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  LADY JUSTICE

  AND THE

  LIVING TRUST

  A WALT WILLIAMS

  MYSTERY/COMEDY NOVEL

  ROBERT THORNHILL

  Lady Justice and the Living Trust

  Copyright May, 2019 by Robert Thornhill

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, incidents and entities included in the story are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, events and entities is entirely coincidental.

  Published in the United States of America

  Fiction, Humorous

  Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General

  LADY JUSTICE AND THE LIVING TRUST

  CHAPTER 1

  John Williams and Bernice Crenshaw climbed into their car and headed to the Senior Center as they did every Wednesday for the afternoon Tea Dance.

  As they pulled into the parking lot, a group of the regular attendees were milling around the entrance to the building, some obviously upset.

  “Wonder what’s going on,” John said as they approached a small group of their friends.

  “There’s Myrtle,” Bernice replied. “She’ll probably know.”

  “Myrtle,” John said, “what’s all the hubbub?”

  “It’s Cosmo,” Myrtle replied, wringing her hands. “He was at the check-in desk paying his fee when he just collapsed. Alice called 911. The ambulance took him to the hospital about twenty minutes ago.”

  “Geez, that’s rough,” John replied. “How old was Cosmo?”

  “He’d just turned ninety,” Myrtle replied. “In fact, we were going to sing Happy Birthday to him today. We even baked him a cake.”

  At that moment, John’s cell phone buzzed.

  “John. This is Lou Gallo. Have you heard about Cosmo?”

  “Yes, Bernice and I just arrived at the Senior Center. Myrtle Mincus told us. How’s he doing?”

  “He’s stable for the moment. Looks like he had a mild heart attack. He’d like to talk to you. Can you come to the hospital? He’s in the Intensive Care Unit at St Luke’s.”

  “Uhhh, I guess we could. What’s this about?”

  “Just come. I’ll tell you when you get here --- and hurry!”

  Lou met John and Bernice in the lobby.

  “Come with me,” he said. “I’ve cleared everything with the nurses.”

  Lou led them to one of the cubicles where they found Cosmo conscious, but obviously not comfortable. An oxygen mask covered his face.

  “Hey, Cosmo,” John said, taking his old friend’s hand. “You’re missing your birthday cake and messing up our tea dance. What gives?”

  Cosmo smiled and tried to remove the oxygen mask, but he was just too weak.

  “Thanks for coming,” Lou said. “It’s very important to Cosmo. He has a request.”

  “Sure,” John replied. “What can I do?”

  Lou took a deep breath. “As you may know, I’ve been Cosmo’s attorney for many years. I prepared his Living Trust many years ago and have revised it several times as circumstances changed in his life.

  “When his wife, Catherine, passed away, his son, Cosmo Jr. was designated as his successor trustee. Several years ago, Cosmo Jr. and his wife were killed in an auto accident. The loss was devastating. At that time Cosmo didn’t name a replacement successor trustee.

  “That was obviously an oversight, and I should have hounded him until he named a replacement, but --- time passes and I just never did. Now, with this latest turn of events, we have to act and do so quickly.”

  “I can certainly understand that,” John replied. “How can I help?”

  “Cosmo wants you to be his successor trustee.”

  John’s mouth dropped open. “Me? Look, Lou, I want to help, but I’m ninety-five myself for chrissakes!” He pointed to Cosmo. “That could be me tomorrow. I might not be around long enough to get the job done. Why not you or another relative?”

  “I’m not in the best of health either,” Lou replied. “His only other living relatives are his three grandchildren, and unfortunately, none of them are even remotely qualified to handle his estate.”

  Cosmo had summoned enough strength to slip off his oxygen mask. He took a deep breath. “John, I understand, but I need someone I can trust. Do you think Walt would do it? Would he be my successor trustee?”

  “That would be perfect,” Lou said. “If I remember correctly, Walt’s wife, Maggie, is a real estate agent. The house would have to be sold. The two of them could work on it together.”

  “Well,” John replied, thinking, “I’ll certainly ask him.”

  Lou shook his head. “There’s no time for that.” He looked at Cosmo and a tear rolled down his cheek. “The doc says that if our friend has another attack, it could be his last. He may not even make it through the night.”

  John was confused. “If I can’t ask him, what should we do?”

  Lou opened his briefcase and pulled out a legal document. “If you think you can persuade Walt to agree, I have the necessary paperwork right here. Cosmo can sign the declaration naming Walt as his successor trustee. Then you can go home and talk to Walt. If Cosmo makes it through the night and Walt won’t help, we can look elsewhere. But if Cosmo doesn’t make it, at least we’ve done what we can. What do you think?”

  John looked into his old friend’s pleading eyes. “Let’s do it! Walt will understand.”

  CHAPTER 2

  I had just finished my bowl of Wheaties, the breakfast of champions, my second cup of coffee, and the newspaper, when there was a knock on the door.

  Maggie answered it, and called out, “It’s your dad and Bernice.”

