by Mick James
“I don’t know, you were short on the phone, your tone just now, the lousy job comment. Someone giving you a hard time?”
She pushed his door closed and crossed her arms. “Apparently I lost some file belonging to Mr. Hinz.”
“Benny? I thought he was still out in Napa Valley?”
She shook her head. “Believe me, he’s back. He waved some fucking County receipt in my face from the end of last May. Said he didn’t have a record of it in his office and wanted to know what I had done with the file. If he doesn’t have a record of it why would I have the damn thing? Anyway, that fat ass read me the riot act, threatened to terminate me if I didn’t come up with the file.”
“Can he even do that?”
“He might seem laid back, but he’s got a reputation for being a real a-hole. As for terminating me, he’s one of the principles if you’d care to check our letterhead, they all think they walk on water. Believe me, he can do anything he wants. God, I’m so screwed,” she said then her eyes tear up and she bit her lower lip. “Oh shit.”
Bobby remembered Christine Woodley telling him she’d sent the receipt to Bennett Hinz when she was in the process of sliding down the drain. He meant to get hold of the thing before Bennett ever saw it, but between Prez, Montcreff, Hippo, and God only knew what else, he had completely forgotten. Christ!
“Do you have the receipt?”
Angie sniffled then nodded as she brushed a tear off her cheek. “I have it back in my office. It’s just that I’ve worked so hard to get this far, busted my ass. He’s gonna have me fired, I just know it. I….”
“Can you bring me the receipt? I know some folks down at County. You mind if I check into it.”
“I don’t want to involve you, Bobby he was really pissed off.”
“I won’t tell him. Let me do some checking, okay? See if I can’t get it straightened out.”
“You sure? It’s just that I don’t know….”
“Let me see the receipt, it’s got a document number, we can sort of work backwards. Who knows maybe he slipped it into the wrong file and you have it somewhere in the file room, it’s just that he screwed it up. Go on, you get that receipt and I’ll make a phone call or two.”
“Oh, thanks, I don’t know what to...”
“Angie, relax we’ll get this sorted out, I’m sure there’s a logical explanation. Let me take a look.”
She seemed to visibly relax a bit or at least dial down a notch. “I’ll be right back,” she said and hurried out the door. She was back in less than two minutes with the receipt.
“Here it is, apparently there are a number of documents, it just doesn’t seem to make any sense. The names don’t ring a bell, and it’s usually not the sort of work Mr. Hinz is involved with. This is something that would normally be handed off to one of the paras. He’s going to just ream me a new….”
“Angie, let me make some phone calls and we’ll see if we can’t get it sorted. Matter of fact, now that I think about it, it might be better if I just went down there.”
“I don’t mean to impose with my headache and ruin your day.”
Bobby held up his hand. “You’re not ruining anything, let me see what I can find out.”
“Thanks, so much, I’d better get back to working, you’ll let me know right away, won’t you?”
“Soon as I find something out,” he said. Then he got up from behind his desk and ushered her out the door. As he headed for the elevators he gave Marci the word that he would be in a meeting for an hour or two, never stopping until the elevator door closed behind him and he hurried home.
Chapter Four
Bobby pulled into his private space in the underground lot where barely twelve hours earlier Morris Montcreff and his thugs had placed Prez’s dismembered body parts in the trunk of his Mercedes. He glanced around quickly then hurried up to his condo. He’d hidden copies of the power of attorney, the Revocable Trust Agreements and the Last Will and Testaments of Precious ‘Prez’ Clarken and Arundel in an envelope taped to the bottom of a dresser drawer.
He made a quick walk through the apartment just to make sure Hippo wasn’t there raiding the refrigerator or watching his flat screen before he made a beeline for the bedroom. He pulled the third drawer of the dresser out, tipped it over and pulled off the manila envelope taped to the bottom.
He removed the documents pertaining to Prez and Arundel, left the documents leaving everything to himself, replaced the drawer, placed the clothing back in the drawer and headed out the door. He stopped at the UPS store and had copies made of the documents and was back in the office just after noon. He worked reviewing more Montcreff files, took a leisurely stroll passed Bennett Hinz’s office then phoned Angie a little after two.
“This is Angie.”
“Hi Angie, Bobby, I….”
“Did you find anything?” the stress in her voice was apparent.
“I think you can take a deep breath and start to relax. When you have a moment come on over to my office.”
She knocked on the door less than a minute later, stepped in and closed the door behind her. “Anything?” There was a slight tremor to her voice and she bit her lower lip as if she was afraid to hear his response.
“Grab a seat,” Bobby said then nodded to one of the two empty client chairs in front of his desk.
She slid into the first chair with her knees locked together and her hands folded like she was about to say a prayer.
Bobby opened a usually empty drawer and pulled the copies of the files he’d had made just before noon. “This goes no further than the two of us, understand?”
Angie nodded, then bit her lower lip again.
“I spoke to one of my friends over at County. They made copies of the file for me.”
“Can they do that?”
