A Family Divided

by Tom Berreman

  “Of course, I will. Promise.”

  “The more I learn about my business partner, the more I regret ever doing it. But I’m in too deep, and I’m afraid there’s no turning back. And to make matters worse, I need to keep perpetrating the fraud to make it pay off.”

  “How much money are we talking about?”

  “Five hundred thousand dollars.”

  Courtney sipped her mimosa, stunned and speechless. After a moment she asked “Did my uncle have anything to do with this?”

  “Not directly,” Brent said. “But if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

  “Can he help you get out of it?”

  “I think it’s too late to pull the plug.”

  Courtney closed her eyes as she turned her face toward the sun, taking several deep breathes. After another long pause she asked “What did you do to earn a half million dollars?”

  “I’d rather not say,” Brent said. “I think it’s best you don’t know in case it blows up. You’ll find out eventually, but I’m not proud of what I’ve done. All I can say is I deserve what my father intended me to inherit, an inheritance Laura’s family stole from me, and this is a way to get at a least part of it.”

  “Are you sharing the money with your siblings?”

  Brent looked away, hoping to distance himself from this conversation, and sipped his mimosa.

  “Why won’t you talk to me?” she asked. Her voice expressed concern, not anger. “I thought we had grown close, and could share anything.”

  “It’s because I’m embarrassed,” he said as he turned to look at her. “I regret what I’ve done, and there’s a good chance I might end up paying for it.”

  She reached over and clasped his hand.

  “Tell me when you’re ready to talk.”

  Courtney finished her mimosa, stood from her chair and dived into the pool.

  Brent watched her swim, her perfect strokes learned when she was young and surfed with her parents.

  He hoped his greed hadn’t ruined an opportunity for a happy life in California.

  * * *

  Two days after they returned home, Courtney had flowers delivered to Brent with a card explaining why she no longer wanted to see him.

  Chapter 43.

  “Laura’s a fighter,” Dr. Cunningham told Allison and Ryan as they sat around a small conference table in the corner of his office. “Her heart keeps pumping, but it’s weak and irregular. Her lungs keep working but her breathing is labored and erratic. If there’s any good news it’s no detectable deterioration in her brain wave activity, but there’s no improvement either. We could put her back on a ventilator, but that would only prolong the inevitable.”

  “My mom’s gone, isn’t she?” Ryan asked.

  “Yes, I’m afraid so,” he replied.

  Allison wiped a tear from her cheek while Ryan sat in silence.

  “Okay,” Ryan said after an awkward pause. “I’m just going to sit with her for a while. Is it okay if I go alone?”

  “Of course,” Allison and the doctor said in unison, both acknowledging it might be therapeutic for him to spend time alone with his mother in her last moments of life.

  * * *

  Allison sat alone on a bench in the hospital’s courtyard garden, needing fresh air to help prepare for the inevitable emotional roller coaster. She knew their decision to keep Laura from life support was the right one, but it didn’t help ease the pain of losing her only sister. She needed a shoulder to cry on and called Jason at the office. Upon learning from his assistant he was in a product development committee meeting she sent him a text.

  At the hospital, call me when you can.

  * * *

  “Excuse me,” Jason said to the committee members after the cell phone in his pocket chimed a new text message. He had broken his own rule banning cell phones from meetings at Jennco, but knew Allison and Ryan were meeting with Dr. Cunningham and made an exception to keep his phone close. But he forgot to change it to vibrate.

  “I’ve had a personal matter come up, and I need to leave the meeting. Keep up the good work.”

  The committee members nodded in silence, all well aware of his personal matter.

  He stood and left the conference room. Without calling Allison he drove to the hospital, knowing the text could mean only one thing. When he noted the date on his cell phone calendar, the irony of the timing was clear. It had been twenty-nine days since the doctors removed Laura from life support.

