Cogent

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

“Mr. Dorn will be right with you, Ms. Southworth,” the receptionist reassured Madison. Madison nervously awaited the meeting with the attorney.

“Thank you,” Madison choked out the words. She could barely speak as she thought about the mess she had gotten herself into. Her knees shook and knocked together as she sat in the white velveteen chair of the waiting area. Her hands were ice cold, and she rubbed them together in an attempt to get the circulation back into them.

“You may go in now, Ms. Southworth. It's the second door to the left,” the receptionist stated as she directed Madison to Mr. Dorn's office.

“Thank you,” Madison said as she meekly arose from the chair. She dropped her purse. As she bent down and picked it up, she could feel her face become flushed.

She managed to regain her composure somewhat and made her way to Mr. Dorn's office. As she approached the doorway of the office, a tall slim gentleman adorned with a blue pinstripe suit stood up from the large cherry desk. He extended his right hand toward her.

“Ms. Southworth, I presume. Nice to make your acquaintance. I am Thomas Dorn,” the attorney stated.

“H...Hello,” Madison said as she nervously extended her hand to shake the attorney's hand.

“You wouldn't happen to be any relation to Bob Southworth, would you?” Thomas Dorn quizzed Madison.

“Ah...yes...he's my father. But how do you know him?” Madison was shocked that he knew her father. The thought of her father finding out about this made her all the more nervous. She couldn't imagine how Mr. Dorn knew her father since he resided out of town.

“It's part of the business. I've tried a few cases with him a time or two. It surprises me that you would enlist the help of my services with your father being an attorney, Ms. Southworth,” Thomas Dorn said with raised brows and an inquisitive look on his face. He thought this woman must have gotten into some trouble that she didn't want her father to know about.

“Well, there's been a mistake and dad being out of town and all. And I need an attorney,” Madison attempted to convince Mr. Dorn.

“So let me get this straight. Your father is out of town, so you came all the way to Metairie and called the first attorney listed in the phone book. Does that about sum it up, Ms. Southworth?” Thomas Dorn knew she was hiding something. He let her know that he was on to her.

“Oh, all right! I made a mistake! I'm in a jam here! You've got to help me, Mr. Dorn! I don't know what to do! Besides, what about attorney-client privilege? You can't tell my dad! He would never get over it!” Madison pleaded with Mr. Dorn.

“Fine. Let's get down to it! What's going on?” Thomas Dorn questioned her.

“You see, I am a pharmacist, and I accidentally filled the wrong prescription. I tried to contact the lady and straighten it out. The next thing I knew, she was dead! So I...” Madison replied, and Mr. Dorn interrupted her abruptly.

“Oh no! You didn't try to correct the mistake after she was dead, by chance, did you?” Thomas Dorn asked her as he shook his head.

“How did you know? I wondered how you got me in for an appointment so fast!” Madison said with an astonished look on her face.

“I heard something about it, let's just say, in my travels,” Thomas Dorn said as he looked at Madison with disbelief that she would have even attempted this.

“I didn't do anything wrong. I was just trying to correct my mistake. That's all,” Madison explained in great detail how she had taken the correct prescription bottle and attempted to switch it with the bottle on the corpse. She also explained how the officer had approached her and saw the bottle of pills lying on the ground.

“Ah, but you did, Ms. Southworth. In the eyes of the law, you did!” Mr. Dorn reminded her of the gravity of the situation.

“Well, can you help me? The hearing is set for September 22nd,” she again pled with him.

“I think so. But I really can't imagine how you managed to get out on bail when the police officer actually saw you picking up the pills. I'll see if I can get a look at your statement. You really should have called me immediately when they arrested you! You never make a statement without your attorney present. I'm sure you already know that, though. What did you have? A public defender?” Thomas Dorn asked her.

“No, I declined legal council at that time. They had a preliminary hearing and oh...I don't know! It all happened so fast! They set bail, and I called a friend to bail me out!” Madison informed him.

“You know we will have to ask for a change of venue if you don't want your father to find out. And if they find you guilty, then he will find out! I really think you should let him know. Hopefully, the judge doesn't tell your father. Your father wouldn't be able to defend you anyway. It would be a conflict of interest,” Mr. Dorn encouraged Madison to be upfront with her father. He knew Robert Southworth would be terribly hurt if he found out through other channels.

“No, I don't want him to know. I don't want anyone in New Orleans to know about this. You've got to get a change of venue and keep it out of the papers!” Madison said with a frenzied tone in her voice.

