WILL OF
JUSTICE
PETER O’MAHONEY
Will of Justice: A Legal Thriller
Peter O’Mahoney
Copyright © 2017
Published by Roam Free Publishing
3rd edition.
This book was originally published as the short story Criminal Will. It has now been re-written and re-edited as the novel Will of Justice.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Also by Peter O’Mahoney
The Bill Harvey Legal Thriller Series:
Redeeming Justice
Fire and Justice
The Tom Whiskey Mystery Series:
Whiskey Justice
The Max Harrison Legal Thriller Series with Patrick Graham:
Criminal Justice
Defending the Innocent
The Paid Juror
Burning Justice
The Girl on the Road
Available to download and buy now.
WILL OF JUSTICE
PETER O’MAHONEY
CHAPTER 1
Despite the anger raging through her veins, the young woman that storms into attorney Bill Harvey’s office has an air of elegance around her.
Her red hair flows gently over her shoulders, her movements are graceful, and her clothes speak of class. The well-dressed woman is closely followed by Bill’s assistant; the frantic Kate Spencer.
Both women stand at the entrance to the large office, staring down at Bill as he raises his eyes from the file he’s working on.
“May I help you?” he questions.
“Bill, I’m sorry,” Kate apologizes. “She just stormed in here. She—”
“Are you Bill Harvey?” the girl snaps, staring hard in an attempt at intimidation.
“I am.”
“Then you and I need to talk.”
“And why would that be?”
“Because I need your help. Urgently. And I’m willing to pay a lot for it.”
He smiles at the girl’s efforts to first bully him, and then buy him off. It takes a lot to intimidate Bill Harvey. As a man that casts a large shadow, he isn’t the type that responds well to threats.
During his twenty years working in Los Angeles, first as a hypnotherapist and now as a criminal defense attorney, he has seen it all, but this new generation of young adults still surprises him with their enormous amount of self-focus. He wouldn’t be surprised if the young lady removed her phone and snapped a selfie in his office, just to document it on her social media life journey.
“And why do you so desperately need my help, when there are many other things I can be working on?”
“Because I’m having trouble with my grandfather’s will.”
“I’m sorry, Miss…?”
“Miss Anna Lempare.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Miss Lempare, but I’m a trial lawyer. I don’t deal with cases relating to wills. I do, however, know a very nice lawyer who does specialize in—”
“This will be a trial.”
Bill grins at her abruptness. Despite her lack of respect to his office schedule, despite her brashness, he likes her.
She has sass.
Leaning back in his chair, he takes a long, slow, deep breath.
“Bill?” Kate queries, still waiting at the door, looking like she wants nothing else but to escort this girl straight back out of his office.
“It’s fine. Thank you, Kate. I’ll handle it from here.”
The disappointment doesn’t escape Kate’s face, but she nods, fakes a smile to Anna, and walks back out the door. Bill waits a few moments before he proceeds further with his potential new client.
“And what makes you think that the case of a will may go to trial? Cases that relate to a will rarely get to that stage. Usually, any disputes are solved out of court.”
“Trust me, Mr. Harvey, this will go to trial. It will go there because the person who administrates the trustee is no longer fit to do so.”
“And why is that person no longer fit to do so?”
“Because I don’t like her.”
He has a solid chuckle. “I’m afraid that won’t hold up in a court of law as a reason to dismiss a will or its trustee.”
“I don’t care about what will hold up in a court of law. That’s your job. That’s why I want you to help me. If I could solve this problem myself, I would. I wouldn’t need you if I could figure out a way to get her off the will, but I can’t. I’ve googled everything. Nothing seems to work.”
“Some things cannot be solved by googling the right search terms, Anna.” Bill smiles. “That is why experience is an invaluable asset.”
He loves how this generation has absolute faith in being able to learn anything by typing a collection of words into an Internet search engine.
“I need someone to help me out of this mess. I’m here because the Internet says that you’re the best lawyer in this town. They say that you can read people with amazing precision, and solve problems that nobody else can solve. You’re the guy that’s a former hypnotist and now works as a lawyer. You’re the one that hypnotizes the court to get the result he wants.”
“I must stop you there, Anna. I do nothing of the sort. Yes, I was once employed as a hypnotherapist that convinced people to stop their addictions – whether that was smoking, or alcohol, or hard drugs. It’s where my skill lies, but I don’t hypnotize anyone anymore. It wouldn’t be ethical for me to try and hypnotize a juror.”
“But people don’t know they’ve been hypnotized. I mean, how do I know that you haven’t hypnotized me right know?”
