in this life Bella couldn’t stand, it was a whiny man. So unmanly. “All right, ten minutes. I have to go to work. Why are you here, what do you want from me? Haven’t you and your people made my life miserable enough? Tell me what you want before I decide if you are harassing me.”
“I came here to talk to you on my own behalf and on behalf of my partners. I’m here to ask you to please not initiate litigation proceedings. We really did nothing wrong. And even you must admit that. There was no way for any of us to know your husband’s sister was impersonating you. No way on this earth. She had your driver’s license. She had a copy of your electric bill with your name on it. She had a library card with your name and address on it, plus two of your credit cards. She also had a copy of . . . of your husband’s death certificate. That was the clincher for us. That woman even showed us canceled checks that you wrote to us for storage. No one ever looks like they really look on their driver’s license. The picture on the license was close enough to the license we had on file from when you first came to us. As I said, the likeness was satisfactory. Wigs, makeup these days can alter anyone’s appearance.”
He blathered on, then took off his glasses to wipe them on a tissue he pulled out of his pocket, at the same time taking a long, deep breath. “Well, not the actual checks but photocopies. As Dr. Petre said, giving her the eggs was a no-brainer.
“Everyone knows going to court is a crapshoot. You will have the sympathy of the court and a jury because your husband was killed in the line of duty. They won’t care that we did it all by the book; their sympathy will be with you. We know this. That means you could very well end up owning the clinic we’ve all worked and slaved over for the last thirty years. We have an impeccable reputation. Please don’t do this to us. If it’s about money for you, we talked it over and we’re all willing to take out bank loans to pay you.”
Bella shook her head. “I don’t want your money. This was never about money. I can’t believe you’re asking me to just drop this. Just drop it! I. Don’t. Think. So!”
“If I could tell you where your eggs are currently stored, would you consider changing your mind? If I could tell you what kind of car your impersonator drives and give you the license plate of her car, would you reconsider?”
Bella bounced to her feet, her face full of rage. “Are you sitting there on my sofa, in my apartment, telling me you have this information and you withheld it from me? That is out-and-out blackmail. Is that what you’re telling me? Why? Why would you do such a thing?” Bella was screaming at the top of her lungs.
Dr. Martin Peabody closed his eyes and sighed. “Fear mostly. Some greed if we’re being honest. A lot of people would be out of a job. Dr. Petre just bought into the business, using her life savings. She would be wiped out, just as we all would if you won your lawsuit, which we all think you would. I’m being as honest as I can be here. Like I said, a jury would be sympathetic to you and we know it. I came here to ask you to please, have your lawyers reconsider. They’re bound by law to do whatever you tell them to do. We can’t unring the bell, Mrs. Nolan. What’s done is done, and we did go by the book. We really did.”
“You knew, and you never said anything,” Bella screeched.
“No! No! Good God, no! I just happened to be looking out my window the day the woman posing as you followed the specially equipped van that transported your eggs. I’ve seen that same scenario dozens of times. I didn’t think anything of it. I was actually thinking about taking my grandson fishing the next day because it was my day off. It barely registered at the time. At the time,” he repeated. “Then when you showed up and told us your story, the fear kicked in, and I just kept quiet. I will admit to that and own it. I’m sorry for that. I really am.