Special Circumstances (43 page)

“I’m afraid I don’t know. That information was confidential. Thetrustee in the Bahamas was the only person who knew the names of theremainder men
“Mr. Stern, did you assist in setting up the trust?”
“Yes.”
“Yet, you don’t know the names of the income beneficiaries or theremainder men
“That’s true.”
That’s bullshit.
“Why did you choose to set up the trust in the Bahamas?”
“Mr. Holmes enjoyed vacationing there. He became very involved invarious causes over the years. Ultimately, he wanted to retire there.And, to be perfectly honest, the tax laws were favorable.”
The accountant perks up. The lawyers look at each other.
“When you set up the trust, I’m sure you investigated the incomebeneficiaries very carefully, right?”
“Actually, the trust administrator in the Bahamas handled it,” hereplies.
“I’m not involved in the day-to-day management.”
He’s tap-dancing around my questions.
“I see.” Rosie hands me another document.
It has the seal of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas at the top. I handcopies to Skipper, the judge and Stern. I ask that it be introducedinto evidence.
Skipper doesn’t object.
“Mr. Stern,” I say, “do you recognize this document?”
“Yes. It’s the charter for the trust. It sets forth the rules for thegovernance of the trust. It names First Bank Bahamas as the soletrustee.”
“It also names the income beneficiaries and the remainder men doesn’tit?” I’m setting him up. I know the names of the income beneficiariesand the remainder men are set forth in a confidential addendum whichI’ve not yet seen.
“Well, no. That information is in a separate document. It’sconfidential.”
“And do you now recall the names of the income beneficiaries and theremainder men
“As I said before, I don’t know.”
Sure.
“There are two individuals who serve as the socalled trust protectors,aren’t there?”
“Yes. The trust protectors have the authority to take action on behalfof the trust and change the trustee. The trust protectors are Mr.Holmes and myself.”
Now, we’re getting somewhere.
“As trust protector, Mr. Stern, I presume you would know the names ofthe income beneficiaries and the remainder men of the trust?”
“I’m afraid not, Mr. Daley. As I said, that information is in aseparate document. Under the laws of the Bahamas, it’s confidential. Idon’t know.”
Liar.
“You mean to tell us the trust protector doesn’t know who gets themoney when Mr. Holmes died?”
“That’s true. It was all handled in the Bahamas.”
“So though you are the attorney who helped set this thing up, you don’tknow who gets the money?”
“Objection. Asked and answered.”
“Sustained.”
I glare at Stern.
“Did you get a fee for acting as trust protector, Mr. Stern?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Objection. Relevance.”
“It is relevant, Your Honor. Unless Mr. Stem wants to tell us that hedoesn’t know how big his fee is, either.”
“That’s enough, Mr. Daley. The objection is overruled. Answer thequestion, Mr.
Stern.”
“It depends,” he says.
“On what?”
“On the value of the assets in the trust at any given time.”
“You get a percentage of the value of the assets?”
“Yes.”
“What percentage?”
“Your Honor,” he implores.
“This is highly confidential information.”
“Answer the question, Mr. Stern, or I’ll hold you in contempt.”
“Five percent,” he grumbles.
“Now, Mr. Stern, how much was your fee last year?”
He looks at the judge. She stares him down.
“About four hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
“Four hundred fifty thousand?” I repeat loudly.
“If my high-school arithmetic is correct, this means the trust hadabout ten million dollars’ worth of assets. Is that about right, Mr.Stern?”
“Yes,” he says.
“That’s about right.”
“Your Honor,” Skipper says, “this is all very interesting. But I failto see the relevance.”
She turns to me.
“Mr. Daley, are we going to see a point to this anytime soon?”
“Yes.” Here goes.
“Mr. Stern, isn’t it a fact Mr. Holmes was unhappy about your fee?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Daley.”
“Let me be more specific. Isn’t it a fact Mr. Holmes thought your feewas excessive?”
“No.”
I turn to Rosie, who hands me three copies of a letter. I hand onecopy to the judge, one to Skipper and the other to Stern. I introduceit into evidence.
“Do you recognize this letter, Mr. Stern?”
“I don’t recall.”
“Let me refresh your memory. It’s a letter dated September third oflast year addressed to a Mr. Trevor Smith at First Bank in theBahamas. As you’ll see, you were copied on this letter.”
He studies it and shrugs.
“Would you please read the sentence I’ve highlighted, Mr. Stern?”
On go the reading glasses. “
“I believe that the fees paid to the trust protector are extravagantlyhigh. I would like to terminate the services of Mr.
Stern at the end of this year.”
” “Who signed the letter?”
He takes off the reading glasses and exhales.
