True Evil

CHAPTER 20

Andrew Rusk had finally hooked the big one. He knew it as surely as that time off Bimini when the big swordfish had hit his bait and run like a jet ski tearing across the waves. He had Carson G. Barnett himself sitting opposite his desk, a larger-than-life man of forty-six, a millionaire so many times over that he'd quit counting. A legend in the oil business, Barnett had made and lost three fortunes, but right now he was in an up cycle-way up.

For the past hour, Barnett had been describing his marital situation. Rusk was wearing his most concerned look and nodding at the appropriate places, but he wasn't really listening. He hadn't had to listen for quite a few years now. Because the stories were all the same: variations on a theme-a very tired one. The only time Rusk pricked up his ears was when Barnett slid into the business side of things. Then the lawyer made sure he recorded every syllable. But right now was the worst part…a melodramatic soliloquy on how misunderstood Barnett was.

Rusk knew where the oilman was going long before he got there. Rusk could recite the lines of this movie without even thinking. She hasn't grown at all since the day we got married. Not emotionally or psychologically or intellectually or sexually, the softer ones would qualify. Quite a few would add, Her ass, on the other hand, has grown like a goddamn baby elephant. Another universal refrain was She doesn't understand me. And of course the grand-prize winner: She doesn't even know me!

In Rusk's experience, the opposite usually proved true. In most cases, the wife knew the husband too well-knew him more deeply than he wanted to be known, in fact-and understood him better than he did himself. Therefore she did not ooh and aah every time he bragged about his latest business triumph, and she complained long and loud when he disappointed her, which was often. She no longer thought he was brilliant (or even smart), or imaginative in bed, and he certainly wasn't funny anymore-not to someone who had long ago heard every pathetic joke he'd ever memorized, and most of them twice.

And then of course there was the mistress. Some clients came right out and admitted they were having an affair; others tried to hide it, to appear noble and self-sacrificing. Rusk had come to respect directness more than anything else. Men and women who were considering divorce were always walking time bombs of frustration, guilt, lust, and near-psychotic levels of rationalization. But no matter who sat in that chair opposite him-a brilliant physician or a redneck barely able to total up his investment portfolio-they finally figured out a couple of things. One, there was no pain-free choice. Whatever they decided to do, someone was going to suffer. The only real question was, would they endure the suffering themselves by giving up their paramour and staying in the marriage? Or would they pass the suffering on to their spouse and children by breaking up the family? Rich or poor, here was the essential agony of divorce.

Rusk had come to believe that once children entered the picture, women were less inclined to sacrifice family in the search for happiness than men. This didn't mean they wanted happiness less-only that they were less willing to buy it at the expense of others. But this was based on anecdotal evidence from a limited geographic area. Rusk had no interest in the dynamics of divorce in New York or Los Angeles-he didn't live in those places. Besides, he figured that the motives of a bunch of damn Yankees were about as neurotic and self-obsessed as a Woody Allen movie, only without the laughs.

Carson Barnett's marital problems had their own particular twist, and would not be without interest to an anthropologist or sociologist. But to a lawyer, they meant little. However, Carson Barnett was very rich, and in Rusk's view-as in his father's-the rich were entitled to a fuller hearing than people of more limited means. Mrs. Barnett-Luvy, Carson called her-had begun the marriage as a Baptist, but this had played no bigger part in her life than the fact that she was a Chi-Omega. But sometime after the kids were born, Luvy's interest and involvement in the church had increased exponentially. Around the same time, her interest in all matters sexual had decreased in direct proportion. Carson had suffered through this as best he could for a while, and then, like any red-blooded male, he had sought relief wherever he could find it.

"If there ain't no food in the freezer, you go to the store," he boomed. "Ain't that right, Andy?"

"Yes, it is," Rusk agreed.

"I mean, even a dog knows that. If there ain't no food in his dish, he goes on the prowl. Don't he?"

"He does indeed." Rusk gave an obligatory laugh.

He had seen this pattern many times. Men who sought sexual relief went through a period when they would screw anyone who'd drop their pants for them. And surprisingly, this didn't usually impact the family at all. In fact, things seemed to run more smoothly all around. The trouble started when the man-or woman-found someone who was "different" from the rest, a "soul mate" (this term could almost trigger spontaneous vomiting in Andrew Rusk), or a relationship that was "meant to be." When love reared its ugly head, divorce was soon to follow. Barnett was telling a similar story right now, and his "soul mate" had proved to be a sweet young thing who worked over at the barbecue place on Route 59, a restaurant where he'd done quite a few oil deals in the past-big deals, too-scribbling out a map of the prospect on a cocktail napkin and sealing the agreement with a handshake.

