The Testament Read online

  know what’s in the will. Why delay it?”

  “I’m just following my client’s wishes,” Josh replied.

  “You have to probate the will sooner or later.”

  “Of course.”

  Wycliff slid his appointment book up to his plastic plate, and gazed down with a squint over his reading glasses. “Today is December twentieth. There’s no way to assemble everyone before Christmas. How does the twenty-seventh look to you?”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “A reading of the will.”

  The idea struck Josh, and he almost choked on a dill spear. Gather them all together, the Phelans and their entourages and new friends and hangers-on, and all their merry lawyers, and pack them into Wycliff’s courtroom. Make sure the press knows about it. As he crunched on another bite of pickle, and looked at his little black book, he worked hard to suppress a grin. He could hear the gasps and groans, the shockwaves, the utter, bitter disbelief, then the muted cursing. Then, perhaps a sniffle and maybe a sob or two as the Phelans tried to absorb what their beloved father had done to them.

  It would be a vicious, glorious, thoroughly unique moment in the history of American law, and Josh suddenly couldn’t wait. “The twenty-seventh is fine with me,” he said.

  “Good. I’ll notify the parties as soon as I can identify all of them. There are lots of lawyers.”

  “It helps if you remember that there are six kids and three ex-wives, so there are nine principal sets of lawyers.”

  “I hope my courtroom is big enough.”

  Standing room only, Josh almost said. People packed together, with not a sound as the envelope is opened, the will unfolded, the unbelievable words read. “I suggest you read the will,” Josh said.

  Wycliff certainly intended to. He was seeing the same scene as Josh. It would be one of his finest moments, reading a will that disposed of eleven billion dollars.

  “I assume the will is somewhat controversial,” the Judge said.

  “It’s wicked.”

  His Honor actually smiled.

  TEN

  _____________

  BEFORE HIS most recent crash, Nate had lived in an aging condo in Georgetown, one he’d leased after his last divorce. But it was gone now, a victim of the bankruptcy. So, literally, there was no place for Nate to spend his first night of freedom.

  As usual, Josh had carefully planned the release. He arrived at Walnut Hill on the appointed day with a duffel bag filled with new and neatly pressed J. Crew shorts and shirts for the trip south. He had the passport and the visa, plenty of cash, lots of directions and tickets, a game plan. Even a first-aid kit.

  Nate never had the chance to be anxious. He said good-bye to a few members of the staff, but most were busy elsewhere because they avoided departures. He walked proudly through the front door after 140 days of wonderful sobriety; clean, tanned, fit, down 17 pounds to 174, a weight he hadn’t known in twenty years.

  Josh drove, and for the first five minutes nothing was said. The snow blanketed the pastures, but thinned quickly as they left the Blue Ridge. It was December 22. At a very low volume, the radio played carols.

  “Could you turn that off?” Nate finally said.

  “What?”

  “The radio.”

  Josh punched a button, and the music he hadn’t heard disappeared.

  “How do you feel?” Josh asked.

  “Could you pull over at the nearest quick shop?”

  “Sure. Why?”

  “I’d like to get a six-pack.”

  “Very funny.”

  “I’d kill for a tall Coca-Cola.”

  They bought soft drinks and peanuts at a country store. The lady at the cash register said a cheery “Merry Christmas,” and Nate could not respond. Back in the car, Josh headed for Dulles, two hours away.

  “Your flight goes to São Paulo, where you’ll lay over three hours before catching one to a city called Campo Grande.”

  “Do these people speak English?”

  “No. They’re Brazilian. They speak Portuguese.”

  “Of course they do.”

  “But you’ll find English at the airport.”

  “How big is Campo Grande?”

  “Half a million, but it’s not your destination. From there, you’ll catch a commuter flight to a place called Corumbá. The towns get smaller.”

  “And so do the airplanes.”

  “Yes, same as here.”

  “For some reason, the idea of a Brazilian commuter flight is not appealing. Help me here, Josh. I’m nervous.”

  “Either that or a six-hour bus ride.”

  “Keep talking.”

  “In Corumbá, you’ll meet a lawyer named Valdir Ruiz. He speaks English.”

  “Have you talked to him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Could you understand him?”

  “Yes, for the most part. A very nice man. Works for about fifty bucks an hour, if you can believe that.”

  “How big is Corumbá?”

  “Ninety thousand.”

  “So they’ll have food and water, and a place to sleep.”

  “Yes, Nate, you’ll have a room. That’s more than you can say for here.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Sorry. Do you want to back out?”

  “Yes, but I’m not going to. My goal at this point is to flee this country before I hear ‘Jingle Bells’ again. I’d sleep in a ditch for the next two weeks to avoid ‘Frosty the Snowman.’ ”

  “Forget the ditch. It’s a nice hotel.”

  “What am I supposed to do with Valdir?”

