Chapter 57

I was sitting at my desk in my Seattle office. We had scattered Lilly and the girls in the ocean the morning before. I was in no condition for much and I knew Katie was keeping an eye on me. I spent the afternoon and then a night at her place then we went to my place so I could shower and change. I had not called my parents or the rest and resisted any overture by Katie to do that. I was in that deep of a funk hence why I was being watched so carefully by her. Lilly’s parents had died in a crash after we had returned from our honeymoon, and she was their only child. They had each been only children so there were distant cousins, but no one close on her side. I was just near comatose at the loss and simply was closed off.

I managed to function just enough to keep my mind on business and things. The house was a mausoleum to my old life, and it did not appeal to me to stay there. I knew that Katie would watch over me but in fairness, I needed to start over now. Katie had kept me coordinated from the ambulance chasers and took me one day to one of our client’s attorneys. Had I known then what the nightmare that would follow for the next eighteen months would be I would have just checked out? Funny how at that time the more they tried to belittle and devalue my family the more alive I felt.

I sat down with the managing partner of the firm George Dunham Esq and after his consultancies, I sat and listened. It’s difficult to view people in terms of asset value but at the end of his discussion with me, that is what it felt like. It’s a cold cruel world and why I was not in a dire financial position, mentally I was as I look back at it now.

“George, it’s an asset swap then as I see it. Their money for my wife’s and daughters’ lives.”

“It’s not that way.” He replied.

“It feels like it is that way and care to bet I will have the true skinny on all of the details of the accident before you ever sniff the report?”

“What, how?”

“When we moved here besides a business to start, my wife Lilly chose Katie here to be the real boss of the outfit. Then. my wife thought I needed something to keep me entertained and out of trouble. I applied, was approved, sworn in, and received the training to become a reserve deputy sheriff. I got the call to come to the station to speak to the watch commander and the Lieutenant before I got anyone to come to inform me.”

“I don’t understand the relevance.”

“They explained what happened, relieved me of my duty weapon, and off the schedule. Then called Katie to come to get me. It stopped being a home when Lilly and the girls died. Their experience is that when a deputy loses their family, they will either go for vengeance or eat their weapon possibly both.”

“I can see why that is a concern and why they did that.”

“I expect they spoke to Katie to watch over me and likely keep them informed. That I did not invite any of them to the funeral is also a likely issue.” Katie had a stone face on trying not to look like she had been caught.

“Now let’s look at the asset trade they are offering. With life expectancies as they are I expected Lilly and I to remain married for another fifty-plus years. Then add in the five and seven years until the girls turned eighteen respectively and told me where to pack it in. Then again it could have been longer since the major costs of college and weddings were likely involved. Remember I have had nothing to do but think and seethe. Here’s the deal let’s sue them for a nice round hundred million.”

“You expect them to just meet that demand.”

“Hell no, their minds and the minds of their lawyers are already looking to offer me one point five to two million for the whole thing to just go away. Here’s what you do, I’m going to go to the restroom and then head back in here. You ask Katie what my asset value is, my debt load the cash on hand and my yearly income after expenses.” Then we will discuss it some more.” I got up and headed out to find the restroom and give Katie her time to do what I needed her to do.

I was back a few minutes later and it was obvious that Katie had done just what I had told George to ask about.

“You’re an impressive businessman.”

“Thank you. Now understand that I will offer a one-million-dollar reward to the person at their company who provides me with all the information to use to close them down. I will buy every skeleton hidden in the closet and expose them to the world.”

“You’re bordering on blackmail there.”

“Funny, they are looking to devalue human life to a simple asset exchange.”

“I’ll follow your advice and do what you’re requesting.”

“Thank you. I am certain that your firm with the prestige it has will have them reevaluate their thoughts quickly enough.”

“You know they will offer that lowball.”

“Of course, by some flunky who should have known better than to do that. When they do you just call over and suggest that I might be looking to increase to a quarter billion. Then explain in the best legalize possible that I play for keeps and believe in full exposure of everything.”

“You’re making this a vendetta.”

“Would you make it anything less for your wife and children?”

“I see your point. This will be no easy ride and they are going to tear your life and the lives of your family apart.”

“It’s always good to have an extended family that are officers of the court.” I smiled.

“What are you going to do while all of this is happening.”

“Train Katie to run the business more to her liking, convince my captain I am not going to go shoot anyone or eat my weapon, find the strength to clean out the house of a past, and go apologize to my parents for not inviting them to the funerals.”

“You had the funerals and did not invite them.”

“We all deal with grief in our own ways. It was a mistake not to invite people to that. I can’t undo what I did under that grief only ask for forgiveness.” Katie got up to use the facilities while I signed the representation letter with George’s firm. I shook George’s hand when Katie returned, and we headed out to her car.

“Your Boss should buy you a better vehicle to drive.”

“Scrooge does not provide that for me.”

“Let’s stop for lunch and talk a few things over.”

We drove to a quiet restaurant we knew once in the booth and our lunches were ordered. I looked at her as I said. “I want to make you a partner in my business.” Then I sat back and waited as she mulled it over.

“Can I ask why?”

“Of course, you can ask. Go ahead.”

“Ha ha, funny. Why?”

“At this point, it’s our business. I can’t run it by myself, and you know more about running it than I do.”

“That’s not true.”

“Partner, it is completely true. I have been very hands-off as far as this goes. You’re involved in every aspect of this. I am not going to go and do harm to myself if that is what you’re thinking. I need to work on myself and mend some fences which means I am going to be absent more.”

“We have done that for a long time now and things are fine.”

“You worried about having too much money?” I laughed.

“I’m worried you will walk away and leave it all to me and take nothing.”

“I have no plans to live under a bridge. We will get a business lawyer outside of our regular ones to work out a plan for vesting you in ownership. I have had time now to think about the execution of this. Lilly and I had discussed it months ago. It was a good idea then and a better one now.”

“I’m worried.”

“I will go see the Sheriff’s psychologist before we do this. I must do that to get back into the reserve deputy program. I’ll discuss this with him also and you will be free to ask his professional opinion about my sanity or lack of same.”

“Look at me” I did look straight into her eyes. “You’re not going to hurt yourself are you.”

“I just declared war with one of the largest shipping concerns in the country. I assure you that it is them I plan to hurt. What I cannot do is everything that is on my plate. I am going to make the appointment with the psychologist and start back on that path. Then I need to go down and see my parents. Plead my insanity and take my lumps.”

“I’ll support the insanity plea, what should I tell the new attorney about this deal?”

“You get half of everything new starting today.”