The Worker, the Thief, & the Monster

Alan Danowitz, attorney at law, had just won $8 million for the mother of a now brain-dead son as the result of a birth gone wrong. He was sitting at a bar, enjoying a celebratory drink.

The Taft Tavern had a long list of drinks available, but he'd never ordered The Bullet. It was simple: a raw egg was dropped into a shot of liquor. Alan had been contemplating this one over several cases, and he'd never had the guts to say it out loud. Until now.

"Gimme The Bullet." A few heads turned. Asking for The Bullet was akin to chanting the witches' curse from MacBeth on a theater stage - taboo. He figured he deserved one, considering the bitter three-year war he'd just waged, ending the careers of two prominent litigators along the way.

The crisp white envelope tucked under the glass was a surprise. Inside the envelope was a letter and a stack of photos of a young woman, two small children, and the outside of a house. The house had fire damage. Some of the photos were of medical records. The last picture was of a note from a page in a medical chart. The mother was said to be 'lucky that she is alive.' The letter was handwritten.

"My life was spared only because a nosy newspaper carrier spotted the fire & called 9-1-1. The fire was found to be the result of a faulty electrical line. But there's only one problem... The wiring was brand-new. I had to nag those idiots the whole time to go a bit faster."

"I had made some complaints about the staff the contractor had hired to put it in, and some people were removed from the job. Someone had stolen my engagement ring, and I filed a police report, blaming the contractor's staff. The ring was never found."

"I'm now back at my repaired home with the children, but I'm terrified because someone called CPS three times after we returned home, and they tried to have my children removed because of the arson. My family has fought for me, but it could happen again."

"I don't know what else to do but ask you for help. Our lives may be on the line, and the police can't stop this monster from doing it again."

At the end of the letter was the address and a phone number of a Miss Stacy Marks.

Two days and $500 later, P.I. Stanley Morgan walked into Alan's office. He reported that the main suspect in the theft, Paul Teem, had recently killed himself and left a pregnant wife behind in a trailer with nothing to survive on. The family had been living hand-to-mouth, and Paul's job was the family's sole means of support.

The next day, local newscasters began reporting that the police had received information from the wife.

"Paul always said that folks will become what you call them, if you give them no other option. He was just trying to survive; his world was taken from him, because electrical was all he ever knew how to do."