The Rainmaker

Reisky takes the stand first thing the next day. Rudy quickly shows that Reisky is a biased witness. He shows that the National Insurance Alliance is basically a lobbying group, and is funded by insurance companies, and that Great Benefit pays a lot of money every year into the Alliance. As part of the plan to devalue Reisky as a witness, Rudy asks him to look Dot in the face and tell her that her son’s claim was handled fairly. Reisky does this, with some difficulty. One member of the jury laughs, which causes the rest to follow.

Drummond calls Pellrod back to the stand, but the questioning is repetitive and Judge Kipler puts an end to it. Drummond then has Pellrod announce that no claims handler actually bothers with the manual. He badmouths Jackie Lemancyzk a little, saying of she was known to have a drinking problem and how she increasingly grew irresponsible at work. When asked about her affairs, Pellrod simply says he doesn’t know anything about those rumors.

Rudy cross-examines Pellrod and gets him to admit that Donny Ray’s case was denied due to a preexisting condition. Pellrod has to admit that the letter of denial was a mistake. After Pellrod is finished, Rudy and Dr. Kord are ready to attack any doctor that Drummond places on the witness stand who would claim that a bone marrow transplant is too experimental and ineffectual at treating leukemia. Dr. Kord is so angry that someone would say such a thing that he convinced some of his colleagues to come along as extra witnesses.

However, Drummond calls Underhall, Great Benefit’s in-house lawyer, to the stand. Underhall is there to testify that Lemancyzk lied in her testimony, especially about the resignation letter. Rudy counters by making Underhall believe he has a copy of the letter. The distress on Underhall’s face is enough to show the jury that there is truth in Jackie’s testimony. Rudy doesn’t have the letter. He uses a blank sheet of paper as a ruse. After questioning Underhall, he balls it up and throws away.

The jury adjourns for the day. The others congratulate Rudy on a job well done. They are of the opinion that the jury will bring back a guilty verdict and a substantial punitive award. Rudy knows that he got really lucky with the case, that everything moved like clockwork. He knows that litigation will only get more difficult. He’s been spoiled by his first big case. Deck and Rudy go back to their offices to prepare Rudy’s closing arguments. While there, a phone call from a friend of Kelly’s, Robin, comes in. Kelly is in trouble and needs Rudy. Rudy drives over to the friend’s house.

Cliff has beaten Kelly again. Her face is bruised and swollen. So is her back. Cliff used a belt against her. Rudy and Robin convince Kelly it is time for a divorce. Rudy leaves Kelly with Robin for the night, vowing to return tomorrow to take her somewhere safer. He goes back to the office to prepare the divorce paperwork. He works all night.

Deck wakes Rudy up at 7 o’clock. Rudy tells him what happened the night before. Deck doesn’t like the situation, especially since Rudy needs to get to the courtroom and give his closing arguments on little sleep.

Rudy uses his rookie status to his advantage. It’s expected that he will look nervous and worried. Rudy keeps his speech to the bare minimum. He doesn’t feel that any more is required. Drummond’s remarks, on the other hand, are longer and apropos to his wealth of experience. His main argument is that what happened to Donny Ray was a mistake and not part of some sort of nefarious plan. He argues that Great Benefit has learned an important lesson, will readily aid Dot by awarding her funds and helping her invest them. Rudy gets to say a few more things. He points out to the jury that Great Benefit is now admitting to a mistake, whereas before the trial it didn’t, and is only doing so now because it has been caught. After Rudy is finished, the jury adjourns to debate the verdict.

Rudy visits with Judge Kipler and gets him to sign an emergency injunctive to keep Cliff away from Kelly, which he signs after Rudy briefly explains the situation. Rudy has Butch serve Cliff with the divorce papers and drives across town to Robin’s to pick up Kelly. She can hardly walk on her own. Rudy shows her the paperwork and helps her to the car. He takes her to a shelter for battered women. He is not allowed to stay, but he can come back and visit her later that night, which he promises to do.

The jury has made its verdict. Rudy is sitting on pins and needles. Dot, somehow, is calm. Win or lose she has done what she set out to do: expose Great Benefit. The verdict: “We, the jury, find for the plaintiff and award actual damages in the amount of $200,000” (554). Furthermore, the jury awards punitive damages of $50 million. It’s the largest sum ever awarded in the state of Tennessee. It’s a tremendous victory for Rudy and Dot and a terrible defeat for Drummond and Tinley Britt. Booker congratulates Rudy. Cooper Jackson and the others congratulate him too. They will keep in touch.

Minutes later they exit the courtroom into downtown Memphis. There are no crowds waiting to cheer them.

Rudy goes back to Miss Birdie’s house. He contemplates the results of the trial. He feels that “a great deal of venom has been purged from [his] soul” (558). He falls asleep hoping Donny Ray is resting in peace. He doesn’t feel so much hatred anymore.

