by Robert Gonko
let's get on with it.”
“Okay.” Sallie turned to Charlton. “You. Out.”
“With all respect, Mrs. Curtis,” Charlton began. “I represent Sam's--”
“I said out,” Sallie commanded. “You wait in the other room with the rest of the lawyers. This is family business. We'll call you in when we need you.”
Sam nodded his approval and Charlton reluctantly left. “We can get a lot more done without those bloodsuckers,” Sallie said.
“What's he still doing here?” Jerry demanded, indicating Steve.
“I feel safer with him around,” Sam said.
“Can't stick up for yourself?” Jerry sneered.
“After yesterday, I think Sam's entitled to have someone he trusts close by,” Nick said. “Especially around you two.”
“We had nothing to do with it,” Bill insisted. “And I think the police are satisfied with our explanations.”
“Then why did Peart finger you two?” Nick asked.
“I don't know, but if I get my hands on that lying sack—”
“Jerry!” Sallie barked.
Jerry looked ready to keep talking but Bill put a hand on his arm. “It doesn't matter,” he said. “Let's get on with it.”
“Are you two ready to listen to reason?” Sallie asked.
“I resent that,” Bill said. “There's nothing wrong with trying to protect our family and our company.”
“Sam is part of the family,” Sallie replied.
“His...parentage has yet to be proven,” Bill said.
“How can you look at him and still question that?” Nick asked. “It's like looking at old pictures of Dad.”
“That doesn't make him one of us,” Jerry said. “What's he ever done for the company, or for the family? Dad worked hard all his life to build his fortune. We can't let this bas-”
“Jerry,” Sallie warned.
“We can't let him take what's rightfully ours,” he finished.
“The three billion is his,” Sallie declared. “Hank set up that trust for him years ago. You can't do anything about it.”
“My concern is the twenty percent share of the company and the seat on the board,” Bill said. “The damage an...unqualified board member could do is terrifying.”
“I don't know about that,” Nick said. “I've gotten to know him a bit. He might have some good ideas.”
Jerry laughed. “I know your game,” he said. “You're cozying up to him so that he'll back that alternative fuel project. Damn waste of time and money.”
“The oil business won't last forever,” Nick said.
“Shit, here we go again,” Jerry said.
“Dad thought it was worth looking into,” Nick said.
“You've sunk millions--”
“Enough,” Sallie said. “You boys can argue about that later.”
“I'd like to say something,” Sam began. “Mr. Braddock--”
“Braddock!” Jerry barked. “That old coot probably cooked up this whole scheme! I never did trust him!”
“You've hated him ever since he stopped getting you out of trouble,” Nick said.
The room was silent for a moment. Sam could see the anger in Bill and Jerry's eyes. This could get out of hand very quickly and was glad he'd brought Steve along. He silently offered up a quick prayer for strength.
“Mama, I don't understand your part in this,” Bill said. “Why are you supporting this man?”
“I knew Hank was a cheat,” Sallie said. “Sometimes I wonder why I put up with it. I don't have a good answer for that. As for Sam, nobody asks to be born, and nobody can control what they're born into. At least Hank did something for his son.”
“I don't care,” Jerry said. “As far as I'm concerned, he has no right to anything.”
Jerry looked right at Sam as he said this. As much as he wanted to, Sam didn't flinch. Jerry scared him to death but something inside refused to bend. He gave the credit to God and did his best to keep his trust in the Almighty.
“I came here to negotiate,” Sam said. “I came here to be reasonable. For my trouble I've been kidnapped, threatened, and insulted. The bible teaches me to turn the other cheek. I've turned it, and gotten it slapped as well. I'm starting to think maybe it's time for some changes at Curtis Enterprises.”
“Don't you dare!” Bill said. “We won't let you get away with it!”
“You should have thought of that before you tried to have me kidnapped,” Sam said, standing up. “I'm going home. Next time, you can come see me.”
He left the room, followed by Steve. “Didn't know you had it in you,” the private detective said.
“Neither did I,” Sam admitted. “Let's get out of here.”
