Identity (13 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Tom and Steve sat at their desks reviewing their case files.  Was there something there that they didn't see?

Steve looked up an asked: “When do you think the medical examiner will finish on the exhumed body?”

“Don’t know, but maybe that body will lead us to Williams.”

***

“It's been a week Carole.  How long do I have to wait to get myself back?”

“You have to be patient.  Michael said that this was going to take some time and money to get your identity back.”

***

Rodney greeted Mrs. Green as he stepped off the elevator on the tenth floor of Robinson—Williams.

“Mrs. Green, have Mike Rizzo from the editorial staff come to my office.  Just send him in when he arrives.”

“Yes Mr. Williams.”

Five minutes later Mike Rizzo stood at the doorway of Rodney's office.

“Come in Mike.  Close the door behind you.”

Rizzo came in stopping at the front of Rodney's desk.

“Sit down Mike.  We have to talk about your recent meeting with the police.”

Rizzo hesitated as he sat down.  He knew he was at a disadvantage when he was in Rodney's presence. Not only was Rodney six inches taller than his 5'8” statue. He also outweighed him by 35 pounds of muscle. 

“Mike, what did the police want?”

“They just asked about Hailey Morgan.”

Rodney forehead furrowed and his eyes narrowed. He could read Rizzo like a book.  Their history went back to their youth.  He could tell he wasn't telling all.

In a soft voice to disarm Rizzo he asked, “Come on Mike.  You want to tell me everything.”

Rizzo shifted around on the chair.  He glanced toward the door to see if someone would come in and stop this interrogation.  No one came.

He took a deep breath and replied, “They asked me how we met.  I told them we met at school.”

“And was there anything else?”

“They had a file that had all the stuff about the scandal at the Academy.”

“And what did you tell them?”

“Nothing, nothing more that was in the newspapers.”

“Fine, fine.  Was there anything else?”

Rizzo knew he was in dangerous territory now.  He knew what had happened at UW.

“They asked if I knew you at UW?”

“And, what did you say?”

“Just like we discussed.  That you and I met and we caught up on old times and that's when you offered me a job at Robinson—Williams.”

Rodney replied in a harsher tone, “You better remember.  You were part of disposing of the body.  You are an accessory to the crime.  You wouldn't do well in prison.”

“That was over ten years ago.  Isn't that a cold case like TV?”

“And, like TV it can be opened again.”

“But, but that was in Wisconsin.  The Chicago police can't reopen it.”

“No.  But they can pass along any information they get. So, keep you mouth from running off and stick to our story.”

Meekly Rizzo replied, “Yes Rodney.”

“You’re excused.”

Rizzo pushed back his chair and left the office as quickly as he could.

Rodney pickup his intercom phone and asked Mrs. Green have Paul Hendrix come to his office. 

After what seemed like an eternity to Rodney, Paul entered Rodney's office.

“Paul, can you give me an update on the distribution of Sarah’s will?”

“Rodney, you know that this happened at the end of the year which caused the wheels to go more slowly than we expected.  When we posted the will with the county, we received notification that there was a trust filed with the bank trust administrator.  This is now estate matter involving a trust. Our legal department geared for corporation law not estate matters.  I have referred this will to Kearney and Goldstein, who are known for their handling of estate matters.”

“And, what have you heard from them.”

“I wasn't pressuring them.  There seemed to be no rush since you were the only beneficiary of Sarah's estate.  But, now that this has hit the news, everything has been put on hold.”

Rodney took a deep breath.  “Then, we'll just have to wait.”

Paul left the office.  As he left, Rodney turned and looked out the window as whispered, “Damn incompetents. Damn Sarah.”

CHAPTER
THIRTY-SEVEN

Sarah sat at Carole's dining room table sipping her morning coffee. From her position she could watch the morning WCN news.  When the announcer returned after the commercial break, he announced the breaking news that the medical examiner office had concluded their findings on the exhumation of Sarah Williams.

Before Sarah could contact Carole, who was in transit to her office at CWVVC, the landline phone rang.  The caller ID indicated that Michael Harrington was calling.

“Sarah, did you hear the news?”

“Yes, I just saw it on the morning news.  What now?”

“We have to wait until we get the official results from the examiner's office.  I'm sure Judge Hoffman and Rodney's attorney are also going to be getting the results too. It's looks like we'll be back in court shortly.”

“Okay, I'll wait for your call.”

“See you soon.”

***

Carole immediately returned to her house when she heard the news.  The news media had arrived before her.  With their cameras. they crowded around her front door as reporters pushed microphones into her face.  Each reporter was trying to get answers to questions regarding the medical examiners’ report.  Carole pushed herself through the crowd and gave the “No comment” to each ambiguous question.

Once inside, she rested on the closed door before she met with Sarah. Sarah approached Carole.  “You okay?”

“It's a jungle out there.  Have you heard from Steve or Tom?”

If on cue, they heard the phone ring in the back of the house.

“Hopefully, it's them. Sarah rushed to the phone and was able to get it before the fourth ring would have gone to the answering machine.  The call ID again indicated that Michael Harrington was calling back.

“Sarah, Judge Hoffman has asked us to report to his courtroom at 3:00 p.m. today.  Are you ready to get your life back?”

“Yes, oh yes.  We'll be there.”

***

At 2:30 Sarah and Carole arrived at the Daley Center.  The media followed, attacking them with the microphone and trying to get answers to their questions:  “What are your plans if the report says your not Sarah Williams? What will you do next?”  Sarah ignored the reporters.  After passing through security, they took the elevator to the third floor.  Shortly after their arrival, outside the courthouse Rodney and his attorney arrived experiencing the same onslaught by the media.