“People come in and out of what is referred to as hypnotic states all the time – think about when you drive your car, or catch the train, or brush your teeth. You’re not aware of the moment. Hypnotism is merely leveraging that moment. When a person is in a new situation, such as a courtroom, they are fully aware. For most, the courtroom is a new experience, and they are in no way able to go into a hypnotic state. However, what I do very well, is read people. I read their movements, their posture, and their body language. It tells me so much more than any statement.”
“That’s all you do?”
“That is all I need to do, Miss Lempare. For instance, the second you walked in here I recognized that your posture, clothes, and grooming reflect a life of privilege. However, the lines on your forehead at such a young age show that it has been a young life full of stress. But with the tone of your voice, I don’t hear pain. There is no desperate agony in your voice. So, I assume that the stress is created by protesting against everything. You seek out things to feel stressed about, and then you become passionate about them. And you do this because you feel guilty that you grew up with money and your friends didn’t.”
Anna stares blankly at Bill. “Did you just hypnotize me to get all that?”
“No, Anna.” Bill replies. “I merely read your body language.”
“Well… it’s not my fault that I grew up with money and my friends didn’t. That’s not my fault. I didn’t ask to have that money. And I join protest movements because I feel passionate about those things. It’s what I do.”
“Of course.” He knows that her desperate need to explain herself means he has gotten his assessment correct.
Bill Harvey came to Los Angeles from a small farming town to seek adventure and thrills in the big city. He was first employed as a hypnotherapist, but he found that nobody outside his profession trusted him.
He turned to studying law after a close friend was thrown into prison for a crime they didn’t commit, and he fell in love with the drama of the courtroom.
Ten years after graduating from law school, he has built a reputation as a man who has the ability to win the impossible cases.
“So you went from hypnotist to being a lawyer?”
“Well, I had a job collecting leaves before becoming a lawyer. I was raking it in.”
Anna’s face is expressionless.
“It was a joke, Anna.”
“Oh,” she replies, still trying to work out the joke. “So, if I hire you, I can expect a lot of jokes? Great. My life is about to be turned upside down and you’re making jokes. Do you make legal-related puns as well?”
“Guilty.” Bill chuckles. He pauses for a few moments, and when Anna doesn’t laugh, he continues his line of questioning. “I assume the will is in order?”
“It is,” Anna replies, still shaking her head.
“And has it been through probate?”
“It has. I have the copies here.” She aggressively removes the files from her large black Chanel handbag, slamming the documents down onto the desk.
“At least you came prepared.” He grins. “Very well. What are the conditions that are so trying for you?”
“I have to complete ten weeks of the United States Army Basic Training before the age of twenty-five to receive the full amount of my inheritance.”
“And if you don’t?”
“Then one-hundred percent of the funds go to my grandfather’s favorite charity – Recovering Veterans. Although it’s quite a small charity, it’s a good place, and it does good things for people who need it, but it doesn’t deserve all my inheritance.”
“The conditions don’t sound overly taxing, Miss Lempare. Ten weeks of your life isn’t a long time.”
“You don’t understand, Mr. Harvey. Completing Army Basic Training goes against everything that I stand for. I have amazing respect for the men and women that serve our country, but I have no respect for the people that create these wars. None. The politicians that create this chaos never send their own children. I have lost too many members of my family to war – all because somebody in Washington thinks that oil is worth fighting for. War is not the answer, Mr. Harvey. It never is.”
“If you complete the Army Basic Training, then I assume you’ll have to serve time in the army?”
“No way. The will says that I have to complete the training. That’s all it says. If I did it, which I won’t, I would quit after I complete the training, and would be dishonorably discharged.”
“That’s not very admirable.”
“I don’t care about honor, Mr. Harvey. I just want what is rightfully mine.”
“And what is it that you do instead? Do you work, Miss Lempare?”
“Sometimes, but mostly I travel. I’m an adventurer, Mr. Harvey. Although L.A. is my home, I don’t stay here long, and I only come back for a few months at a time. I travel the world, learning about other cultures. I have just been to Africa, and I’m going to go to Australia soon. There’s so much of the world to see.”
Bill remembers the time when he used to be so idealistic. As age has come to him, he has understood that the world is a lot more complicated than he first thought.
And usually, money is at the heart of those complications.
“And who runs this charity?”
“Two men – Frank Matthews and Bud Morgan. They’ll do anything for the veterans, and I’ll always respect that. My family was an army family, so I know what they have to go through. Veterans will always have my respect.”
“What if you enroll, but don’t finish the training before you turn twenty-five?”
“The funds are held in trust until I finish. But if I don’t finish within one year of my first enrollment, one-hundred-percent of the funds still go to the charity.”
Calmly looking through the pages of the will on the table in front of him, Bill ponders his thoughts for a while. “I see here that your aunt, Jessica Lempare, is the trustee. If she isn’t able to administrate the will anymore, is there someone else listed?”
