See Me(29)

“What kind of law do you practice?”

“Mainly insurance defense work. Research and depositions, negotiation, and as a final resort, litigation.”

“And you defend insurance companies?”

“For the most part. Every now and then, we’re on the plaintiff’s side, but it’s not that common.”

“Does it keep you busy?”

“Very.” She nodded. “There’s a policy for everything, and as much as the policy tries to anticipate every possibility, there are always gray areas. Let’s say someone slips in your store and he sues, or an employee sues after getting fired, or maybe you’re throwing a birthday party for your son and one of his friends gets hurt in your swimming pool. The insurance company is responsible for paying the claim, but sometimes they decide to fight the claim. That’s where we step in. Because the other side always has lawyers.”

“Do you ever go to court?”

“I haven’t yet. Not for this job, anyway. I’m still learning. The partner I do most of my work for goes to court quite a bit, but truthfully most of our cases are settled before they go to trial. In the end, it’s cheaper and less hassle for everyone involved.”

“I’ll bet you hear a lot of lawyer jokes.”

“Not too many,” she said. “Why? Do you have one?”

He took a couple of steps. “How does a lawyer sleep?” At her shrug, he said, “First he lies on one side, then he lies on the other.”

“Ha, ha.”

“I’m kidding. I’m the first to appreciate good lawyers. I had some brilliant ones.”

“And you needed them?”

“Yes,” he answered. He knew that would trigger even more questions, but he continued on, nodding toward the ocean. “I love walking the beach at night.”

“Why?”

“It’s different than it is during the day, especially when the moon is out… I like the mystery of thinking that anything could be out there, swimming just beneath the surface.”

“That’s a scary thought.”

“That’s why we’re here and not out there.”

She smiled at his words, surprisingly at ease as they meandered down the beach. Neither of them felt the need to speak. Colin focused on the sensation of his feet sinking into the sand and the warm breeze on his face. Watching Maria’s hair ripple in the wind, he realized that he was enjoying the walk more than he’d anticipated. He reminded himself that they were strangers, but for some reason, it didn’t quite feel that way.

“I have a question, but I don’t know if it’s too personal,” she finally said.

“Go ahead,” he replied, already knowing what was coming.

“You said you were a problem adult and that you got in a lot of bar fights. And that you had some great lawyers.”

“Yes.”

“Was that because you were arrested?”

He adjusted his cap. “Yes.”

“More than once?”

“A number of times,” he admitted. “For a while there, I was pretty much on a first-name basis with any number of cops in Raleigh and Wilmington.”

“Were you ever convicted?”

“A few times,” he said.

“And you went to prison?”

“No. I probably spent a total of a year in county lockup. Not all at once, more like a month here, two months there. I never made it as far as prison. I would have – the last fight was pretty bad – but I caught a serious break and here I am.”

She lowered her chin slightly, no doubt questioning her decision to walk with him.

“When you say you caught a serious break…”

He took a few steps before answering. “I’ve been on probation for the last three years, with two more to go. It’s part of the five-year deal I received. Basically, if I don’t get into any more trouble for the next two years, they’ll clear my record entirely. Which means I’ll be able to teach in the classroom, and that’s important to me. People don’t want felons teaching their children. On the other hand, if I mess up, the deal goes out the window and I go straight to prison.”

“How is that possible? To completely clear your record?”

“I was diagnosed with an anger disorder and PTSD, which affected my mens rea. You know what that is, right?”

“In other words, you’re saying you couldn’t help it,” she said.

He shrugged. “Not me. That’s what my psychiatrists said, and fortunately, I had the records to prove it. I’d been in therapy for almost fifteen years, I’ve been on medication periodically, and as part of my deal, I had to spend a few months at a psychiatric hospital in Arizona that specialized in anger disorders.”

“And… when you got back to Raleigh, your parents kicked you out of the house?”

“Yes,” he said. “But all that together – the fight and potential prison sentence, the deal, my time at the hospital, and suddenly being forced to be on my own – led me to do some serious soul searching, and I realized that I was tired of the life I’d been living. I was tired of being me. I didn’t want to be the guy who was known for stomping on someone’s head after they were already on the ground, I wanted to be known as… a friend, a guy you could count on. Or at the very least, a guy with some kind of future ahead of him. So I stopped partying and I channeled all my energy into training and going to school and working instead.”