by James Ross
Real estate had taught him patience. There was no need to frantically tear into the package. Tyler Cy sauntered into his home office and with a letter opener sliced the package open at the seam.
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to read the words before him. The Petitioner was Shari C. Daniels-Donnelly. The Respondent was Tyler Cyrus Donnelly. Tyler Cy felt acid creeping up his esophagus. Nausea gripped him.
He read further. The petition said that the marriage was irretrievably broken and had no reasonable likelihood of being preserved. A statement indicating when and where the marriage took place was listed. The place of work for each was revealed. In addition to maintenance, Shari asked the court for a division of property and child support for twelve-year-old Jayla.
The more Tyler Cy read, the more sick to his stomach he felt. What a mess this was going to be. It was the last thing he wanted at this stage of his life. He called his attorney, Truman Stewart, and left a voice message requesting an appointment on an urgent matter the first thing Monday morning.
Tyler Cy wrestled the petition back into the manila envelope and placed it in his briefcase. It was only Saturday. He wasn’t going to give Shari the satisfaction of knowing what he received. He and Truman would come up with a game plan and respond sometime next week.
Chapter Twelve
The law offices of Moreland, Stewart, Ebringer and Thomas were located in a downtown sky rise that overlooked Busch Stadium on one side and the Old Courthouse and Gateway Arch on the other. Beyond that was a solid view of the Mississippi River, the blighted areas of East St. Louis, farm fields on black gumbo, and the bluffs in the distance.
Tyler Cy cut short the formalities. He had been doing business with Truman for a number of years and had retained his services for civil purposes since his early years in business. There wasn’t any need to discuss the politics of the US, world events, or the Cardinals. They could do that on a three-day getaway they normally enjoyed with a group sometime in the winter. He handed over the manila envelope.
“I can’t believe it.”
Truman started to read the petition. He looked over the top of his reading glasses after a brief moment. “What’s she doing?” He chuckled at the absurdity of the comment. “Sorry. That’s obvious.” He placed the paper on his desk. “Isn’t she happy?”
“Apparently not.” Tyler Cy showed little emotion. “You’re going to have to help me with this one. I didn’t see this coming. I’ve got no idea what to do.”
“I take it that this is something you do not want.”
Tyler Cy agreed with the understatement. “I’m Catholic and believe in my marriage vows. At that time I said ‘until death do us part’.”
“Obviously you’ve been served.” It was a typical lawyer response. The billable-hours ticker was running. He might as well keep the client in front of him as long as possible. “We’ve got thirty days to respond. There’s no need to hurry the action. I’ll file the response on the thirtieth day.”
“What will that say?”
“I’ll need a statement from you under oath stating you disagree with the statement from the petitioner that the marriage is irretrievably broken and that you believe there is a reasonable belief the marriage can be preserved.”
“Good. That’s what I believe.”
“We’ll buy time.”
“I get scared when you mention that word.”
“Which one?”
“Buy.” They laughed. “I’ve got a feeling that this is going to cost me a pretty penny before everything is said and done.”
“Let’s not try to view it that way.” Truman reassured his client. “Where it is really going to get costly is when the property is divided by the courts. That’s where hopefully I can help most.”
“It will be a living nightmare.” Tyler Cy closed his eyes and shook his head. “There’s so much property.”
Now it was Truman’s turn to agree. “There are certain things we can do. I can start negotiations with her attorney, you know, make contact. Feel them out. Let’s see exactly what she wants.”
“Who is she using?” Tyler Cy read the petition and answered his own question. “It says here Leslie Potter. Do you know anything about her?”
Truman grimaced. “She’s a formidable adversary, a real nut cracker. She’ll stick her arm all the way up your ass.”
Tyler Cy scowled. “Dammit! Why is she doing this to me?”
“We have to get past that,” Truman advised, “in a hurry too.” He shifted his gaze out the window. “It’s going to take a lot of effort to keep what you’ve worked all your life for.”
The nausea came back.
Truman sensed that Tyler Cy was close to losing it. “Look, we’ll wait thirty days to respond. After that I’ll file for discovery. The two of you can make statements under oath. Financial statements can be supplied. We’re going to have to have time to get property appraised.” He reached up to wet his fingers then picked up the petition and flipped to another page. “I can file for extensions. We can drag this out.”
“Let’s do just that. My excitement to lose a lot of what I’ve worked for is not too keen right now.”
Truman threw out the line. “There is a cheaper way to save your estate.”
“Oh?”
“I can contact some people.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“You know.” Truman took his reading glasses off, folded them and placed them on his desk. “If you want to save a lot of your possessions there are cheaper ways to do that than a costly divorce. Accidents happen, you know.”
Tyler Cy was appalled. Then he came to his senses. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. She’s the mother of my kids. I know you’re kidding.”
“Of course I am,” Truman admitted. “We have to play within the rules established by the state and the courts. There is no way out. Some people think that sort of thing solves problems. Their minds get off track. We can’t stoop to the methods that others have used.” Truman turned his gaze to the Arch. He watched the river inching its way to the Gulf. “It’s going to take the court quite a while to determine if the marriage is irretrievably broken. Let’s get a private investigator and follow her. That will let us know what she’s up to. In the meantime why don’t you take her on a little vacation? Is there anywhere she wants to go?”
