Sparring Partners(15)
“I knew Mack well, Herman, and I liked him.”
“I liked him at first, but you could see the marriage unravel. He’s one of those Delta boys, Walter, you know how they are. They’re just different.”
“I know, I know.”
“Anyway, how can we prove he committed fraud?”
“Why bother with it, Herman?”
That irritated the client and he seethed for a moment. He sipped his coffee and let it pass. Then he smiled and said, “Because he’s a crook, Walter, and a bad person. Because my daughter probably won’t make it to the end of the year, probably the summer, and she’ll leave behind two teenage girls that Honey and I will have to raise. And we’re up to it, we’re ready, but we certainly weren’t planning on it. They’ll be expensive, and a handful, and, well, we were already thinking about retirement. That can wait. If Mack has some money, then he owes it to Lisa and the girls.”
“How much are you willing to spend to find out?”
“How much will it cost?”
“I’ll have to pay a private investigator to start digging. I’m not sure about the legal work but there will be some hours involved.”
“How much, from soup to nuts?”
“Ten thousand.”
Herman grimaced as if stricken by irritable bowels, shifted his weight, gritted his teeth, and said, “I was thinking more like five thousand?”
Walter didn’t mind negotiating because he was also thinking about more potential clients. If Mack had shafted others, then they too might have claims. If Walter found the pot of gold, he might well be in charge of it. He scribbled some notes as he frowned and couldn’t get the math to work. “Look, Herman, this is not really my cup of tea, you know? I can get this done but it’s a pain, right? Let’s agree on seventy-five hundred.”
“That’s still too much but I don’t want to bicker.”
“Okay, then, write me the check.”
“I’ll mail it tomorrow.” Herman glanced at his watch. So far the meeting had lasted less than fifteen minutes. That was $50, right? He would pounce on Walter’s monthly bill when it arrived, to verify the time and the cost.
He thanked him for the coffee and hustled out of the office.
* * *
—
Across the square, Jake was loafing at his desk when the call came. A familiar voice said, “Good morning, Jake, it’s Walter Sullivan.”
At that moment, there was not a single file in Jake’s office that could remotely interest anyone at the Sullivan firm. He was somewhat suspicious, but then calls from nowhere were not unusual. “Good morning, Walter. To what do I owe the honor?”
“We’ve represented Herman Bunning and his company forever.”
Of course you have, Walter. You get all the corporate work in town.
“And he just left the office. As you might guess, the family is pretty rattled right now. What can you tell me about Mack?”
“I’m not his lawyer, Walter. You need to chat with Harry Rex.”
“And what might he tell me?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s what I figured. No idea where Mack is.”
“None. Why do you care where Mack is, Walter?”
“I don’t. I’m just passing along the warning that he should stay away from Lisa and the girls.”
“Well, great. I got that warning from Dr. Pettigrew, loud and clear. I passed it along to Mack. He heard it. I seriously doubt there’s anything to worry about, Walter. Mack has no plans to stir up trouble.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
“The message has been delivered, Walter. Relax.”
“See you around.”
After the call, Jake thought about it for a long time. The notion that Mack Stafford would somehow deliberately harm his daughters was ludicrous. It was a bully call, typical Sullivan. They had the money and power and didn’t mind using it.
He remembered when, not too long ago, Harry Rex threw one of his pig roasts at his hunting cabin in the woods south of town. He invited every lawyer and judge, even the ones he despised, and he invited Ozzie and his deputies and the local police from Clanton. Most of the courthouse gang was there, along with an assortment of investigators, runners, process servers, and even tow truck operators. There were kegs of cold beer and plenty of barbecue. A bluegrass band played on the porch. Harry Rex’s timing was perfect—there was nothing else happening in the county that day—and the crowd was huge. He wanted a full-blown redneck party and that’s what he got. Jake and Carla bumped into Mack and Lisa and tried to have a friendly chat. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable mixing with a lower-class crowd. The country club was far away. Later, Jake saw her sitting alone on the rear porch, sipping a diet soda and looking thoroughly out of place. He later heard the rumor that she left without telling Mack. He hitched a ride home with a friend.
It was common knowledge around town that the marriage was unhappy, primarily because Lisa had dreams bigger than anything Mack could deliver. As Stephanie and Dr. Pettigrew prospered and traded one home for one even larger, they left the Staffords behind in the dust.
His daydreaming was interrupted by the next unexpected phone call. It was Dumas Lee, the nosy and persistent chief reporter for The Ford County Times.