Long Valley Road

by Ross Richdale

  "You are thorough, Kylena," Orley complimented and gave John a dig. "Where did you find this jewel?" he asked.

  "Well, I don't know whether to count her as an asset or liability," John said and ignored indignant glance. "He smiled. "I guess she's an asset."

  "Thanks," she retorted and turned back to the lawyer. "Top Oasis has not turned a profit since John bought it. I'm on unpaid leave, too."

  "So you're almost broke, baby's due and Julie is off to boarding school."

  "We get an allowance from the government for her," John added.

  "I didn't hear that," the lawyer replied. "I'd say you made a total commitment to date and are still struggling to make ends meet. I hear you support your former mother-in-law too, John."

  "Well," John replied. "Sort of. Fiona arranged to have her superannuation transferred from New York State before she emigrated so she is really independent."

  "I never heard that either," Orley chuckled.

  Kylena frowned. "Isn't that all a little dishonest?"

  "No," replied the lawyer. "We don't mention it, that's all. If Gary's lawyer finds out about it that's fair enough but why should we help them? I know he is crying poverty and debts as long as your arm."

  "But he gets a huge salary," John retorted.

  "Yes, and lives highly," the lawyer replied. “That is something I'm about to bring out, too."

  *

  Judge Elizabeth Mroczkowski glanced down at Kylena after the New Zealander had been sworn in and gave a professional; smile.

  "Would you like to have a seat, Mrs. Berg?" she offered but the young woman smiled and declined. You understand our court procedure. Both counsels will ask you questions and also I may if I seek clarification of an item. This is not a jury trial and is more informal."

  "I realize that, Your Honour," Kylena replied.

  "Very well," the judge replied. "Mr. Williamson you may begin."

  Gary Berg’s lawyer, Thomas Carlson, grilled Kylena for half an hour as he tried to draw out every little detail about her.

  "Tell me, Mrs. Berg," he asked. "You were divorced and working as a elementary school principal when you met your husband. Is that correct?"

  "Yes."

  "Very convenient. Rich American arrives in town with a ready-made family," the man muttered as he gazed over his glasses at the witness.

  "A point, Your Honour," Orley said in a quiet voice.

  "Yes, Mr. Williamson," the judge replied.

  "That is an irrelevant statement bordering on being defamatory. The reason for Kylena Berg's marriage to my client has no bearing on this case."

  "I agree. You will change your approach, Mr. Carlson."

  "I apologize to the court, Your Honour," the lawyer said in a bored tone and turned back to Kylena. "Can you describe the farm, let me see..." He glanced down at his notes. "Top Oasis that your husband purchased."

  "It is a high country sheep and cattle farm, three hundred hectares; that's about seven hundred and fifty acres consisting of steep hill country and a flat plateau. It carries..." Her voice continued with a precise description.

  "And compared with adjacent farms, how would you classify it," Carlson asked.

  "Most in the district are of comparable size."

  "And your house?"

  "It's a modern residence..." and so the questioning continued.

  Kylena became more depressed. She felt her evidence was hindering their case rather than vice versa. Gary Berg's lawyer was well on the way in establishing John owned a valuable property in New Zealand, in fact one that compared more than favourably with the property he sold in New York State.

  *

  CHAPTER 13

  After lunch recess Orley came back and in his slow professional manner questioned Kylena about every significant event over the previous year, how she met John, the school troubles, the violent attack by Mic Werner; everything. At the conclusion Judge Mroczkowski asked the witness a few questions and thanked her for attending the hearing.

  "I would now like to call Julie Berg to the stand," Orley stated.

  Julie dressed in a modern full-length skirt and new jacket looked pale and nervous as she was sworn in.

  "Can you remember your grandfather, Julie?" the lawyer began.

  "A little. I was in Grade 3 when he died."

  "Tell the hearing what you remember about him."