  * * *

  Allison and Jason waited in the hospice floor’s waiting room while Ryan sat with his mother. Allison spent an hour with her, and after arriving at the hospital Jason sat with them for a brief time. But Allison again respected Ryan’s request to be alone with his mother and she and Jason returned to the waiting room.

  It was one forty-five, and as hard as Jason tried to fight the temptation, he watched the clock tick toward seven twenty-six, the hour and minute measuring thirty days.

  The mood was awkward, both of them appreciating the wealth that would flow from Curt Jennings’ estate if she lived until seven twenty-seven. They sat in the otherwise vacant waiting room without talking.

  After what seemed like days, but was just under five hours, the blue light over Laura’s hospital room door broke the tension when it blinked a Code Blue alarm. But with her Do Not Resuscitate order in place, there was no mad rush of medical personnel into her room. The alarm notified doctors her heart stopped beating and a nurse sauntered into the room, only to record the official time of death.

  Ryan emerged from the room a few minutes later, a melancholy smile reflecting his relief the wait was over.

  It was six fifty-five.

  Chapter 44.

  That greedy bastard just couldn’t wait.

  Jason sat at his desk as the process server left his office. Upon hearing Laura passed away, Ginsburg filed a declaratory judgment motion with the probate court to adjudicate heirs under Curtis Jennings’ will.

  His argument was that a will with an open-ended provision that his children inherit must have a final ruling to preclude continuing legal challenges by alleged heirs. Jason could renew his argument he found circumstantial evidence Ryan was Curt’s biological child, but that was an unsubstantiated claim the court was being asked to preempt. Jason would have objected to the argument if he represented the other side.

  The expedited hearing date, just two days away, dashed any hope for Jason to prove Ryan inherited under his biological father’s will. He and Allison performed an exhaustive search to find another source of Curt’s DNA, even checking the local blood bank where he donated, but with no luck. He had no legal argument to rebut Ginsburg’s position, and in two days it would all be over.

  After two quick knocks his assistant opened his door just a crack.

  “You said you weren’t to be disturbed,” she said. “But I have a Dr. Blair Klein holding. He said you’d want to take his call, it has something to do with the Jennings estate matter.”

  * * *

  “Mr. Burke?”

  A scholarly older gentleman greeted Jason as he sat at a sidewalk table outside a small coffee shop a few blocks from the office. The man wore round, tortoise-shell glasses below an unkempt frock of salt and pepper hair over a scraggly, unkempt goatee. He wore wrinkled khaki pants beneath a corduroy blazer with felt elbow patches and carried a worn leather satchel.

  “Dr. Klein, I presume,” Jason said as he stood to shake his hand. “Thanks so much for reaching out to me and agreeing to meet.”

  “You are so welcome,” he said as they both sat. “I must apologize for not contacting you earlier, but I’ve been in Kenya the last six weeks performing research, and was out of touch with local news.”

  “No apology necessary, but from what you told me on the phone you have something important.”

  “Yes. I understand you have circumstantial evidence suggesting Curt Jennings fathered a biological son, but his family cremated his remains, thus pre
venting DNA testing to prove your theory.”

  “Yes, you’re correct. His name is Ryan Dahlstrom, Laura Dahlstrom Jennings’ son. She married Curt several months ago following his first wife’s death. He didn’t define the term ‘children’ in his will, and I think it was his way of showing he had a child he wanted to inherit under his will in addition to his three adopted children.”

  “What I’m about to share with you will most likely determine Ryan’s paternity status, for better, or for worse.”

  “Please explain,” Jason said.

  “I am a professor of genealogy at Pepperdine University, and for the last twenty-three years I have studied a unique gene mutation passed only to male offspring of persons carrying the gene. I identified the gene in twelve families who agreed years ago to take part in my study and have monitored several generations of male heirs from each of them.”

  “Was Curt Jennings a participant in your study?”

  “Yes. However I wrote off his continued participation when I learned he adopted his two sons, and they would be of no use to my research.”

  “But how does that shed light on Ryan’s paternity?”

