Southern Justice, Part 44

I’m Fixin’ To present part 44 of Southern Justice:

Everyone else was already present when Chris Adams walked into the Pic-Rik Products’ conference room on Tuesday morning. Rick Junior was at the head of the table with Jones on his right and Vickie Bain on his left.

After the morning greetings and Chris had taken a seat next to Jones, Rick Junior looked around the table before he said, “Well, let’s get down to business. I know we all have other things to do. Jones, we’ll start with you. You want to tell us what our lawyer had to say?”

Jones opened the folder that was lying on the table before him and began, “I took Roland James from our law firm fishing down on the lake this week end, and I think I got us some free advice.”

“I wouldn’t count on it being free,” Rick Junior advised. “I suspect we’ll receive a bill for his fishing time, but that’s okay. Tell us what you found out.”

Jones studied the sheet of paper in front of him as he said, “I found out we only have 30 days to contest the will. After a period of 30 days it be probated and—-”

“What does probated mean?” Rick Junior interrupted.

Jones pulled another document from his folder, scanned down it and reported, “The probate of a will is a court proceeding that establishes the validity of it. After I related all the details of our situation, Roland said he thought we might be able to contest the will on the grounds of undue influence on the deceased. He also needs a prompt decision from us so he can begin the proceedings.”

“I don’t think we have any choice except to give Mr. James the green light,” Rick Junior concluded. “Anybody disagree?”

There were no dissensions. Rick Junior turned toward Jones and instructed him to call the law firm and tell them full speed ahead.

Then he turned toward Chris, as all other eyes did as well. “Chris,” Rick Junior said, “you’ve bailed us out of a lot of situations before. Do you have anything to report?”

Chris could feel their eyes on him as he tentatively began to speak. “I can report that I’ve made a great deal of progress in our favor, however, I have been advised to keep silent on the matter for the time being.”

He watched as the other three stared at him with puzzled looks on their faces.

Several moments passed before Jones declared, “What the hell are you talking about? Advised by whom!?”

“Uh, uh, advised by my personal attorney,” Chris managed to say.

The Tuesday evening following the meeting, while Chris and Patty were propped up in bed he asked her, “Well, did you make any headway toward establishing your law practice today?”

“Sure did. I had a new phone system with two lines installed and I made contact with all three of my clients and set up appointments,” Patty smiling reported. “I’ll have to work out of my apartment until I can fine a suitable office. If all goes as planned I’ll file three lawsuits on this Friday. It’ll probably spoil some folks’ weekend, but that’s what lawsuits do. So tell me, how did your meeting go with your partners?”

“We all voted to ask our law firm to contest the will. Jones reported that they think we can contest the will on the grounds of undue influence.”

“That’s a good start,” Patty said, “but I’m glad I’m not charged with that task.”

“Why do you say that?” Chris asked with a mild look of alarm.

“Because I know who they will be dealing with—B. Wendell Hormel. He has lawyers, clerks, and even judges in his pocket. If one comes along he doesn’t have control of he’ll have Ray McKinley fond some dirt on them so he can blackmail them. If that’s not possible he’ll simply bribe them.”

“What if he runs up against someone who’s clean and can’t be bribed?” Chris asked.

“Then he’ll resort to violence.” Patty informed him. “Oh, not B. Wendell himself, he’ll have Ray hire some thug to do it. But tell me, what was the reaction to your report this morning.”

“They thought I was nuts, especially Jones. It was difficult thing not telling them about the list, but I knew my attorney had given me the correct advice,” Chris said with smile. “I finally just asked them to trust me as they had in the past, and they reluctantly agreed. Have you figured out what we should do with the list yet?”

Patty grinned back at him and said, “I think we should just sit on it for the time being. Kind of think of it as our ace-in-the-hole card that we can play when needed.”

(tmdunagan@aolcom)