She came every Wednesday with groceries and never entered a room without
asking.
Robert fixed the back gate because Ethan had been planning to do it.
Aunt Ruth called every Sunday.
Nobody told me to move on.
Then attorneys investigating the crash confirmed that the trucking
company and its insurers were discussing resolution of civil claims.
The driver had survived.
Investigators found evidence concerning fatigue, scheduling, and company
safety practices.
My attorneys warned me not to reduce a complicated case to one villain
or one headline.
The civil process took months.
When a settlement was finally reached, the gross figure connected to the
claims was $18.7 million.
It sounded enormous.
It also sounded obscene beside three graves.
PART 3 — THE HEADLINE
The newspaper headline appeared on a Tuesday in January.
WIDOW OF I-95 CRASH VICTIMS AWARDED $18.7 MILLION IN SETTLEMENT;
ANNOUNCES CHILD SAFETY FOUNDATION.
The article explained that portions of the settlement were subject to
legal fees, expenses, structured arrangements, and estate-related
allocation.