"Anyhow," Barnett said, as big drops of sweat rolled down his neck, "I love that little girl like nobody's business. And I aim to marry her, one way or another."

Rusk liked Barnett's choice of words. Because despite the man's crude way of expressing himself, Barnett was speaking in a kind of code-a code that Andrew Rusk was silently fitting into a particular system of moral calculus, one evolved over years of listening to frustrated people, most of them men. Everybody got angry during a divorce; it was axiomatic. Most people even got homicidally angry for a day or two. But the majority of those people soon got over their anger and resigned themselves to the fact that life from then on was going to be one long compromise.

But some people refused to compromise. Especially the very rich. It was probably a matter of habit as much as anything. Whatever the case, Carson Barnett had already fallen into line with a couple of essential laws of Rusk's system, and they were coming to the part of the conversation in which the lawyer could play a meaningful part.

"So you want to divorce your wife," he said in a somber tone.

"Yessir, I do. I never thought it would come to this, but by God she's drove me to it."

Rusk nodded sagely. "A lot of attorneys would discourage you, Mr. Barnett. They'd encourage you to seek counseling."

"Call me Carson, Andy. Please. And let me stop you right there. The only counseling Luvy would try was her pastor, and one visit was more than I could stomach. You never heard such hogwash in your life. I stood up and told him Jesus doesn't have a damn thing to do with our marriage, and the Lord was lucky for it."

Rusk smiled in appreciation of his client's rustic wit. "I'm not going to discourage you, Carson. Because I can see that you're in love. Truly in love."

"You got that right."

"True love is a wonderful thing. But I can tell from all you've told me, and from your manner, that you anticipate some trouble from Luvy with this idea of splitting up."

"Oh, hell, yes," Barnett said with a look of something like fear in his eyes.

Rusk had a feeling that Luvy Barnett was a formidable woman.

"Luvy don't even believe in divorce, Andy. Says it's a sin. Says it's the root of all the evil in this world."

"I thought money was the root of all evil."

Barnett snorted. "Luvy don't have nothing against money. No, sir. No problem with money at all."

"Isn't that convenient?"

"You said it, brother. I talked to her about filing under irreconcilable differences, like my buddy Jack Huston did. Jack's wife and Luvy was best friends a few years back. But, no, she wouldn't hear of it."

"What did Luvy say exactly?"

"She said I didn't have no grounds to divorce her, and she wasn't going to give me one. She says if I try to go to court, she'll deny me as much time as she can with the children, seeing how I'm a sinner and a terrible role model for them. Course if I stay with her and try again, I'm just an all-around great guy. How about that?"

"She wants you to martyr yourself for the children."

"You said it, brother! Jesus all over again. Only you can forget the kids. I'm supposed to give up everything for her."

"Has Luvy said anything about the financial side of things?"

Barnett gritted his teeth for some time before answering. "She claims she doesn't want any money for herself-beyond half of what I earned while I was married to her-but she wants everything she can legally get for the children, which means all future production from the wells I hit while we was married, or even prospects I mapped out while I was married to her."

Rusk shook his head as though rendered speechless by the enormity of Luvy's greed.

"She's also hired the meanest goddamn divorce lawyer in Jackson, too, from what I hear."

Rusk leaned forward at the news of this complication. "Who did she hire?"

"David Bliss."

"You're right, Carson. That's bad news, indeed. David Bliss has accountants on permanent retainer who specialize in various businesses. The hot new thing with lawyers like Bliss is medical practices. He gets all the doctors' wives. He has his Jews take their businesses apart piece by piece. By the time the ink is dry on the divorce, the poor medic will be working for his wife for the next twenty years."

"Well, I'm no doctor, thank God."

"I'm afraid your position is even worse, Carson. You own tangible assets with documented records of monthly production. You can consider half of those wells gone as of this moment."

Barnett swallowed audibly.

"And not only could a judge award Luvy half ownership in all your current wells, but he could also base an alimony figure on your current production numbers, while in fact those wells will be going steadily downhill year after year. Correct?"

