“In fact, the exact number is thirty-one, isn’t it?” Showing a command of the facts was a good way to control a witness-I’d learned that from Duncan.
She shifted uneasily and said, “That sounds right.”
Duncan was again on his feet. “Your Honor, the witness shouldn’t be forced to guess.”
“Fair enough,” said the judge. “Don’t guess, Ms. Johans. But remember that you’re under oath, and I’m the one who evaluates credibility here.”
Maggie looked at the judge, then at me. “The answer is thirty-one.”
“Isn’t it also true that one of Mr. Delpina’s policies resulted in a kidnapping for which the company denied coverage?”
“That’s why we’re here. That one isolated policy is your father’s, which was denied on grounds of fraud. ”
“Am I also correct that Mr. Delpina’s remaining policies have been sold to secondary insurers on the reinsurance market?” I had to hold my breath on this one. It was what Jaime had told me, but I wasn’t sure what Maggie would say.
“That’s true, but that’s not uncommon.”
“Just so we all understand, selling the policy to a secondary insurer shifts the risk of loss to the new insurer, correct?”
“Yes.”
“So if those other policyholders are kidnapped, the ransom won’t be paid by Quality Insurance Company, will it?”
“That’s the whole point of reinsurance.”
“Let me put it another way. When those other policyholders are kidnapped, the ransoms won’t be paid by your company.”
“Objection.”
“There’s no jury here,” said the judge. “Let’s see how the witness handles the question.”
“I’m not sure I understand it.”
“I think you do. You know it’s only a matter of time before others are kidnapped, just like my father.”
“I have no such knowledge.”
“I renew my objection,” said Duncan. “These questions are simply wild accusations. There’s no evidentiary foundation whatsoever.”
“Mr. Rey, I’m trying to give you your day in court, but the man has a point. Why don’t you move on to more solid ground?”
“Surely. Ms. Johans, is it fair to say that Quality Insurance treats information about kidnap-and-ransom insurance as highly confidential?”
“Absolutely.”
“That’s because a policyholder might become a kidnapping target if it were known that he had kidnap-and-ransom insurance, correct?”
“I don’t believe that would ever happen. But that’s the theoretical fear.”
“So the company takes certain internal precautions to maintain a level of secrecy. For example, policies are coded so that names are not readily accessible.”
“That’s right.”
“The policies themselves are kept in a locked vault.”
“Yes.”
“A limited number of employees are given access to the codes and policies.”
“True.”
“Jaime Delpina had access to the names, codes, and complete terms of all thirty-one policies we just mentioned, didn’t he?”
She paused, again looking at Duncan. He started to rise, but the judge nipped the spurious objection in the bud. “Sorry,” the judge said. “I didn’t hear the witness’s answer.”
“Mr. Delpina had access,” said Maggie.
“Do you know where Mr. Delpina is these days?”
“I have no idea.”
“He no longer works for Quality, does he?”
“No.”
“You terminated his employment.”
“Yes. I believe it was an issue of habitual tardiness.”
I couldn’t stop myself from smirking. “Before he was dismissed for ‘tardiness,’ he found the time to process thirty-one kidnap-and-ransom policies.”
“That was my testimony, yes.”
“The dollar amount of coverage for ransom under your policies is typically in the millions, isn’t it?”
“We don’t write it for less than a million. On average, it’s two to five.”
“Theoretically, if all thirty-one policyholders were kidnapped, the company could be out as much as a hundred and fifty million dollars in ransom payments alone?”
“That would never happen.”
“At least another ten million for investigator expenses.”
“Like I said, that would never happen.”
“You’re right. I suppose it was more the bad publicity that worried you.”
“Excuse me?”
“It wouldn’t be good for business if word got out that one of your employees was selling the names of policyholders to would-be kidnappers.”
“Objection.”
“Overruled.”
“But, Judge,” said Duncan, groaning.
“The witness shall answer.”
“No, it wouldn’t be good for business. But that’s not what happened here.”
“Jaime Delpina was selling that information.”
“Not true.”
“That’s why he was terminated.”
“No. Tardiness.”
“That’s why you made him disappear.”
“Objection!”
“Sustained.”
“You denied my father’s claim to hide your own fraud.”
“Objection!”
“Mr. Rey, please.”
“You knew that my father was just the beginning. You sold Jaime’s other policies to get off the hook for thirty more disasters.”
“Objection.”
“Sustained!”
The judge banged the gavel, but I pushed on, louder. “You cheated my father, you defrauded other insurers, you allowed thirty people to wander the globe without bothering to tell them that their names have been sold to dangerous criminals. You covered up the whole thing to minimize your exposure and prevent a publicity nightmare that would have cost you millions!”
“Objection, objection! No foundation, no facts in evidence.”
“That’s enough!” the judge shouted. “Mr. Rey, I’m going to jump down there and tackle you if you take one step further without establishing some evidentiary basis for these questions.”
I paused to collect myself. A tense silence filled the courtroom. “Your Honor, I’d like to give Mr. Fitz the opportunity to withdraw his objection.”
“What?” he said, incredulous.
“If he doesn’t, I’ll be happy to call another witness who can lay the foundation for this entire line of questioning.” I looked straight at my old boss and said, “I know where Jaime Delpina lives. Or should I say Jaime Ochoa.”
He went white. Without words, Maggie seemed to be screaming for help from the witness stand. The name “Ochoa” was my trump card, my way of letting them know that I knew all about Mr. Delpina’s newly assumed identity. I’d clearly played it right.
“Judge, I’d like a brief recess to confer with my client.”
“She’s in the middle of her testimony,” the judge replied.
If I was going to get my money today, I had to let Duncan talk to Maggie. “I’ll dismiss the witness, if I can have the right to recall her.”
“Fine. We’ll take five minutes,” the judge said with a loud bang of the gavel.
The lawyers rose on command, and Judge Weinstein exited to her chambers.
Maggie stepped down and went straight to Duncan, seemingly ready to burst. Together they raced down the aisle to the rear exit. The big wooden doors slammed as they made their way out to the courtyard.
I nearly collapsed in the chair next to Jenna, my heart pounding.
“That was amazing,” she said.
“You’re not kidding.”
“And you didn’t even need any help from your girlfriend.”
I did a double take, then realized that she was playing on Duncan’s little jab at the beginning. “Oh, right.”
The doors in the back of the courtroom creaked open. “Nick,” Duncan shouted, his voice booming through the courtroom. “We need you.”
Jenna and I hurried up the aisle, out the door. Maggie was pacing nervously in the courtyard, smoking a cigarette. She walked up to me and said, “I know you’re bluffing.”
“Do you?”
“You know there’s no way Mr. Ochoa is going to walk into this courtroom.”
“The question is, do you know that?”’
Her eyes narrowed. She looked ready to hit me. Duncan touched her shoulder, forcing her to step back.