Rogues & Rascals in Goose Pimple Junction (Goose Pimple Junction Mysteries Book 4) (26 page)

“It was the window slowly coming down. That little booger wanted to hear what we were saying and rolled down the window.”

The women burst into peals of laughter. Jack’s exasperated expression soon turned, and he joined in with them.

“I tell you what, though. I was tempted to have Velveeta lock her up.”

“Wouldn’t do any good,” Tess said. “She’d just break out.”

The four were still laughing when Junebug came to the table and set a glass of sweet tea in front of Jack, along with his own plate of corn muffins.

Slick hollered, “Order up,” and she said she’d be right back.

Jack clapped his hands together and said, “Okay, team. What have we got?” He was incredulous that a lawyer would do such a thing and vowed to help Caledonia out of the mess in which she’d found herself.

“See, girls? Jackson is proof that not all lawyers are bad apples.” Tess hugged her husband’s arm.

“First let me tell y’all what I found out.” Paprika eagerly leaned forward.

“
First
let me take y’alls orders,” Junebug interjected, back at the table and pulling the pencil from the bun on the top of her head. “I told Slick to fry up some burgers and fries for the youngins.” She hitched her head to the table where Caledonia and Paprika’s kids sat. “Hope that’s okay?”

“Absolutely,” Caledonia said. “And the check is on me.”

To make it easy, they all ordered Blue Plate Specials and sweet tea. Junebug walked away hollering, “Blue Plate Specials for a bridge party.”

“Okay now, Paprika. What did you find out?” Tess leaned forward, arms on the table.

“Well, I’ve been able to recover the email that Dee Dee sent to Caledonia with the so-called final draft. I’ve also been able to find several emails from Dee Dee with agreement drafts sent to clients that were grossly written in favor of the husband.” She looked at Jack. “Jack, you can go to the clerk’s office and see if the agreement in the emails match the final settlement or if they’re different. Either way, something is hinky. And I’m sure the more digging I do, the more I’ll find.”

“You mean I’m not the only one?” Caledonia’s relief was evident in her widened eyes.

“You are not the only one who got screwed, honey. What’s more, I discovered one email from a man agreeing to pay Dee Dee so she would pull the switcheroo.”

“That’s criminal!” Caledonia’s mouth dropped open.

“And idiotic that she kept the email,” Tess added.

“Pure arrogance is what it is,” Jack sputtered.

Paprika narrowed her eyes. “And something else fishy is that almost all of her divorce settlements are signed by the same judge.”

“That has to be more than a coincidence,” Jack said.

“I think so too. I think they’re in it together. If someone should complain, they complain to the judge. I’m betting he tells them there’s nothing they can do and shuts them down before the complaint goes any further.”

“Do you have the emails and the names of these victims, Paprika?”

“I sure do. Here.” She handed him a piece of paper.

Caledonia looked worried. “The tricky part is approaching the women. How can we talk with them about this without letting on how we found out they’re involved?”

“Jack, you and I can go talk to them after we’ve found some more documents that don’t match,” Tess offered. “We won’t ever mention Paprika. We’ll just say we heard Dee Dee was their lawyer, and we’ll go from there. I’m betting she’s made enough women mad that someone will talk.”

“Once we have a statement from these women, we’ll take it to Johnny and the state bar.”

“That will be my pleasure.” Caledonia’s gaze went to the counter where Clive and Earl were arguing. “What’s up with those two?

Tess turned toward the old men and then back to Caledonia. “Clive got the mini-bulldozer he ordered, and now he has to put it together. They’re still arguing over which one will outpull the other.”

“Oh, Lord. Those two are going to die arguing.”

“And they’ll die happy,” Jack said.

The women laughed.

“Just when I thought I’d heard it all, someone comes along and proves me wrong.” The chief ran a hand over his face.

“It’s all true, Johnny.” Tess said from across the desk.

“Shewee, y’all sure you want to start this fight?” He sat back in his chair, gripping the armrests.

Jack, Tess, and Caledonia were in Johnny’s office and had just filled him in on what Paprika had found out about Dee Dee.

“I mean, granted, this has to stop, but I’m here to tell you it’s gonna be a fight. If a judge is involved, it’s gonna be harder because no judge is going to allow a motion to be heard that would expose him as corrupt. He’ll simply throw it out. And you have to know that judges stick together. In a perfect world, we could get this fixed. But if this has been going on for a while, we’re going to have people who want to cover it up and will ignore the evidence. I mean it, y’all. You’re facing an uphill battle.”

