Chapter 29

The facts have no agenda.

Truth is an impartial witness.

No matter how hard Jack and his team pulled at the strings that led back to Duke Gregory, they couldn’t fashion enough rope to form a noose. We knew he was behind Cathay’s murder, or at least deeply involved, but couldn’t uncover the smoking gun that would prove to everyone, everywhere just how downright sick and dirty he was.

Deirdre did not enter into my thought process as we examined the facts. If she was part of the conspiracy to murder my wife, she would die alongside Gregory and everyone else that had a hand in it. If she was completely innocent, we’d figure it out and get her to safety before we pulled the trap door and hung them all. One way or another, Gregory was going to meet his maker and I was determined to provide the transportation to the appointment.

Neither one of them attended Cathay’s funeral. It was very private and I refused to budge on the topic of the press, the Crown, or the crowds. There was no public, or private viewing. Cathay’s body could not be sufficiently reconstructed for that. Other than Sheldon and his nurses, her closest staff and me, the church was empty of mourners. I buried her beside my grandfather in the little cemetery near the castle. Sheldon never really seemed to grasp the reality of Cathay’s death, but he was part of everything we did for her once I got her out of Australia and back home.

Two weeks after the funeral I received a summons to appear at the offices of Cathay’s lawyers in New York.

It seemed important and I set aside my grief to make the trip. The city was as crowded, cold, and dirty as it always was. My security team had a chopper to get me from Teterboro Airport to mid-town without dealing with the tunnel or the bridges. It was a cold February day when I was led from the chopper, through a series of doors, into a very fast elevator that opened into the lobby of a very well appointed law office.

A statuesque blond met me as the doors opened and led me to a large conference room with a wall of windows facing Central Park. There were three people waiting for me. One was obviously the senior partner. He looked every bit as distinguished as Chasen Wellington.

Beside him was a middle-aged woman, with her hair tightly bound in a bun, and wearing a unisex business suit that downplayed her femininity in every possible way. She was holding onto a leather bound report folder and tapping her toe clearly anxious to get on with it and go back to whatever she did the rest of the time.

The third person at our meeting was Sheldon’s personal physician. That seemed out of place, and I assumed that meant Sheldon was somewhere near-by because his doctors never left him alone for more than few hours. His presence seemed completely out of place, and it made me wonder just what was going on.

I didn’t have to wait long, because the senior lawyer present extended his hand to shake, saying, “Lord Terrance. I am Kenneth Johnston, Senior Partner here, and it was my very great pleasure to be your late wife’s personal attorney.” He gestured to his right, and said, “This is my Associate, Ingrid Danielson. She is assisting me with the terms of your wife’s will. Also joining us is Doctor Andrew Cashner, who I believe you know. He is specifically mentioned in the will and we will deal with his part of the process first, freeing him to go while we deal with the more complicated details that concern you.”

He was smooth. Every syllable was carefully delivered. If I didn’t know better, I would say he was a hired actor, not a prestigious attorney. Ingrid Danielson looked like a hard ass. If push came to shove, she was the one to look out for. I suspected she was involved to protect the cash flow that annually came in from Cathay’s business interests. My musing was interrupted when Kenneth gestured to the conference table, settled on the window side with his back to the view, opened his leather bound portfolio, and began.

“We are meeting today to complete specific disbursements as per the wishes of the deceased. Doctor Cashner, you are to be compensated at the rate of four-hundred thousand dollars per year, indexed for inflation for as long as you continue to devote your practice of medicine to the well-being of Sheldon Leonard, the deceased’s disabled nephew.

“If at any time you fail to devote your full time practice to Sheldon’s care, this payment will cease immediately. If you complete twenty-five additional years caring for Sheldon as per the terms of the will, you will then be paid a retirement income of four-hundred thousand dollars per year for the rest of your life. My associate, Ms. Danielson will need you to step into her office to complete a new employment contract, as per the express wishes of the deceased.