There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 27

"They couldn't have traced it to you. You rented the van under an assumed name. Your rifle was untraceable, and you were at home recuperating from an accident that nearly killed you. Who's going to look at you as an assailant? I will tell you one thing; don't ever let the Colonel find out it was you. He wanted to skin that guy alive, because he killed two of our people, and especially Margaret. He was in love with her, but because of Dan he never made a move."

"You are a wealth of knowledge today. Are you telling me this stuff just so you can rest before I beat your ass in this race?"

"That's funny; I thought I was giving you a chance to rest."

"Zoie, you can start the race."

"Okay I'm going to do it like this: ready-set-go. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes that's fine

Monty said, "I'll see you at the coffee table when you get there."

"I'll be on my second cup."

Zoie yelled, "Ready, Set, Go."

The rabbit and fox were at it again. Liz was ahead by a shoulder as they passed the halfway mark, but Monty would not give up. She lengthened her stride and added more power behind each thrust of her foot as it hit the ground. At 75 meters, they were shoulder to shoulder, and put everything they had behind every movement.

Monty had a trick up her sleeve, and she saved it for the last six strides. Neck and neck, shoulder to shoulder, Monty yelled, "WIMP!"

It did exactly what she wanted it to do. It took Liz's focus away from the race. She glanced at Monte for a millisecond and lost her concentration. Monty won by half a body length."

Liz screamed, "YOU CHEATED."

"Did I touch you? Did I cross the line? Did I foul in any way? How could I possibly have cheated? Gordon did you see me cheat?"

Gordon had a big smile on. "As far as I know, talking during a race is not cheating, but I am not an expert. I could go on the computer, and verify it if you want me to?"

"No that won't be necessary, unless Liz wants to file a formal complaint about talking during a 100 meter dash. Do you Liz?"

"No, it wouldn't do me any good anyhow."

"Go to the computer and send the following message to the ready room Gordon.

"Montgomarie has beaten Elizabeth in a 100 meter dash by a full body length. Witnesses were Gordon Luck, and Zoie Schneider. The time was 7:35 AM. and no one was drunk."

"Monty, it was only half a body length."

"What did you say Gordon?"

"Nothing, nothing at all. Should I add anything about the wager between the two of you?"

"What a marvelous thought. Please add that Elizabeth lost $1000 to Montgomarie. You can embellish that if you'd like."

"I certainly will."

"Gordon, if you do, you'll have me to deal with."

Yes ma'am, I would never do that to you Liz. I will be as honest as the day is long."

Gordon wrote the email, while the women were in the kitchen preparing breakfast and talking. When he finished he sent it, and deleted it from the email program and the computer files immediately. He wasn't going to be in trouble with either woman, until he got to the safety of his home.

Monty and Elizabeth ate a hearty meal. Zoie ate a light meal because she was going back to bed. Gordon nibbled at his breakfast. Soon they were going buffalo hunting, and he did not want to give back to the earth a lot of what he had eaten. He would do his part, but he was not looking forward to it.

**************************

"Mister Mertz this is Vincent Caruso, I am the attorney for Mister and Mrs. Trevelyan. I have power of attorney to start moving money around."

"Yes Mister Caruso, Mister Trevelyan advised me prior to leaving for Boston that you would call. How may I help you?

"Tomorrow morning, two armored cars will come by to pick up $80 million. Which banks have that amount of money on hand? I don't want to take it out of your bank, as you will be our liaison for the period of time we will be working together."

"Montpelier Federal has $25 million total in their vaults. Colonial has $60 million in their vaults. How would you like to handle that Mister Caruso?"

"Can you possibly handle $5 million more? Who is our fourth bank, and can they handle the extra $5 million. For accounting purposes it would be easier for us to keep the money in as few banks as possible."

"I know my vault is filled to capacity. Let me call Jefferson Bank and Trust, and I'll see if they can handle the extra $5 million."

"Okay I'll hang on."

"Hello, this is Fred Mertz, can I speak to George Jefferson please, it's rather important."

"Hello Fred, what's tickling your ass this early in the morning?"

"I have Vincent Caruso on the other line. He's transferring $80 million tomorrow morning. Between the two banks he's pulling the money out of, there is $5 million left over. I can't handle it in my bank; do you have room in your vault for anymore?"

