Beach Wedding(45)

“Okay, I’m ready now. What’s the new angle?” she said.

“Now, remember how the Sutton family originally made its money?”

“The grandfather was a bootlegger or something.”

“That was in the olden times. The modern Suttons made all their dough from a Long Island chemical company the father bought in the sixties called Cold Springs Chemical.

“Over the years, Cold Springs Chemical made acquisitions and became bigger and bigger to the point where it is now one of the country’s biggest privately owned corporations. It’s not up there with Dow or DuPont just yet, but close. It’s massive.”

“I’ve never even heard of it.”

“Neither did I. That’s because it’s private. You can’t buy stock. Plus it’s very discreet. Also, a lot of its operations are offshore. They have facilities all over Canada and South America and are apparently moving into the Middle East. Anyway, when the father died, each of the four Sutton kids got an equal piece of the company.

“Well, almost equal. The three eldest children, Nelson and Henry and Brooke Sutton, got 24 percent apiece, while Noah, who was the father’s favorite, got 28 percent. Nelson and Henry, who were very close, ran the company, and the other two, Brooke and Noah, just lived off the billion-dollar-plus-a-year proceeds, jet-setting about.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“You’d think so, right? But as these things happen, after the mother died, Brooke started getting in a huff about how much the company was really making and if the oldest two, Nelson and Henry, were paying themselves too handsomely.”

“Oh, boy.”

“Noah, who was the baby of the family, really didn’t care about it, but his sister, Brooke, did. So, she eventually got a bunch of lawyers together and started a coup to oust the two oldest brothers from the helm.”

“How sisterly,” my wife said.

“Now, because Nelson and Henry together had a 48 percent hold of the company to Brooke’s twenty-four, she really had only one move for a successful coup.”

“To get Noah’s deciding shares?”

“Exactly. And both factions were wooing him to determine who would ultimately control the company.”

“So, what happened?” my wife said. “Whose side did Noah choose?”

“He never got the chance.”



60

“Did your dad know about this rivalry within the company?” Viv asked.

“Not that I can tell,” I said. “The family wouldn’t talk to anyone. They just surrounded themselves with lawyers. Also, like I said, this was a private family company, so the dispute among the siblings was being handled internally by an independent mediator.”

“So, what does this new info mean? Noah could have been killed by his own family?”

“Well...maybe. I guess. But the really important point here is Noah’s will.”

“Go on.”

“Well, it seems to explain much of what happened after Noah died. When Noah was killed, he left everything to Hailey, the house, his family company shares, everything.”

“All the more reason for Hailey to kill Noah.”

“True. But if the primary beneficiary, in this case, Hailey, was deceased or convicted of Noah’s murder, then the secondary beneficiary would get the shares.”

“Makes sense. Who was the secondary beneficiary?”

“Father Holm doesn’t know. Noah never said. Could have been his ex-wife, his son, one of his siblings. Who knows?”

“Wow. So that explains why the Sutton siblings were so supportive of Hailey.”

“Exactly. They needed Hailey to be exonerated so that each faction could continue to persuade her to sell her shares to them. Henry was Hailey’s biggest cheerleader, putting together the dream team of lawyers and sitting in on all the meetings.”

“So did Hailey sell her shares after the trial?”

“No. In the end, she just kept the shares and the massive income stream exactly the way it was, and the brothers retained control.”

“That’s cold, Terry. How could they do that? They didn’t care at all about their murdered brother? They didn’t care that his wife had blown him away? Just the company? Just the money?”

“It is ice-cold, Viv.”

“So it didn’t matter to them that the jury was hung?”

“Not then, but it does now. This news is huge for our case.”

“How?”

“Once we bring up this bombshell at the new trial, then a jury will see that the family support had nothing to do with them believing in Hailey’s innocence.”

“And had everything to do with greed.”

“Right. The Suttons had an extremely strong motive of material benefit and gain from Hailey beating the case. Which could also be used to explain the highly suspect theft of the forensic evidence. No one knew that hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars were riding on the case.”

“Do you think the DA will take the case now? I mean, what else could they want?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. But we’re definitely getting closer.”

“Don’t say maybe. I want you back now, Terry. I love your family and all and even weddings, but it stinks around here without you. I almost feel like throwing my wet bathing suit onto the ceiling fan with all your running around.”