Behind the Pine Curtain (13 page)

“Well, yeah. Sort of. I mean, the plants are all there where the sawmill has always been. The whole operation is on two hundred acres. But Keys Industries is all your father, not Walter.”

“How is that possible if he’s using the sawmill?”

“I don’t know about all of that, Jackie. I’m sure Mr. Lawrence and the accountants can tell you.”

Jacqueline looked at Kay. “Damn.”

“What?” Rose asked.

Kay gave a slight shake of her head and Jacqueline nodded. “Nothing. I just . . . well, I had no idea it had grown like it has.”

“With your father gone, everyone is speculating what will happen now.

Your Uncle Walter, he can run the plants but he didn’t have your father’s vision,” Greg said. “Oh, there are people that can carry on, no doubt. Managers and such, but everything still went through your father.

People are probably going to turn to Walter now, but I think he’s in over his head. No offense, just my opinion.”

“Greg, I haven’t seen Uncle Walter in more years than I can count and even then, it wasn’t like we were close. So, no offense taken.”

Jacqueline’s mind was racing. The first thing she was going to do tomorrow morning was pay John Lawrence a visit.

“Enough shop talk, huh?” Rose asked. “What I really want to know is if Jackie will still be here Friday night.”

“Why?” Jacqueline asked hesitantly.

“Mama said Eric should be back in town. I thought we could all get together here and grill burgers or something. I know he’d love to see you.”

Jacqueline hesitated. Ingrid would kill her. Then she glanced at Kay, seeing the expectant look in her eyes.

“I guess that depends if I still have a place to stay,” Jacqueline conceded. Yes, Ingrid would definitely kill her.

Kay smiled. “Of course. Just don’t expect me to cook for you every night!”

“No, I don’t have an appointment. But I’m sure he’ll see me,”

Jacqueline said politely to Mr. Lawrence’s secretary. She waited patiently as the woman walked into his office, closing the door pointedly in Jacqueline’s face. It took only a few moments before the woman reappeared.

“He’ll squeeze you in.”

Jacqueline controlled the urge to laugh, simply nodding at the woman.

Apparently, she took her job very seriously.

“Jacqueline, welcome. Come in, sit.”

“Thanks for seeing me, John.”

“Of course. How have you been enjoying your stay with Kay Garland?”

“It’s been nice. I had Sunday dinner with her sister Rose and her family.

We’ve had a chance to visit and catch up.”

“Good, good.” He resumed his seat behind his desk, closing a file he’d apparently been reading. “Now, what can I do for you?”

“Keys Industries. What the hell is it? I thought it was just another name for the lumber mill.”

He cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. “Your father started Keys Industries probably fifteen years ago. It was just a name at the time, yes. He wanted something that was separate from his brother.

But, he was majority owner of the lumber mill, and he used that to open up the various plants that are now there, all owned by Keys Industries, not Pine Springs Lumber.”

“How could he do this? Obviously he used the lumber mill to his benefit. How did he compensate Uncle Walter?”

“He didn’t compensate Walter, he compensated Pine Springs Lumber, which in turn, compensated himself as well.”

“And Walter just went along with this?”

Lawrence shrugged. “What could he do? Besides, the money that the new plants were bringing to Pine Springs Lumber was not exactly small potatoes. He’s made out quite well for not having to do anything except continue managing the sawmill.”

“So my father’s real wealth was not in the sawmill at all.”

“No. Keys Industries is big enough to warrant a CEO, a board of directors, etc. But your father didn’t want to go public. At least, not yet.

He could have doubled his fortune if he had, but why? He was content being in control of all aspects of the operation. He hired managers for each plant, people he trusted, but still, he made all the decisions. He was still in control of everything.”

“Well, that was all great at the time, but he’s not here now. Who’s going to make the decisions? The managers?”

“There is no president to appoint someone, no. The new . . . the new owner will most likely need to make some decisions concerning all that.”

“Me?”

He nodded. “Now you see why I insisted that you come to Pine Springs.”

“So when you said that Uncle Walter might contest the will, he really has no grounds concerning Keys Industries,” she said.

“No. But your father also left you his portion of Pine Springs Lumber.

That, I’m sure, Walter will contest.”

“And my mother?”

“I doubt your mother knows the extent of Keys Industries. For that matter, I doubt she knows the extent of your father’s wealth. I know for a fact that she believes he only controlled about twenty percent of the bank. As I said, he left her a rather large cash settlement, as well as the house, of course.” He shifted again in his chair. “Jacqueline, I really shouldn’t discuss all of this with you without all parties here and their attorneys. Unless of course, you choose to retain me.”