“I'll see what I can do. But if someone sees it on the docket and tips your father off, there's not a lot I can do. Well, we'll try to avoid that if we can. I have a few friends over there. I'll be in touch, Ms. Southworth. Perhaps you should stick close to New Orleans, though. The police might wonder what's going on if they see you heading out of town,” Thomas Dorn warned Madison.

Madison was shaken up. She had tried to kid herself that she hadn't done anything wrong. Mr. Dorn's words kept playing over and over in her head. 'Ah, but you did! In the eyes of the law, you did!' He had warned her. She was terrified. Madison knew Mr. Dorn was right. How much longer could she keep this from her father and from her boss? She nearly fell down the steps as she headed to where her car was parked. His hands were literally shaking now. She would call Cogent when she got home. He had lent her a lot of money for bail. Madison owed Cogent a total of twenty-five thousand dollars. How would she ever pay it back? Madison was still paying for her school loans. Madison felt that the least she could do was to tell Cogent the truth. She figured he'd find out anyhow. Madison also felt solely responsible for Cogent losing his job. The job that, she knew, had meant the world to Cogent. How could she have done this to him? Madison felt a sinking feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. Her thoughts nauseated her.

Madison managed to put the car in drive and head home. She dwelled on what Mr. Dorn had said all the way home. As she pulled into a lot of her apartment complex, she was relieved to have made it home. She did not even recall making the trip. Madison ran into her apartment and immediately dialed Cogent's number. The phone rang four times. There was no answer. She didn't want to leave another message. She would try again later. Madison twitched as her phone suddenly rang.

“Hello!” she grabbed the phone and quickly answered in a panicked voice.

“Hi, honey. How ya' doing? Your brother is stopping over for dinner. Why don't you join us?” Mrs. Southworth asked her daughter in an inviting tone.

“Oh. Hi, Mom. I really can't tonight. It's been a long day, and I'm spent. I'll take a raincheck,” Madison tried to sound upbeat as she refused her mother's invitation.

“No, Madison. I insist. We haven't eaten together as a family for awhile, and your father wants to see you. Dinner will be ready at 6:30 p.m. C'mon over!” Her mother abruptly hung up, not giving Madison the opportunity for further declination.

Madison threw her white lab coat down on the sofa and headed toward the bathroom. She knew she looked a mess. She picked up the blusher and attempted to cover up her ashen face. She combed the long black locks out of her face. She looked down at the sink full of black hair. The stress was getting to her, and her hair was falling out by the handful. She managed to make herself up in a presentable manner and headed out the door again.

Madison arrived promptly at her parent's home. Her mother grabbed her and hugged her. Madison was pale and gaunt. Her mother detected that something was wrong.

“Honey, are you eating? You look so thin. Is this new job getting to you?” her mother asked with concern.

“No, I'm fine, Mom. Really!” Madison tried to put on a smile as she reassured her mother.

“Hey, sis! You look awful! Rough day or what?” her brother said to Madison as he grabbed her from behind. The handsome young lawyer was unequivocally honest with his sister. He always had been ever since they were kids.

“Gee, thanks! No, I'm just tired. I didn't sleep very well last night. But I'm fine,” Madison stated as she looked over at her father, who was peering up from the newspaper. They sat down to dinner. Madison barely touched her food. The other family members looked at each other and shook their heads.

“Hey, did you hear about that case, Dad? Some old lady was beaten and drowned. They found her down by the bridge. They got the guy who did it, though,” Madison's brother attempted to make small talk at the diner table. Madison kicked him under the table as she turned an even whiter shade of pale.

“What was that for?” Madison's brother questioned her.

“I'm sure daddy doesn't want to talk about business at the diner table!” Madison chastised her brother in a panicked tone. This was too close to home. She had to change the subject quickly. Her father looked at her in a puzzled manner. This was out of character for Madison. Her father noticed that she was picking at her food and appeared shaken.

“What's up, Madison? You seem on edge tonight. Something got you rattled?” her father wanted to know what was going on.

“Like I said, I'm just tired. That's all,” Madison responded to her father. She apologized to her brother and tried to force the bite of food down. She couldn't wait to get out of here. She felt as though she were being roasted over a hot fire. She kept quiet the rest of the evening and managed to choke some food down.

“I think I'm going to retire early. Thanks for dinner. But I need to get home and get some rest,” Madison excused herself and left immediately for home. After Madison left, her father looked over at Mrs. Southworth and shook his head again.

“Something is wrong. There is something going on with her. I don't know what it is, but I intend to find out. Maybe I'll drop by the pharmacy tomorrow and see what's going on,” Mr. Southworth said to his wife.

Madison arrived home and collapsed on her bed. She was drained. She had lied to her parents by omission. She had not slept well the night before. In fact, she hadn't slept well for several nights.