital but it was all in the darkness of his own mind.  Jax tried to understand what was happening.  He knew he was not working as a doctor at the hospital, and in fact he knew he did not have a job at a hospital anymore.  He could not understand why he was there.  Slowly, searching his memory, he recalled he was kidnapped by two people in a van.  When he saw the third person on the van floor he knew what he was supposed to do. 

“This guy needs a hospital, right now,” Jax told his kidnappers.  There was no response from the driver or passenger.  He was driven silently to a house about 30 minutes away.  The van parked in the garage and Jax was told at gunpoint to go into the house.  The wounded man was carried in.

“Fix him,” the driver said.

“I can't.  I don't have any anesthetic, or stitching, or bandages.”

“Fix him.” the driver said, and pointed the gun inches from Jax left temple.  Jax looked at the wounded man who was lying on a makeshift bed in the room that would normally be a living room.  He was conscious but said nothing.  The room was dirty, with garbage on the floor.  Jax took off the wounded man's shirt.  He saw what he recognized as a bullet entry point in the upper right chest.  Bleeding was contained.  He looked for an exit wound but did not find one.  He followed a red blood-colored quarter inch line around to the back of his body.  In his medical judgement  the bullet had entered his chest, hit a right rib bone, traveled skin deep, but did not exit on the backside of the wounded man.  It was not serious.  At that moment, the passenger walked into the room from the back of the house.  He had some bandages and tape in his hands while also holding onto the gun.  He put the bandages and tape next to Jax.  “Fix him,” repeated the driver.  Jax cleaned the wound with a washcloth, bandaged the entry wound hole and leaned back. 

“The wound is not serious.  He will live, but he needs to be taken to a hospital to have the bullet removed and to protect the wound against infection.”

The driver raised his gun to Jax, pointing it at his head.  “He will live.  That is all we need to know.” That is the last thing Jax could remember.

Jax heard what he recognized as the exchange between Doctors.

“Looks like we have a BHC,” said one Doctor's voice.

Jax was puzzled by the term.  He heard it somewhere, but could not remember what it meant.

Another voice asked, “Have we followed the protocol?”

The Doctors voice said, “His records show the protocol was followed.”

The other voice said, “Maybe we should reconfirm.”

The Doctor replied, “The EKG downstairs showed good heart rhythm.  It is not necessary to confirm because the EEG showed flatline.”

The other voice said, “I am going to reconfirm.” The Doctor then took a few drops of water from a bowl of ice in the operating room.  He sprinkled some on the ear of Jax and peered into the open eyes of Jax.  “No response of shivering in the eyes.” The Doctor then poked one eye with a cotton swab. “There is no gag reflex to a swab on the eye.” Then the Doctor removed the ventilator from the mouth of Jax.” There was no sign that Jax could breathe on his own.  “Looks like he failed the apnea test too.  Looks like we are good to go, but I am going to hook up the EEG just to make sure.” He hooked up the EEG.  “Looks flat line to me.  Let's proceed”.

Jax slowly began to see light.  He could not look in any direction.  He had no feeling of any part of his body.  He saw the operating room light directly over his head.  “What,” he asked himself, “am I doing here?” He didn't feel ice on his ear, he didn't see or feel the poke in his eye, but he did feel that he could not breathe when the ventilator was removed from his mouth.  Then he realized what was happening.  BHC.  He was a beating-heart cadaver.  He was an organ donor.  He was about to be harvested.  But he was still alive.  He wanted someone to help.

“Let's begin,” said the Doctor.  He picked up a scalpel and made an incision starting at the midsection of his chest.

Jax felt the knife as it cut the first layers of skin.

“We have a reaction on the EKG, his blood pressure is rising and his heart is beginning to race, Doctor.  This is the reaction we see in inadequately anesthetized live patients.  Maybe we should give him some high dose fentanyl and sufentanil.  They won't harm the organs but will quell the high blood pressure and heart rate during the harvesting operations.”

The Doctor replied, “That is simply reflex.  It would be a waste of drugs.  We will begin with the liver, heart, lungs, and kidneys.  There are two patients waiting for these right now.”

Jax felt a strange sensation inside his body.  And then his vision went and the darkness inside his mind went silent.  He did not know he was dead.