Once inside the courtroom Sarah smiled as she sat down next to Michael Harrington. Michael patted her had reassuring her that everything was fine.

Precisely at 3:00 p.m. the bailiff asked that all rise as Judge Hoffman entered the courtroom.  The judge sat down and called the court to order reopening the case of Sarah Williams requesting to be declared ‘living.'

“Mr. Harrington, would you like to continue?”

“Yes, your honor.  I would like to introduce at Exhibit C, the medical examiners report on the body found in Grave Site 432 at the Lakeside Cemetery in Evanston, Illinois.  I believe both you and the defense also have a copy of this report.”

“Let the records show that the Exhibit C, the medical examiners report as been introduced as evidence. Would you like to call witness?”

“Yes you honor.   We would like to call the medical examiner of record, Dr. George Hammitt.”

The medical examiner came in the courtroom, took the witness stand and swore to the truth of his testimony.

“Dr. Hammitt did you perform the examination on the body that was exhumed from the Lakeside Cemetery?”

“Yes.”

“Would you be kind enough to report your findings which were documented in Exhibit C?”

“Certainly.  Let me say that I made the initial examination.  When I completed, I reserved my findings and then had Dr. Joseph Peters, initiate a second examination.  It was my opinion to have a second examination to confirm the identity of the deceased.”

“That was very thorough of you.  Can you briefly state what both examinations revealed?”

“Yes. The deceased was a woman approximately 30-35 years of age.  Her height was 5' 7, weighing 145 pounds.  Although there were massive deterioration in the head due to the fire injuries, it was determined that natural hair color was black.  The teeth showed poor dental care.  There were no crowns or implants.  One important fact that both Dr. Peters and I agreed upon was the condition of the pelvic bones.  The deceased had at least two children that were delivered by Caesarean section.”

The news reporters in the gallery were quickly taking notes, while hanging on to each word the medical examiner spoke.

“Have you reviewed the x-rays of Sarah Williams as presented in Exhibit A?”

“Yes.”

“Would you say that they are the same person as the deceased?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Thank you.  That will be all.”

“Does the attorney for Mr. Williams have any questions?”  The attorney did not answer orally, but shook his head ‘no’.

“Do you have any other witness?”

“Yes, I would like to call Dr. Jeffrey Stuart.”

Dr. Stuart entered the courtroom.  His grey hair and his gait showed that he had been practicing his craft for a long time. When he reached the witness box, he was sworn in.

“Your honor I'd like to enter Exhibit D in the court records. These records are the complete medical history that Dr. Stuart provided us on his patient, Sarah Robinson Williams.”

Michael turned to Dr. Stuart and started the questioning.

“Dr. Stuart how long have you been Sarah Williams physician?”

Dr. Stuart opened his folder and read from the card inside.  “My records indicate that Sarah Robinson first became my patient June 1997.”

“And what was the purpose of the visit?”

Dr. Stuart again referred to the medical card.  “It was for a physical examination.”

“Will you tell us what the records show?”

Again, Dr. Stuart referred to his records.  “At that time the records indicate that Sarah Robinson was a female, born 10/26/1979.  Height 5'5”. Weight 125 lbs.  Lungs: Clear  B/P 112/78. General Comment:  Health Excellent.”

“Did Ms. Robinson visit you again?”

“Yes.  She again visited our office on June 24, 2002.” 

“And, what was the purpose of that visit?”

“It was for a marriage blood test.”  Dr. Stuart looked down at the record card.

“Was any other information taken at that time?”

“My record shows that her weight was 117, and B/P was 115/80.”

“And, they next visit?”

“Yes, that examination was more extensive.  Mrs. Robinson Williams was unable to get pregnant so a series of test were done.”

“And, the results?”

“Sarah has progesterone deficiency.”

“In layman's terms, please.”

“It is a hormonal imbalance.”

“Was any medication prescribed?”

Sarah sat at the table with her head in her hands.  This personal information given out in the public arena was wearing on her emotions.

“Yes, but she hasn't been back for her semiannual visit in the past year.”

“Thank you doctor.  Your witness.”

Rodney's attorney stood up to address Dr. Stuart.

“Dr. Stuart, I see from your records you didn't record the height of Mrs. Williams during her premarital examination and again at her last examination. Can I ask why?”

“Well, after the age of 18 women usually don't have growing spurts.”

“But, it does happen?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you Dr. Stuart.”

Rodney's attorney knew that he had put some doubt about Sarah's height in the records, but he couldn't do anything about the hair color or the fact that the deceased had children.  He knew he lost the case.

Judge Hoffman addressed the attorneys.  “Is there any more evidence I should here before making a judgment?”

Both attorneys shook their heads in the negative.  Rodney looked at his attorney in disgust.  He shook his head thinking, “I paid for the best and got another incompetent.”

Judge Hoffman looked at his notes.  The news reports anxiously awaited for a decision that they knew would not favor the rich and powerful Rodney Williams.

“It is in the opinion of this court the body in the Grave Site 432 at the Lakeside Cemetery under the name of Sarah Robinson Williams was not Sarah Robinson Williams, but that the plaintiff Sarah Robinson Williams is ‘legally alive’ and is entitled to all of her rights and possessions.”  The judge banged his gavel and rose from his chair. 

The reporters rushed out of the room to position themselves to interview both Sarah and Rodney as the exited the courtroom.

Sarah rose from her chair exhibiting a weak smile.  She knew this was a first step back to some kind of normalcy.

She walked over to Carole. “Now I'm filing for divorce.”

“I agree, how about we invite Steve and Tom over for a celebration tonight?”