“Mr. Holmes.”
“It appears that Mr. Holmes wanted to fire you. Isn’t that aboutright?”
He clears his throat.
“From time to time, he expressed some reservations about the amount ofmy fee. I don’t believe he intended to implement the terms of thisletter.”
“You mean you don’t think he would have fired you?”
“No. The trust was in place for many years. But he certainly couldhave done so if he wanted to.”
I glance at the jury. I turn back to Chuckles.
“What happens to your fee now?”
“It is paid until the trust is liquidated.”
“When is that supposed to happen?”
“It will probably take two or three years.”
“So, at half a million a year, the death of Mr. Holmes will result inyour receiving an additional million or million and a half dollars.Isn’t that right, Mr. Stern?”
“I have no choice, Mr. Daley. I have a contractual obligation to actas trust protector. When the trust was put in place, my fees weretiny. Over the years, the assets in the trust have grown considerably.It’s not my fault that it turned into a very favorable contract forme.”
“And if Mr. Holmes had lived, he would have terminated your deal, andyou would have lost out on another million and a half dollars.”
“As I said, Mr. Daley, I don’t believe he intended to terminate myservices.”
Bullshit.
“That’s terribly convenient, isn’t it, Mr. Stern?”
“Objection.”
“Sustained.”
Rosie hands me a thick legal-size document. I hand it to Chuckles.
“Mr. Stern,” I say, “you’re familiar with this life insurance policy,aren’t you?”
He puts on his reading glasses and glances at it.
“Yes.”
“It’s what’s called a key-man life insurance policy, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“It was taken out by the Simpson and Gates firm, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“And the firm paid all the premiums, right?”
He looks over the top of his glasses.
“Yes. That’s how key-man insurance works.
A business such as ours buys life insurance policies on the lives ofimportant members of the firm. In our case, we took down this policyon the life of Bob Holmes. We had similar policies for all of ourpartners.”
“I see. And would you mind telling us how much this policy was worthto the firm?” I’ve set the trap. At least I hope so.
He looks at Skipper.
“Two and a half million dollars.”
I pause.
“Mr. Stern,” I say, “I believe you’ve misread the policy value. Wouldyou mind looking at the policy again?”
He flips open the policy. He adjusts his reading glasses. He stopsstone cold.
He takes off the reading glasses and looks at me.
“Mr. Stern? Would you mind telling us how much the policy wasworth?”
Our eyes meet.
“Twenty million dollars,” he says quietly.
“Twenty million dollars,” I repeat.
“That’s a lot of money, isn’t it? That’s even more money than BobHolmes had in that hokey trust you set up for him in the Bahamas.”
“Objection.”
“Sustained. Let’s stop the editorial comments right now, Mr. Daley.”
I don’t stop.
“Mr. Stern, if the firm had a twenty-million-dollar policy on Mr.
Holmes, how come it had to file for bankruptcy protection?”
“The insurance company hasn’t paid us yet. These things take time, Mr.Daley.”
“And then all of the firm’s financial difficulties will be workedout?”
“We think so, Mr. Daley.”
“When was this policy issued, Mr. Stern?”
He puts on his reading glasses and glances at the cover page of thepolicy.
“December fifteenth of last year.”
“Mr. Stern,” I say, “you’ve read this policy pretty carefully, haven’tyou? You were a partner in a big law firm, after all. So you read thefine print, right?”
There’s only one possible answer.
“Yes, Mr. Daley.”
“Would you please turn to page six of the policy?”
He shuffles through the first pages.
“Yes, Mr. Daley.”
“Would you please read the heading on page six?”
“
“General Provisions.”
” I turn and face the jury. Without looking at Stern, I say, “Wouldyou please read the title of the fifth paragraph in the right column ofpage six?”
“
“Ownership and Control.”
” I’m still looking at the jury when I interrupt him.
“No, Mr. Stern. The following paragraph. It’s entitled “SuicideExclusion.”
” His voice is barely a whisper. “
“If the Insured, whether sane or insane, dies by suicide within twoyears from the issue date, we will pay no more under this contract thanthe sum of the premiums paid, minus any contract debt and minus anypartial withdrawals.”
” I turn and face Chuckles.
“Mr. Stern, that section contains what is customarily known as asuicide clause, doesn’t it?”
“Objection. Foundation. Mr. Stern isn’t qualified as an expert oninsurance.”
“Overruled.”
“It’s a suicide clause,” Stern says.
“And in layman’s terms, what does it mean?”
“If the insured commits suicide within the first two years, theinsurer doesn’t have to pay.”
“And, if it was determined Mr. Holmes committed suicide, what would itmean for the firm?”
