Hide & Seek - James Patterson [43]
After Patrick’s death, his heart attack, I kept to myself, with only Jennie and Allie, and stayed miles away from the media, whom I had come to dread and despise during my pregnancy. On a lushly green spring morning nearly a year after Patrick’s death, I was working in the garden. Allie was playing by my side. We were interrupted by the security guard, hired to keep away unwelcome visitors—which meant, just about everybody.
“There’s a Mr. Nathan Bailford here,” he said. “Knows you don’t want to see anyone, but says it’s very important.”
Nathan was a neighbor I didn’t know well. I did know he was a high-powered lawyer, and that he was instrumental in keeping Peter O’Malley from interfering in the completion of The Cornelia. What could he want? Why was he here now? Was there more trouble with Peter?
“Let Mr. Bailford come up,” I reluctantly told the guard. “We have company,” I told Allie. “Let’s go get pretty.”
The lawyer was in his late fifties, but looked about forty-five. He smiled in greeting, but his charcoal gray suit, white shirt, and a crimson-and-gold rep’s tie were lawyer-serious, and not one silver-and-black curly hair was out of place.
Nathan Bailford took my outstretched hand in both his own. “You know, I’ve driven by I don’t know how many times since the funeral. I’ve thought of you often, didn’t know whether to barge in or leave you alone.”
“I’m glad you finally decided to come.” Patrick’s friend is my friend, I thought, and tried to be hospitable.
“So, are you okay?” he asked.
“Oh, it comes and it goes,” I told him. “The nights are the worst. I’m kind of having a bad decade.”
Nathan Bailford didn’t know how to answer. Finally, he just smiled. Good decision. I liked him for that.
“Actually, I’m here on business,” he admitted, when coffee was served on the patio. “It’s something—well, it just couldn’t wait any longer. As you know, it’s been almost a year since Patrick died. I had to stop by today.”
He sipped his coffee and I noticed that his hand shook. He loosened his tie. “Patrick’s will is finally scheduled to be read. It’s been an incredible mess. Never seen anything like it. My staff and I have been preparing everything according to his explicit and typically complicated wishes. Maggie, I’ve got to tell you. It’s going to mean a bad fight. Peter O’Malley is not a happy camper right now. Patrick was right about his son—Peter can be a real bastard. He is one.”
I wasn’t ready for this. I had given no thought to Patrick’s money or his estate, and Nathan’s edginess frightened me. The idea of a fight with Peter was disturbing, but the thought of the media hearing of it bothered me even more.
“What’s that got to do with me?” I asked. “Nathan, I really can’t get involved in all this.”
Nathan Bailford stared into my eyes. “Patrick’s left controlling interest in the corporation to you, Jennie, and Allen. He’s bequeathed Peter a flat sum, a tremendous sum, of course, but twenty-seven percent of the business is yours and your children’s.”
I couldn’t believe what I had heard. I couldn’t believe it! “H-how much is it worth?” I asked. I actually stuttered.
“Over two hundred million dollars in cash, stock, and real estate holdings. Give or take a few mil. A lot, Maggie.”
I felt a crazy burst of anger. “Oh, Nathan, why? I don’t need twenty-seven percent or any percent. I’ve got money, more than I need. I don’t want anything to do with it. I really don’t.”
All of a sudden, I found myself laughing, which made Nathan Bailford sit back in his chair.
But God, it was funny! It really was. I had just inherited something like two hundred million dollars, and I felt as though I had been put in prison.
CHAPTER 47
HE WAS CARRYING Jennie! How could that be? I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but I was seeing it. There it was. Bada-boom.
Will Shepherd, the soccer player who had tried