EIGHT
At a few minutes before nine the following Sunday morning, two black Dodge Durangos drove up to the front doors of Chester Avenue Christian Church. Sam, Tracie, and their children got out of the second vehicle and entered the building. The SUVs drove off and parked at opposite ends of Chester Avenue, where their drivers could keep an eye out for trouble.
This fuss made Sam feel like he was under Secret Service protection but after what had happened in Texas he was taking no chances with his family's safety. They were now under the protection of Tyler Security.
Thanks to Sallie Curtis, they'd found a temporary home on the estate of the Atkins family, the wealthiest landlords in the area. Nothing of any importance was built in Port Mason without one of them being involved. Hank had had strong business ties with them.
Today's trip to church was their first venture off of the Atkins estate since Sam's return from Texas. The security people weren't entirely happy about it, but Sam and Tracie insisted. He needed to be with his friends and fellow believers, to fight this growing sense of isolation that had been building since learning of his inheritance.
As they entered the lobby, people stopped and stared. Sam felt like he was on display, and he didn't like it. Part of him wanted to turn around and walk out.
Then a man Sam didn't recognize handed him a blue-backed piece of paper. “Alex Peterman, attorney-at-law,” he said. “Becky sends her regards.”
Peterman fled the church before anyone could say or do anything. Sam opened the paper. His ex-wife was suing for one hundred million.
“I've heard of Peterman,” Aaron Charlton said over the phone. “He's your typical ambulance-chaser. He likes to make a lot of noise and scare insurance companies into settling out of court. He's not too well thought of by the respectable members of the bar.”
Sam and family were on their way back to the Atkins estate. The children were riding in the lead SUV so he and Tracie could talk to the lawyer. Sam had his cell on speaker.
“This is going to get out, isn't it?” he asked.
“With a guy like Peterman, you can count on it,” Charlton said. “One of Peterman's usual weapons is publicity, especially if you decide to fight the lawsuit.”
“I can't let her get away with this,” Sam said.
“I'll be better able to advise you after I see the papers,” Charlton said. “I'm on my way to meet you now.”
“Aaron, it's Sunday,” Tracie protested.
“I consider myself on call around the clock,” Charlton replied. “And with something like this, we really need to get up to speed as quickly as possible. Trust me.”
The Atkins estate was just west of the city limits. After passing through the front gate, they drove towards the main house. It wasn't as large or opulent as the Curtis mansion, but it was definitely out of Sam's league. Or rather, the league he used to be in. Before reaching the house, they turned off onto a side road that went around it. They passed a tennis court, swimming pool, and a garage that was more than twice the size of their house on Knox Avenue.
Beyond the garage was the guest house where Sam and his family were staying, a two-story colonial almost as big as the main house. Aaron Charlton's Merced
es was parked out front. Sam didn't see Kristen or Noah, but Sam Jr. stood by the front door, an expectant look on his face. “Who's Becky?” he asked, as he had after Peterman served the papers.
“Not now,” Sam said, entering the house.
Sam, Tracie, and Charlton sat down in the study, which was already Sam's favorite room in the house. The walls were lined with leather-bound books. The solid oak desk was an antique. Sam was particularly fond of the red leather executive chair, in which he sat.
The lawyer seemed to have bounced back from the adventure in Texas much better than Sam had. Of course, he hadn't been the target. Charlton quickly scanned the document. “I'm sorry to have to ask you this,” he said. “But I have to know. Is any of this true?”
“I never raised a hand to her,” Sam said. “And I never verbally or emotionally abused her. She cheated on me and I left her.”
“And the paternity of her child?”
Sam looked at Tracie with some despair. “Honey, we have to be honest about this,” she said. “You've never been sure, have you?”
“You don't know?” Charlton asked.
“Not with one hundred percent certainty,” Sam admitted.
“What do you want to do?” Charlton asked.
“If Kyle's...mine, I'll support him,” Sam said. “But this business with Becky herself is outrageous. I can't let her get away with it.”
Charlton shook his head “You need to be realistic. Do you really want your dirty laundry aired in court? A settlement now can save you a lot of grief later. I can talk Peterman down on the amount, that shouldn't be a problem. The figure they named in the lawsuit is really nothing more than an opening bid, anyway.”
