Whisper In The Dark (The McKinnon Legends-- The American Men Book One)

by James, Ranay

  Robert and his sister, Eve, were waiting in the hallway when she exited with Kyle’s ashes neatly placed in the marble urn. They had not come inside. She would not have begrudged or prevented Robert attending the service. He was not the one who killed Kyle, and he was Kyle's friend. However, she was relieved she did not have to see him during the services and suffer the mortification of having someone besides George see her crying hysterically alone in the pew.

  Robert was heartbroken listening to her sobs as he stood in the long, sterile hallway. He wanted desperately to go to her, however, feeling it best that he hang back. If she needed him he would be there, even though the chances of her asking for his assistance were slim to none.

  She refused to let him pay for the services, regardless of the fact Mr. Andrews, the funeral director, had already accepted payment from him. She demanded his money be returned immediately. Instead, she asked Mr. Andrews to agree to a trade for the charges. Agreeing, he accepted Kyle’s single vice, season tickets to the Dallas Cowboys football games for the upcoming season. Along with those tickets came a beautiful diamond broach Robert knew for a fact had been in her family for generations. He did not dare go behind her back again even if he did want to retrieve the family heirloom. He had asked Mr. Andrews to hold it for thirty days. Even he still had enough presence of mind to know that purchasing the broach out-right would push her way past angry. And if that were to happen he knew he would never be given the opportunity to apologize properly to her, even though, truthfully, he did not feel he had any reason to apologize. He had bailed her out at considerable expense to his bank account. She really should be thanking him. However, that was not why he did it, but if saying he was sorry was necessary, then he would say the words and mean them, only she wasn’t speaking to him.

  He had tried to call and went by the ranch often to try and talk to her. She was not there much, but when she was, she had not come to open the door. She let the answering machine pick up all her messages even when he knew she was there. He figured she was sleeping.

  Most of her days and nights were spent up at the hospital seeing to George’s recovery.

  After a week Katherine was numb with exhaustion and past the point of clear thought. Yet, she knew as George’s only family, it was up to her to see to it he continued to receive the best of care. Losing count of the hours, she had no idea even what day it actually was and loathed to say anything, but she needed to try and clear her head.

  Poking her head out George’s hospital room door, she asked the one person who always seemed to be there.

  “Robert, what day of the week is it?”

  He immediately stood and walked to the doorway. “Wednesday. Kate, please, will you just go home and get some sleep. If you won’t let me take you, then I’ll get one of my men to take you home. You’re asleep on your feet, Baby.”

  “No. I cannot leave him alone. What if he needs something?” She shook her head. “I’m staying.”

  “I am perfectly capable of seeing to his care, Kate. I will personally stand watch until you return,” he offered in earnest.

  This was not the first request by any stretch. Robert thought she looked like walking death. Her eyes were darkly rimmed and he would swear she had lost weight and feared at any minute he would be admitting her into the bed right next to George. He hoped she would relent. Her answer was not any different than the previous two dozen attempts to get her to think about her own health.

  She told him no.

  All he said each time in reply was, “Yes, Ma’am.”

  What else could he say? What he really wanted to say would only prove counter productive, and if he stood there much longer he would not be held responsible for throwing her over his shoulder and forcibly removing her.

  She, on the other hand, wanted to whack the neutral look right off his face.

  “Just go away and leave me alone,” she snapped back at him.

  “Is that the way you really feel, Kate?”

  “I never took you for an idiot, Robert. I think I have been very plain for the last six or seven days,” she said standing there with her arms crossed using the door jam just to keep her upright.

  “No, I’m no idiot, and I’ve no desire to stay where I’m not needed. Good day, Miss Brandenburg,” he said politely tipping his hat before walking away.

  She found herself almost wanting to cry when he turned down the hall and out of sight without a backward glance.

  "Robert, I'm sorry," came her soft apology just a little too late.

  Chapter 11

  Two days came and went and she did not see him again. Some other men were always there standing watch outside George’s door. She let them stay only for George’s safety. If even a sane and logical man such as Robert believed there was treasure, then who knew how many nut cases were out there just waiting to kill Old George for the prospect of hidden gold.

  Sheriff Maxwell came by the morning of the second day after they had words to serve the official papers from Robert’s attorney. Along with those papers was a hand written note from Robert asking she go see Mr. Lyles, the family lawyer.

  That was the one request from Robert she would follow up on just as soon as she could.

  Chapter 12

  “Ms. Brandenburg, Mr. Lyles will see you now.” The pretty redhead politely informed her from behind the mahogany reception desk of Lyles, Petty, Coker, and Yarbrough, Attorneys at Law.

  She was ushered into the tastefully decorated office of the attorney she remembered her father using for anything and everything he needed done legally.

  Mr. Lyles stood and walked around the desk to shake her hand.

  “You’re all grown up, Katherine. You look a lot like your mother. How is she these days?” the elderly gentleman asked.

  “I would not know, Mr. Lyles. She and I never speak.”

  “Sorry to hear that, but it happens. Never makes it easier though does it?” He smiled indulgently much like her grandfather used to do. It was comforting.

