Closed Casket

By Raul Aguilar

The theft of an insurance company’s assets by a prominent attorney denies medical and psychological treatment for a six-year-old girl who witnessed the violent death of her parents.
Sherman Allen's attempt to recover the money awarded to the six-year-old girl for medical and psychological treatment places his life in constant danger as he uncovers the “dead” attorney’s new identity.

From the jungles of Costa Rica to the dry hot plains of Spain, Sherman Allen pursues his six-year-old client's claim against the stolen money to pay for her medical treatment. Sherman Allen's struggles against his own inner demons as he searches for personal redemption and a way to satisfy his young client’s claim.

Sherman Allen reunites with his friend Jacqueline Du Lafont, Countess of Lorraine, who helps him escape and accept the dark lingering depression which follows his search for the answers to his reason for living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raul Aguilar
• Release date: May 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301555802

Raul Aguilar

Raul Aguilar has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 35 years. A degree in Electrical Engineering lead to a career as an Electronic Analog Design Engineer for 10 years and ultimately inspired him to pursue a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco. Admission to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office diverted his interests temporarily, but ultimately fate led him to pursue a career as an Insurance Regulatory Attorney.Raul has pursued writing short stories as a means to express his interests in travel, 13th Century European History and International Relations. Raul's travels have led him from San Francisco across all the major cities in America to London, Paris, Cote d'Azur, Monaco, Germany, Italy, Rome, Spain, the Cayman Islands, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. His writings reflect many of the places and cities visited by Raul and his lovely wife Diane.

Book preview

Closed Casket

By

Raul Aguilar

Copyright 2013 Raul Aguilar

Smashwords Edition. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Acknowledgments

I dedicate this book to my wife, Diane. A sweet and gentle soul who patiently stood at my side and unselfishly gave her last measure of love and life in support of my efforts. Without Diane, nothing would have been possible.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1 - A Fresh Start

Chapter 2 - Smooth Sailing

Chapter 3 - Consequences

Chapter 4 - Change of Events

Chapter 5 - A New Player

Chapter 6 - In the Lion's Den

Chapter 7 - Action and Reaction

Chapter 8 - Another Reason to Die

Chapter 9 - Retribution

Chapter 10 - New Friends

Chapter 11 - Unexpected Results

Chapter 12 - Reunion

Chapter 13 - Advice and Relaxation

Chapter 14 - Final Confrontation

Chapter 15 - Fatal Justice

Epilogue

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About The Author

Other Books by Raul Aguilar

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Prologue

Adventure is the water from the fountain of youth.

-Unknown Author-

Chapter 1 - A Fresh Start

Domestic Bliss

Robert Valentine left the Chief Counsel’s office and wanted to celebrate. Robert had just received his annual performance review. He had just received a promotion to Senior Staff Counsel. He wanted to celebrate, but he had to put the final changes on a legal opinion he was writing for his boss, the Nevada Insurance Commissioner, Julian Stanton. Floating on air, he went into his office, pulled up the document on his computer and started typing.

For the past five years, Robert Valentine had given his best efforts to every assignment he had received, no matter how small or how difficult. His immediate supervisor, Peter Bruce, had shown Robert a memo listing the total number of cases closed by the office Legal Department and pointed out that Robert had successfully prosecuted 70% of all open cases. The memorandum highlighted the fact that Robert had closed more cases that year than all of the other attorneys collectively in the Legal Division. His supervisors, the Chief Counsel and Commissioner Stanton had noticed the quality of his work. Robert loved his work and the promotion was icing on the cake.

Congratulations Robert, I just heard about your promotion, said Eilene Benjestown. Robert looked up and saw the office Legal Assistant Eilene smiling and placing a vase full of flowers on his desk. Eilene Benjestown had worked with Robert since he came to the Nevada Department of Insurance five years ago, fresh out of law school. Over the years, Eilene had learned Robert’s eccentricities, his methods and had adapted her work to supplement Robert’s needs. Eilene had become Robert’s right arm and he knew that without her help, he would not have successfully prosecuted so many cases. In many ways, she was responsible for his promotion.

Thanks Eilene. Listen, I have to finish this legal opinion, but do you have time to get together for a cocktail after work to celebrate? I know that the other attorneys are not very happy about my promotion and it would be nice to have a drink with a friend, he said. I would love to have a cocktail. I will meet you at MJ's Sports Bar when you finish your brief. Don’t worry if you’re late, I’ll understand, she said smiling as she left Robert to his work.

No attorney on the legal staff had received a promotion in the last five years. The reason that the Chief Counsel gave them was that they were all at the top of their pay grade. They could not be promoted to the next pay grade, without the approval of the Insurance Commissioner. The reality was that the Chief Counsel did not think very much of his staff and their work output was below any standard in the industry.