“No. If anything happens to my aunt before I turn twenty-five, then the inheritance will be split equally between the charity and me.”
“There is no other family member that could take on the role of trustee?”
With sadness, Anna looks to the ground in front of her. “No. My family… we’re a military family. Well, we were. I have lost my paternal grandparents, my father, my mother, and my brother to the horrors of war. That’s almost my entire family, Mr. Harvey. Because of that, I’ll never do what some politician wants me to do. Never. I’ll never join the army. My family has given enough. My aunt… she’s the only surviving member of my direct family still alive. Everyone else has passed.”
“How are you and your aunt related?”
“Through my father. My father is Jessica’s brother.”
“And your grandfather is from your mother’s side of the family?”
“That’s correct. Although they weren’t related, my grandfather had a lot of trust in my Aunt Jessica. He liked her sense of discipline.”
“This aunt of yours, is she ill or mentally unstable?”
“No. She still has her health. And she’s not a nice person, but she’s stable.”
“And the only way that the will can be changed is if your aunt and the charity committee agree that it should be changed?”
“That’s right. But they will never agree to what I say. The charity wouldn’t survive without the funds they receive from the estate. The charity receives a large donation each month from the amount of interest that the estate generates. It’s the only real source of funds that they receive.”
“Will your aunt agree to change the will?”
“No. She hates me. She hates everything I do. She’s a really horrible person, Mr. Harvey. She tries to ruin my life just because she can.”
“How old are you now, Anna?” Bill redirects the conversation back to the facts. As a man who has spent years dealing with innocent people, desperate criminals, and smooth liars, Bill knows that his focus needs to be on the facts.
“I turned twenty-four one month ago.”
“So, the urgency is that you have eleven months until you’re required to enroll with the intent of completing the Army Basic Training course?”
“Yes… or eleven months for my aunt to die of old age.”
“And is there any chance of you enrolling to complete this course?”
“Absolutely not. No way. Not a chance. I’m not in the slight bit interested in becoming an army cadet. I’m my own woman, and I want to live my own life. I’ll not submit to an old-fashioned clause for the sake of money. And… I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I have the most respect in the world for those that serve, but… I can’t do that. I don’t have it in me to kill a person. I couldn’t that. Not after what war has done to my family. My whole family is gone, Mr. Harvey. There’s no way I can join the institution that took my family away.”
“I see. How long has your grandfather been deceased?”
“Ten years.” Anna looks around the room, impressed with the number of law books that line the walls. “So, what are you going to do, Mr. Big-Shot-Lawyer?”
“I have to warn you, Miss Lempare, my fees are very expensive…”
“The will is currently worth twenty million dollars. If you win me the right to my money, I’ll pay you one million dollars, no questions asked.”
Drawing another long, deep breath, Bill slowly leans back in his chair.
This is the type of business that he needs. The police force has been downsized in his area over the past twelve months, and that means fewer arrests. Fewer arrests mean fewer people to defend.
He has been looking for that one big case to keep him going.
“Then I guess the first step is to review the documents and meet with your aunt.”
“Her number is there. She’
s waiting for your call.” Anna leans forward, tapping the precise place where the number sits on the front page of the document. “I’ll be back tomorrow. I hope this is sorted by then.”
“It won’t be, Anna.” Bill laughs out loud. “But I like your style.”
CHAPTER 2
Ms. Jessica Lempare was indeed awaiting a call from Bill Harvey’s office and seemed quite content with arranging a time to sit down with him. Her apartment was only thirty minutes’ drive from Bill’s downtown L.A. office, and due to the hefty sum offered by Anna and his lack of current cases, he decided to take the trip that afternoon.
“Impressive,” Bill whispers under his breath as he enters the foyer of the exclusive Los Feliz Palace apartment building.
Filled with old Hollywood charm, the art deco building stands proudly on Los Feliz Boulevard with a backdrop of the Hollywood Hills. Built in 1924, the building radiates a sense of charisma from a past era. The commitment to conserving the cultural integrity of the building is evident. The paint work is impeccable, there are no fingerprints on the door handles, and the windows are spotless. The building is full of class and style, and Bill is sure that Ms. Lempare will be no different.
After two heavy knocks on the door of apartment 312, the criminal defense lawyer doesn’t have to wait long until the door opens.
“I assume that you’re Bill Harvey,” a thin older lady questions with a stern tone.
“I am. And you must be Ms. Lempare?”
“Yes.”
He smiles at the woman who reminds him of his dear Aunt Rebecca.
Both women are small with a light frame but clearly feisty. He can tell this woman would never back down from a fight. In fact, she most likely thrives on it. His Aunt Rebecca was the same. She was the one that taught him the true power of intimidation. There was nothing like the back of a wooden spoon to send chills up the spine of a six-year-old.
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