“Wouldn't that be the same as admitting guilt?” Sam asked.
“No,” Charlton said. “You agree to a settlement without an official finding of fault. It's done all the time.”
There was a knock at the door. “Dad?” Sam Jr. said from the other side.
“Not now!” Sam responded, sharply. Tracie gave him a look and he realized he'd made a mistake. “I'm sorry, what is it?”
Sam Jr. came in carrying his new iPad which he handed it to his father. On the screen was the latest from The Port Mason Register. Sam was glad he was sitting down because when he saw the headline, he wanted to faint.
It said: 'Ex-Wife: Billionaire beat me.'
NINE
Aaron Charlton was trying to reach Alex Peterman. He was on his third attempt. Sam massaged his temples as he stared at the story by John Pullman. Sam Jr. was still standing there. “Why didn't you tell me about this?” the boy asked.
“I never wanted you kids to know about Becky,” he said. “I wish I'd never met the woman.”
“What happened?” Sam Jr. asked.
Sam hesitated. “You might as well tell him,” Tracie said. “He'll get it out of you eventually.”
“True,” Sam said. “Okay, but you don't repeat this to your sister and brother. Understand?”
“Sure.”
“I met Becky in college,” he said. “We hit it off. It was a mostly...physical relationship, if you know what I mean.”
Sam Jr. nodded. They'd had a few talks about this sort of thing recently. “Anyway,” Sam continued. “We'd been together for about a year when she had this idea of dropping out, getting jobs, and getting married. I didn't agree at first. Finishing college was more important to me than it was to her, but we did get engaged.
“When our junior year was over we decided to take a trip together and went to Las Vegas. It was a wild time. I still don't remember some of it.”
“And that's when you got married?” Sam Jr. asked.
“By an Elvis impersonator, no less,” Sam said.
His son couldn't help but laugh at that. “Please tell me you have pictures,” he said.
“This may sound funny to you, but it got serious pretty quickly,” Sam said. “My mom and dad were furious when we got back. They weren't all too fond of Becky and were heartbroken that they didn't even get to attend my wedding. My mom didn't speak to me for weeks.”
“We'd been married for about six months when everything fell apart,” he continued. “I came home early from work one day and found her in bed with another man.”
“Whoa,” Sam Jr. said. “What did you do?”
“I left,” Sam replied. “Packed a bag and walked out. I went home, begged Mom and Dad to forgive me, and filed for divorce. The hardest part when Becky said she didn't want to be married to a wimp and had been thinking about leaving me anyway. I had gotten boring.”
“That sucks,” Sam Jr. said.
Sam nodded in agreement. “That about sums it up,” he said. “Mom and Dad let me move back home as long as I finished my degree, which I did. After the divorce I never saw Becky again, but Steve Bennett ran across her a few years later. That's when I found out about...Kyle.”
“Who's Kyle?”
“Becky's son,” Sam said. “And maybe mine.”
“Holy shit,” Sam Jr. said.
“Language,” Tracie chastised.
“It's okay,” Sam said. “This one time, I think we can let it go.
“Steve was on the police force when it happened,” Sam said. “He responded to a domestic disturbance. Becky had gotten into a fight with a boyfriend. Steve arrested the guy for hitting her and discovered that she had a son who at the time was four years old. By this point, it had been almost five years since I caught Becky with that other guy. You can do the math.
“Becky never contacted me, never asked for money or any kind of help with Kyle. But there's always been this nagging doubt in the back of my mind. The timing is just close enough to be suspicious.
“Now listen to me,” Sam said, looking his son in the eye. “I never, ever hit her. I never abused her in any way. I don't care what this lawyer, the paper, or anyone else says.”
“You want to play hardball, Peterman? We can do that!” Charlton said into his phone. “We'll see what the judge has to say!”
He ended the call. “I miss old-fashioned phones,” the lawyer said. “You could slam those to hang up on someone.”
“What happened?” Sam asked.
“Arrogant little SOB,” Charlton said. “He says the money's not-negotiable and dared me to face him in court. Dared me! I'll wipe the floor with him.”
“What makes him so confident?” Tracie asked.