One of the benefits of civil service was the government’s inability to fire you without cause. If you did not perform well, there was little that anyone could do about pushing you to work harder. Most of the attorneys had been on staff for at least 15 years and would remain in their positions until they retired. Since the Chief Counsel could not fire the attorneys, he simply did not promote them above their pay grades in the hopes that they would resign or look for other work. Robert had noted with interest the Chief Counsel’s statement that This will show them that promotions are available if they are willing to work.

Robert Valentine did not believe that his work was that much better than that of the other attorneys, but he did understand that they were inherently lazy and in the absence of any reason to work any harder, they were content to hold their position. Robert could not understand how they could spend eight hours a day doing nothing, literally nothing and come back the following day for more of the same. One of the attorneys would not touch incoming correspondence until it had been on his desk for at least a month and then would complain that he had a month’s backlog of work. Another would stare out the window and watch the traffic waiting for the morning or afternoon coffee break. All would indulge in long lunches, leave exactly at 5 o’clock and complain about the office working conditions. When Robert Valentine first started as an entry-level attorney, it took him only a few months to realize the nature of the working conditions and he concluded, If this is my competition, I don’t really have to work very hard to make an impression on my employer. Robert Valentine had been right and for his efforts, he received a promotion every six months.

Robert finished reviewing his opinion letter and was satisfied with its form and content. He sent the file to the printer, went into the typing pool and retrieved the file, signed it and dropped it off in the Chief Counsel’s inbox. It was after 6 o’clock in the afternoon and the entire office was empty. Robert left the building and walked the two blocks to the MJ's Sports Bar. MJ's was a local watering hole where the employees of the various businesses in the area went to drown their sorrows or celebrate their successes. MJ's was always dark and it had a special ambience that suggested a private meeting spot for couples, conspirators and lovers. Robert spotted Eilene sitting at a table by herself and nursing a glass of white wine.

Robert walked over to the table and said, I’m sorry Eilene. It took longer than I thought to finish. I only have time for one drink and then I have to go home and tell my wife our good fortune. It was clear that Eilene was disappointed, but Robert had obligations and they came first. Sure. I understand. Your wife will be very happy to hear the news, she said. Robert felt bad because she had waited for him for over an hour and they would only spend a few minutes together. Please give me a rain check. Let’s get together tomorrow and celebrate, he said.

Robert drove home and planned to take his wife out for a nice dinner and celebrate his promotion. For too many months, over the past five years, he had worked late and come home to spend a few minutes watching TV and going to bed early. Robert realized that the countless hours invested in law school had changed the relationship between he and his wife and he had planned to make it up to her once he started working. When he started work, his wife had taken a job as a nurse and had drawn the graveyard shift.

Robert would come home late in the evening and she would leave for work. Regardless of the work schedules, she seemed happy and spent a lot of time with her friends. Robert spent all of his time working and sleeping. Two ships passing in the night was an apt description of the relationship. Robert Valentine promised himself that he would start working on the relationship and find the time to be together. I will tell her to call in sick, we will go out for a nice dinner and we will talk like old times, he said to himself as he drove up the driveway.

Robert knew that by 7 o’clock she was up and about preparing to go to work later in the evening. The timing was perfect. She could change and he would get reservations for dinner around 8 o’clock. Robert parked the car in the garage, went through the kitchen passed the living room and into the bedroom expecting to find her dressing. She was not in the bedroom. Robert called her name aloud and he went from room to room and could not find her. He went into the living room and saw a note on the coffee table.

The note read, Robert, I’m going to go over to Charlotte’s house, have dinner and then go to work. I will talk to you in the morning. She must have just left, he thought to himself as he looked up Charlotte’s telephone number. Charlotte, this is Robert, may I speak with my wife, I have a surprise for her, he said eagerly. There was a silence before Charlotte responded, I thought your wife was going over to Reno and do some gambling. She likes that restaurant at the Hilton. Oh! I am sorry Charlotte I must have gotten confused. Thanks, he said hanging up the phone slowly.

Robert was confused. This was not the first time that his wife had left him a note saying she was with a friend. Perhaps she meant another Charlotte. Robert knew that she kept a diary with phone numbers of her friends and started looking for her phone book. He searched the living room, the kitchen cabinets with the cookbooks and then the drawers in the bedroom without finding anything. He was about to give up when he pulled open a drawer of folders and in the back of the drawer was her diary.

Let’s see if I can find Charlotte number 2, he said as he looked at the back of the diary for phone numbers. There were no phone numbers on the back pages of the diary, he then looked at the front of the diary and saw that the first entry was only a few weeks ago. "This is too current. She would keep the phone numbers in the earlier ones. He quickly leafed through the pages of the diary looking for telephone numbers and was about to put the diary back where he found it when he noticed an entry written the prior weekend.

