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Excerpt:
Castle
By
J H Wear
PART 1: The Truth Can Be An Elusive Commodity
Chapter One
‘Relax And Take The Bus’. The words chiselled in the
sign haunted Robert Jon McKinney as he peered out of the bus window. Jon
had squeezed his bulk across the hard vinyl seats in a vain attempt to
find comfort on the finely cracked green vinyl; the seat in front of him
forcing him to sit slightly sideways. He ran his hand back through his
short, dark hair to try to smooth it down. His girlfriend, Nadine
Newman, described his hair like a dandelion ready to explode. He really
didn’t think that it was an accurate assessment or a particularly funny
one. Of course Nadine’s comments didn’t stop just at his hair, sometimes
she indicated his weight was a bit on the high side as well. Actually,
she more than just indicated, at times it made him wonder why she went
out with him. Jon was a big man, and not soft, but he didn’t scare
anyone when he entered a room.
The sign, he recalled, had been on the chipped paint
of a brick wall of an equally-worn building. He’d seen the sign on the
cab ride from the airport, and it should have given Jon a hint of things
to come.
He’d felt a bit apprehensive about the final leg of
his journey when the driver, a heavyset man approaching the age of
retirement, yawned as Jon went past him. The bus, whose best years were
behind it, was less than half full and Jon was able to have a bench seat
for himself.
An hour after lurching through stop signs and traffic
lights the bus made its way into the countryside. Jon slouched in his
seat and stared out of the window.
* * * *
Two weeks ago he had sat in a lawyer’s office, with
Nadine, to receive an inheritance from his uncle, Gordon Miller. He
recalled meeting his uncle only once as a young boy, when the tall,
distinguished man had visited the family in Boston. Jon didn’t talk much
with him, at nine years old he didn’t have a lot to say that grown-ups
were interested in, but it seemed his mother’s brother took a liking to
him anyway and left something for him in his will. At first he thought
it was odd that he was left anything at all, but Uncle Gordon often
asked about him in his letters and paid for a sizable portion of his
college tuition.
Nadine had to come along with him to the lawyer’s
office and the family rumours of his uncle’s hidden riches made her
excited as they exited the elevator on the twenty-fifth floor. Nadine, a
short, small-boned blonde with her hair tied into a tight bun, preceded
Jon into the office. They had to wait several minutes past their two
o’clock appointment and Jon took in the thick carpet, the dark oak walls
and the original paintings on the wall. He felt a bit intimidated
wearing just a golf shirt and black jeans. A woman came from around the
opening in the reception area and beckoned them to follow her.
“Mr. Van der Velde will see you now.”
Unlike the receptionist, Van der Velde seemed to be
pleased to see them and apologized for their wait. He stood up at his
desk and opened his hand towards the chairs sitting in front. Van der
Velde, a tall sixty–year-old with a slim frame, had retained most of his
silver-white hair.
“First, Mr. McKinney, I need your signature on these
documents …and these... and these.”
Jon signed several legal documents as Mr. Van der
Velde carefully explained the reason for each piece of fourteen-inch
paper.
“Now, you may think the requirements of the will are
a bit peculiar, but rest assured that many wills have special conditions
attached to them before they can be fulfilled.”
Van der Velde paused and peered at them from the top
of his bi-focal glasses. They nodded as they leaned forward in the soft
leather chairs.
“First, he has bestowed upon you the legal possession
of a castle, its land and any contents inside.”
He paused as Jon sat upright and Nadine gasped,
covering her mouth with her hand. Van der Velde slid across the desk a
set of folded papers.
“There is also an item of some importance inside this
sealed envelope.”
He lifted a bulging envelope.
“The instructions in the will stipulate that you may
not open this envelope until you have read and agreed to the terms of a
final document inside this other envelope.”
He held up a second envelope, this one flat.
“The final stipulation of the will states that you
read this document alone within twenty four hours of accepting the legal
document giving you possession of the castle. It is for your eyes only.”
He looked at his watch.
“The time is now fourteen minutes after two o’clock.
If you wish, you may read the document in a room we have for
consultations. I would advise you to do this as I can then verify that
you have met all legal requirements of the will and will be able to
attest to that fact if the need should arise.”
‘Robert’
– Uncle Gordon had not known Jon had switched over to using his middle
name – ‘I
can only ask that you follow these final instructions as I have no way
of enforcing them. I can only trust your own good judgment on these
conditions.
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