  The girl relaxed a little and gazed at the judge. "I remember he was always smiling, I never saw him angry. He always wore big cowboy hats. He used to sit me on his knee and call me, 'My Little Sunshine'."

  Across the room, John squeezed Kylena's hand. He'd forgotten that.

  "He smelt of tobacco and had massive hands that were all cracked. I remember he used to rub Vaseline into them but refused to wear gloves, except in winter, of course."

  "And your Uncle Gary. Do you remember him before you emigrated to New Zealand?"

  "Oh yes," Julie stated in a clear voice. She scowled across at the man in question. Doctor Gary Berg was as tall as his brother, had similar facial features but was slimmer and had a neatly cut gray beard. He wore a well designed dark suit that made the youngster think of the Douglas Junior High School principal who had come to chat to her the day before. "Once!" she added.

  "Only once?" the lawyer's eyebrows rose slightly.

  "He lived in California and never visited Daddy or Grandpop except this once. It must have been only a few months before Grandpop died."

  "You were very young at the time, a third grader you said?"

  Julie nodded.

  "So why did it stick in your mind?"

  The girl flushed. "I was wrong. I did see Grandpop angry. It was the time Uncle Gary visited. I remember I was excited at meeting my famous scientist uncle but when he came to Grandpop's he just ignored me," Her eyes bore across the room at the downcast eyes of her uncle. "He still does."

  "Go on, Julie."

  "He asked Grandpop for money for something, I can't remember what it was. Grandpop told him it was about time he learnt to support himself and this was the last time he was going to help him. He wrote a check out and said, 'This is the last time, Gary '."

  "Were those the exact words, Julie?"

  She shrugged. "As far as I remember. It stuck in my mind because I was scared of Grandpop's anger. After Uncle Gary left he picked me up and said, 'I'm not angry with you Little Sunshine. I'd never be angry with you.' and I felt all better again." Tears appeared in her eyes. "Grandpop had a heart attack soon afterwards and died. I remember Daddy was crying at Grandpop's funeral but Uncle Gary just stood there looking grim. He never even cried. I remember that, too."

  Later in the hearing, John confirmed Julie's account and added that the next day, his father visited a lawyer to add an amendment to his will.

  "Did you know the contents at that time?" Orley asked.

  "No," John replied. "Dad never told me of the contents. It was only after his death I found out he'd given me two thirds of everything. Gary contested that and we reached an out of court agreement last year when I bought out his share of the ranch."

  "At the value of the time?" the Judge interjected

  "Yes, Your Honour. The official evaluation documents are here."

  The lawyer held a document up at the judge." I'd like these evaluations entered as evidence, Your Honour," he said.

  "Very well. " she nodded to the clerk. "Carry on Mr. Williamson."

  John was in the witness stand for the rest of the day and also the following morning. Thomas Carlson tried to prove he knew the ranch was undervalued and withheld the information from his brother.

  A witness from the firm that did the official evaluation, though, helped John's case. "At the time we did the evaluation, it was true and accurate and compared favourably with other similar sized properties sold in the county," he said. " It was several months later when a commercial developer began buying up land in the area, that the prices rose substantially. If it was not for that, the selling price John received wou
ld have been close to the evaluation we made at the time."

  "So he would not have known the developer was buying up land to create a new subdivision?"

  "No. Neither did we. The reason for the sudden interest was that a deal the developers had in Cortland County struck legal problems. The firm abandoned an investment there and decided to move into John's district." The man shrugged. "Two different developers were in competition and this drove the price up."

  Orley Williamson glanced up at the judge. "We shall be calling witnesses from the firms concerned to confirm this, Your Honour," he said.

  "I would expect that," she replied and made a note on her computer.

  *

  Two days later the court case ended when the judge stated that, because John and his family were due to return to New Zealand, she would give her decision the following Tuesday morning.

  Kylena looked drawn and tired as they drove back to Bud and Maureen Schwalbe's place, the friends who were looking after the girls. The freeway was crowded and she was the one unfamiliar with driving to the right and the huge roads.