Barnett had gone white.

"You'd have to go back to court every time the price per barrel dropped, or else you'd be paying too much. You'll spend half your time in court, Carson. Do you have time for that?"

Barnett got up and started pacing the office. "You know what the price of oil's done lately? Even my old wells have tripled in value. For the past year, I been kicking off wells I capped five years ago. If a judge did projections based on my current production…holy Jesus, I'd owe her at least twenty million, and maybe more. Then there's the rigs, the houses, the boat, the goddamn restaurant…"

Rusk turned away to hide his excitement. This was the client he had been waiting for, the payday that would take him into retirement at forty. The timing couldn't be better, either. Being in business with Eldon Tarver would not be an option for that much longer.

"Please take a seat, Carson," he said softly. "You came to me for a reason, didn't you?"

Barnett stopped his flow, looking more than a little lost. Then he sat down and stared at Andrew Rusk like a penitent staring at a priest empowered to offer him a papal dispensation.

"A clever lawyer would tell you to forget about getting divorced."

"What?" An animal look of suspicion.

"You can't afford it."

"What do you mean? I'm worth fifty million bucks."

"Twenty-five, Carson. If you're lucky."

"That's still real money."

"Yes, it is." Rusk leaned back and folded his hands across his chest. "Let's talk about your kids. Don't you have a son playing football for Jackson Academy?"

A smile broke out across Barnett's face. "Sure do. Jake's damn good, too. Faster than I was, by a damn sight."

"How old is Jake?"

"Thirteen."

Rusk smiled like a proud uncle. "That's good. At least he'll have some input into the custody issue. What about your other children?"

Barnett's smile vanished. "Got two little girls, twins."

"How old?"

"Six. Course, one is eighteen minutes older than her sister."

A sober nod. "Six years before they even get to express an opinion. You see what I'm getting at, Carson?"

A long sigh from the big man.

"Getting divorced would cost you twenty-five million dollars and ninety percent of your time with your kids."

"Ninety percent?"

"If Luvy takes the position you've outlined-and David Bliss represents her-that's correct. You can expect to see them every other weekend, and then a special arrangement for holidays, of course. A few extra hours. I can almost guarantee Father's Day."

"Father's Day? I was planning on flying Jake up to half the NASCAR races this year. Boy…that just ain't right."

"Morally, I couldn't agree with you more. But legally…I'm afraid it is right. In the great sovereign state of Mississippi anyway. No such thing as no-fault divorce here."

"Hell, I'll take the blame. I just want to end this thing and be friends."

Rusk shook his head sadly. "A pipe dream, Carson. Let me ask you this. Have you and your new love been careful?"

Barnett actually squirmed in his seat. "Pretty careful…you know."

"Ever bought her a present?"

"Well, sure."

"Ever use your credit card for that?"

"Hell, they make it damn near impossible to buy anything with cash these days. You know?"

"Yes. What about phones? Have you called her on your cell phone?"

Barnett nodded, a desolate look on his face.

"You can count on Bliss bringing suit against your girlfriend for alienation of affection."

"What?"

"Oh, yes. They'll drag her through the papers and try to get a financial judgment against her as well."

"She don't have nothing!"

"As your wife, she will. They can garnish all her future earnings."

"Well, I don't give a damn about the money. But to put her through that for spite-"

"How long were you planning on waiting to marry this girl?"

"I know it can't be right off. But we're getting pretty itchy, you know."

Rusk could imagine the girl in question being very itchy to tie the knot before her "soul mate" got distracted by another sweet young thing in another restaurant somewhere.

"You should also be prepared for a lot of anger on the part of your kids."

He had Barnett's full attention now.

"They'll be made painfully aware that you're abandoning their mother for a younger woman, and they'll know who that woman is."

Barnett was sullenly shaking his head.

"Do you think Luvy will make an effort to integrate your new love into the life of the family?"

"She'll scream 'harlot' or 'Jezebel' every time she sees her. And you're right about something else. Luvy'll do everything she can to poison the kids against me. She's already told me she wished I'd drop dead from a heart attack. Says she's praying for it every night."

"You're not serious."

"I swear on the Bible. She says it's better for the kids to think I'm dead than gone off to leave them."

"But you're not leaving them, Carson."

"Try telling that bitch that!" Barnett screamed, coming up out of his chair. "Goddamn it, I'm sorry, Andy. Sometimes I get so damned frustrated, I could just…"

"What?"

