“By the way, I was really sorry to hear your uncle died,” Tom added. “From what Jenny says, it was like a combat zone.”
Ridge and Terry looked at each other, a whole silent conversation passing between them. “Thanks, and yeah,” Terry said, nodding. “It wasn’t what I’d call fun. Not anxious to do it ever again. I spent way too long in the hospital, but Eric finally bailed me and my Uncle Sand out. We’re both doing well now.” Terry patted his leg. “I’m almost back to normal. And thanks to my Aunt Lani, Uncle Sand’s wife, we gave Uncle Cho an amazing send-off.”
“It was really an incredible funeral. Never been to anything like it,” Jayne said, reaching out to hold Ridge’s hand.
“Uncle Sand and I had to attend in wheelchairs,” Terry continued, “but…yeah. It was really something. Hundreds of people showed up. Unknown to anyone in the family, Uncle Cho had been providing free medical aid for years to the people of Little Saigon, Thailand Town, and Little Laos here in Southern California. Not only was he appreciated, he was truly loved.”
“He made a real difference in the world,” Ridge said. “A really positive difference.”
“Speaking of making a difference to the world,” Terry asked Ridge, “on the flip side, what’d they do with Hess’ body at the bottom of the ravine?”
Ridge grimaced. “Not enough body left to do anything with it. They believe it incinerated when his gas tanks blew. Anything left was eaten by coyotes, I imagine. Not much left of his vintage pickup either. Just the burnt metal of seat frames and blackened truck exterior.”
“Good,” said Terry. “I’m glad that evil sonofabitch went up in flames.”
“Me too,” said Kate.
“Dad,” Jenny chimed in, “whatever happened to the wrongful death case you had for Judge Millberg’s family?”
“The federal investigation into Gimuldin, Hess, and the Raven Society is still underway and who knows how long it’ll take. But after the authorities gave Two immunity and he testified before the Grand Jury, they’ve got plenty to go on. Two’s now in the Witness Protection Program, probably somewhere in Arizona. Last time I saw him, he told me why Hess attacked me on the boat in the first place.”
“Why?” asked Kate.
“Turns out he saw an article in the Orange County Register reporting that Judge Millsberg’s son, Justin, said I would be representing the family and investigating his mother’s death. According to Two, Hess didn’t want anyone looking closely at that case since he’d killed her.”
“Oh, no. I hope Justin never hears anything about the Register article causing the attack.”
“He won’t,” said Ridge. “But I did tell him and his aunts that Two’s testimony nailed Hess, Gimuldin, and other members of the Raven Society for killing Judge Sayor in Phoenix, a Judge Stevens in San Francisco, a Judge Flynn in San Diego, and of course Judge Millsberg. And that, when it came to Judge Millsberg, Tim Sanchez—our intrepid coroner—had been right all along. The physical evidence didn’t add up to accidental death or a product-liability case against Chin Motors for causing her death. It was all Hess.”
But you still think the car was defective?” asked Jenny.
“Absolutely. Defective because anyone could walk away leaving the engine on with the design of that keyless remote system. In fact, as part of our settlement with Chin Motors, they agreed to advise current owners of the potential problem and to incorporate an audible warning system in next year’s vehicles. But no money changed hands in the settlement.”
“How did you get paid then?” said Jenny.
“Didn’t. Chalk it up to part of our pro bono work for the year.”
“Talk about pro bono,” said Terry, “what’s the bottom line regarding Uncle Cho’s case about the Silent Conflict?”
Ridge drew in a breath and shook his head. “Had to dismiss it. Under California law, a lawsuit like his dies if the plaintiff dies.”
“Where’s the justice in that?” Jayne asked.
“There isn’t any,” Ridge said. “But we know the Silent Conflict will come up again. It must—because it percolates just below the surface in so many civil law cases. Some other insured defendant, hopefully as brave as Uncle Cho, will get fed up with the insurance industry’s control of his case and the legal system’s blind eye toward Silent Conflicts, and sue the bastards.”
“Here, here!” Tom raised his wine glass in a toast. “Make the bloody bastards pay.”
“You bet! Hey, another question,” said Terry. “Did Dave Lake ever get in any trouble for using the WebBird to help us investigate Gimuldin.”
“No,” Ridge said. “His boss, Jack Miles, ran interference. Cleared it all up with the CEO of WingX—an understanding woman you might remember. Sharon Nelson. I’ve got dinner with Jack and Sharon next week to thank them properly. And you’re invited, Terry.”
When Jayne heard the name Jack Miles, she stared at Ridge. He gave her a quick nod and wink. Then Kate said, “Hey, what about Dan? Did he get in trouble with his boss, Krug?”
“At first,” said Ridge. “But after we all gave our statements—the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth—to the FBI, they sent a commendation letter about Dan—the only uniformed officer involved—to Krug. LAPD just loves it when the feds give kudos to locals. So, as far as Krug was concerned, all was forgiven.”
“Here, here!” Tom raised his wine glass again. “Sounds like justice to me.”
Just then, Jenny jumped up and pointed. “Look, dolphins. Both sides!” Everyone reached for their cameras. One dolphin stood on its tail and did a perfect pirouette. Kate captured it on videocam and shouted, “Better than Dancing with the Stars!”
After the dolphins swam away, Jayne announced it was time for dessert and brought out a cake topped with two dolphins in blue icing. “How’s this for appropriate?”
“I hope it’s as good as it looks,” Ridge said, throwing a kiss to the baker.
After devouring two pieces of cake, Terry asked, “What’s the latest on our military aircraft case in Phoenix. The one Judge Sayor threw out just before he was murdered.”
“We’re on appeal,” said Ridge. “But that’s one, I’m sure, we’re gonna win.”
Kate ran her finger through a smudge of icing on her plate and sucked it off her fingertip. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve been told by federal prosecutors that Two testified before the Grand Jury that Judge Sayor was being pressured by Gimuldin and the Raven Society. Turns out the Raven Society wanted to prove to certain big-time military contractors that for the right money, it could get those types of cases thrown out of court. But despite what he did in our case, Sayor apparently refused to do the same thing in the other cases, and that’s why Hess took him out. The feds are also investigating that big time. But, meanwhile, with Two’s testimony, I’m sure the appellate court will reverse Sayor’s opinion in our case. It’ll go forward.”
“So someday we get paid on that case?” asked Kate.
“That’s the plan,” said Ridge with a smile, “once we earn a settlement or verdict for Wanda James. That way, we can offset all the pro bono work. Maybe even pay for marine fuel for our next whale-watching cruise.”
“Talking about paying for things,” Terry said, “what about that Huey that landed sideways in the Santa Barbara mountains? What did you and Charlie Dunkle ever do about that?”
“Turned out, it was minimal damage. You can buy a helicopter skid for $500 bucks and used blades for a thousand. Charlie had it fixed for free at Goleta Airport. In fact, while you were in the hospital, Charlie and I flew it back to Torrance together. Good as new. But still, I’m thinking of going easy on helicopter flying from here on out.”