“Mexico,” Tyler Cy said. “She loves it down there.”
“Good. Suggest it and book it. Give me time to file this response. She doesn’t need to know what we’re up to. I’ll put a tail on her.”
“Not until we get back.”
Truman made an overture with his left hand. “Of course, that gives me time to make contact with my guy. While you’re gone we’ll make sure we get a GPS device on the frame of her Jaguar. In the meantime we’ll make them spend a little money. I’m good at dragging my feet asking for extensions and such.”
“Be gentle. That’s my money she’s going to be spending.”
“Maybe we can make that tougher for her to get access to.” Truman paused. “I mean what is she going to do?” Truman flashed a wry grin. “What is going to pay her bills? Where is she going to go?”
“I have no idea other than we have joint accounts.”
“Where are you going to live?”
“Under the same roof I have for quite a while.”
Truman took a pen and scribbled a note. “We’ll put that in our settlement agreement request.” He put the pen down. “Now surprise her. Schedule that trip.”
Chapter Thirteen
It had been one of those days for Leslie Potter. When one call ended another was funneled through. She had just hung up when her new client reached her.
“Leslie, its Shari.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Did you serve the papers?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I have a pool party to go to. I need to know. I went to lunch the other day with a younger friend and she has some new people for me to meet. I can’t
wait!”
“Wait a minute. Slow down,” Leslie said. “First things first.”
“But I can’t wait. I’m so excited. I think the bartender wants to go out with me too. We were at the bar at The Breeze havin’ martinis; I like mine up with a twist, and after the third one he gave me a wink. I think he likes me.”
Leslie rolled her eyes. She had heard it before: another client starved for attention. “Yes.”
“Yes? What?”
“He’s been served.”
“Oh. Good.” Shari paused. “He doesn’t act like it.”
“How much contact have you had with him?”
“None. I can’t stand the prick.”
“Don’t let that be your motivation.”
Shari found the answer puzzling. “It’s all of my motivation! I hate him. I want out! He can’t do me any good anymore.”
“Have you thought about your next step in life?”
“Yeah. I want to have some fun. Do you know what it’s like to not ever be able to do anything good enough? Have you ever worn a muzzle?” Shari didn’t want an answer. She recited what she imagined. “Well I have. He belittles me. He thinks I’m stupid. I’m not a good enough mother for his children. I don’t look good enough when we leave home. I don’t know how to pick my friends good enough. I’m sick of it. He’s an asshole.”
“We got a response.”
“I’m sure he wants everything for himself. Tyler Cy is such a money hungry bastard. I’m sure he doesn’t want me to have anything. He probably wants the house. He wants all of our investments. He’ll give me the Jag. That piece of crap is always in the shop. It’ll cost me a fortune to keep it runnin’. I always wanted the Mercedes and he knows it.”
“His lawyer, Truman Stewart, has made some requests.”
“He probably wants me to move out of the house. He won’t give me any money to live on. He’ll want to disrupt the kid’s lives. I’ll starve and won’t be able to go shoppin’ and he’ll stick me with that damn Jaguar.”
“It’s much too early for that.”
“Too early for what?”
“The division of assets.”
“I don’t care! I want out!”
Leslie pulled the receiver away from her ear and thought how frequently she felt like a psychologist or marital counselor. “Shari, calm down. I’m on your side. You’ve made yourself clear.”
“You have to understand what a control freak he is! Tyler Cy is very charming when he wants to be. He’ll manipulate you! When it comes to money, he wants to hold the trump card. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that over and over and over again.” Her voice deepened. “‘For you to win in any negotiation you’ve got to hold the trump card.’ I can hear him now. That’s the only way he operates. His trump card is money. So I’m sure that he wants to starve me down to nothin’. I seen it so many times before. That’s the way he gets his way.”
“That’s duly noted. I assure you that I’ll remember.” Leslie turned to some papers on her desk. She picked up an affidavit. “You have to remember that what we’re going to go through is a process.”
“You can call it whatever you want. I want out. I hate the guy! The sooner, the better.”
“I can speed things up for you.”
“Do it!”
“You won’t get anything.”
“I want what I deserve after twenty-four years of marriage! It’s been a living hell for those twenty-four years too! That’s a third of my life! I want what I deserve!”
“Then you’re going to have to get a grip on things. The next step in the process is discovery.”
“Discovery? What’s that?” The words were flying. “And why do you keep calling this a process? This is a divorce and I want to get away from the S-O-B as quick as I can!”
“Shari, you’re going to have to put your emotions aside. Nothing is going to happen too quickly. Divorce court is clogged with a lot of cases like this.”
“I don’t care! Move it along.”
“I expect the next order from the judge will send this into the discovery phase.”
“What is that anyway? You never did answer my question.”
Leslie forced a grin and laughed into the receiver. “You didn’t…”
“What are you laughing about?”
