Dennis Larsen - With Cruel Intent

The realtor had also considered it quite reasonable, and in theory, thought they had a deal, until the lawyers got involved. Iggy recalled the greed and avarice that the council on both sides had shown. At the time, their suggestions and advice seemed to make sense, but in hindsight it was clear they had more interest in dragging the negotiations out as long as possible. At the time of his father’s death, Jeremy estimated the entire estate worth about twenty five million, however, Bev’s attorney’s estimated the value closer to forty million, even after Beverly Davis, realtor, had done an assessment and found the value closer to her stepson's.

Over these long, past eight years there continued to be one piece of information that Jeremy never disclosed to anyone, not even Iggy. The property that his father owned south of Moody Air Force Base would be a gold mine when, and if, the US Government decided to expand. The possibility had been bantered around a number of times but kept behind closed doors. Very few had access to the information but the congressman that Jeremy worked for was one of the privileged. The aide was not even sure if the congressman knew that technically his top aide owned the property, or at least half of it, if the will should be upheld. What the younger Marshall did know was the time was not right, at least not yet, and the ‘IF’ in the equation of the government buyout loomed very large.

As Iggy looked back over the rollercoaster of a ride in and out of court, himself always taking a backseat, not letting on that he was anything but an interested party representing the county, he had always been there for Jeremy, a confidant and source of information in all of the legal shenanigans. He was glad that his conspirator trusted him; he was the closest ‘friend’ he had and would miss him when they concluded their business arrangement.

The possible buyout of five million had been buried, along with a number of other equally fair offers, but meetings turned into, “he said” — “she said”, name calling affairs that Jeremy had recounted to Iggy through their coded communication system online. Eventually the two sides squared off in a battle over the authenticity and veracity of the will. Jeremy contested and sent the proceedings into court after court, along with every other relative, including his mother, contesting for a portion of the estate as well.

It was incredible how much money could be poured down a drain and into a legal firm's pocket once the ball is rolling. They just never roll the ball very fast, just enough to suck every nickel they can out of their clients, all the time telling them that they were keeping their best interest in mind. Iggy and Jeremy had learned to hate attorneys and the legal profession at large.

“Yup, eight years I’ve been doing this,” Iggy said, looking into the driver’s side mirror of his older model sedan, adjusting his sunglasses in the process. “Pretty damn tired of it!” he concluded.

A car turned down the lane from the main road, paused for a moment, then proceeded until it came to a stop next to Iggy’s vehicle. A smiling Felix stepped from the driver’s door, brought two fingers to his forehead in a makeshift salute, and greeted the heavier fellow.

“You been waiting long?”

“Well, I for one was on time. Where you been? I can’t believe Jeremy’s not here. He’s always on time. Do you think he didn’t see the location notice I posted?” the sweating director asked.

“I got it, no reason he should have missed it. Did you catch what our friend did today just a short ways from here?” Felix asked.

“No, how would I have access to that information? Is it already on the news or something?” he responded, somewhat irritated.

“Nothing on the news, but I’ve got a scanner and there’s all kinds of shit on there about a break-in where a woman was assaulted. Had to be our guy. He’s pulling out all the stops, the extra five grand you put in his mailbox looks to have paid off,” a very chipper Felix informed the more serious Iggy.

“When Jeremy gets here we need to talk about this last job we have for him. Hope you’re up to it,” he said, looking for a response from Felix.

“I do what I get paid to do, little man, and don’t you forget it. I’ll hold up my end of the deal, don’t fall down on yours,” Felix said, still remaining cheerful.

“What’s got you so happy today? Thought the idea of having to move back to Valdosta for a few days would have you on edge.”

“Nah, I loved the little place for the few days I was there. Can’t wait to get back to that bed and breakfast where I stayed before. You wouldn’t believe the body on this blonde staying there. Don’t think she likes me very much but I can be very persuasive,” Felix said, cupping his hands in front of himself to describe the woman more fully to Iggy.

The sound of a car turning into the drive brought both of their attention to the newcomer.

“Finally,” they said, in unison.

The silver car eased down the dirt path, the driver trying not to stir up the dust that was sure to result. Jeremy saw his co-conspirators before him, unhappy that he was the last to arrive. The drive from DC had taken much longer than expected, with construction delays the entire way. It had been good though, giving him plenty of time to put his calculating mind to work, sorting out the final details.

“Gentlemen,” he said, as he exited his Acura. “Good to see you both, hope everything is going well.”

“You in a good mood too?” Iggy asked. “Why is everyone in such a good mood? I don’t get it, we could all go to prison for the rest of our lives and you two seem happy for some reason. Could you give me a clue or was I the only one here that didn’t get laid today or something?”

“Yes, and most likely yes again,” Felix taunted the older man.

“Okay, we have a lot to decide on today and only a short time to finalize these arrangements,” Jeremy said, knowing that the pocket recorder was picking up everything that was being said. “Let me bring you up to speed on where we are with the legal developments. Short and simple, we lost. The courts, as high as I want to take this sham, have concluded that the will is authentic and has stood up to every legal barb we’ve thrown at it. Bottom line, I get half the estate, less thirty percent to the blood-sucking lawyers, and the same for Beverly. They have concluded that the entire estate must be liquidated and a disbursement of the resulting assets. I have an option to buy her half out, at a number the court has decided on, with no input from either side. That number is fifty million dollars, and I can tell you that is not going to happen!”

The congressional aide took a deep breath to collect his thoughts and continued, “My legal council has offered one possible sidestep to this whole thing, and that has to do with our friend and his affect on the market, also as we predicted. The court came up with their estimation of property value when markets were higher, but included in their final wording a ‘shotgun’ type clause, that allows either Beverly, to offer the other party a buyout or myself. If that offer is accepted it concludes the will, but if not, the one making the offer must be willing to accept that same amount for their half of the estate, without the right of refusal. Does that make sense?” He did not wait to see how much of this they were getting, didn’t really concern them anyway.

“In any case, I can return to court and press that the amount is too high in today’s market, and I think we have a pretty good case to bring the value down or I can lowball her again, but she could turn it around on me. That’s where we stand today if we decide that we don’t move ahead. It could mean a lot of money out of all our pockets.” He gave that a minute to sink in.