  “He’s looking for a guide to take you into the Pantanal.”

  “How? Plane? Helicopter?”

  “Boat, probably. As I understand the area, it’s nothing but swamps and rivers.”

  “And snakes, alligators, piranhas.”

  “What a little coward you are. I thought you wanted to go.”

  “I do. Drive faster.”

  “Relax.” Josh pointed to a briefcase behind the passenger’s seat. “Open that,” he said. “It’s your carry-on bag.”

  Nate pulled and grunted. “It weighs a ton. What’s in here?”

  “Good stuff.”

  It was made of brown leather, new but built to look well used, and large enough to hold a small legal library. Nate sat it on his knees and popped it open. “Toys,” he said.

  “That tiny gray instrument there is the latest high-tech digital phone,” Josh said, proud of the things he’d collected. “Valdir will have local service for you when you get to Corumbá.”

  “So they have phones in Brazil.”

  “Lots of them. In fact, telecommunications are booming down there. Everybody has a cell phone.”

  “Those poor people. What’s this?”

  “A computer.”

  “What the hell for?”

  “It’s the latest thing. Look how small.”

  “I can’t even read the keyboard.”

  “You can hook it to the phone and actually get your e-mail.”

  “Wow. And I’m supposed to do this in the middle of a swamp with snakes and alligators watching?”

  “It’s up to you.”

  “Josh, I don’t even use e-mail at the office.”

  “It’s not for you. It’s for me. I want to keep up with you. When you find her, I want to know immediately.”

  “What’s this?”

  “The best toy in the box. It’s a satellite phone. You can use it anywhere on the face of the earth. Keep the batteries charged, and you can always find me.”

  “You just said they had a great phone system.”

  “Not in the Pantanal. It’s a hundred thousand square miles of wetlands, with no towns and very few people. That SatFone will be your only means of communication once you leave Corumbá.”

  Nate opened the hard plastic case and examined the glossy little phone. “How much did this cost you?” he asked.

  “Me, not a dime.”

&
nbsp; “Okay, how much did it cost the Phelan estate?”

  “Forty-four hundred bucks. Worth every penny of it.”

  “Do my Indians have electricity?” Nate was flipping through the owner’s manual.

  “Of course not.”

  “Then how am I supposed to keep the batteries charged?”

  “There’s an extra battery. You’ll think of something.”

  “So much for a quiet getaway.”

  “It’s going to be very quiet. You’ll thank me for the toys when you get there.”

  “Can I thank you now?”

  “No.”

  “Thanks, Josh. For everything.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  ________

  IN THE crowded terminal, at a small table across from a busy bar, they sipped weak espresso and read newspapers. Josh was very conscious of the bar; Nate didn’t seem to be. The neon Heineken logo was hard to miss.

  A tired and skinny Santa Claus ambled by, looking for children to take cheap gifts from his bag. Elvis sang “Blue Christmas” from a jukebox in the bar. The foot traffic was thick, the noise unnerving, everyone flying home for the holidays.

  “Are you okay?” Josh asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine. Why don’t you leave? I’m sure you have better things to do.”

  “I’ll stay.”

  “Look, Josh, I’m fine. If you think I’m waiting for you to leave so I can dash over there to the bar and guzzle vodka, you’re wrong. I have no desire for booze. I’m clean, and very proud of it.”

  Josh looked a bit sheepish, primarily because Nate had read his mind. Nate’s binges were legendary. If he cracked, there wasn’t enough booze in the airport to satisfy him. “I’m not worried about that,” he said, lying.

  “Then go. I’m a big boy.”

  They said good-bye at the gate, a warm embrace and promises to call almost on the hour. Nate was anxious to settle into his nest in first class. Josh had a thousand things to do at the office.

  Two small, secret precautionary steps had been taken by Josh. First, adjacent seats had been booked for the flight. Nate would have the window; the aisle would remain vacant. No sense having some thirsty executive sitting next to Nate, swilling Scotch and wine. The seats cost over seven thousand dollars each for the round trip, but money was of no concern.

  Second, Josh had talked at length with an airline official about Nate’s rehab. No alcohol was to be served, under any circumstances. A letter from Josh to the airline was on board, just in case it had to be produced to convince Nate.

  A flight attendant served him orange juice and coffee. He wrapped himself in a thin blanket and watched the sprawl of D.C. disappear below him as the Varig airplane climbed through the clouds.

  There was relief in the escape, from Walnut Hill and Sergio, from the city and its grind, from the past troubles with the last wife and the bankruptcy, and from the current mess with the IRS. At thirty thousand feet, Nate had almost decided he would never return.

  But every reentry was nerve-racking. The fear of another slide was always there, just beneath the surface. The frightening part now was that there had been so many reentries he felt like a veteran. Like wives and big verdicts, he could now compare them. Would there always be another one?

