Foul Play

Fifty-One

Stone was late arriving for the partners’ meeting at Woodman & Weld the following day, so he didn’t have an opportunity to speak with Ted Stein, who was seated at the far end of the table.

When the meeting ended, Bill Eggers, the managing partner of the firm, who had presided, waved Stone into his office, next door to the conference room. Ted Stein joined them, too, and Peter Stern, the senior partner of the estates department, and a man Stone did not know, who was introduced as Edward Short of the New York Bar Association. A stenographer joined them, too.

Eggers spoke: “This is not a legal proceeding. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the actions of our client, Shepherd Troutman, now deceased, when he called on Ted Stein in our Los Angeles office on a matter concerning the purchase by Mr. Troutman of a house in Malibu Colony. We will also discuss the matter of Mr. Troutman’s will. The meeting will be informal, and anyone may interrupt to ask questions at any time.

“Let’s begin with Ted Stein of our Los Angeles office. Ted, did you have occasion to meet with our client, Shepherd Troutman, earlier this week? And if so, what was the purpose of this meeting?”

“I did,” Stein replied. “Mr. Troutman was purchasing a house in Malibu Colony, and we met to close the sale.”

“Did you close it?”

“Yes, we did.”

“So, at the end of this meeting, Mr. Troutman was the legal owner of the house?”

“Yes, he was. I transferred the purchase price to the seller at the end of the meeting.”

“Did you conduct any other business with Mr. Troutman?”

“Yes. I asked him if he had a will, and he responded that he did not. I suggested that he might make a will while he was in our office. He responded that he would, it was a good idea.”

“What happened then?”

“A stenographer came in, and he gave her a list of a dozen or fifteen names, saying that he would like to leave each of those individuals or institutions one million dollars. Finally, when he was certain that the list was complete, he said that he would like to leave the remainder of his estate to Stone Barrington, his attorney in New York.”

“Did he say why he had chosen Mr. Barrington for this honor?”

“He said that Mr. Barrington had been very helpful to him over the past weeks, to the extent of saving his life.”

“Did he then conclude the will and sign it?”

“Yes.” Stein took some papers from a FedEx box on the floor. “This is the original of the will.”

Everybody was presented with a copy of the will.

“Was Mr. Barrington aware that such a will was being made?”

“No, Mr. Troutman told me that Mr. Barrington knew nothing of it. When I spoke to Mr. Barrington about the will later, he was surprised.”

“Did Mr. Troutman also appoint Mr. Barrington executor?”

“Yes, in a separate document.”

“When Mr. Troutman spoke, in his will, of the ‘remainder’ of his estate after bequests, did you have any idea of the extent of the ‘remainder’?”

“I knew only of the Malibu house he had just purchased.”

Eggers directed his attention to Stone. “Mr. Barrington, did you have any idea of the extent of Mr. Troutman’s holdings?”

“I did. I knew that he had a large investment account with Triangle Investments and three vacant lots in Martha’s Vineyard.”

“What about the Lenox house?”

“I assumed that was in his father’s name.”

“Did Mr. Troutman and his father subsequently become deceased?”

“Yes, in an aircraft crash near the Vineyard airport.”

“Who was the pilot of the aircraft?”

“I was.”

“Were there other survivors?”

“Only one, a security guard, who was protecting Mr. Troutman.”

“What was the cause of the crash?”

“A bomb had been placed in the rear area of the aircraft, and it exploded.”

“And you knew nothing of the bomb?”

“Certainly not, or I would not have been piloting the aircraft.”

“Mr. Barrington, do you have anything further to contribute?”

“Only that the elder Troutman told me that he had left everything to his son. I would be happy to answer any questions.”

“Mr. Barrington,” the bar association man asked, “were you aware that Mr. Troutman had made a will in your favor?”

“No, not until after his death, when Mr. Stein told me of it.”

“Did Shepherd Troutman have any other family?”

“No, only his father.”

“How do you know this?”

“The younger Mr. Troutman told me this directly, in one of our meetings.”

“Did you suggest that Mr. Troutman make a will?”

“No, I assumed that a person of substance would have made a will as a matter of course.”

“Thank you, Mr. Barrington.” He addressed the meeting. “The bar association has no objection to the execution of this will.”

Eggers looked around the table. “Does any other person here have any further information to impart regarding this will?”

The estates partner spoke, “We have no objection. It’s a good will.”

“Then this meeting is concluded.”

Everybody got up and shuffled out.

“Congratulations,” Eggers said to Stone.

“Oh, shut up, Bill,” Stone said.

“Why are you so grumpy? I should think you’d be elated.”

“Because I can’t help feeling that at any moment, somebody is going to burst through the door and yell, ‘Arrest that man!’ Meaning me.”

“Try and get over it. Our estates people will get the will through probate as soon as possible.”

“Thanks, Bill, I appreciate you being helpful.”