“You didn’t give…”
“Everybody always thinks everything is so funny! This is my life that we’re messin’ around with! There’s nothin’ funny about it!”
“We’ll have written discovery.”
“You still haven’t told me what it is.”
“Each party will serve a set of questions on the other party.”
“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of questions for the A-hole!”
“These are referred to as interrogatories.”
“You lawyers always like to throw around those big words to make you feel like you’re smarter than the rest of us.”
“We’ll have to answer those questions under oath.” Leslie got in what she needed and then asked, “Did you get your retainer in?”
“Where the heck am I going to get money for that?”
“I trust you’ll find a way. The process is going to cost some money. We need to pay for the services.”
“I’ll have to get it to you when I get back.”
“Back? Where are you going?”
“Tyler Cy wants to take me to the Mayan Riviera.”
Leslie was taken aback. “As your lawyer I would advise you not to go.”
“Are you crazy or somethin’?”
“The courts consider me of sound mind.”
“You must not know how much I love it down there. Have you ever seen the place? It’s beautiful.”
“You’ll be leaving the country with someone that I would consider an adversary.”
“Tyler Cy?” Shari found the statement incredulous. “We’re best friends and have known each other for almost all of our adult life.”
“But in court you’re going to be asking for half of his net worth.”
“So?”
“Many men would consider that an infringement.”
“There you go with those big words again. What are you trying to say?”
Leslie paused, wondering if her client was bi-polar, naïve, or just plain stupid. “Look, you’ve been spouses and business partners; now the relationship is ending. Someone might be upset about that. Accidents can easily be arranged, especially out of the confines of the USA.”
“Are you saying that Tyler Cy might hurt me?”
“Stranger things have happened in domestic disputes.”
“He wouldn’t hurt a tick. Did I ever tell you about the time that one of his clients took him on a huntin’ trip?” Shari was set to go off on another tangent. Leslie glanced at her watch. Being a good listener was part of her job description, and it was billable. “A client took him to one of the duck clubs north of St. Peters. They had planned it for quite a while. The guy didn’t know that Tyler Cy had never shot a rifle or gun. They were up at three thirty. It was cool, overcast, and very misty. In fact, if I remember right, there was a steady rain and Tyler Cy—he’s such a pussy—didn’t want to go at the last minute because he thought he might catch a cold and be away from work for a couple of weeks.”
Leslie grinned. As pretentious as Shari was, she was kind of likeable.
“Tyler Cy went anyway. He didn’t want to damage the relationship. He had worked to get the guy’s business for a decade or more. And he looked so silly. I watched him go out the door. He had on brand new waterproof camouflage clothing and waders damn near up to his ass. I know because he made me go shopping for him! It was at one of those sporting goods shops at the Galleria. I got the whole outfit for him. Insulated gloves that were camouflaged! He even had on a waterproof flotation vest in case he fell in the river or somethin’.” Shari gasped for air. “Ha! How stupid do you think that would be? Fallin’ in the river?”
Leslie chuckled. Listening to Shari’s versi
on of the events was amusing.
“They got out somewhere up in the flood plain where the Mississippi runs due east right before that crook in it where it flows to the north, and the first thing they did was go in the little cabin and fire up the skillet for a ham and egg breakfast. Then he said they polished off a fifth of Jack before the sun came up. Didn’t even pour it; they just passed the bottle around and everyone took a swig until the bottle was empty.”
Leslie’s snickered.
“Oh, you think that’s funny? He had never fired a rifle, let alone loaded one. He said they had to walk about forty yards to the blind and he got stuck in the mud. The dogs knew somethin’ good was gonna happen. They were bouncin’ off one another. Things got quiet as they sat and waited for the ducks.”
“You mean geese?”
“Ducks. Geese. Whatever. They were flyin’. It was foggy. Barely light as he tells the story. Then pow. Pow! Pow! All hell broke loose. The dogs took off. He never fired a shot. The dogs returned with the birds in their mouth. The guys were half drunk and tellin’ jokes and laughin’ and havin’ a good time. Tyler Cy hated it! He came home later in the day with tears in his eyes and said he’d never do that again.”
“The relevance being?”
“If you think that he’s plannin’ on doin’ somethin’ to me you’re nuts. I seen the way he acts around guns. Like I said, he wouldn’t hurt a tick if it was suckin’ all the blood out of his pecker. That is if he can find the damn thing. And he hasn’t used that on me in a long, long time which is why we’re here in the first place.” There was a slight pause as she came up for air. “I’m goin’ to Mexico.”
“I can’t tell you what to do.”
“Then don’t. I’m goin’.”
“Be careful, Shari. You don’t need to be shot to die.”
Chapter Fourteen
Raul was back at it. His little business was thriving. With it came benefits that dollars could not buy. He got to pick his own hours, make his own appointments, and he didn’t have to take the job home with him. Those luxuries were priceless. He could lock the door at eleven p.m. or knock off before lunch. Tips from the elderly ladies at Olde Blueblood put cash in his pocket and he could always demand to be paid in greenbacks for his work as a massage therapist.