  "Your brother had all his Ts crossed," she grumbled.

  "Yes," muttered John. "He always was good with words but his lawyer couldn't shake the witnesses from those development firms. It was just my good luck they wanted my property at the time."

  "But will the judge believe it makes any difference?" Kylena sighed. "It only proved you had not been dishonest. Gary's pretence that he is still entitled to half the sale price seemed quite valid. Even I was quite impressed with his statements."

  "I know." John grimaced. "But it is out of our hands, My Dear."

  *

  Judge Elizabeth Mroczkowski gazed around the courtroom and waited while the formalities were completed. "The whole weight of this hearing focused on whether Mr. John Berg purposely and with malice, attempted to conceal the value of his property from Doctor Gary Berg," she began. "The reasons for their late father's decision to change his will was gone into in great detail but in reality, has no bearing on this case as it was superseded by the out of court settlement when John Berg agreed that his brother was entitled to fifty percent of the legacy.

  When John Berg sold the family property, he was the legal and sole owner of the property, having paid a fair price to purchase his brother's portion. He could, therefore do whatever he wished with his land. If, for example, the land values dropped and he sold the land at a loss he could not go back to his brother and claim a refund because of this loss.

  Doctor Gary Berg went to great lengths to prove his brother was financially well disposed. This claim, in the court's opinion, was not proven. Mr. John Berg will have to sell his New Zealand property or heavily mortgage it if his brother's claim for reimbursement is substantiated. Doctor Berg certainly has large debts of his own to service but they are entirely of his own making.

  New York State Laws offer family protection if the family of a deceased is treated unfairly in the distribution of an estate. This court does not believe this was proven in this hearing and invokes the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment of our constitution. It rules the assessment of the estate at that time was true and binding and Mr. John Berg does not need to renegotiate anything with his brother.

  The judgment is, therefore in favour of the defendant and the plaintiff's case is dismissed. All costs shall be paid by the plaintiff." The judge gave John a brief smile before her eyes swept across to Kylena and she added. "Thank you for attending this hearing, Mrs. Berg. The court recognizes the sacrifice you made to come to New York to support your husband. This case is closed. "

  Everyone rose as the judge left the room.

  John gave a brief grunt of satisfaction before he frowned, brushed Kylena's shoulder and walked across to his brother who was about to walk out of the courtroom.

  "I wonder what Pop would have thought about all of this, Gary," he said quietly. "We were brought up to support each other. I know he helped you by paying tens of thousands of dollars to put you through university and gave you another hundred thousand mere weeks before his death. That was why he changed the will. It was not because he favoured me. He was just trying to be fair to both of us.

  I am saddened that it all came down to this. We were such friends when we grew up together, you were my big brother whom I loved and respected. When you earned your PhD, I was so proud of you. We're still family, you know. I would not like you to remain bitter." He held his hand out.

  Doctor Gary Berg lifted his eyes to gaze into John's, took the hand offered and shook it. "You landed on your feet, John," he said in an abrupt voice. "I know your marriage to Anne was a sham and wish you all the best with your new wife. I perceive she loves you very much." He gave a twisted smile. "You know I always envied my little brother. Perhaps one day I could visit you in your new home."

  "And you will be welcome," John replied.

  Gary squeezed John's shoulder and walked away. The farmer sighed but his expression changed to a smile when he felt an arm through his.

  "Did it go okay?" Kylena asked. Her blue eyes looked concerned.

  "Oh yes," John replied and tucked his arm around her. "He is a lonely man, a bachelor with a career but little else. Even after all this, he is still my brother.”

  "A bit like Mum," Kylena added. "We can't change our own families, I guess."

  "No," replied John and kissed her on upturned lips." but we can chose who we want in our new one."