Rudy visits Kelly. He orders a pizza. They eat and cuddle while watching a movie. After the movie they watch the news. Kelly learns of Rudy’s victory. Visiting hours are at an end. Rudy’s kisses Kelly’s bruised cheek, lightly. She doesn’t want him to go.

Rudy is at his office waiting to meet with a reporter when Cliff Riker calls him. Rudy records the call. Cliff threatens Rudy with violence. Rudy tells him he’s recording. Cliff hangs up immediately. Rudy then calls Butch and tells him about Cliff’s call. Butch has a bouncer friend, Rocky. Butch wants to scare Cliff. He considers it fun. Rudy calls Max Leuberg to tell him all about the trial and verdict. Max had wanted to come, but a snowstorm kept in Wisconsin.

Rudy visits Kelly again that evening. Their date goes much the same as the previous one. Kelly wants some of her old things. They talk about ways of getting her stuff out of her and Cliff’s apartment.

Rudy is taking things more leisurely since the verdict. He gets to the office a little later than usual. He talks with Judge Kipler. Great Benefit is running interference: They’re blaming Drummond for the loss. They claim he never told them that Rudy made an offer to settle for $1.2 million. Great Benefit has fired Tinley Britt.

That night, Rudy plans on taking Kelly to her apartment to get some of her things. They’ve timed it so that Cliff will be at one of his softball games, but they need to be quick in case Cliff has someone watching out for Kelly. They arrive at the apartment and being stuffing clothes and things into pillowcases. Cliff barges through the door, violent and drunk. He’s carrying an aluminum baseball bat. Cliff pushes Kelly. She falls over. Cliff then attacks Rudy. Cliff is so drunk that he misses Rudy several times. Rudy is able to push Cliff over, take that bat, and in the heat of the moment, land a fatal blow to the crown of Cliff’s head. Kelly tells Rudy to run. He leaves, reluctantly, stunned.

The police and an ambulance show up. Cliff’s body is slowly wheeled out. Kelly is placed in the back of the police car and taken to the precinct. Rudy drives off.

Rudy shows up at the precinct. He says he is Kelly’s lawyer. She called him. He wants to be present at the interrogation. The police do not like Rudy. They are arresting Kelly on possible manslaughter. Kelly will have to spend the night in jail. Rudy vows to get her out as quickly as possible.

Rudy relives the night before. He feels cowardly and responsible that Kelly is in prison, but he also knows that what she did was to protect him. Rudy is worried that the cops might find out he lied about Kelly calling him. He’s worried about the timeline of events. Rudy enlists Butch’s help. He wants Butch to go around the apartment complex and make sure no one saw him there.

Rudy goes and speaks with a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s Office for Domestic Abuse, Morgan Wilson. Wilson recognizes Rudy as the $50 million. Rudy is there to talk to Wilson about getting Kelly out of jail. Wilson says she needs to review the file, so she and Rudy agree to meet the next morning at 9 o’clock.

Back at the office, Butch reports that no one saw anything. Rudy visits Kelly in prison and reassures her. Upon leaving, one of the guards tells Rudy that members of Cliff’s family have been calling the prison and making death threats. Rudy then goes to speak with Judge Shankle. With help from Booker, Rudy is able to get a low bail. Rudy, with Butch and Rocky as bodyguards, takes Kelly back to the shelter.

The next day, Rudy and Deck learn that Great Benefit is filing for protection under bankruptcy laws. Great Benefit’s parent company, PinnConn is liquidating assets. It looks like Deck and Rudy won’t get paid. Rudy goes to visit Kelly. The sight of her lifts his spirits. Because of the circumstances, the shelter makes an exception and allows Rudy to stay the night with Kelly. They fall asleep holding one another.

The demise of Great Benefit and the PinnConn scandal makes big news in Cleveland, though hardly anything is reported about it in Memphis. Grand juries are being established. There is a small thing about Cliff. Keeley is arrested trying to flee the country.

Rudy meets with Morgan Wilson from the district attorney’s office. Cliff’s family has been calling and making threats again: “They’re so damned stupid they make threats against her. They don’t know it’s against the law to do this. These are really sick people” (592), Wilson says. It doesn’t take much discussion with Wilson’s boss, Al Vance, to get all charges against Kelly dropped.

Rudy discovers that someone fired a shot at Deck while he was gone. Deck and Rudy decide to part ways. Their firm just isn’t making any money and Rudy is tired of being a lawyer. Miss Birdie is returning to her house in Memphis, so Rudy decides to leave. He picks up Kelly from the shelter and informs her about the threats and that the charges have been dropped. They drive off together, heading west, away from Memphis.

Rudy says they’ll go someplace where there is a college because Kelly wants to study. He might teach high school.