The Testament (42 page)

Hiding was addictive. Maybe that was why Rachel did it.

________

COPIES OF Rachel Lane’s response were mailed to all the Phelan lawyers, who, as a group, were electrified by the news. She was indeed alive, and willing to fight, though her choice of lawyer was somewhat puzzling. O’Riley’s reputation was accurate—an efficient litigator with flashes of brilliance who couldn’t handle the pressure. But the Phelan lawyers, along with Judge Wycliff, suspected Josh Stafford was calling the shots. He’d rescued O’Riley from rehab, cleaned him up, put the file in his hands, and pointed him toward the courthouse.

The Phelan lawyers met Friday morning at Ms. Langhorne’s place, a modern building packed among many on Pennsylvania Avenue, in the business district. Her firm was a wanna-be—with forty lawyers it wasn’t big enough to attract blue-chip clients, but the leadership was very ambitious. The furnishings were showy and pretentious, the trappings of a bunch of lawyers desperate for the big time.

They had decided to meet once a week, each Friday at eight, for no more than two hours, to discuss the Phelan litigation and plot strategy. The idea had been Langhorne’s. She had realized that she would have to be the peacemaker. The boys were busy strutting and fighting. And there was too much money to be lost in a trial where the contestants, all on one side of the room, were knifing each other in the back.

It appeared, at least to her, that the raiding was over. Her
clients, Geena and Cody, were sticking. Yancy seemed to have Ramble adequately collared. Wally Bright was practically living with Libbigail and Spike. Hark had the other three—Troy Junior, Rex, and Mary Ross—and seemed content with his harvest. The dust was settling around the heirs. Relationships were becoming familiar. The issues had been defined. The lawyers knew they had better work as a team or lose the case.

Number one was Snead. They had spent hours watching the videos of his first effort, and each had prepared lengthy notes of ways to improve his performance. The fabricating was shameless. Yancy, in years past an aspiring screenwriter, had actually written a fifty-page script for Snead, filled with enough bald allegations to make poor Troy appear thoroughly brainless.

Number two was Nicolette, the secretary. They would hammer her in a few days on video, and there were certain things she needed to say. Bright had the idea that perhaps the old man had had a stroke during sex with her just hours before he faced the three psychiatrists, and this was something both Nicolette and Snead could testify to. A stroke would mean diminished mental capacity. It was a decent idea, generally well received, and it prompted a lengthy discussion about the autopsy. They had not yet seen a copy of it. Poor guy was splattered on the bricks, with terrible trauma to his head, as one would expect. Could the autopsy reveal a stroke?

Number three was their own experts. Grit’s shrink had made a hasty exit with the attorney, so they were down to four, one per firm. Four was not an unmanageable number at trial, in fact, four could be persuasive, especially if they all reached the same conclusions but by different routes. They agreed that they should also rehearse the testimony of their psychiatrists, grilling them and trying to make them crack under pressure.

Number four was other witnesses. They had to find others who were around the old man in his last days. Snead could help them there.

The last item of business was the appearance of Rachel Lane and her lawyer. “There is nothing in the file signed by this woman,” Hark said. “She’s a recluse. No one knows where she is, except for her lawyer and he’s not telling. It took a month to find her. She has signed nothing. Technically the court does not have jurisdiction. It’s obvious to me that this woman is reluctant to come forward.”

“So are some lottery winners,” Bright inserted. “They want to keep it quiet, otherwise every bum in the neighborhood’s beating on the door.”

“What if she doesn’t want the money?” Hark asked, and the room was stunned.

“That’s crazy,” Bright said on instinct, his words trailing away as he considered the impossible.

While they were scratching their heads, Hark pushed forward. “It’s just a thought, but one we should consider. Under Virginia law, a bequest in a will can be renounced. The gift remains in the estate, subject to the remainder provisions. If this will is struck down, and if there are no other wills, then the seven children of Troy Phelan take all. Since Rachel Lane wants nothing, then our clients divide the estate.”

