Page 58 of Lorna's Savior
“Nothing. But the results of the fall were a broken wrist and a small cut in the eyebrow region above her left eye that required three stitches.”
“Childhood accidents.” Marvin laughed. He pointed to his own forehead. “Had a few spills myself as a young’un.” They all shared a laugh, then Andy continued.
“Right, that accident started the downfall of the marriage between Rafferty and Kristen. After the stitches came out, she was hell-bent on getting her daughter to a plastic surgeon to inject Botox so he could remove the scar.” He pulled out the tape recorder from his briefcase and pressed play. The three of them listened to a man describe how off the wall Kristen had been about her daughter being scarred for life. After Andy stopped the tape, he looked at Marvin.
“Six months after Rafferty left, and the divorce was final, she contacted you and said your child had that TBI.”
“Over a little scrape?” Marvin yelled, as he jumped to his feet to pace. “She lied to me.”
“Yes, now we bring in husband number six. Didn’t you find it odd that the bills for your daughter’s ‘treatments’ didn’t come in until several years after the incident?”
“Now that you mention it, yes. But at the time I was under the impression they were running tests. Trying to nail down exactly what was wrong with her. The account I set up was for those tests. They weren’t?”
“No, your daughter healed. She had no underlying problems from her spill off her bike. Husband number six was a plastic surgeon. Kristen went to him to have work done. Somehow she got ahold of his billing codes, and a few blank billing invoices.”
“She faked those treatments?” Marvin looked at him in shocked anger.
“She did. While I was in LA, I didn’t meet with Dr. Lawrence personally, but I was able to speak with his business partner. After extensive research, and help from Dr. Lawrence’s partner, I’ve been able to determine that the code Kristen used to put on the stolen invoices were for billing purposes. The codes you have on the bills she sent you, are bogus. Her lawyer set it up that when you pay those bills, in addition to the alimony, child support, and the extra support which she lied to you about the TBI, the money your lawyers pay goes directly to the lawyer, then he takes his cut before he makes a deposit into Kristen’s account.”
“Son of a bitch!”Marvin jumped to his feet as he yelled. He stepped over the chair as it hit the floor and looked ready to throttle someone.
“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Phillip said. “With all this information, Kristen Hepplewaite will be paying you back every cent you ever gave her. Trust me on this.” Andy would have doubted the man. However, he’d done his research, and knew what he said was the truth. Phillip Stanley had a reputation for getting the person he went after.
“Fine, let’s hear the rest.”
“First off, the codes and the treatments are variations of the work Kristen had done on herself. I won’t get into all the details, but there is a detailed letter that breaks it all down in the files I gave you. I can gloss over it for now. It proves that you paid for Kristen’s liposuction, breast implants, face-lifts, Botox, cheek implants. And I’m not talking about just the cheeks on her face.” Andy covered his mouth when the two men looked at him in shock. He pulled out the most recent photo of Kristen, and passed it to Marvin.
“Who’s that? Or rather, what is that? It looks like a clown gone mad.”
“That picture was taken four months ago. That is Kristen Hepplewaite.”
“Holy fuck, she’s ugly,” Marvin looked up in shock. “And I paid for all this work?”
“You did. Notice her red lips?”
“Yeah, that’s what drew me to her in the first place all those years ago. I loved her red lipstick.”
“According to her daughter, and my research, she had that color permanently tattooed on her lips.”
“What the fuck.” Marvin reared back in shock. He shook his head as he flipped the picture over. “It’s painful to look at.”
Andy grinned, then drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Now, onto your daughter. As I’ve already revealed, there is no TBI, no brain injury, no speech therapy needed. Nothing about what you’d been told was wrong with her. Lies, all lies.” He grabbed his tape recorder and fast forwarded to a pre-set number. “I’d like to play a passage for you. This is your daughter speaking. I know her, and I know she does not lie. She’s speaking from the heart here, so know that she is telling the truth. With that in mind, please, also keep in mind about how much Kristen has lied to you over the years.” Andy looked at the two gentlemen and when they nodded he pressed play. He watched Marvin while the woman told Andy about how her mother’s maiden name was Hepplewaite and her father’s was Wilson, and how he had died while serving his country.”
“Stop.” Marvin held up his hand and anticipating that, Andy immediately stopped the tape. No one said a word. Marvin got himself under control, and Andy continued the tape. They listened to her talk about her relationship with Rafferty, and what had happened afterward. Then, about her schooling. How she’d been in the top five of her class and graduated with honors from both high school and college. When it ended, Andy pressed stop.
“Did she say she went to the local high school? Like a public school?” Phillip asked as he continued to take notes.
“She did.” Andy nodded, then pulled a paper from his folder. It was face down as he passed it to Marvin. “I’d like you to take a look at this. Tell me the first thing that pops into your head.”
Marvin frowned, but took it, and flipped it over. Andy breathed easier when he saw the huge grin come across Marvin’s face. “It’s Miss Lorna.” He looked at Phillip and laughed for the first time since entering the conference room. “Sharp as a tack, smart. Funny. She works over at the Larson Foundation. I saw her last week at a Fundraiser. I’d love for her to come work for me. I think that together we could do even better business than I do alone.”
“I take it you know this woman well, then?” Phillip asked as he looked at the photo.
“I do, she’s also beautiful.” Marvin looked at Andy with a frown. “Why are you showing me this?”
Andy drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and pointed. “Because that is Lorna Hepplewaite, your daughter.”
“Marvin!” Phillip yelled and jumped to his feet. Even though Marvin was sitting, he fainted and started sliding toward the floor. It took both Andy and Phillip to get him laid out on the floor. While Phillip went for more water, Andy stayed by the man’s side. When he saw him coming around, he helped him to sit up.