"As a favor to you Fred, sure I'll take it. I may have to hang it from the ceiling in the vault, but I'll put it in there. What time should I expect it?"

"I would expect late morning, but I will call you back with an exact time."

"Thank you Fred, I'll talk to you later."

"Later George thanks a lot."

"Mister Caruso, Jefferson Bank will be able to take the extra $5 million."

"That will be wonderful, would you be sure to have all the paperwork ready for me to sign when I get there."

"What time would that be Mister Caruso?"

"As long as the trucks are running on time, it will be between 930 and 10 o'clock in the morning. Would you ask your chief of police if we could have extra security available for both trucks, while we are loading? Naturally we will pay for that service."

"I will call him as soon as we get off the telephone and arrange it for tomorrow."

"Thank you Mister Mertz, it's been a pleasure doing business with you."

*****************

"As he stepped out of the limousine in front of the Gibson residence, there was another limousine parked in front of him. Inwardly he grinned, because this was going to be fun. The same servant opened the door and let him in.

Vincent asked, "How were they yesterday?"

"You shook them up bad sir. I got a five dollar an hour raise."

"Right this way sir."

"Good morning Mister and Mrs. Gibson, Melvin. Victor what a wonderful surprise, it's nice to see you again. How are Maryjane and the kids?"

"Hello Vincent, do you see my receding hairline. That's what the kids are doing to me. Maryjane is the love of my life, but the kids are killing me."

"What are you talking about Victor, you only have three children, and I have 10. I have a full head of hair, so don't blame your receding hairline on your children."

Hooter Gibson said, "I'm happy you guys know each other, but I'm paying by the hour, and I don't want you to guys to run my bill up."

Vincent said, "First of all Mister Gibson none of this is ever charged to the client. We have an ethical responsibility never to charge a client for any personal interaction between attorneys. So keep your shorts on."

"Yes Mister Caruso, I'll keep quiet."

"It's very kind of you."

"Joseph, you finally got out of jail."

"Yes Vinny, I just couldn't take it anymore. It was just a merry-go-round. We put them in jail by the time you turn around they are out of jail. What the hell is the sense of it? They should bring back the road gangs and start fixing up the back roads of the country. This is nonsense. I've put guys away for 16 years, and they were paroled in three. They say it was for good behavior and overcrowding."

"Mister Gibson so you know, Joseph, and I went to law school together. He became a state attorney, and I went into practice with Thomas Shackleford, and James Hurst. I did not become a partner until four years ago.

Joseph finished first in our class. I finished 35^th in a class of 40. I'm just happy he's out of that grind, because he deserved better."

"Are you ready to start guys?"

"Yes Vinny we are."

"First with the bad news, and I mean very bad news, because there is no good news. As of tomorrow, our firm is being pulled off this case. The hospital in Montpelier is going to be sued for malpractice. The doctors are going to be sued for malpractice. Anyone that touched Lucy Trevelyan is going to be sued for malpractice. The doctor's at Mass General took one look at her charts and couldn't believe the amount of tests that were not done, and the amount of tests that were done and misread.

When I said to you yesterday that William Zabo was on the warpath, he is now under sedation. He was ready to kill someone. I am not saying that for effect. He has friends, who have friends that will do anything for him. When I tell you the name of the Attorney's that are replacing our firm, Joseph will know them instantly. Hold on to your seat Joe. They are Simons, Signore, and Ambrose."

"Vinny, they are mob lawyers."

"They are the worst of the mob lawyers Joseph, and we both know it. I'm not worried about them, as much as the people that they are going to call in to hurt the Gibson's. They can go to bankruptcy court, and it won't help them. They will be the most accident-prone family known to mankind. Mrs. Gibson could wind up as a prostitute in one of their houses. Hooter will probably wind up running drugs between the states, until he gets caught, and sent to prison. I have no idea what they will do to Melvin, because he caused the accident. I know it won't be pretty, and I don't know if he will come out of it alive.

"I am going to tell you what William Zabo wants, and this comes from his bedside. His adjutant said, "He wants $100 million more than you have. He doesn't care how you find it, or what you have to do to get it. That is what he wants. I wish we could have come to an agreement yesterday, as I did with the Glover's, and the Ames. At least you would have had an option to keep this house, and had some money left over.