He ignored her question. “You’ll note that the filing stamps have been covered so these will appear as the original documents. You can see,” he said sliding the stack of documents over to her. “That these are all relatively simple and are filled out on the standard County forms. Just between you and me, my guess is that Mr. Hinz may have done this work for a friend or acquaintance and did it just as simply as possible, hence the forms rather than some elaborate document. Now that I think about it, he may have done it pro bono, possibly for a charity or social organization.”
“But these are dated from last May, why did he just receive the receipt it seems to me that….”
“Do you remember the power failure last spring? The power was out for a couple of days at County. These apparently got caught up in that mess. Occasionally a document surfaces they have no record of, invariably it was filed on the twenty-sixth of May, and if you check the dates apparently that was the case here.”
She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “God, Bobby, I can’t thank you enough. You are a life saver. I have no doubt, fat ass Hinz would have had me fired by the end of today.”
Bobby smiled. “You just get those filed like it was done on the twenty-sixth of May. Once he gets back from his sauna and massage you can tell Mr. Hinz you found them and let it go at that. He’ll be too busy deciding on what wine he’s going to have with dinner to worry anymore about it. I’ll maybe speak with him later this afternoon, just to smooth things over, might tell him I came across that file in one of these Montcreff documents and foolishly sat on them for a while.”
“Oh, that’s sweet, but I don’t want you getting in any trouble.”
“I won’t be in any trouble.”
“You’re probably right. You sure you’re not with the IRS, the state or the feds?”
“Believe me, I’m not, now you just get those things filed,” he nodded at the paperwork in front of her. “Then have a glass of wine or two when you get home, take a deep breath and relax.”
“God, don’t tell him you found them in the Montcreff files, that might just get him mad or he’ll get Mr. Denton involved and I don’t need that. I’ll tell him I had them filed in temporary hold
ing, waiting until the receipt from County came. The power failure is the reason for all this and I’m pretty sure he’ll accept that,” she said standing up.
“As long as you’re sure that will work.”
“It will, listen, Bobby, if you ever need anything, I mean anything, you just let me know. I’ll do it. I mean it, I really owe you. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Let’s just keep it between the two of us, Angie.”
She stepped over and gave him a big kiss on the cheek and whispered, “Thank you.” Then she gathered up the documents and stopped at the door. “Anything at all, I really mean it,” she said before turning on her heel and hurrying out of his office.
Chapter Five
Bobby caught sight of Bennett Hinz strolling back to his office a little after three. He waited thirty minutes then walked over. Bennett’s office was located in the corner opposite Noah Denton.
As he approached Bobby could see Bennett sitting behind his clean desk top staring out the window at the building across the street. His hands were clasped behind his head and he looked to be day dreaming. He waited for a long moment to see if Bennett would move, but he didn’t. Apparently there was nothing that urgent on his agenda today.
Bobby knocked on his office door, and Bennett called out, “Just a moment.” Bobby waited until Bennett called, “Enter.”
When Bobby opened the door there was an open file on the desk and Bennett held a phone up to his ear. He nodded at Bobby and signaled him to take a seat in one of the leather client chairs opposite his desk.
“Fine, fine, very fine indeed,” Bennett said smiling and nodding in Bobby’s direction. “I’ll look forward to your offer and I’ll expect it on my desk no later than end of day tomorrow. Agreed? Very well, thank you, I’ll inform my client,” he said into the dead phone then hung up and smiled.
“Bobby, how nice to see you. How are things working out?”
“Very well, thank you. I just wanted to take a moment and offer to buy you a drink at the end of the day. I’d like to thank you for all the help and advice you’ve given me.”
Bennett smiled, raised his eyebrows then stared at the ceiling as he spoke. “I might have been able to put in a good word or two with Noah on your behalf. After all, everyone deserves a second chance…no matter how heinous the crime.”
Right now I’d like to throw you right out of your office window, Bobby thought. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help and support, sir. I’m sure without it I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Bennett nodded like Bobby’s comment was just an everyday occurrence. “I tell you what, I’ve a meeting tonight, but I’m about to head over to the club, if you’d care to join me I’ll take you up on your offer.”
Typical. “I’d like that very much, sir just give me a few minutes to return some files and I’ll meet you over there.”
“Oh, God, the file room,” Bennett said and shook his head.
“Problem, sir?”
“There was, or at least the potential for one. It sorted itself out, had to crack the whip and demand some accountability, but in the end … Well, let me just lock up and I’ll see you over there. You do know the way?”
“I used to be a member,” Bobby said.
“Of course, of course. Well, if there’s a problem getting in you just mention my name, let them know you’ll be meeting with me.”
“Thank you,” Bobby said. A problem? He made it sound like it was still some sort of exclusive organization. The truth was the world had moved on and the few remaining private downtown organizations like the Capitol City Club were on the verge of going under, screaming for new members and offering absolutely nothing to anyone under fifty-five.
Bobby phoned Angie to tell her he was coming back with the Montcreff files.
“Here you go, Angie,” he said a few minutes later after dropping the stack of files on one of the reading tables. “Did you talk with Bennett?”