  “My research materials contain an ample supply of Mr. Jennings’ DNA. And while it may seem rather self-serving, I would love nothing more than to prove Ryan is his biological son so that my study of his genetic bloodline can continue.”

  Jason sat silent for a moment, stunned as he absorbed this new information.

  “How long would the paternity tests take? A hearing is scheduled the day after tomorrow to determine who inherits under the will. And I can assure you, any attempt on my part to further delay the proceedings will fall on deaf ears. This matter has dragged on too long, and the court wants to bring it to a close.”

  “I would require at least twenty-four hours, more likely thirty-six to forty-eight hours, to run the tests once I receive a sample of Ryan’s DNA.”

  “Damn, that will cut it close. How much DNA do you need? Ryan’s best friend’s father invited him to spend a few days on their sailboat, and we all agreed it might be good for him to get away for a while following his mother’s death. I’m not sure I can find him in time to provide a sample.”

  “Do you have his toothbrush? Locks of hair from his brush? Even his sweaty gym clothes from the hamper might give me enough to work with.”

  “I’ll gather everything I can find and deliver it to your office as soon as possible.”

  * * *

  Jason rushed to the Jennings’ house to locate any source of Ryan’s DNA for testing. He found his toothbrush and gym bag, tossed them in the back seat of his car and started to back out of the driveway when a large black Mercedes SUV blocked his path. He put his car in park to get the SUV to move when its back door opened and a smiling Ryan jumped out. When the hospital summoned his friend’s father, an orthopedic surgeon, to assist in a complex emergency surgery, they cut the sailboat trip short.

  On the way to Dr. Klein’s office Jason explained to Ryan for the first time Curt might be his biological father, and the only way to prove it was through DNA testing.

  “I guess I always felt a strong connection to him,” Ryan said, overwhelmed by this revelation.

  So, instead of a toothbrush and smelly gym socks Ryan could provide DNA for testing. Dr. Klein told Jason Ryan’s actual DNA sample would speed the process and provide irrefutable results.

  Chapter 45.

  “Where is he?” Allison whispered as she and Jason sat at the table in the probate courtroom. The third chair for Dr. Klein remained empty.

  “Don’t worry, he’ll be here,” Jason replied. The constant tapping of his right foot and glances at his watch every thirty seconds showed his angst that their last chance for Ryan to inherit under his dad’s will may not come to fruition.

  Allen Ginsburg and Brent Jennings sat at the table to their right, with Jessica seated in the front row of the gallery just behind them. Tension amongst those in the courtroom ran high, and Jason’s “good morning” greeting upon entering went unacknowledged.

  The bailiff’s “All rise” proclamation broke the silence. As those in the room stood Judge Anderson exited her chambers and took her place behind the bench.

  “Where is he?” Allison whispered to Jason, her voice as stern as a whisper allowed.

  “I don’t know…, he assured me he would be here by now.”

  But his assurances would be moot unless he got to the courtroom within the next ten minutes.

  “You may be seated,” Judge Anderson said. After perusing her notes for a moment she continued. “While I never met Laura Dahlstrom Jennings, it is with mixed emotions I acknowledge her passing and agree with Mr. Ginsburg that this matter, which has drawn out longer than many expected, must be resolved. Counselor, you may now address the Court.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor,” Ginsburg said as he stood, approached the bench and placed his notes on the podium. Much to Jason’s disbelief, and relief, he spent the next fifteen minutes laying out the legal argument all in the courtroom had heard before, that his clients were now the only beneficiaries under Curtis Jennings’ will.

  As Ginsburg returned to his seat, Judge Anderson said “Mr. Burke, you may now present your response to this motion.”

  Jason stood, prepared to acknowledge he could not rebut Ginsburg’s position. But before he could reply the courtroom doors burst open and Dr. Klein hurried down the aisle, Ryan following close behind him.

  “Your Honor, if it please the Court, I request a moment to confer with my associate.”