No, you had to be the smart guy, the know it all. 'Why do I need an attorney for a simple accident? No one will dare convict my son of anything, because I live on the west side of the river.' Well Mister Gibson, it's time to pay the piper. I feel sorry for you. As of midnight tonight, there is not a thing I can do for you. After your act yesterday, I am not sure if I even want to try to do anything for you."

"Victor, Joseph, that's all I have to say. I don't have any wiggle room. I can try to fight for some, but I know how your client thinks. He will try to hide some money so he can continue living in this lifestyle. The first thing he'd better sign over is the title to this house. We know it's paid for, and there are no liens on it. We want his cars and their titles also immediately. Take charge of all of his portfolios, and get an estimate of what they are worth. If you want me to perform a miracle, I better have all those numbers by 8 PM this evening. I will have to do some very fast dancing to get this done. I will probably have to call Thomas in to give me a hand. He is the best negotiator I have ever met. I'll give you 10 minutes to talk to your clients to see if they will cooperate. I'm staying in a house 10 minutes down the block. Here is my cell phone number, give me a call if there is any progress."

*******************

Victor asked Vinny to rejoin them.

As he entered the room, Vinny said, "I want to hear it straight from Hooter's mouth. I want to see if he's trying to deceive Mister Zabo in any way, because if I hear any deception I'm gone."

"Mister Caruso, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot, and that is my fault. When I'm proposing is this, EVERYTHING. I will sign everything I have over to your law firm, and you can give it to Mister Zabo. I'll give you my house, cars, my portfolios, the keys to my safe deposit boxes, and everything I have hidden from the government offshore. I have one request, that he allow my family to stay together. I will go back to work and attempt to raise the $100 million he is requesting. It may take me five, or 10 years to do it, but I will get it for him. We will live humbly, until he is paid. My wife and Melvin will go to work, also, until the debt is paid. That's all I have to say."

"I was wondering when you were going to mention those offshore accounts. What do you figure your net worth to be?"

"It should come in just less than $1.6 billion."

"You are a real asshole Mister Gibson. I settled with Mister Glover for $1.2 billion. He kept his home and has money left in the bank. You had less money than he had, and we would have settled for less from you. I will call it in and ask for it to be approved. I can't guarantee anything, but I will give you my promise that I will do my best."

Joseph said, "Vinny, I have never had a client offer everything, please put your heart and soul and this."

"I thought you lost your religion Joe? One client seems to be bringing it back to you."

"It's the thought of Simon, Signore, and Ambrose getting a hold of them that puts the fear of God into any man, including me."

"I'll put my tap shoes on, and do my very best for them, and my friend. Give me a room to work in, and make it reasonably soundproof. It's not for my side of the conversation; it's for the yelling that's going to be coming from theirs."

The servant appeared at the door.

Vincent asked, "How did he know to come and get me?"

"I push a button, and a light flashes in the hallway."

"Do you know his name?"

"I use to, but I can't remember it now."

"His name is Aragon, and he is a very polite gentleman. I would get used to it if I were you."

********

"This is Colonel Lucius Canyon."

"This is Vincent Caruso. We have the absolute top offer from the Gibson's. Everything liquid they have, including their offshore accounts. I am going to use $50 million of it for my own purposes here, as well as the house. This is nonnegotiable. The $100 million you asked for is also off the table. I will not be a party to slavery, and that is what it becomes, if I follow through with it. The top mount should reach $1.58 billion."

"You may tell them that Lucy and the baby are out of danger, before you tell them it is acceptable."

"Yes Colonel, it was something I was going to do anyhow."

Vincent opened the door to find Aragon standing by it.

"Aragon, come in here."

"Yes Mister Caruso."

"How old are you Aragon?"

"I am 56 years old sir."

"When you were young man what did you do for living?"

"I worked with concrete sir."

"Did you work for union?"

"No sir, they wouldn't allow me in because of my color."

"What state was that in?"

"Boston Massachusetts."

"Those bastard's, that's against union rules.

"How old were you when you applied?"

"I was just out of my second tour in the Navy sir. I was 26 years old."

