Wrongful Death by Robert Dugoni Page A

claim.”
    “What was the soldier’s name?”
    “Ford. James Ford,” Sloane said.
    Pendergrass typed, then scrolled through a screen, his eyes shifting left to right, reading. “That claim was denied.”
    Sloane paused in case the captain was going to add, “and has recently been reopened.” When he didn’t, Sloane asked, “I assume that decision was made before you rotated in?”
    Pendergrass nodded, eyes focused on the screen. “Yes.”
    “So you didn’t conduct the investigation?”
    “This office doesn’t conduct investigations,” Pendergrass corrected. “Command is responsible for investigating every U.S. fatality overseas. The Criminal Investigation Division also conducts its own investigation. We evaluate the claim from a legal basis only.”
    “So then you didn’t conduct the witness interviews.”
    “ If there were witness interviews, they also would have been conducted by command or CID, maybe both. The investigation is normally performed by an officer who was not a part of the operation.”
    “You mean an officer in Iraq?”
    “Yes.”
    “How would I get a copy of any witness statements?”
    Pendergrass shook his head. “You wouldn’t. That portion of the file is classified. I don’t even get it.”
    Time to go for broke. “Then can you tell me who made the decision to reopen Beverly Ford’s claim?”
    Pendergrass had been militarily calm, despite his physical discomfort, up to that point. When you represent the proverbial 800-pound gorilla, there is no reason to be concerned. But now his eyes narrowed and he seemed genuinely caught off guard.
    “Excuse me?”
    “Can you tell me who made the decision to reopen Beverly Ford’s claim?”
    Pendergrass’s eyes shifted to the monitor.
    “You do know that the claim was reopened?” Sloane asked.
    “As I said, I just rotated in.” Pendergrass typed again and took longer to read the file. Sloane did not interrupt him. After a few minutes, Pendergrass picked up a pen. “I’ll have to look into it. Who told you the claim was reopened?”
    “Captain Robert Kessler.”
    Pendergrass shook his head, unfamiliar with the name.
    “I just drove an hour to talk to Captain Kessler only to have him tell me he couldn’t talk to me because the claim had been reopened. Wouldn’t your office ordinarily make that decision?”
    “Not always. Not if command or CID found out additional information warranting that the claim be reopened.”
    “How often does that happen?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “But you’re not aware of it in this instance.”
    “I’m not aware of it, no.”
    Sloane tweaked him a bit. “Shouldn’t you know?”
    Pendergrass appeared to be contemplating his choice of words. “I can look into the matter and get back to you. The decision might still be coming down the chain of command.”
    “I’m not trying to be difficult, Captain, but I just got off the phone with Mrs. Ford, and she believed the claim had been summarily denied. This is all news to her. She’s frustrated. She thinks the timing of the claim being reopened is suspicious.”
    “Suspicious?”
    “Put yourself in her shoes. The claim lingered for months without a formal response, but when she finally hires an attorney and I try to talk to a witness, we’re told the claim has been reopened and he won’t talk to us. You indicated that doesn’t happen often.”
    “I didn’t say that,” Pendergrass interjected.
    “The family is anxious to move forward. They’ve authorized me to file a complaint in federal court.”
    Pendergrass smiled, smug. “Have you handled many military claims?”
    “My first one.”
    “Mind if I give you a suggestion?”
    “Not at all.”
    “You might want to consider doing some research on the Feres doctrine before you go to the expense of filing a complaint.”
    “The Feres doctrine?” Sloane said, playing dumb.
    “It precludes a soldier or his family from filing a claim against the government or military for his injuries. I