  I had gotten home late the night before. My partner, Kevin McBride, and I were doing another butt-numbing stakeout, trying to catch a cheating husband. It seems that lately, Walt Williams Investigations has been getting more than its share of marriage infidelity. Maggie said that Dad had dropped by and wanted to talk, and was definitely upset when he learned I wasn’t going to be home any time soon.

  A moment later, Dad and Bernice were sitting at my breakfast table. Dad placed a legal-looking document on the table. My first thought was that the old guy had gotten himself into some kind of scrape and was about to ask me to bail him out.

  “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the document.

  “What! No good morning, Dad?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, good morning. Now what did you just put on my breakfast table?”

  “Do you remember Cosmo Sabatini?”

  I though for a moment. “I think I remember you mentioning him a few times. Why do you ask?”

  “Cosmo had a heart attack yesterday. Damn near died. Lou Gallo, his attorney, called me from the hospital and asked me to stop by. When I got there, he asked me to be the successor trustee on Cosmo’s Living Trust. I told him I was honored that he thought of me, but I was just too old to take on such a huge responsibility.”

  I was starting to get a bad feeling. “So what does that have to do with me?”

  “After I declined, Cosmo asked if I thought you’d do it.”

  “And what did you tell him?” I asked, already suspecting the answer.

  “I told him I thought you would. Walt, you should have seen the poor guy. He was almost in tears. What else could I say?”

  “You could have said that you’d ask me!�
��

  “I did say that, but Lou said if Cosmo died with no successor trustee, his estate could be tied up in court for years. We went ahead and filled out the documents with your name. Lou said if Cosmo made it through the night and you wouldn’t do it, they’d try to think of someone else.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “So I still have some say in this?”

  Dad nodded just as his cell phone buzzed. He listened for a moment, and a tear ran down his cheek. “That was Lou. Cosmo just died.”

  I couldn’t believe what had just happened. One minute I was reading my paper and enjoying my breakfast, and now I find out I’m the successor trustee for some guy I don’t even know!

  “Looks like you’re it,” Dad said, shoving the document in front of me.

  I thumbed through the sheaf of papers and tossed them aside. “I don’t know the first thing about being a successor trustee.”

  “Lou figured you might say that,” Dad replied. “He said to give him a call and he’d walk you through the whole thing.”

  “Swell!”

  I made the call, and an hour later Lou Gallo was sitting at my table.

  “Thank you so much for agreeing to handle Cosmo’s estate. He will rest in peace knowing that you are going to carry out his final wishes.”

  “I really didn’t have a lot of choice, did I?” I replied, sarcastically.

  “Don’t be an old poop,” Maggie said. “It’s really quite an honor to settle someone’s estate.”

  “I’m so happy to hear you say that, Maggie,” Lou said. “You’ll have an important role yourself.”

  “Really? What?”

  “Once we get into the meat of the trust, you’ll see that Cosmo wants to sell his house and have the proceeds of the sale included in the final disbursement to the beneficiaries. I’m sure you’d be delighted to list the property.”

  “Absolutely!”

  “You will earn a nice commission and Walt will be compensated for administering the estate, but before we get into all that,” Lou continued, “there are some things that require your immediate attention.”

  “Such as?” I asked, fearing what was coming.

  “It’s your responsibility as successor trustee to carry out Cosmo’s wishes for the disposition of his remains.” He flipped through some pages of the trust. “Here it is. Fortunately, it’s quite simple. Cosmo doesn’t want an elaborate funeral. He’s requested a simple gravesite ceremony where he will be interred next to his wife, Catherine. The family plot is in Floral Hills Cemetery. As soon as you make the arrangements, let me know and I will contact the family.”

  “Who are we talking about?”

  “Cosmo only had one son, Cosmo, Jr. He and his wife died in a car accident. His only surviving relatives are his three grandchildren. You’ll --- uhhh --- get to meet them at the graveside service.”

  I noticed his hesitancy. “Is there something I should know about the grandchildren?”

  “I think everything will be perfectly clear when you read the instructions in Cosmo’s trust. There are some issues.”

  I was about to question him further, but he rose from the table. “I have to go. I have things to attend to. Here’s the key to Cosmo’s house. The address is in the trust. If you have any questions, please give me a call.”

  He placed the key on the table, picked up his briefcase, and left.

  “Well, that was a bit abrupt,” I said. “I wonder what he’s not telling me?”

  “Where’s his house,” Maggie asked, obviously more excited than I was.

  I thumbed through the trust. “It’s on Benton Boulevard, just north of Independence Avenue.”

  “Ooooh! There are some lovely old homes in that area. I can’t wait to see it!”

  “First things first,” I replied. “I’ve got to get old Cosmo in the ground.”

  I found that Cosmo had attended the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on 12th Street. I spent the next hour contacting the priest and the Floral Hills Cemetery. When it was all said and done, I had arranged for the graveside service on Friday.

  I gave Lou Gallo a call as he requested.

