The Lawyer's Lawyer

CHAPTER Fifty-Two



The day Tom Wylie travelled to Oakville was a typical late-April day in Florida. Most of the drive had been relatively pleasant but during the early afternoon, when he was about thirty miles outside of town, thunderstorms rolled in, accompanied by fifty-mile-per-hour winds and lightning that persistently pierced the afternoon sky. A few of the thunder claps were so sharp they made Tom literally jump out of his seat. He wanted to pull over, but he considered it more dangerous to be parked on the side of the road than actually driving.

It was still bad when he arrived at the condo. He’d made arrangements with Henry so that he and Jack could meet alone for the first hour. Then, if the decision was going to be that Tom would come aboard, Henry and Ron would join them.

Henry waited for the call over at The Swamp. He sat at the bar and had a draft while Ron worked the room, stopping occasionally to chat.

“What does this guy want me there for anyway?” Ron asked Henry on his first stop. The storm had not yet hit, and people were still eating and drinking.

“I don’t know. He just asked me if Jack or I had any trustworthy friends that lived in Oakville and could give him the lay of the land. The only person I could think of was you. I thought of Danni, too, but I think she’s a little compromised by all of this.”

“She is. She was in here not too long ago and refused to talk about the case.”

“I’m really surprised about that. I thought Danni would support Jack.”

“You’ve got to remember, Henry, she’s been in law enforcement all her life. Getting back to me again—what am I supposed to be able to tell this guy?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he wants you to keep him posted about the mood of the people. You do know everybody in town.”

“That’s not true. There are about four or five people whose names I can’t recall.”

Then Ron was off again, hitting the tables, making sure that everybody was happy. The first rumblings of the bad weather that was coming could be heard off to the west. Henry saw the customers almost immediately start to quicken their pace. People at the bar drank up and headed for the door. Others at the tables were asking for their checks before they were done eating. One sound and they know what’s coming, Henry thought to himself. Nobody wants to be caught out in a bad thunderstorm.

The thunder was closer now. The wind was picking up, and people were rushing to their cars. In a matter of minutes, The Swamp was nearly empty. Ron stood in the middle of his establishment and looked heavenward.

“You’re killing me here,” he said to the ceiling.

Henry was thoroughly enjoying his beer and the entertainment.