Chapter 16

"Thank you for joining me for lunch, Ms. Perry," Charles Higgenson said as he pulled a chair from beneath a table in the private dining room into which they'd been ushered by Salvatore, the owner. "Won't you please sit down?"

Gratified by his manners, Julia took the offered chair and bumped it forward slightly, aided by a slight push from the attorney. Satisfied that she was comfortable, Higgenson then walked around to the chair opposite hers and sat, sitting his briefcase on the floor beside him.

As he settled himself, Julia took the opportunity to study the man who claimed to have been Richard's friend. His clothes seemed a bit less "lawerish" then she was expecting; instead of an expensive pin-striped suit, Higgenson wore a tweed jacket of light and dark gray threads over a gray sweater with gold stripes, its V-neck framing a gold and blue striped tie. As they had walked into the restaurant, Julia had noted that the lawyer seemed just slightly overweight, but not truly fat; she estimated his height at a little over six feet, yet he didn't seem to tower over her like someone thinner might. Looking at his face, she guessed him to be somewhere in his early forties; Higgenson would never be mistaken for a pretty boy, as his face bore the scars of what must have been a hellish adolescent acne problem. Yet, even as he fingered through the items in his briefcase that he'd brought to discuss with her, his eyes and mouth seemed just on the edge of a smile. That tendency softened what otherwise might be a scary mien, and even made it seem slightly appealing. His brown hair had just started to turn gray at the temples, and Julia admired how he didn't try to cover up such a distinguishing feature. Then, as the attorney began arranging papers on the table beside him, her eyes were drawn to his hands... his extremely large hands. Setting a manila folder on the table, his right hand seemed to easily cover three-quarters of surface; his fingers were thick, and reminded Julia of the hands of someone who'd spent years meatpacking or doing heavy construction. She wondered how someone who worked in such a genteel profession...

"Hmm-hmmmph," was the sound of Higgenson clearing his throat, drawing Julia's attention away from his hands and back to his face - a face sporting a slight grin and a cocked eyebrow, as he had noticed where her eyes had been focused. "Before we get started on anything else, I know you must be parched from the trip. What would you like to drink?"

"Coffee, please, with cream." Higgenson looked over to his right; the waiter standing there nodded and left the room. Julia was embarrassed that she had been so engrossed with the man's hands that she had not even noticed the waiter's entrance. "Soooo," she said, trying to cover her discomfiture, "do you eat here often, or did you set-up this private area just for me?"

Higgenson grinned again. "Well, a bit of both actually. Salvatore has been one of my clients for years - was one of my first, actually. He need help getting a business license to open his first restaurant, and kept running into so many hurdles put into place by the city that it seemed to me they were actually out to discourage small businessmen. So I helped him through the process, and ever since, we've had both a business relationship and warm friendship." Higgenson leaned toward her and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Salvatore owns nine restaurants now, and he no longer needs my help getting them open, but he still trusts me to file the paperwork and get the legal details out of the way. He often lets me use this room for client meetings, or if I just need a place to eat 'far from the madding crowd.' And, despite his success, he somehow seems to always be in the kitchen whenever I decide to come here. As for you, young lady, I wanted the chance to be candid with you, both about the legal matters we have to go over, and when we talk about your brother, and I couldn't think of a better place both for privacy, and for the quality of its food." Higgenson leaned back into his chair as the waiter returned, first setting Julia's coffee in front of her, then putting a tall glass of amber-colored liquid down by Higgenson's right hand.