The Inheritance

by Robert Gonko

someday,” Nick said.

  “For what?”

  “The press for friendly publicity,” Nick explained. “As for your mayor, never alienate someone who has power over zoning.”

  Sam grimaced at the idea. “I'm just trying to help you out,” Nick said. “We have to make deals with politicians all the time to get things done. It stinks, but it's the way the world works. Give and take. It's all give and take.”

  After they finished their round they decided to try the club's lunch buffet. Not long after they sat down, Mayor Hawkins and his group came in to eat. Nick's advice was still going through Sam's head and he decided that his half-brother might have a point. He got up and went over to speak to Hawkins as his honor was starting to fill his plate.

  “I'm sorry I gave you the cold shoulder earlier,” Sam said. “It's been a tough time and I'm a little on edge. Why don't the four of you join Nick and me for lunch?”

  Hawkins beamed and gladly accepted the invitation. Two tables were put together. “Would you mind if we kept this little chat off the record?” Sam asked Amanda Clark. “Just for now, I promise.”

  “All right,” Amanda replied. “But you owe me a full interview.”

  She smiled as she said it so Sam agreed. “Mr. Harman--” the mayor began.

  “Sam,” he replied. “I don't stand on ceremony.”

  “I was talking to the police chief the other day,” Hawkins said. “He told me you've been asking a lot of questions about the department's budget. Why are you so interested?”

  Sam told them about the situation with his cousin and the difficulties the police had fighting crime in Kingman Heights and the old factory district. “Chief Huston and his staff told me exactly what they would need to really get aggressive down there. We're talking around a hundred new cops plus vehicles, weapons, and other equipment. I imagine you've seen the numbers.”

  The mayor nodded. “I'd love to give them everything on their list, but I have no idea where the money would come from.”

  “I've been working with the department on this since Eric first took office,” Craig Blackburn said. “What they want would require a budget increase we can't afford.”

  “You can't,” Sam agreed. “But I can, and I'm going to. I'm going to set up a grant to the police department. Fifty million a year for the next five years.”

  Everyone was speechless. Nick chuckled. “This proves Sam is a Curtis,” he said. “He thinks big, just like we do.”

  “Are you serious about this?” the mayor asked.

  “Yes,” Sam replied. “My best friend used to be a cop. He was always telling me that cops are outgunned because the bad guys have more money. It occurred to me that maybe we should fight fire with fire.”

  “I don't have the words,” Hawkins said.

  “There would be a few conditions,” Sam added. “The city would not be allowed to tap the money for anything else, no matter what. The police department would have to agree on a detailed spending plan before any funds are disbursed and there would be regular audits to make sure none of the money...disappears.”

  “That's a good idea” Amanda said. “The procurement office doesn't have the best track record.”

  “We fired most of those people in the first term,” Blackburn said. “But it's still a wise precaution.”

  “You're being incredibly generous, Sam,” Laurie said. “But you do understand that law enforcement is only part of the problem.”

  “Sure,” Sam said. “That area is so depressed that many of those people have nowhere else to turn. I'm going to try and do something about that. I just don't know what yet.”

  “This is incredible,” Hawkins said. “I come to play a round of golf and suddenly one of the city's biggest problems is about to be solved. That's what I call a good day.”

  Sam couldn't help but smile at that. This wasn't turning out to be so bad after all.

  FOURTEEN

  On Thursday morning Sam went to the Nardulli Building, where his lawyer's firm had its offices. He met Charley Bennett in the lobby. The private investigator handed him a folder, the contents of which he found quite interesting. Sam thanked him and got into an elevator. He was now ready for his meeting.

  Aaron Charlton was waiting for him at the front desk. “They're here,” he said. “You sure you want to do this?”

  “Definitely,” he said. “Did she bring Kyle?'

  “No, he's in school today. Is that a problem?”

  “No, just curious. Let's do this.”

  Charlton led him into a conference room where Sam's ex-wife and her lawyer were waiting. It was the first time Sam had seen Becky since their divorce was finalized. Except for a few age lines, she didn't look all that different. Some of the good memories came back. He silently took a seat.

