“Then you’re way ahead of me when I was in high school.”
“And you made it to the pros,” noted Tyler.
“I worked my butt off, but I got lucky, too. And my career didn’t last long.”
“You regret any of it?”
“Just my last play on the field.”
“What happened?”
“Long story, not worth retelling. Give your dad a call before he has a heart attack, okay?”
Tyler looked down, seeming embarrassed. “I left my phone in the car on purpose.”
“I know you did. You wanted to get away from all the shit. Come out here, run some routes, think about nothing but catching the ball and going all the way with it.”
Tyler glanced up and smiled. “I feel like I’m talking to an older version of me.”
“In some ways, Tyler, you are.”
Chapter35
WHERE ARE WE GOING NOW?”asked White as Decker turned onto the highway and rode it east, toward downtown Ocean View.
“Duncan Trotter, Cummins’s estate lawyer. I made an appointment to meet with him this evening and go over who benefits from her death.”
“You have been a busy boy. So, what do you think Trotter will tell us?”
“In many homicides, following the money is a pretty good philosophy.”
***
Trotter was in his sixties with curly gray hair, a high, lined forehead, and a thin physique. He wasn’t dressed in a suit, but rather a dark blue polo shirt and gray slacks. Instead of wingtips on his feet, he had flip-flops. His law empire consisted of a few rooms in a one-story office building a couple blocks off the town’s main street.
They sat across from him in his cluttered office. He had told them when he answered the door that his secretary had long since left for the day. When they asked their questions about the last will and testament of Julia Cummins he commenced tapping some keys on his computer and then studied the screen.
“It was awful, awful about Julia. What a nightmare.” His voice was thin and reedy and only carried a foot or so before fading away. Decker actually had to hunch forward to hear him. He could see, with that voice, why the man was not a trial lawyer.
“Yes, it was tragic,” said White. “And we need to find out who did it. That’s why we’re here.”
“Yes, yes, of course. I know Barry took it hard.” He lifted his rimless specs to his forehead and gave them a knowing look. “He’s never gotten over Julia, you know. Still in love with her.”
“So the divorce was her idea?” said White.
“Oh, without a doubt. I’m not telling stories out of school, you understand. Common knowledge among our set.”
“So you socialized with them?” said Decker.
“Yes. It’s how you get clients. X refers you to Y and Y refers you to Z.”
“Do you know Tyler?”
“Fine young man. Amazing athlete. He adored his mother.”
“And his father?”
Trotter slid his glasses back into place. “Let’s just say that in that relationship Tyler is the father and Barry is the child. Again, no tales out of school. Indeed, I have to wonder why Julia ever married him in the first place.”