“We wouldn’t get the twenty million dollars.”
I turn back to the jury.
“Just so we’re all perfectly clear on this, Mr. Stern, if the death ofMr. Holmes is determined to be a suicide, you guys will lose thetwenty-million-dollar insurance payment.”
“That’s right,” he says. His lips barely move.
“You might say the firm has twenty million reasons to hope the death ofMr.
Holmes is not declared a suicide.”
“Objection.”
“Sustained.” Judge Chen points her gavel at me.
“I’ve already warned you about grandstanding in my courtroom, Mr.Daley.”
I’ve gone far beyond the bounds.
“No further questions.” Thanks, Perry. I’ll buy a million bucks oflife insurance from you.
Skipper practically leaps out of his seat. First things first. Sternhas placed Skipper at the scene that night. He must clear his namebefore he starts his crossexamination. It’s as I had hoped. He’sdistracted. His reputation is on the line.
“Isn’t it true that you saw me at the Simpson and Gates office ataround one o’clock that night?”
“Yes.”
“And we had a brief conversation, didn’t we?”
“Yes.”
“And I told you that I had returned to the office to pick up mybriefcase, right?”
“Objection, Your Honor. Hearsay. Mr. Stern cannot testify as to whatMr. Gates said. If Mr. Gates wants to testify about what he said,we’re perfectly happy to permit him to do so.”
She can’t resist a grin at Skipper.
“Sustained.”
Skipper gathers himself.
“Mr. Stern, did you see me leaving the office with my briefcase?”
“Yes.”
“Did I say anything to you?”
“Objection, Your Honor. Hearsay.”
“Sustained.”
Skipper frowns. This isn’t going very well.
“Mr. Stern, do you have any reason to believe that I was in the officefor any purpose other than to collect my briefcase?”
“Objection. Speculative.”
“Sustained.” She certainly can’t be faulted for going easy on him.
Skipper spends five minutes asking Chuckles perfunctory questions aboutthe insurance policy and the firm’s financial condition. Chucklesswears that the firm is in solid financial shape and doesn’t need theproceeds from the policy to survive. He’s unconvincing. The damage isalready done.
We’re back in my office at eight o’clock the same night.
“You don’t think it was Stern, do you?” Rosie asks.
“I don’t know. I’d say he had about a million of his own reasons to doit. And the firm had about twenty million reasons for him to do it.”His memory lapses about the insurance policies and the trust made himlook like a lying ass in front of the jury. I can understand hisdesire to keep the terms of Bob’s trust confidential, but his testimonyon the insurance policy was odd.
The phone rings. It’s Pete. I tell him about our day in court.
“Listen,” he says, “somebody wants to talk to you.” The phone goessilent for a moment.
I punch the speaker button so Rosie can hear. A nasal male voiceshrieks, “Who the hell is this?”
“Who the hell is this?” I bark back.
“Vince Russo. Who the hell are you? And tell this goon to let mego.”
The line goes quiet. My mind races. A moment later, I hear Wendy’svoice.
“You’ll never guess who we found down at the bank today.”
“Elvis Presley?”
“Close.” I can hear the smile in her voice.
“We ran into Vince at Trevor Smith’s office. I guess he decided tocome down here to visit his money. Pete and I followed him back to hishotel. He’s got a little cottage at the Graycliff. It’s really verynice.”
Indeed. The finest hotel in Nassau.
“Anyway,” she continues, “it’s a little tough finding a room down here,so Pete and I decided to bunk with Vince. He was just telling us allabout his trip.”
Jesus.
“Wendy, listen to me. Don’t hurt him. What you’re doing may besomewhat illegal.”
“Don’t worry. We ordered room service. The foie gras is delightful.Pete takes off the handcuffs when he has to eat or pee. We offered tocall the cops. Seems Vince is a little nervous about that. It kind offouls up the part of his story where he wanted everyone to think hecommitted suicide.”
Fabulous. Either we’ve just got the biggest break in the case or we’reall going to jail.
“You guys going to be there for a while?”
“Of course. We just ordered champagne.” I hear a cork pop and shesays thank you to Pete.
“Say, Mike,” she says, “are you doing anything this weekend?”
“I think I may need to take a little trip. The stress is getting tome.”
“Anyplace in particular?”
“I understand the Bahamas are nice this time of year.”
“Our cottage is called Yellow Bird. Tell the concierge you’re with Mr.Kramer’s party.”
“Are they getting suspicious?”
“Probably. We told them we aren’t to be disturbed.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I hang up. I look at Rosie.
“I need you to go to Judge Chen tomorrow and tell her I was called outof town on an emergency. See if you can get her to put things offuntil Monday.”