Raoul began systematically draining a small bottle of Jack Daniels. Despite the liquor, he remained much more clear- headed than I. He directed me to use his cell phone to leave messages with a dozen local attorneys. It was amazing how many there were in the phone book. It seemed clear that many had traveled down this same path before.

Then there wasn't much we could do besides sleep. After one tiny dream, I awoke suddenly. I stressed and obsessed and finally got up and dressed and waited over at the all-night truck stop.

Morning came. We drove to the nearest attorney's office. Michelle Pucket -- notice the name -- was busy but agreed to see me briefly. She was not encouraging about my case and emphasized that if I hired her she would be very expensive -- $90 per hour. That didn't seem like all that much, but her suggestions seemed to contradict the advice I'd gotten earlier from my friend, so, discouraged, I left.

We drove to the town with the courthouse. On the way there, one of the attorneys returned my call and impressed me with his comprehension of the situation. He was full of good advice and I resolved to hire him after the morning's proceedings. It was now about 10, so we had one hour.

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