The diary entry read, His sister is very upset with me. She came out and caught us this morning, but he is so deliciously sexy. He took me on the couch.... Robert Valentine sat on the bed and read the entire three pages describing his wife’s drunken orgy with Charlotte’s brother. He then read the diary from the beginning and found two other detailed graphic encounters, in the kitchen of their home and in a cheap nearby motel. Robert did not believe what he was reading. After an hour, he started looking around the room for more diaries until he found one in his wife’s underwear drawer. This covered a six-month period the year before and was equally graphic.

Robert Valentine was 5'9 tall, 190 pounds; square shouldered and most women considered him handsome. In the last five years, he held a responsible position as an attorney and he had deflected the attentions of a dozen attractive young women. Some women were attracted because of his looks, others because of his position of power and authority, and some because he was a good man. I refuse to believe this," he said aloud, deciding to act.

The drive from Carson City to Reno tested Robert Valentine’s belief in the sanctity of marriage and his faith that his wife would never do any of the things that she had written. It has to be a fantasy. She is bored, working long hours and unhappy. She makes these things up to distract herself, he said aloud. It was a long shot, but Robert knew that his wife liked the restaurant at the Hilton and she might be there having dinner with another girlfriend.

Robert needed to confirm that none of the things he had read was true and they were a simple fantasy on his wife’s part. Robert pulled into the valet parking at the Hilton hotel and went directly to the restaurant. He walked past the Maître d' telling him, I’m looking for my wife. She got here before me. Robert walked through the entire restaurant and his wife was not there. Perhaps she is gambling, he said to himself and wandered the casino for an hour before giving up.

My name is Robert Valentine, my wife and I checked in a couple of hours ago. I have lost my key card and I would like a new one, he said to the hotel receptionist. I will need some identification, she replied. Robert gave her his driver's license and the credit card that he and his wife shared. The receptionist looked at the computer and said, The room is registered in your wife’s name. I cannot give you a key card. She will have to come and request another key card.

Robert Valentine knew that his wife was staying at the hotel and she had used their credit card to pay for the room. It was time to get aggressive. Look, it is my wife’s room, my credit card, I am an attorney and I want to talk to the manager, he said in his most aggressive and authoritarian tone of voice. The receptionist disappeared, in a few minutes later came back and said, I’m sorry to inconvenience you. The manager has authorized me to give you a new key card for your room. Robert Valentine gave the receptionist his most charming smile, thanked her for her diligence, went to the elevator, and took it up to the fifth floor to his wife’s room.

Robert let himself in with the key card and found the room empty. He went over to the closet and recognized his wife’s jacket, a couple of blouses, a dress and a man’s jacket, a shirt and a pair of dress slacks. The bile in his stomach started to rise into his throat and he had to work hard to keep from puking. He walked around the room and saw a bottle of scotch whiskey, Johnny Walker Black Label sitting on the table. This probably came from my liquor cabinet, he said to himself.

Robert walked back, pulled the man’s jacket, shirt, dress trousers from the closet, and threw them on the ground. He then opened the bottle of whiskey, poured a water glass full of whiskey, took a couple of swallows and allowed the smooth 12-year-old scotch warm the length of his throat. He then poured the entire bottle of whiskey over the man’s clothes. Robert sat and nursed the whiskey for over an hour before the door opened to the hotel room and his wife walked in with a tall dark-haired man and said, Oh my God!

Come on in. I understand we are having a party, Robert said with a sarcastic smile. What are you doing here, his wife demanded. I’m just having a couple of fingers of 12-year-old Johnny Walker scotch. This would not have come from our liquor cabinet. Did it? Robert responded. The tall dark-haired man did not say anything, but he did notice that his clothes were on the ground and there was an empty bottle of scotch on top of them. In Nevada I could shoot you right between the eyes and no jury would convict me of homicide, Frontier Law and all that stuff, he said looking directly at the tall dark-haired man.

Without speaking a word, the tall dark-haired man turned around and left the room. Robert Valentine’s wife said, You ruined everything. This is not what it appears to be. What is the matter with you? I found a couple of your diaries. They made very interesting reading and would make provocative exhibits in a divorce trial, said Robert. This is all just a fantasy. Don’t you understand, just a fantasy, she said clearly terrified. Well, you have to do what you have to do. You must think I am an absolute idiot, he said. Robert Valentine took another sip from his whiskey-filled water glass and as he left the room said, You do have a talent for writing. The detail and descriptions were quite graphic.