  During dinner, he realized Josh had been working behind the scenes. Wine was never offered. He picked through the food with the caution of one who’d just spent nearly four months enjoying the great lettuces of the world; until a few days ago, no fat, butter, grease, or sugar. The last thing he wanted was a queasy stomach.

  He napped briefly, but he was tired of sleeping. As a busy lawyer and late-night prowler, he’d learned to live with little sleep. The first month at Walnut Hill they’d drugged him with pills and he’d slept ten hours a day. He couldn’t fight them if he were in a coma.

  He assembled his toys in the empty seat next to him, and began reading his collection of owner’s manuals. The satellite phone intrigued him, though it was difficult to believe he would actually be forced to use it.

  Another phone caught his attention. It was the latest technical gadget in air travel, a sleek little device practically hidden in the wall next to his seat. He grabbed it and called Sergio at home. Sergio was having a late dinner, but happy to hear from him nonetheless.

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  “In a bar,” Nate replied, his voice low because the lights in the cabin were down.

  “Very funny.”

  “I’m probably over Miami, with eight hours to go. Just found this phone on board and wanted to check in.”

  “So you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine. Do you miss me?”

  “Not yet. You miss me?”

  “Are you kidding? I’m a free man, flying off to the jungle for a marvelous adventure. I’ll miss you later, okay?”

  “Okay. And you’ll call if you get in trouble.”

  “No trouble, Serge. Not this time.”

  “Atta boy, Nate.”

  “Thanks, Serge.”

  “Don’t mention it. Just call me.”

  A movie started, but no one was watching. The flight attendant brought more coffee. Nate’s secretary was a long-suffering woman named Alice, who’d cleaned up after him for almost ten years. She lived with her sister in an old house in Arlington. He called her next. They’d spoken once in the past four months.

  The conversation lasted for half an hour. She was delighted to hear his voice, and learn that he’d been released. She knew nothing about his trip to South America, which was a bit odd because she normally knew everything. But she was reserved on the phone, even cautious. Nate, the trial lawyer, smelled a rat, and attacked as if on cross-examination.

  She was still in litigation, still at the same desk, doing pretty much the same thing but for a different lawyer. “Who?” Nate demanded.

  A new guy. A new litigator. Her words were deliberate, and Nate knew that she had been fully briefed by Josh himself. Of course Nate would call her as soon as he was released.

  Which office was the new guy in? Who was his paralegal? Where did he come from? How much medical malpractice had he done? Was her assignment with him just temporary?

  Alice was sufficiently vague.

  “Who’s in my office?” he asked.

  “No one. It hasn’t been touched. Still has little stacks of files in every corner.”

  “What’s Kerry doing?”

  “Staying busy. Waiting for you.” Kerry was Nate’s favorite paralegal.

  Alice had all the right answers, while revealing little. She was especially mum about the new litigator.

  “Get ready,” he said as the conversation ran out of steam. “It’s time for a comeback.”

  “It’s been dull, Nate.”

  He hung up slowly, and played back her words. Something was different. Josh was quietly rearranging his firm. Would Nate get lost in the shuffle? Probably not, but his courtroom days were over.

  He would worry about it later, he decided. There were so many people to call, and so many phones to do it with. He knew a judge who’d kicked booze ten years earlier, and he wanted to check in with his wonderful report from rehab. His first ex-wife deserved a blistering call, but he wasn’t in the mood. And he wanted to phone all four of his children and ask why they hadn’t called or written.

  Instead he took a folder from his case and began reading about Mr. Troy Phelan and the business at hand. At midnight, somewhere over the Caribbean, Nate drifted away.

  ELEVEN

  _____________

  AN HOUR before dawn, the plane began its descent. He had slept through breakfast, and when he awoke a flight attendant hurriedly brought coffee.

  The city of São Paulo appeared, an enormous sprawl that covered almost eight hundred square miles. Nate watched the sea of lights below and wondered how one city could hold twenty million people.

  In a rush of Portuguese, the pilot said good morning and then several paragraphs of greetings that Nate missed entire
ly. The English translation that followed was not much better. Surely he wouldn’t be forced to point and grunt his way across the country. The language barrier caused a short bout of anxiety, but it ended when a pretty Brazilian flight attendant asked him to buckle his seat belt.

  The airport was hot and swarming with people. He collected his new duffel bag, walked it through customs without so much as a glance from anyone, and rechecked it on Varig to Campo Grande. Then he found a coffee bar with the menu on the wall. He pointed and said, “Espresso,” and the cashier rang him up. She frowned at his American money, but changed it anyway. One Brazilian real equaled one American dollar. Nate now owned a few reals.

  He sipped the coffee while standing shoulder to shoulder with some rowdy Japanese tourists. Other languages flew around him; German and Spanish mixing with the Portuguese coming over the loudspeakers. He wished he’d bought a phrase book so he could at least understand a word or two.