  “By the way,” I said, after giving him the details of the service, “Floral Hills charges a fee for opening the grave and for the casket. Who pays for all that?”

  “You do, of course. Cosmo’s bank accounts were in the name of the trust. All you have to do is go to the bank, show them the documents naming you as the successor trustee, and they will make you a signatory on the account. Cosmo’s checkbook, as well as any other documents you may need, are in his desk. Anything else?”

  “Uhhh, no I guess not. Not right now anyway.”

  I spent the rest of the afternoon going through the trust. I was shocked and appalled at the responsibility that had been dumped in my lap.

  One thing was for sure. It would be up to Kevin to get the goods on our latest adulterer. I would be spending every waking moment carrying out the dying wishes of Cosmo Sabatini.

  CHAPTER 3

  Since the cemetery wouldn’t start digging without a deposit, it was time to visit the home of the recently departed Cosmo Sabatini to retrieve his checkbook. Maggie, of course, was anxious to get a look at her new listing.

  She was all atwitter when we pulled up in front of the old Victorian estate on Benton Boulevard.

  “Ohhhh! It’s gorgeous!” she gushed. “I can’t wait to see inside!”

  “You may be disappointed,” I replied. “Remember, Cosmo was a ninety-year-old living alone. The place is probably a mess and smells funny.”

  When we stepped inside, we discovered the condition was the exact opposite. Everything was neat as a pin and there wasn’t a speck of dust to be seen. I think I detected the faint aroma of Lemon Pledge.

  “Guess you were wrong about Cosmo,” Maggie said. “This place looks like something right out of House Beautiful. Let’s explore.”

  “You go on if you want,” I replied. “I have to get my hands on Cosmo’s checkbook. It’s supposed to be in his office.”

  “No, I’ll stick with you. We can explore later.”

  The office was down the hall past the parlor and the kitchen. A massive mahogany desk sat in the center of the room. I pulled out the lap drawer and was relieved to see the checkbook right where Lou said it would be.

  While I was looking through the desk, Maggie was perusing the shelves of books that lined two of the walls.

  We were both occupied and didn’t hear someone slip into the room.

  “Who are you and what are you doing in Mr. Sabatini’s office?”

  Startled, I looked up and found myself looking down the barrel of a .32 held by a middle-aged Latina woman.

  “Uhhh --- my name is Walt Williams and this is my wife, Maggie,” I replied, raising my hands. “Who are you?”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” the woman said, waving the barrel of the gun. “What are you doing in Mr. Sabatini’s desk?”

  “I’m handling Cosmo’s estate. He asked me to be the successor trustee of his Living Trust. Here, I’ll show you,” I replied, pulling the document from my pocket.

  “Put it on the desk and step back,” she said, menacingly.

  The lady was taking nothing for granted. I did as she asked and stepped back. She retrieved the document and studied it carefully while keeping an eye on both of us.

  “That’s Cosmo’s signature all right,” she said, lowering the .32. “My name is Maria Garcia. I’m Mr. Sabatini’s housekeeper.”

  I recognized the name. I had seen it while reading through the trust.

  “Sorry to surprise you like this,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. “We didn’t know anyone would be here. I have been making arrangements for Cosmo’s graveside service and I needed his checkbook to pay the cemetery.”

  “Oh, yes, the service,” she said, crossing her chest, “when will it be?”

  “This Friday afternoon at one o’clock at Floral Hills. He’ll be buried next to his wife, Catherine.”<
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  A tear ran down her cheek. “I miss them both so much.”

  “How long have you worked for them?” Maggie asked.

  “Twenty years this month. They have been very good to me. I don’t know what I’ll do now that they’re gone.”

  Evidently Maria didn’t know that she was one of the beneficiaries in Cosmo’s trust.

  “I’m sure everything will work out,” I replied, not knowing if this was the right time to tell her she would be receiving a substantial sum from the Sabatini estate.

  Maggie stepped forward and took Maria’s hand. “I knew the minute I walked in the door that this beautiful old home had a woman’s touch. You obviously take great pride in your work. I’d love to see the rest of the house. Would you mind giving me a tour?”

  “No, it would be my pleasure.”

  Maggie turned to me. “Are you coming?”

  “No,” I replied, “I’ll take the tour later. I want to check out the other documents in Cosmo’s desk.”

  While Maggie was busy exploring with Maria, I went through the desk looking for as much information as I could find about Cosmo’s estate. I had just finished when the two of them returned.

  “I have what I need to go to the bank,” I said. “We’d better get going.”

  Maggie turned to Maria. “Thank you so much for the tour. Will we see you at the graveside service?”

  “Of course. I have to be there to say goodbye to Mr. Sabatini.”

  As we were driving away, I took another look at the old Victorian home. “Well, what do you think it’s worth?”

  “I’ll have to do a detailed market analysis of course, but my best guess at this point is somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred and seventy-five thousand.”

  I did some mental math. “From what I found in Cosmo’s desk, that along with his bank account and CD’s would make his estate around three hundred thousand, give or take.”