"Those bastard's, that's two things they did wrong. You can never turn down a veteran, and you can never reject anyone who applies because of their color. My dad would've had a fit."

"Your dad was a union man?"

"Yes he was. He was in charge of most of Brooklyn many years ago."

"He must be very proud of that you became a lawyer."

"Yes he is. Let's get down to business. Aragon you are now the proud owner of this home. I can tell by your hands that you have worked hard all your life. It's now time for you to live a life of leisure. I am your personal lawyer from this point forward. If you need anything, you are to call me directly. You will have a personal accountant, who will dole out your money on a generous basis, but he will also make sure that you do not overspend. Tomorrow, you will have $20 million placed in your accounts. The accountant will help you get in touch with my investor, who will help you make that money grow. You are not a very wealthy man, but you are rich beyond your wildest dreams. You will dress accordingly, as well as your wife and children. I will have people help you with that. Your children should be transferred to private schools, where each of them will receive the help they need to excel. I have one more surprise for you, but you will take up your station and listening for that one."

"Mister Caruso, there is one problem. I don't have a checking account. I could never afford the fees."

"Before I leave here Aragon, you will have a checking account, and a savings account. Mister Mertz will shake in his shoes every time he hears your name. Let's go inside so I can light some fires."

Vincent walked into the room with a face of a gargoyle. He didn't sit down; he just paced back and forth.

"There is no way to tell you this, except tell you straight out. Hooter, you can go to work. How you get there is your own concern.

Melvin you are going to work. I will tell you where in a moment.

Dottie you are going to work. I will tell you where in a moment.

Your wages will be set by your new employer in accordance to your aptitudes, but you will start at minimum wage.

I have worked out a deal with Mister Zabo's adjutant. You will not see the mob lawyers. You have no idea how lucky you are.

By noon tomorrow, you will sign everything over to your lawyers, except three things, your house, your cars, and $51 million in cash, which you will sign over to me personally. Be prepared to move out of this house by the following morning. You can only take only what you can carry in your hands. You may not hire a truck or any type of transportation, because you will be leaving here on foot.

I was also able to get one concession, and my dancing ability must have been the best ever. Mister Gibson you are allowed to keep $100,000 to start your new life. There is a reason for this largess. Lucy Trevelyan is out of danger, as is the baby."

"Thank God."

"Joseph, watch out, somebody is going to think you're coming back to God."

"Vinny I'm going to smack you."

"It was just an honest statement. You could never beat me up anyhow, I'm from Brooklyn."

"Go stuff Brooklyn up your ass."

"Now you have to go to confession for saying a bad word."

"Baptists do not go to confession."

"I'll start working on that as soon as you come to work for me."

"God help me."

"There you go again."

"I insisted on one other concession, because it was tantamount to slavery. I would not allow them to charge you the $100 million over and above what you had in assets. After an intense discussion back and forth, I got them to agree."

"Mister Gibson, my firm will pay your attorney's fees, but I have a little more business before I go. I would like to introduce you to the new owner of this estate. Would you step in here Aragon?

"Yes Mister Caruso?

"At noon, the day after tomorrow, you will be the owner of this estate. You will have the title and the deed in your hands. All taxes will be paid, and everything you and I discussed will be taken care of by the end of the following week. I would like to introduce you your maid and your manservant. You will train them in their duties, because they have no knowledge of working."

"Dottie stand up. Aragon, this is your new maid. She will start out making minimum wage. Your accountant will pay her taxes, and her Social Security payments, directly from your bank accounts. Your accounts will be audited once per year by an independent firm. I will get the results and check them over for you.

Personally, I don't think you need a Butler standing by to answer the door. What I think you need is someone to take care of your lawn. You will fire the lawn company, and have your new manservant take care of it.

Melvin, stand up. That will be Melvin's job. From 10 AM to 6 PM, he will take care of the lawn. Your accountant will make sure he has all the appropriate equipment necessary to do a proper job. He will do it every day of the week. I hope he enjoys the tan he will be getting. During the autumn, he will cut and trim the trees, and rake the leaves, so not one of them is sitting on the estate grounds. In winter, he will make sure the driveway, and all walkway areas are thoroughly cleaned, day, afternoon, and night. He will also receive minimum wage.