Gatekeeper's Secret
Copyright© 2026 by Fick Suck
Chapter 43
“God, I dread this room,” Grady muttered as he stepped into his attorney’s conference room. He looked at his accountant who was already seated. “I now thoroughly understand the joke that the American curse is ‘May your life be filled with attorneys.’”
“The alternative is worse,” Mr. Druthers, his lead accountant said. “What passes for news these days?”
“Cai Trang, the youngest daughter of the Trangs has officially forgiven me for cheating on her by dating her older sister,” Grady said. “She has found a new love interest.”
“Lost another one, I see,” Mr. Druthers said. “My condolences.”
“Gentlemen,” Mr. Comfrey announced as he rushed into the room. “The latest updates are available. The completed accounting of the Paramount Group has been certified, and the judge has laid out the parameters for the division of everything Paramount.”
“Finally,” Grady griped.
“He wove a tangled web, Grady, and a fine tangle it was,” Mr. Druthers said. “The first big question before us is whether the Jeffries’ country club membership is canceled. Well?”
“After a last-minute attempt to sell the house to his wife using her maiden name, an attempt that failed and was always going to fail, the verdict is in. According to the rules of the HOA of the houses attached to the golf course, she is no longer a member. The house is up for sale, and the proceeds will be distributed according to the decree.”
Mr. Druthers chuckled with glee. “I say this calls for Rollie Jenkins’s BBQ.”
“The bill is on your dime,” Grady interjected. “I’m not a member of the country club. Back to my case, which is on my dime, where do we stand?”
“We stand on one little square,” Mr. Comfrey said. “Jeffries owned a property west of the city that he tried to get your internet company to wire at no cost to him. The permits for the building are not in order, and as you already know, the bent building inspector was fired for pulling a number of these stunts; this building is just the latest one uncovered. Furthermore, the building sits in an undesirable location. There is nothing out there besides this one building. Finding a buyer will be a stubborn issue. In short, no one wants the property, but it falls under our suit.”
“I want it,” Grady said. “The TSR Trade Group needs a facility of this sort, and as my newest business, I expect a small but consistent flow of traffic to and from the building.”
“Ah, another line item to add to your bill. Good,” Mr. Comfrey said. “Twin Sisters Ranch Trade Group sounds intriguing. This building would be used for commerce?”
“Yes, TSR in place of the full name of the ranch,” Grady said. “Claire has identified quite a few items that we would be interested in purchasing and selling for the purpose of generating taxable profit. More to the point, I want a facility that is removed from the ranch and stands on its own. I’ll need to finish the cable run because most of the business will be digitally based. Doable?”
“No one is going to object except for Mr. Jeffries,” Mr. Comfrey said. “We can make this offer to settle the case with Jeffries’ lawyer. There will be a two-step process with the class action ruling, but their punch list is long and ugly. Although I may be mistaken, I think they will welcome a useless item stricken from their list. The building was listed as worthless in the ledger.”
“Everything Jeffries did was worthless,” Grady said, thinking himself clever. “Moving on, do you have any updates on our two favorite jailbirds?”
“I don’t remember Bar Association meetings being this interesting for a long time, at least the drinks afterwards. We learned that Rev. Masters is a bigamist,” Mr. Comfrey said. “He never divorced his first wife, with whom he has children and did not pay child support. She had filed for abandonment years ago. Grady, you may know more about the present wife and daughter than I do.”
“Kimberly has filed charges along with Bettina Rivera’s filing,” Grady said. “There’s video testimony for Bettina’s case. Kimberly’s mother is still a physical and mental mess; she’s a tortured soul and I’m told that all we can do is pray for her. As a statement by itself, only being able to offer prayer is a bitter, bitter irony. Kimberly came to town one day about two weeks back and visited her mother for an hour, if that much, before departing. I doubt that she will return.”
“The evangelical church building is for sale,” Mr. Druthers added.
Grady snapped his fingers. “Didn’t we need a community center on that side of town? I have to spend money for charity this year, don’t I? Maybe we could convert part of the building into a soup kitchen and food pantry. They had that stupid “Coming Soon” sign for a pantry that they never got around to creating, if I’m remembering correctly.”
The two older men looked at each other. Mr. Druthers made a note, “A worthy possibility. The church building is close to the Channing Apartments, which could use a little community support.”
“Back to the original question,” Mr. Comfrey said. “Mr. Jeffries has pled ‘not guilty’ to every charge levied against him. He’s already lost his lead attorney. His strategy for the criminal case stemming from the attack on the ranch appears to be ‘waiting for a plea deal.’ The last I heard there is no plea deal in the offing. He’s looking at, what, at least two to three decades behind bars? There are more felony and misdemeanor charges piling up as his accomplices take their plea deals though. He’s going to be blind and toothless by the time he’s released from prison. I think we should revisit the Membership Committee at the Country Club after this debacle.”
“I’m not joining the Country Club,” Grady said.
Mr. Comfrey harrumphed. “You can’t join until you turn twenty-one. Knowing how deep the streak of stubbornness runs in your family, we’re starting a few years early to soften you up to the idea.”
Mr. Druthers gave Grady a look. “For your next barbecue, you should have Rollie Jenkins cater it.”
Grady clucked his tongue. “If I want Rollie Jenkins’ cooking for a party, I’ll just rent out his restaurant. Have you seen his setup out back and in the building behind? You don’t mess with magic when it’s working.”
“He’s got the building behind the restaurant?” Mr. Comfrey asked.
“Yes, what you see when you walk in the front door are the finishing ovens. He’s got smokers and ovens running day and night next door that require this fancy filtration system. When the man says he moves the meat, he’s talking tons of meat. Word of warning, gentlemen, do not get him talking about spice mixes; you will regret it.”
On that note of warning, Grady wished both the men a good day and saw himself out. He swung by the grocery store armed with a list of items. Claire liked all things peanut. Brianna and Linh wanted more vegetables and less wheat. No one could agree on one flavor of ice cream, and since everyone had opinions on the Trang Family restaurant, every trip to the grocery store meant a second stop at the back of the kitchen to pick up a second order. Teabags were banned, but loose leaf was stacked in mason jars in his kitchen. The dissertation on rice led to Grady standing up and declaring that he would purchase the Japanese rice maker instead of the Korean one. He could not tell the difference, and he did not care.
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