“Johnny, we can’t just sit by and let this happen.”

“I agree. I just think we need to be careful how we handle it. We have to think this through.” He rubbed his chin while he stared off into space. “Why don’t you let me go talk to Dee Dee first?”

“That’s fine. But something tells me we’re going to need more than just Caledonia’s complaint. Tess, Caledonia, and I will work on talking to the others.”

“Makes sense. It doesn’t hurt to get people on board. What she’s done is wrong, and we need to put a stop to it.”

“She won’t be able to deny it when you confront her with the two documents. You won’t even have to tell her we know about the others,” Jack said.

“It would be nice if she’d back down when she sees she’s been caught. I could offer her the chance to quietly right the wrongs,” Johnny said hopefully.

“You don’t say that with much conviction,” Tess noted.

Johnny made a face. “Honestly, I think the possibility of that happening is slim to none.” He looked at the list Caledonia gave him.

“Yep, and I’m betting slim just left town,” Jack agreed.

“Let me see what I can do. Then we can report her to the state bar once all is said and done. Document everything and make sure you have a paper trail that tells the story. And when talking with someone, whether it be over the phone or in person, always,
always
have two people present to corroborate the story.”

As the three filed out of his office, Johnny called after them, “And watch your backs, y’all.”

Mama always said . . . It’s okay to let your mind go blank, but please turn off the sound.

J
ohnny and Hank did not call ahead; they simply showed up at Dee Dee’s office. They had waited until the end of the day so there wouldn’t be many people milling around. The administrative assistant was putting on her coat when they arrived.

“Chief, you and Martha Maye aren’t having marital woes, are you? Y’all are just about the last couple on earth I would imagine getting a divorce.”

“No, we’re doing just fine. And before you ask, no, we do not have an appointment. We need to see Ms. Petty on a private matter.”

Dee Dee appeared in her doorway. “You can go on home, Felicia. Chief, do you need to see me?”

“I do.”

“That’s funny. That phrase is usually what starts all the problems that end up in this office.”

Johnny’s mouth formed a tight smile as he and Hank followed her into her office.

“How are you, Chief?” Dee Dee sounded friendly enough.

“If I were doing any better, I’d have to be you.”

“Really.” She folded her arms and looked him up and down. “So you’re not here on personal business, and Hank isn’t married, so he can’t be here for that reason. What can I do for you?”

“Well, I’ll get right to it.” Johnny laid two files in front of her on her desk. He stood, his finger on one file as he said, “This here document is a fairly equitable settlement. Personally, I think you could have fought harder for your client, but I realize this is a negotiation process and the better lawyer comes out on top.” He shrugged. “I’d say you got out-lawyered.”

Johnny’s tactic was to rattle her from the get-go. She might be likely to say more than she intended if she were angry. After absorbing the withering look she threw at him, he moved his finger to the second file. “And this here is the settlement that Caledonia Culpepper ended up signing. I’m sure you don’t need to read them in order to recall that the two are totally different documents.”

“Chief, I don’t know what Ms. Culpepper has told you, but—”

He didn’t allow her to interrupt. He spoke over her. “It doesn’t really matter what she’s told me. It’s the cold, hard evidence that I’m interested in.”

“And you think you have that.” She said it as a statement and in a tone that suggested she seriously suspected he was mistaken.

Johnny sat and crossed one foot over a knee. “Now, you go on and give it a go.”

“Excuse me? Give what a go?”

“Do your best to convince me what you did isn’t about as low-down, underhanded, and dishonest as a person can get.” He turned to Hank. “I’ve been looking forward to this performance.”

“Chief, I’m sure it’s not the first time that you’ve been wrong, so it won’t be too big of a blow. But the fact is, this document,” she held it up and then dropped it on her desk, “was an early draft. Ms. Culpepper hemmed and hawed so long that some of these offers were no longer on the table. Finally, she just wanted to be done with the whole process, and she told me to settle. Which is what I did. I’m sure I could have gotten more had we gone to court, but she didn’t want to do that. And now she’s blaming me for her financial problems? Ha.” She looked as if she’d just eaten something distasteful.