“Oh, that’s good. What do you need today?” Shakeeda tried to sound professional, but she was scared out of her mind.
“I just wanted to let you know you can close those claims, because I got me a man that I’m working for who pays me well.”
“Really?” Shakeeda was shocked and relieved all at the same time.
“Yup. I don’t need them bullshit cases no more. He’s a doctor, and he’s good to me.”
“Wow! That’s a good look.”
“Yeah, he’s a chiropractor, girl, and his business is rolling in dough.”
Which wasn’t true. Dr. Ricci didn’t have many clients, and he was still paying off student loans, and alimony so he was doing average for himself.
“What’s his name?”
“Michael.”
“Where did you meet him?” Shakeeda continued to delete the other claims from the system as fast as she could.
“I met him down in Atlantic City,” she said, playing with the rings she wore on three of her fingers.
Shakeeda saw the rings in her peripheral vision, but never gave Diamond the satisfaction of asking about them. “Well, I’m happy for you, Diamond.”
“Oh, yeah, leave my claim up there. I need it for something,” she told her.
“Oh, I thought you wanted to delete it because you got a man to take care of you.”
“Well, you thought wrong. That’s why you and I didn’t click when I tried to do business with you. You thought too much when it wasn’t required from you,” Diamond said sarcastically. “Leave the claim.”
Shakeeda looked away and finished off what she was doing, but she made sure she kept Diamond’s original claim. “OK, it’s all done, Diamond.”
“That’s what’s up.” Diamond stood. “Take care of yourself.” She walked away, leaving Shakeeda sitting there.
Shakeeda sighed with relief, thinking everything with Diamond was finally over.
“Well, at that meeting she didn’t tell me much,” Shakeeda said now. “But when I started working with the department on bills and she told me that she had been going to Dr. Ricci’s office regularly, I started to think something wasn’t right.”
“What do you mean by something wasn’t right?” Prosecutor Swartz walked over to the witness stand.
“Well, I was assigned to her case five years ago, and during that time, neither she nor her son had gone to the doctor that much, especially not this doctor.”
“When collaborating with the fraud department on these doctor bills, what made you think something wasn’t right, especially since the defendant had several illnesses?”
Shakeeda began to shake her leg out of nervousness. She knew she was telling a half-truth. “Well . . . ”
“Go on, Ms. Bingham, it’s OK,” Prosecutor Swartz said, trying to calm her. She really needed Shakeeda to help nail the fraud case, since none of her other witnesses had panned out.
“It just seemed funny that, soon after she told me about the doctor she was dating, I was contacted about the bills from a doctor’s office, and she now had this back problem.”
Some of the courtroom spectators moaned.
“Objection!” Kyle said. “The witness is voicing her opinion.”
“Sustained.”
“So, Dr. Ricci’s office was sending bills for the defendant Diamond Reed to you on a regular basis. Did you think she had a back problem?”
Kyle stood. “Objection, Your Honor! Neither Prosecutor Swartz nor the witness is a licensed physician, so they can’t possibly know why the defendant had to see a chiropractor.”