"I don't know."

Rusk let the silence stretch out. Now that Barnett's anger had reached critical mass, it wasn't going to cool anytime soon.

Rusk stood up and rolled his chair around his desk, then arranged Barnett's chair so that it faced his-very close, too. The big oilman stared at him with obvious curiosity, even suspicion, as though wondering if Rusk might be queer.

"Please sit down, Carson. I want to talk to you, man-to-man."

This was a language Barnett understood. He turned his chair around and straddled it, his big forearms inches from Rusk's face.

"What I'm going to say may shock you, Carson."

"No, you go right ahead."

"I'm guessing that a man like you has come across some unusual situations in your business."

"How do you mean?"

"Well…difficulties."

"That's for sure."

Rusk nodded soberly. "Some difficulties, I've found, are solvable by conventional methods. While others…others take some creative thinking. Extraordinary measures, you might say."

Barnett was watching him carefully now. "Go on."

"I've handled a lot of divorces. Hundreds, in fact. And a few of those cases had some similarities to yours."

"Really?"

Rusk nodded. "And some of those cases, well, they just broke my heart. More than once I've watched a liberal-biased judge take away half a man's lifetime earnings-or more-and then stop him from seeing his own children to boot-the children he brought into the world! When you see that…well, it feels almost un-American, Carson."

"You're right!"

"I know I'm right. And after I'd seen enough of those cases, after fighting down in the trenches for a client and watching it all come to nothing…well, a thought would come to me."

"What was it?"

"I thought, 'God forgive me, but how much of a mercy would it be for this man-and for these kids-if one of the parties to this goddamn court battle was to just disappear?'"

Barnett's mouth was open like that of a teenage boy watching a stolen porn film, and his eyes were gleaming. Rusk could almost see the idea sinking into the slow gray cells behind those eyes. He dared not look away from Carson Barnett; he held his eyes with almost evangelical fervor.

Barnett swallowed and looked down at the carpet between them. "You mean-"

"I mean what I said. No more, no less. If a vicious and unforgiving person was doing their utmost to stop a person they supposedly loved-a person with whom they had had children-from even seeing those children, and also trying to take away everything that person had worked for all his life…well, then, it just seemed like almost divine justice if some force-fate, maybe-were to intervene to stop that from happening."

"Jesus," Barnett said quietly. "You said a mouthful there."

"I don't say this to many people, Carson. But you're in a desperate situation."

The big man looked up with dark animal intelligence. "Has something like what you talked about ever happened? I mean, has the other person just…disappeared?"

Rusk nodded slowly.

Barnett opened his mouth to speak again, but Rusk stopped him with an upraised hand. "If that idea intrigues you, you should never come back to this office again."

"What?"

"You should go to the Jackson Racquet Club the day after tomorrow at two p.m. and ask to take a steam bath."

"I ain't a member," Barnett said awkwardly.

Rusk smiled. "A ten-dollar guest fee will get you in."

"But-"

He put his left forefinger to his lips, then stood and offered Barnett his right hand. "Carson, if you want to get a divorce, I'll be happy to represent you. Given Luvy's attitude, it could take a year or more to resolve everything, but I promise I'll do my best for you. And as you said, you could give her twenty-five million dollars, and you'd still have a lot of money."

Barnett was opening and closing his mouth like a man in mild shock.

"A guy like you, a guy who's made and lost several fortunes, money probably doesn't mean the same as it does to a guy like me."

"I ain't as young as I used to be," Barnett said softly.

"That's true." Rusk smiled. "Time works on us all." He rolled his chair back behind his desk.

Barnett was watching him like a man who had thought he was sharing space with a dog, then discovered that his roommate was a wolf.

"You take it easy now," Rusk said. "Don't let her get you down."

"The Jackson Racquet Club?" Barnett murmured.

"What's that?" Rusk said. "I didn't hear you."

Barnett's eyes flickered with comprehension. "Nothing. I was just mumbling."

"That's what I thought."

The oilman looked at Rusk a moment longer, then turned to go. When he reached the door, Rusk called after him, "Carson?"

When Barnett turned back, he looked exhausted.

"I don't think you ought to share this with your future bride." And then, in the truest moment of their meeting, Rusk added, "You never know how things will go down the road."

Barnett's eyes widened, then he hurried out of the office.