  *

  Harold was out on the farm somewhere; it was another day of misty rain so Fiona decided to have one more search for Harold's daughter. She switched to a local search engine and brought up a list of New Zealand universities. After searching, unsuccessfully, through staff names in Lincoln, Auckland and Victoria Universities she arrived at the web page of Otago University in Dunedin. The blue banner across the Home Page appeared and she clicked through to the academic staff list. In search mode she typed in Bentley, then Harrington and Sands. Her eyes were sore and she was about to switch off when a name caught her attention. The name, Doctor A. Sands-Bentley in the Bioscience Faculty glared out at her.

  "Oh hell!" she gasped and noted the telephone number.

  Two minutes later she was talking to the university receptionist. " I am phoning on a personal matter. Is the Doctor Sands-Bentley on your staff a woman with the first name Angelina?" she asked.

  There was a tap of a keyboard and the woman replied. "Do you wish Doctor Angelina Sands-Bentley's extension number, Madam?"

  "Yes, please." Fiona's heart raced as wallpaper music played in her ear for at least two minutes before a voice answered.

  "Good afternoon, Angelina Sands-Bentley speaking.” a voice with a slight American accent, answered.

  Fiona gulped. "Doctor Sands-Bentley. My name is Fiona Reynolds and I'm calling from near Palmerston North on behalf of a man whom I believe is your father, Doctor Harold Bentley."

  There was silence at the other end before a cautious voice continued. "How do you know that name?"

  "Harold has been trying to trace his daughter he last saw when she was twelve. That would make her thirty-five now. Am I speaking to the right person, doctor?"

  "Dad!" the voice stuttered. "But how? I've spent years trying to trace him. I even added my original surname to the one I'd been using when I returned to New Zealand."

  "So you are the Angelina Bentley who left New Zealand as a twelve year old?"

  "Yes. I am," the voice gasped. "This is not some horrible hoax is it?"

  "Your father used to draw pictures of you doing all manner of things, didn't he? I have those pictures with me right now, Doctor Sands-Bentley." That wasn't quite true but the farm cottage and the sketches weren't far away.

  "He did," gasped the voice. "Where did you say you were?"

  "About eighty kilometres north of Palmerston North."

  "Can I talk to him?"

  "Well, he's out looking after the farm now for my son-in-law." To her, John would always remain her son-i
n-law even though he was married to Kylena. "He'll be in about five."

  "I'm coming up!" Angelina replied." If I ring back with my arrival time, can you tell my father?"

  "Better still, we'll meet you at Palmerston North airport. I've got an email address, if it is helpful."

  "Thank you," the woman's voice had a tremble in it. "I'm sorry. I missed your name."

  "Just call me Fiona, Aggie."

  "Nobody's called me that since I was a child, Fiona." the voice replied. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe it. Thank you Fiona. How did you find me?"

  "Like working out a cryptic crossword puzzle," Fiona answered,

  *

  "I don't know why you dragged me here," Harold muttered as they waited in the almost deserted lounge of Palmerston Airport. It was almost eleven p.m., everything was closed and cleaners were doing their rounds. "I'm sure the package that is coming could be brought out on the rural delivery truck."

  "Possibly," Fiona replied. She had decided to tell him a package was arriving from the South Island that needed to be picked up.

  Her thoughts were interrupted when the public address speaker that crackled. "Air New Zealand Link announces the arrival of the ATR 72 Flight 165 from Christchurch and Dunedin. This flight terminates here and will be departing for points south tomorrow morning."

  The woman about half way back in the queue of passengers who walked out of the airplane, did not have long straight hair like in Harold's drawings, nor was she slim. The slightly chubby woman, shorter than Fiona expected, had short brown hair and was dressed in a blue business suit. The thin nose and high cheekbones, though, were identical to those pages of drawings.

  Fiona gave her friend a poke and nodded at the entrance door. "I believe that lady looking lost in the middle of the room is your daughter Angelina, Harold," she said.

  "What!" cried the man. He stopped and stared at Fiona's beaming face before looking up at the woman in question. "You could have told me," he continued and just stood with his hands shaking, frozen to the spot.