Dizzying calculations raced through their heads. Eleven billion, less estate taxes, divided by six. Then apply the appropriate percentages, and serious wealth was possible. Fees of seven figures became fees of eight figures.

“That’s a bit far-fetched,” Langhorne said slowly, her brain still burning with the math.

“I’m not so sure,” Hark said. It was obvious he knew more than the rest. “A waiver is a very simple document to execute. Are we expected to believe Mr. O’Riley traveled to Brazil, found Rachel Lane, told her about Troy, got himself hired, but did not get a simple signature on a short document that would give the court jurisdiction? Something’s going on here.”

Yancy was the first to say, “Brazil?”

“Yes. He just returned from Brazil.”

“How do you know this?”

Hark slowly reached into a file and removed some papers. “I have a very good investigator,” he said, and the room was silent. “Yesterday, after I received her answer and O’Riley’s affidavit, same as you, I called the investigator. In three hours, he learned the following: On December twenty-second, Nate O’Riley left Dulles on Varig Flight 882 nonstop to São Paulo. From there he flew Varig Flight 146 to Campo Grande, and then he took an Air Pantanal commuter to a small city called Corumbá, arriving on the twenty-third. He stayed almost three weeks and then he returned to Dulles.”

“Maybe it was a vacation,” Bright mumbled. He was as amazed as the rest of them.

“Maybe, but I doubt it. Mr. O’Riley spent last fall in rehab, not for the first time. He was in the tank when Troy jumped. He was released on the twenty-second, same day he left for Brazil. His trip had only one purpose, and that was to find Rachel Lane.”

“How do you know all this?” Yancy had to ask.

“It’s not that difficult, really. Especially the flight information. Any good hacker can get it.”

“How did you know he was in rehab?”

“Spies.”

There was a long silence as they digested this. They simultaneously despised Hark and admired him. He seemed to always have information they didn’t, yet he was on their side now. They were a team.

“It’s just leverage,” he said. “We go full speed ahead with discovery. We attack the will with a vengeance. We say nothing about the court’s lack of jurisdiction over Rachel Lane. If she doesn’t show either in person or by waiver, then it’s an excellent indication that she doesn’t want the money.”

“I’ll never believe that,” Bright said.

“That’s because you’re a lawyer.”

“What are you?”

“The same, just not as greedy. Believe it or not, Wally, there are people in this world who are not motivated by money.”

“There are about twenty of them,” Yancy said. “And they’re all my clients.”

A little laughter broke the tension.

Before adjourning, they once again forced each other to agree that everything they said was confidential. Each meant it, but no one completely trusted the other. The news about Brazil was especially delicate.

FORTY-THREE
_____________

T
he envelope was brown and slightly larger than legal-sized. Beside the World Tribes address in Houston were the words, in bold black print: For Rachel Lane, Missionary in South America, Personal and Confidential.

It was received by the mail clerk, examined for a few moments, then sent upstairs to a supervisor. Its journey continued throughout the morning until it landed, still unopened, on the desk of Neva Collier, Coordinator of South American Missions. She gaped at it in disbelief—no one knew Rachel Lane was a World Tribes missionary. No one but her.

Evidently, those who’d passed it along did not make the connection between the name on the envelope and the name in the recent news. It was Monday morning, the offices were slow and quiet.

Neva locked her door. Inside was a letter, addressed: “To Whom It May Concern,” and a smaller, sealed envelope. She
read the letter aloud, astounded by the fact that someone knew even the partial identity of Rachel Lane.

To Whom It May Concern:

Enclosed is a letter to Rachel Lane, one of your missionaries in Brazil. Please forward it to her, unopened.

I met Rachel about two weeks ago. I found her in the Pantanal, living among the Ipicas, where, as you know, she has been for eleven years now. The purpose of my visit was a pending legal matter.

For your information, she is doing well. I promised Rachel that I would not, under any circumstances, tell anyone of her location. She does not wish to be disturbed with any more legal matters, and I agreed to her request.

She does need money for a new boat and motor, and also additional funds for medicines. I will gladly forward a check to your organization for these expenses; just give me directions.