  “No, sir.” She sat down in the chair he gestured for her to have a seat.

  “Well, enough about your mother. I assume you are here about Kyle and the estate?”

  “Yes and no,” she said handing him the promissory note Robert gave to her after she demanded to know the truth.

  Mr. Lyles leaned back in his executive chair after pulling his glasses off his head. Slipping them on his nose he then began to read.

  After nodding his head and saying “Um hum” several times, Kate watched as he then tossed the note back onto his desk, put the glasses back on his head, and looked back at her.

  He got straight to the ugly truth to her being there. “I assume you wish to know if this document is legal.”

  “Yes. Is it?” She moved to the edge of her seat.

  “Yes, and because Kyle has been dead more than forty-eight hours, the Golden Circle now belongs to Langston, I’m afraid.”

  “What would happen if the note had been paid before the forty-eight hours? What then?” she asked cryptically.

  “Well, that would depend. There is a clause inside which does allow for Langston to sell the note for face value without Kyle having knowledge or consent. It is the usual standard language here and here,” he said pointing to two specific paragraphs. “Now, if you paid the note inside the forty-eight hours, the deed would be cleared up and the note recorded as fulfilled without Langston being able to sell, call, or claim the debt.”

  “What if someone else paid it? What then?”

  “Again, it would depend. It states that Langston must accept payment unconditionally at any time inside the note term and the debt could be transferred to the new holder or terminated depending on the circumstances, as long as the note is paid by Kyle or any of his designees.”

  “Designees? Such as?”

  “I know Robert McKinnon is the executor of Kyle's will. Robert also has power of attorney to do such things on Kyle’s behalf. If Kyle were alive, then he could have initiated a new
instrument to pay the note. However, if Langston were to accept payment, he would in fact transfer the note, not nullify or forgive the note. However, Katherine, no new instrument has been negotiated to my knowledge, and it has been more than forty-eight hours. The same stipulation applies here. The new holder of the note would now be the legal holder of the property if you cannot meet the terms.”

  “Thieving bastard. He stole the ranch right out from under me! And I trusted him,” she almost cried. First, because she knew she was in a deep hole, but more because she had trusted Robert.

  You would think she would have learned after her disastrous marriage never to trust a man who looked as good as Robert and had sharp brains to match. He was as shrewd as he was eye candy. She should have known better. No one is that nice. No one is that unselfish. Just because she knew him fifteen years ago did not mean she knew him still. Kyle going to Langston and not Robert should have tipped her off. Her trust was foolish, stupid, and costly. Well, never again.

  “Are you talking Langston?” Lyles asked surprised, interrupting her train of thought. “Katherine, unless you are a fool, no one actually trusts Dallas Langston. At least anyone who has ever had dealing with him never trusts him.”

  Yet, Katherine was nobody’s fool as far as he knew. He had done some digging once Kyle’s state of affairs became open. He knew she would be the sole person to inherit, both the good and the bad, from the Brandenburg estate.

  She had done very well in the financial community until the vicious allegations were levied against her by her vindictive ex-husband. His jealousy had abounded in that relationship. As a financial planner, he continued to lose clients left and right giving bogus and high risk advice while she on the other hand had prospered. Careful investing and cultivating her contacts, coupled with knowledge of the booming Asian economy, had made her clients and her firm millions. It all came crashing down around her ears, amassing tens of thousands of dollars of debt in attorney costs to defend her innocence against charges that could not be substantiated. The watchdogs eventually went on to bigger and better trails to sniff out, but poor Katherine was left to mop up the mess left behind.

  Once all the criminal charges were dropped and her record cleansed of any federal indictments, the civil charges just kept coming. Clients sued her for breach of confidentiality. Daniel, her ex, had pilfered her files using the confidential information of her clients to blackmail some and financially bring the ruination of others. It did not matter that she was not the one who gave him access to all the sensitive information. Katherine’s intern had had an affair with Daniel Masterson, Katherine's ex, and had given him access to Katherine’s files. The twenty-two-year-old senior at NYU was expelled from school and was now doing jail time for the part she played in the extortion.

  Eventually, the mess was settled. Her clients were not any more understanding, but at least she did not have to go to jail, and as far as he knew there was no probation time either.

  “Not Dallas, Mr. Lyles. It was Robert I trusted.”

  “Katherine, what is going on?" He saw her hesitate. "I’m your attorney, Katherine. You must tell me. It is the only way I can help you.”

  Kate sighed. “Robert paid Langston in full. He now owns the Golden Circle. And I have no recourse?”

  “Robert, huh? It could be worse, Katherine. But no there is no recourse, I’m afraid, not as it stands. However, better Robert than Dallas Langston, my dear. Trust me. Robert was looking out for your and Kyle’s interests. I would bet my license on his actions being honorable.”

  “Mr. Lyles, how can you say that? He did not even give me a chance. I trusted him,” she repeated.

  “He had a very small window of time in which to react, Katherine. Keep that in mind before you place him on trial and convict him unjustly. If you will recall, that is an unpleasant feeling having been there yourself. If he did not consult you, perhaps he did not have time to do so.”