  Ginsburg stood to object, but Judge Anderson shut him down before he spoke.

  “I’ll allow just a moment, but at this point of the proceedings I’m not inclined to grant a recess.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor,” Jason said as he sat. Allison moved to the next chair to allow Dr. Klein to sit next to him. Ryan sat in the front row of the gallery.

  “Thank God you’re here,” Jason whispered, leaning in close to the doctor to keep their conversation private. “I worried you wouldn’t make it in time.”

  “I’m so sorry. I arrived just as I heard ‘All rise,’ but the bailiff wouldn’t let me enter the courtroom until there was a break in the proceedings.”

  “No worries, I just hope your efforts were worth it.”

  “They were. My tests are conclusive, within existing scientific certainty, that Ryan is Curt Jennings’ biological son.”

  “Thank you, doctor. You know, I’ve never kissed a man other than my father, but if we weren’t in a courtroom, you might be the first.”

  “Your Honor,” Jason said as he stood. “While it may be beyond the scope of a motion for declaratory judgement, I request leeway to call an additional witness whose testimony will have a significant impact on these proceedings.”

  “Objection!” Ginsburg shouted as he stood.

  “Overruled.”

  “But Your Honor.”

  “Your objection is noted, now please sit down,” she said. “I will allow you adequate time to prepare a rebuttal to this witness’ testimony. But as you advised your clients they had the power to cremate Mr. Jennings despite my pending ruling on whether to compel a DNA test, I will allow Mr. Burke any opportunity available to present his case.”

  Ginsburg sat and stared at his legal pad, an attempt to avoid eye contact with anyone following his verbal tongue lashing in open court.

  Turning her attention to Jason, she continued. “What new evidence will this witness present?”

  “As this Court is aware the Jennings’ family, at the advice of my esteemed colleague, removed Curtis Jennings from life support and had him cremated even though a motion to compel a DNA sample was pending before this Court.”

  Jason’s statement was unnecessary, but he couldn’t resist the opportunity to get it on the record.

  “Your Honor,” Ginsburg interrupted, attempting to rehabilitate his standing in the courtroom. “I never advised my clients to take any action they were not leg
ally entitled to take.”

  Judge Anderson ignored Ginsburg and said to Jason “Please continue.”

  “Dr. Blair Klein, a distinguished professor of genealogy at Pepperdine University, has for the last twenty-three years conducted a gene mutation study in which Mr. Jennings took part. To enable his research, he stored DNA samples for subsequent testing, and used this DNA to perform paternity tests for Ryan Dahlstrom. Dr. Klein will testify that, within known levels of scientific certainty, Ryan Dahlstrom is Curtis Jennings’ biological son, and that he inherits under Curtis Jennings’ will.”

  Brent Jennings placed both hands over his face in disbelief and leaned forward in his chair so hard his forehead hit the table.

  Jessica’s face revealed little but indifference.

  * * *

  Ginsburg took advantage of his opportunity to rebut Dr. Klein’s DNA tests, however the expert from UCLA Medical School he retained concurred with Klein’s conclusion. All that remained in the probate of Curtis Jennings’ estate was to divide the assets equally.

  Four ways.

  Chapter 46.

  Chelsea Williams fumed as she stood at the coffeemaker in Pacific Coast Industries’ employee break room. In her final year of electrical engineering studies at Cal Tech, she hoped her internship at a leading technology company would provide her with valuable hands on experience, perhaps enough to help her gain acceptance to the prestigious master’s program at MIT.

  But she did not intend to earn a master’s degree in fetching coffee.

  “You’re at the bottom of the org chart,” her boyfriend told her over and over. “Just hang in there, your efforts will be rewarded eventually.”

  “Yeah, right,” was her usual response.

  Earlier Louis Hartwig approached her and asked if she would be available to attend a product development committee meeting, finally something relevant. Unfortunately, his expectations were for her to act as hostess, coordinate Danish delivery and coffee service for the attendees, and take notes for him.