I plan to write Rachel again, though I have no idea how she gets her mail. Could you please drop me a line and let me know this letter was received and that her letter was forwarded to her? Thanks.

It was signed Nate O’Riley. At the bottom of the letter was a phone number in St. Michaels, Maryland, and an address at a law firm in Washington.

Corresponding with Rachel was a very simple matter. Twice a year, on March 1 and on August 1, World Tribes sent packages to the post office in Corumbá. Included were medical supplies, Christian literature, and anything else that she might need or want. The post office agreed to hold the August packages for thirty days, and if they went unclaimed they were to be returned to Houston. This had never happened. In August of every year, Rachel made her annual trek to Corumbá, at which time she
called the home office and practiced her English for ten minutes. She collected her packages and returned to the Ipicas. In March, after the rainy season, the packages were sent upriver on a
chalana
and dropped off at a
fazenda
near the mouth of the Xeco River. Lako would retrieve them eventually. The March packages were always smaller than the August ones.

In eleven years, Rachel had never received a personal letter, at least not through World Tribes.

Neva copied the phone number and address on a notepad, then hid the letter in a drawer. She would send it in a month or so, along with the usual supplies for March.

________

THEY WORKED for almost an hour cutting two by fours for the next little classroom. The floor was covered with sawdust. Phil had some in his hair. The screech of the saw still rang in their ears. It was time for coffee. They sat on the floor, their backs to the wall, near a portable heater. Phil poured strong latte from a thermos.

“You missed a great sermon yesterday,” he said with a grin.

“Where?”

“What do you mean, where? Here of course.”

“What was the subject?”

“Adultery.”

“For it or against it?”

“Against it, as always.”

“I wouldn’t think that’d be much of a problem with your congregation.”

“I give the sermon once a year.”

“Same sermon?”

“Yes, but always fresh.”

“When was the last time one of your members had a problem with adultery?”

“Couple of years ago. One of our younger members thought
her husband had another woman in Baltimore. He traveled there once a week on business, and she noticed that he returned home a different person. He had more energy, more enthusiasm for life. This would last for two or three days, then he was his usual cranky self again. She became convinced he had fallen in love.”

“Cut to the chase.”

“He was seeing a chiropractor.”

Phil laughed loudly through his nose, a strange cackle that was infectious and usually funnier than the punch line. When the humor passed, they sipped in unison. Then Phil asked, “In your other life, Nate, did you ever have a problem with adultery?”

“None whatsoever. It wasn’t a problem, it was a way of life. I chased anything that walked. Every semiattractive woman was nothing but a potential quickie. I was married, but I never thought that I was committing adultery. It wasn’t sin; it was a game. I was a sick puppy, Phil.”

“I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, confession is good for the soul. I’m ashamed of the person I used to be. The women, booze, drugs, bars, fights, divorces, neglected children—I was a mess. I wish I had those days back. But it’s important now to remember how far I’ve come.”

“You have many good years left, Nate.”

“I hope so. I’m just not sure what to do.”

“Be patient. God will lead you.”

“Of course, at the rate we’re going, I could have a very long career right here.”

Phil smiled but didn’t erupt with a cackle. “Study your Bible, Nate, and pray. God needs people like you.”

“I suppose.”

“Trust me. It took me ten years to find God’s will. I ran for a while, then I stopped and listened. Slowly, he led me into the ministry.”

“How old were you?”

“I was thirty-six when I entered the seminary.”

“Were you the oldest one?”

“No. It’s not uncommon to see people in their forties in seminary. Happens all the time.”

“How long does it take?”

“Four years.”

“That’s worse than law school.”

“It wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was quite enjoyable.”

“Can’t say that for law school.”

They worked for another hour, then it was time for lunch. The snow had finally melted, all of it, and there was a crab house down the road in Tilghman that Phil enjoyed. Nate was anxious to buy lunch.

“Nice car,” Phil said as he belted himself in. Sawdust shook from his shoulder onto the spotless leather seat of the Jaguar. Nate couldn’t have cared less.