  Alex Peterman tried to seize the initiative. “Whatever you're offering had better be good,” he said. “My client will not tolerate any further abuse or insults.”

  “Mr. Peterman,” Charlton said, keeping calm despite what Sam guessed had to be considerable temptation. “Your filing contains many allegations, but no evidence to support them. You have portrayed my client as a wife-beater and deadbeat dad in the press with nothing to support those claims. I think you have a great deal of explaining to do.”

  “We'll present our evidence in court,” Peterman said, confidently.

  “You'll present your evidence before then,” Charlton replied. “Or have you forgotten the rules of discovery? It wouldn't surprise me since your cases seldom reach trial phase. Our litigation unit lives for this sort of thing. Mr. Harman is willing to be generous and forgiving, considering how he and your client parted. I would suggest you take our offer seriously.”

  “And what is that offer?” Peterman asked.

  “A monthly stipend of no more than five thousand dollars for your client and a fully funded college education for Kyle,” Charlton replied. “If a DNA test proves that he is Mr. Harman's son, additional support will be provided. For you, Mr. Peterman, a nominal fee of ten thousand dollars.”

  Peterman laughed. “You have a lot of nerve,” he said. “Come on, Becky, we'll settle this in court.”

  “Only if you want to lose your license,” Sam said. “I happen to know for a fact that the state bar will revoke the license of any attorney found to be sleeping with a client.”

  “That's outrageous!” Peterman exclaimed.

  Sam held up the folder given to him by Charley Bennett. Becky saw the Bennett Investigations emblem on it and sagged in her chair. Peterman suddenly looked a little less confident.

  “Now I'm no lawyer,” Sam said. “But I'd call photos and an apartment lease pretty compelling evidence. Then there's the statement of the landlord, who has fielded frequent complaints from other tenants about the noise from....moments of passion. I'd forgotten how loud you could be, Becky.”

  “You bastard!” she spat.

  “Who cheated?” Sam replied.

  “It boils down to this, Peterman,” Charlton said. “You will withdraw your lawsuit, issue a public apology, and go back to personal injury cases or whatever it is you do for a living. Otherwise the contents of this file go to the bar association.”

  Peterman looked crushed. Sam couldn't exactly blame him, but he had little sympathy for the man. “On my way here, I passed a wreck at 12th and Buchanan,” he said. “You might want to hurry.”

  “Fuck you,” Peterman said, taking his briefcase and storming out of the conference room.

  “Nice guy,” Sam said. “Aaron, give us a minute.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  Charlton left the room. Sam hadn't been alone with Becky since that day years before. He wasn't sure what to feel now. His new marriage was the real thing. He had children who meant everything to him and the Lord in his life. That meant he had to forgive. It wasn't something he wanted to do but he didn't recall God commanding him to for
give only when he felt like it.

  “Okay, you won,” Becky said. “What more do you want?”

  “The truth,” Sam said. “Kyle. Is he mine? I can't believe you don't already know.”

  Becky sighed. “No,” she said. “He looks too much like Dan.”

  “Is that the guy I caught you with?” Sam asked

  “Yeah,” she said. “As soon as he found out I was pregnant he took off. I never saw him again.”

  “I'm sorry to hear that,” Sam said.

  “You don't fucking care. You've got your new wife, your kids, all that money. Why the fuck would you care about me?”

  “No good reason I can think of,” he replied. “But I hate hearing about fathers who run out on their kids. That's even worse than what you did.”

  “Yeah, I'm a real fuck up,” Becky said, bitterly.

  “If you'd come to me in the first place, we could have avoided all this,” Sam said.

  “Alex didn't think that was a good idea,” Becky said. “He said we could do better by suing.”

  “And just how were you going to prove spousal abuse? You know I never laid a hand on you, not even at the end.

  “He really thought you'd settle before it came to that.

  “That's because he's a slime-ball.”

  “He's probably going to throw me out of the apartment, now.”

  “If he does, find a hotel and I'll put you up until you get settled,” Sam said. “Does Kyle know the truth?”

  “No,” she said. “I had to convince him to go along with it and the only way to do that was to tell him that you're his father. Sam, would it really be too bad for you to play along? He needs a