“That's the question,” Charlton said. “Is there anything your ex-wife might have that could bolster her claims? Any public arguments, any friends who might try to corroborate her story?”
“I don't remember many arguments at all,” Sam said. “Of course, we did drink a lot in those days.”
“We can't waste any time,” Charlton said. “He's declared a PR war and we have to do something about it. Do you think your detective friend can help?”
“I'm sure he can come up with something,” Sam said.
“You'd better get him on it, then,” Charlton said. “Compared to your wealth, the amount she wants is not that big. The real threat here is to your reputation.”
“I've never been too concerned with what people think of me,” Sam said. “Why should I start caring now?”
“Because you're a public figure now,” the lawyer replied. “You may not know what your plans are yet, but I think they're going to be big. If we let your ex-wife and that ambulance chaser ruin your reputation, your life will be much more difficult.”
“So I pay them off,” Sam said, disgusted. He looked to Tracie. “What do you think?”
“I think Aaron's right,” she said. “But it's your decision.”
The idea of giving Becky anything really went against the grain, but he supposed he was going to have to do it. “There's one more thing I'm concerned about,” he said. “Opening the floodgates. If it gets out that I settled, I may have no end of lawsuits from people who think I owe them a living.�
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“You're going to have that problem anyway,” Charlton said. “The best we can do in this case is a non-disclosure agreement. Nobody needs to know the terms.”
“Okay,” Sam said. “Let's do it. But push for the DNA test, Aaron. We need to know for sure about that.”
“Will do,” Charlton said. “If I can get Peterman to take my calls. I'll let you know what happens.”
As they saw Charlton to the door, they were surprised to see Steve and Charley Bennett walking up. Sam smiled at the sight of Steve's uncle. Charley could be a real character sometimes, but that joviality belied a toughness bred from a career in law enforcement. One crossed him only at one's own peril.
“You want the good news or bad news first?” Charley asked.
Steve gave his uncle a puzzled look but said nothing. Suspecting he was being set up, Sam nevertheless said, “Good news.”
“Sorry, there isn't any,” Charley replied. His nephew rolled his eyes. Sam was not surprised. Charley's sense of humor could be a little strange sometimes. “We've got nothing but trouble for you, Sam.”
The way he smiled told Sam it wasn't quite as bad as it seemed. “Come on in,” he said. “Let's hear it.”
“We have a mystery on our hands,” Steve said, once they were seated in the study. “I ran across more Susan Orricks than I thought I would, but none of them match the information on that birth certificate. I couldn't understand it, at first. Usually there's something, even if it's just an old address listing. I came up bust.”
“What my nephew here forgot is that there was a time before the Internet,” Charley said. “A time when it was a lot easier to use an assumed name. Once I reminded him of that, he did his job a lot better.”
Charley never missed an opportunity to get in a dig on Steve. Steve just shook his head. “There was a Susan Marie Orrick living in Port Mason when you were born but she was fifty-one,” the younger Bennett said. “It turns out that she ran a home for unwed mothers over on 70th street. She died eighteen years ago. There are no living relatives we can talk to.”
“How many women do you think she loaned her name to?” Tracie asked.
“I thought about that,” Charley said. “So I called in a favor down at the courthouse. The answer is: none. This appears to have been a one-time deal.”
“It may have been a lucrative one,” Steve added. “That place she ran struggled for funding until you were born. After that, it never lacked for money again. Orrick closed the place a few years before she died and retired with a nice pension. I'm trying to find out where the money came from but it's going to take a while.”
“Did you ask Anderson Braddock?” Sam asked.
“He says he knows nothing about it,” Steve replied.
“You could have called me, you know,” Sam said. “No reason to drive all the way out here.”
“That's not the only thing we wanted to talk to you about,” Charley said. “There's been a development in that kidnapping attempt in Texas.”
“This doesn't sound good,” Sam said.
“It's not,” Steve said. “Stu Peart disappeared. His monitoring device sent out a signal that it had been tampered with but by the time Houston PD ran it down he was long gone. Without him, there's no way to prove or disprove Bill and Jerry's involvement in what happened.”
Sam sighed. Things just