  “Still, he should have told me right away. But no! I had to hear it from Brice like he was trying to use it to twist a knife into Robert.”

  Lyles would not doubt for a moment that was Brice’s intention never understanding or caring the depths this perceived betrayal of Robert would gouge into her. Brice was almost as much a bastard as his old man. Lyles had always thought so and today was no different.

  He had loved Brice’s mother as a young man. However, Dallas’ wealth and slick devil’s tongue had enticed her away from him before he could marry her. He had always blamed Dallas for her death feeling she died from loneliness. Dallas left her alone in the mansions as he perused his own interests, leaving her to languish unloved and unfulfilled.

  “Is there anything in there that I can use?” Hope was in her voice, a hope Mr. Lyles did not share.

  Then she answered her own question.

  “I doubt it, given Langston drew it up. For all I know, he killed Kyle for the ranch never dreaming Robert would swoop in, riding to my rescue like some medieval knight.”

  “I’d be very careful where and to whom I sling those kinds of accusations.” That warning was not unheeded.

  “I know, I’m just...I don’t know,” she paused searching for the words looking at her hands clasped tightly in her lap.

  “I know, dear, but there is one small glimmer of hope. Robert is a fair and just man. It would not have been so if Langston still held the note. You would have been on the street before we could have placed Kyle in the ground. Robert might be willing to work something out.”

  He cautioned her about trying to keep the ranch. Unless she had personal funds or a source willing to go out on a limb, she knew she was going to be sorely disappointed. Kyle was bankrupt, and it was just a matter of time before the ranch would have gone on the block anyway, whether in part or whole.

  Katherine took a deep breath. She was a survivor and she would get through this, too. “So, what is your suggestion? What are my options here?” she asked wondering at the way her life had just gone further into the crapper.

  Chapter 13

  Katherine waited as Mr. Lyles searched through the small pile on his desk. He found what he was looking for and placed the envelope in front of him before passing it to her.

  “I have only this one question, Katie.”

  There was something in his eyes. She could not quite peg it. Was it knowledge, truth, understanding?

  “And that question would be?” she asked looking into the eyes of the only man in the world who knew all the family secrets, and she did mean all of them. He probably knew things of which she did not have a clue. Her father and Mr. Lyles had been more than just attorney-client. They had been friends and fellow Masons of the local chapter. That aside, they both hated Dallas Langston. So the enemy of my enemy is my friend would have done it even if genuine affection had not sealed the life-long friendship.

  “Katherine, what would be so valuable to possess that Kyle was dragged all the way out in the middle of Brandenburg land? Was he killed for ten dollars and a cheap watch which the killers did not even bother to take? No, I don’t think so.” Shaking his gray head slowly only emphasized his words.

  It was then she understood what he was saying to her. She read between the lines.

  “You believe it, too. You believe there is something to the myth of the buried fortune on Brandenburg lands?”

  “I did not say that, although most myths are lined with kernels of truth. What I am saying is information is a powerful thing and the prospect for riches even more so. Whole civilizations have been conquered on the guise of converting the heathen. When....”

  She interrupted him.

  “When in reality it was the gold driving the likes of Cortez and the Spanish royalty,” she finished his thought.

  “Precisely my point,” he said nodding his head.

  She looked at him as he leaned forward laying his forearms on his desktop.

  “Katherine, whether I believe there is a fortune to be found or not is immaterial. The fact others do believe th
ere is treasure and are willing to kill for that possibility is material.”

  The light went on for her. “You think I’m in danger?”

  It was something she had not given a moment’s thought to until just that second. The shock and pain she was going through had blocked the thought before now.

  “Katherine, I know the last couple of weeks have been traumatic and would have been difficult under the best of circumstances, however, you must wake up. Kyle is dead. George attacked. Yes, I think you are in danger and so does Robert. We both believe you could have already become a victim if it were not for Robert’s men.”

  “You mean his ghosts? They are like shadows. They are always there, but I never see them. It’s creepy.” She shook her shoulders as if a chill had passed over her.

  “They are serving their function. You need an ally, someone you can trust. I believe Robert is such a man. He brought this by, but did not say why and I have not looked at its contents. He asked me to give it to you when you came in to see me.”

  He slid the envelope across his desktop to her.

  Opening it up, she looked at the document.

  She read over the offer.

  I, Robert Samuel McKinnon, do here by offer the following options to terminate the promissory note which I hold in my position:

  Fair market value, less the debt owed in the amount of three million dollars. I agree to pay this and if accepted then Katherine Delight Brandenburg will relinquish the deed to the Golden Circle and all livestock, mineral rights, and crops currently ready for harvest. (George can stay and will be given a stipend and lodging for the remainder of his life, all health care will be the sole responsibility of the McKinnon Trust).

  OR

  We go partners on the treasure. The Cruel Shelf, jobbing pirate’s share to captain’s. And as captain I get to choose my booty. Your share must cover the note or the Golden Circle is still mine.