“Yeah, thanks. Kind of funny, as soon as I told him I had the file that was the end of it, almost like he couldn’t be bothered. I felt like asking him what the big deal was, I mean the bastard threatened to fire me for God’s sake. Now he just shrugs and says okay. Between you and me he’s a jerk and let me tell you, at least from what I can see he’s not bringing much in the way of business to the table.”
“No real surprise, there. Actually I have to go join him at the Capitol City Club for a drink.”
“Really, when?”
“Now.”
“God that relic of days gone by … just make sure you get a clean glass and check for mold,” she laughed.
“I will.”
“Thank you, again, for your help,” she said as he headed out the door. “I meant what I said, before, anything, absolutely anything, you just name it.”
Chapter Six
It had been a little over five years since Bobby had been inside the Capitol City Club. Not much had changed in that time except the average age had climbed another half a decade, the air was maybe a little more stale and there were even fewer people in the place.
Bennett was waiting up on the third floor in the member’s lounge. He was one of three customers and with the exception of the bartender the youngest in the place. His glass was almost empty.
“Bobby,” Bennett smiled and waved him forward. “Perfect timing,” he said, draining what was left in his glass then pushing the empty across for a refill as he nodded at the bartender.
The bartender grabbed Bennett’s glass and smiled at Bobby. “What will it be, sir?”
“Makers Mark, on ice.”
He nodded, filled two fresh glasses with ice then turned round to the mirrored display of bottles. Bobby noticed that he reached up to the top shelf for Bennett’s scotch, Highland Park, an eighteen year old single malt from the Orkney Islands which, the last time Bobby checked, was running right around a hundred bucks a bottle. He figured Bennett’s glass would run at least twenty bucks.
The bartender smiled, pushed the fresh drinks across the bar then departed once Bennett nodded a perfunctory thanks.
“Thank you, Bobby here’s to your fresh start,” Bennett said and raised his glass toward Bobby in a toast.
“Thank you, Bennett I so appreciate your help and advice.” Bobby smiled back and clinked glasses thinking you egotistical, pompous, trust fund baby.
“So, you’re settling in, getting back in the old groove as they say.”
“Yes sir, between your support and Noah Denton giving me the opportunity it’s starting to feel a little bit like old times. I’m just reviewing some files for Noah at the moment.”
“Don’t make it sound so understated. Morris Montcreff is an extremely important client for the firm. Noah mentioned Montcreff requested you specifically and in no uncertain terms.”
“Well…”
“Well, nothing. Besides, I suspect Montcreff somehow got word that Noah’s health hasn’t exactly been the best of late.”
“Oh?”
“Well, of course you’re aware of his ongoing condition,” Bennett said, then took a long sip of scotch to let that last bit of information sink in. “Christ, he’s had two heart attacks.”
Too bad the bastard survived. “I was aware of the heart attacks, but he seems to still be every bit on top of his game.”
“Have you seen the array of pills the old boy takes? Enough to choke a horse, my God, he must take over a good dozen a day. He keeps two of those sectioned plastic containers in his desk. You know the type? A little box for each day of the week, poor bastard has two of the damn things. Just imagine, one for the morning and one for the afternoon. Don’t know how the old boy does it,” Bennett said shaking his head then followed up with another long sip.
“Really? I had some idea, but I didn’t realize his condition was that serious.”
“I don’t know, I suspect his wife or maybe more likely the daughter fills them up for him. I don’t think he and the wife have exchanged a civil word since t
he Nixon years. Even at his age he still thinks he’s indestructible.” Bennett drained his glass and pushed it across the bar just as the junior bartender magically appeared.
“Morris Montcreff, was Mr. Denton responsible for bringing his business in?”
“Yes and no. He had attempted to get it for some time and never had any luck. Montcreff was with the Jorgensen firm over in Minneapolis. Course his business was nothing like it is today, back then it was just a couple of clubs as we used to call them,” Bennett sort of winked at Bobby then gave a nod to the bartender as a way of saying thanks for his fresh drink.
“Clubs?”
“Oh, it was the hippie generation back then, all sorts of drugs were coming on the scene. Montcreff’s clubs were the place to be seen for the jet set in those days. Mind you, not that he was ever charged or in any way linked to something illegal, at least that I’m aware of. But you know there’ve always been the rumors. Anyway, they were successful for a good while, the clubs, and just about the time that success began to wane old Morris Montcreff got into property development. The rest, as they say, is history,” Bennett chuckled then drained a third of his glass.
“From what I’ve seen he seems quite successful,” Bobby said and took his first sip.
“Yes, very. His account was a large part of what made the firm. One of the reasons we’ve been so successful. That’s why I found it sort of strange that he called Noah and specifically requested you.”
Bobby suddenly became very guarded. “Oh, I don’t know. Like you said the day we ran into one another in the courthouse, my attributes, plus he knows I can’t practice law at the moment yet I have a lot of experience and maybe that makes me perfect for the job of reviewing all his files. You know, just a little insurance policy,” Bobby said then held Bennett’s gaze for a long moment.
“I have to tell you, Noah was rather upset, he doesn’t like to be second guessed.”
“I can maybe understand that, but then again I’m not second guessing him. I’m just another pair of eyes making sure everything is alright for Mr. Montcreff and by extension, for the firm as well.”