Companionship

It took me 12 years to be promoted to Senior Staff Counsel. You did it in five years. I guess it helps to be friends with the Chief Counsel, said Peter Bruce as he reviewed Robert Valentine’s opinion letter. I’m certain that there were stricter standards when you came to the department and it was much more difficult to secure promotions, replied Robert Valentine. I have a law degree from Harvard. It used to count for something when you graduated from an Ivy League school. When the State Bar changed the rules to give those lawyers who received their degrees from unaccredited law schools a Juris Doctor designation, they lowered the bar and made everyone equal, said Peter Bruce.

Robert Valentine had learned not to argue with his immediate supervisor about lawyer's education, their qualifications or their fitness in general. Several years earlier they had been having coffee and someone asked how many times Robert had taken the bar exam before he had passed it. Robert had passed the first time and after a long silence, everyone, including Peter Bruce admitted that they had taken the bar exam several times before they passed the test.

I want you to rewrite your opinion letter. It is too long and there are too many citations. Keep it short and everyone will be happy, said Peter Bruce handing the eight page legal opinion to Robert. Robert was not happy with his supervisor’s comments, but decided he would comply. He went back to his office, reduced the entire eight pages to a single page with three paragraphs, and returned it to his supervisor. Peter Bruce reviewed the single page document and said, Perfect. That is exactly the way you should write your opinions short and to the point. I will submit this to the Chief Counsel and withdraw your earlier opinion.

Robert knew that the Chief Counsel would reject Peter's feeble attempt at supervising him and his rejection of Peter's shortened version of Robert's opinion letter would keep Peter off his back for a few months. It was almost lunchtime and Robert was still upset about the encounter with his wife and her boyfriend. Robert needed to talk to someone he could trust. He sat at his desk and realized that he had not made many friends in his five years at the Nevada Department of Insurance other than the Chief Counsel, one of the lawyers in the Las Vegas office and Eilene Benjestown.

Robert Valentine knew everyone in the office by his or her first name and everyone knew him to be friendly and generous with everyone. I have a lot of acquaintances, but few friends in whom I can confide, he thought to himself. He remembered that he had promised to take Eilene for a drink to celebrate his promotion, but that was several days ago. Robert got up from his desk and went down the hall to Eilene Benjestown’s office. Eilene. Are you free for lunch, I owe you a drink? he said with a sheepish grin on his face. Eilene’s face lit up and she said, It’s not a good idea to drink and work, but I’ll make an exception for you. Okay, grab your coat and let’s go down to MJ's. The food isn’t that good, but it’s a nice place to talk, he said pulling her jacket from the hook behind her office door.

Robert had worked closely with Eilene for the past five years and he had never noticed that she was a very attractive girl. She had brown eyes, red hair and a pageboy cut that accented her oval face. Eilene was 5'4" tall; she was 125 pounds soaking wet and wore conservative clothes that accented her figure. As they took the elevator down to the restaurant, Robert remembered that she had always made him laugh with her quick wit and insightful comments about the other attorneys.

I never told you how much you have helped me over the past few years. Without your help I don’t think that I would have come to the Chief Counsel’s attention and received as many promotions as I have, he said reaching over and touching her hand. Eilene blushed and said, You are the best attorney on the staff. I knew that the first time I ever saw you and I decided to try to get assignments so that I could work with you. Believe it or not, you have taught me more than I would have learned from all the other attorneys.

Robert was drinking double Johnnie Walker Black Label scotch and Eilene was nursing a glass of white wine. Let’s not go back to work. Why don’t we get a picnic basket and go down to the park next to the old courthouse. No one is going to miss us, said Robert examining the expression on her face. A troubled look crossed her face and for a moment, Robert thought she was going to say no. It sounds like fun. I have not gone on a picnic for years. I know a place we can stop and pick up sandwiches and stuff, she said with a radiant smile on her face. They finished their drinks, paid the bar bill and went to Robert’s car which was parked in the underground parking lot. Eilene directed Robert to a small delicatessen on Carson Street where they picked up sandwiches, a jar of olives, potato salad, two bottles of champagne and some plastic glasses.

They parked their car on the corner of Baker Street and found a grassy knoll under a large tree. Robert was not hungry and had used the excuse to get Eilene away from the office so that he could talk to her. Eilene opened one of the bottles of champagne and poured each one of them a glass. Congratulations on your new promotion. I overheard the Chief Counsel talking to the Commissioner about promoting you to a Career Executive status which would remove you from the legal staff and into management, she said with a sly smile on her face. Robert had not heard a word that she said. He was wondering to himself whether she had a boyfriend and what she thought about having an affair with a married man. Robert did not like to mix scotch whiskey with wine or champagne. Although he could drink scotch whiskey all night, two glasses of wine would be enough to get him drunk. The combination never worked for him and here he was drinking champagne as if it were water.

"Eilene I hope you don’t think I’m being