Murder on the Down Low Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Mrs. Washington, we want to file a lawsuit against Eugene, but we can’t because we’re not related to Maya. We want your permission to sue Eugene on your behalf.”
    Mrs. Washington glanced around the table. “A lawsuit? A lawsuit for what?”
    “For wrongful death.”
    “I can sue him for that?”
    “Yes, you can,” Special said eagerly.
    Mrs. Washington pressed her hand flat against her chest. “I don’t know if I have the strength to go through something like this. And getting money from Eugene isn’t going to bring Maya back.”
    Special touched her aunt’s forearm. “It’s not just about the money, Auntie Pearl. This lawsuit will attract a lot of publicity. It’s going to send a message to other men on the down low that they can’t do what Eugene did.”
    Mrs. Washington retied the belt of her robe. “I don’t have any money to pay a lawyer.”
    “Nichelle’s law firm will be handling the case on a contingency basis,” Vernetta explained. “If they win, her firm will collect a third of the award.” Vernetta wished
she
could handle the case. But her specialty was employment law and O’Reilly & Finney took very few cases on contingency. With partnership on the line, she needed clients who could pay by the hour.
    Mrs. Washington massaged her forehead. “I don’t know about this, girls. I don’t know if this is the right thing to do.”
    “Auntie Pearl,” Special said gently, “it wasn’t right that Eugene took Maya from all of us. The law says you can sue people who wrongfully cause someone’s death and we want you to sue Eugene.”
    Mrs. Washington’s sister entered the room. Mavis sported a colorful scarf around her head, knotted in the front. She was ten years older than Pearl, but it barely showed. Vernetta could see a definite resemblance between Special’s father and his two sisters.
    “I’ve heard everything these girls have been saying,” Mavis said. “They’re right. That boy should pay. In my book, what he did amounts to murder any which way you look at it.”
    Mrs. Washington rose and gripped the back of the chair for support. “I don’t know, girls. It’s God’s job to punish Eugene, not ours.”
    Special huffed and was about to say something when Vernetta kneed her underneath the table.
    Mavis ambled past them and opened the back door of the kitchen. “Pearl, that boy could walk around here for another fifty years infecting I don’t know how many women with that stuff.” She stepped out onto the porch and lit up a cigarette.
    “If the lawsuit these girls are talking about stops one man from doing this to another woman,” Mavis said from the open doorway, “or if it encourages one woman to look more closely at the man she’s about to lay down with, then it’ll be worth it. That’s how you should look at this, Pearl.”
    Mrs. Washington sat back down. “I can’t hang around here sitting in a courtroom all day. I’ve been here almost three months taking care of Maya. My leave of absence ends next week.”
    “It’ll be close to a year before the case gets to trial,” Vernetta said. “You’ll have to come back for your deposition, but even that won’t happen for a few months.”
    “The three of us are going to split the court costs,” Special volunteered. Both Vernetta and Nichelle gazed at her with something less than affection, knowing she didn’t have a dime to contribute.
    “What court costs? How much is this going to cost?”
    “Not that much,” Nichelle said. “It only costs a couple hundred dollars to file the complaint. We’ll need to take Eugene’s deposition and hire an expert witness. That’ll be a few thousand dollars, but we’ll get that money back after we win.”
    “A few thousand dollars?” Mrs. Washington said, alarmed. “And what if you don’t win?”
    Each of the women waited for the other two to field that question. When no one did, Vernetta spoke up. “The way I see it, even if we lose, we still win. This case is