Jacqueline sighed. Bullshit. Just bullshit. “Isn’t that a conflict of interest? I mean, you represent my mother, don’t you?”

“I worked for your father. And I’m still retained by Keys Industries. I handled his business dealings as well as personal matters. Your mother has already called me. She’s not happy that you’re here, that you came at my calling. In fact, she was particularly distressed that we’d opened our home to you. With that said, I no longer represent your mother.”

Jacqueline leaned forward, frowning. “Why do you think that she is so upset that I’m here? Surely, she’s over the embarrassment factor by now. I mean, she’s practically nuts by it. You should have seen her at the hospital.”

“Your parents’ marriage . . . well, I won’t go into all that, but suffice it to say it was not exactly an ideal relationship. Your father blamed your mother for what happened with you, and rightly so. I’m sure you remember that not much happened in your household without your mother’s approval. The situation with you was no different. She thought it best to send you away. Your father had little say in the matter. But, it was the beginning of the end. He started devoting all his time and energy to the business. It was the one thing your mother had no say over. In fact, he rarely discussed Keys Industries with her at all. That’s why I’m certain she has no idea of his wealth.”

“None of that explains why she’s so unnerved over the fact that I’m here. And please don’t tell me she’s still worried about what people may think.”

“Your mother is still the most prominent woman in Pine Springs. I’m sure a part of her is concerned with what people will think. It’s common knowledge that she sent you away and why. To have you come back now while she’s stuck in the hospital is more of an embarrassment to her than anything.”

“If she’s the most prominent woman in Pine Springs, why does she even
care
what people might think?”

“It’s also common knowledge that you’ve become a successful writer without any help from them. And, that your first book and subsequent movie was based on your mother and this town.”

Jacqueline smiled. “My mother, yes. Not necessarily the town. It could have been any small town in East Texas. I doubt they differ very much.”

“Very well. However, your portrayal of your mother was . . .”

“Award winning,” Jacqueline supplied. “And so she’s
pissed
?”

“Embarrassed. So, she’s trying to keep the upper hand.”

“And let me know that she’s still the boss,” Jacqueline guessed. “You know what, John? I don’t really care.”

“No, I don’t presume that you do.” He stood, walking to his file cabinets. He opened one and pulled out a thick folder. “Do you wish to retain me as counsel?”

Jacqueline shrugged. “Yeah. Sure.”

He smiled and nodded. “Very well.” He again sat across from her, shuffling through the papers in the folder. “Have you had a chance to read the letter from your father?”

Jacqueline shifted uncomfortably. “No. I . . . well, no, not yet.”

“I was just wondering how much of all this he might have told you, if any. I have no idea what the letter is about, whether he explains Keys Industries or if there was just some personal items he wanted to share.”

“I’ll read it tonight,” she promised.

“I would advise that you at least read it before Wednesday, in case there’s something of importance in there that even I didn’t know.” He handed her a piece of paper. “There at the top,” he instructed.

She glanced at the legal document, not knowing what she was looking for. Then she saw it. Keys Industries. Owners: Nicolas M. Keys, Jacqueline L. Keys.

“What the hell?”

“Your mother may contest the will and she may win, although I seriously doubt it. But this, this she cannot contest. Yo u are sole owner of Keys Industries. The affidavit states that, upon either of your deaths, complete ownership reverts to the surviving party.”

Jacqueline tossed the paper on the desk. “I . . . I never agreed to any of this. I never signed this,” she said. “Not knowingly.”

“I’m not at liberty to say how your signature was obtained.”

“Oh? I thought you worked for me now.”

“Sorry. The promise goes back a long ways.”

“And what if I don’t want this?”

“Well, you could say that you were not privy to this document and that is not your legal signature. In all likelihood, Keys Industries would then go to your mother.”

“Great. Just great,” she murmured. “He certainly knew what he was doing.”

“Yes. And at the time, I thought he was crazy to have done it this way.

But, over the years, I’ve come to realize that his marriage was all but over. There was no way he was going to leave his life’s work to her.”

“Well, John, this ought to be fun,” she said as she stood. She reached out to shake his hand. “I hope you’re ready for it.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me. Your father and I have faced tougher opponents than this. Your mother will most likely retain one of the Gentry twins. They’ve only been practicing a few years. I doubt they have any idea what this is all about.”

Jacqueline studied him. “Why do I get the feeling that you’ve only been pretending to be a small-town attorney?”

“I learned a lot from your father, Jacqueline. He threw me up against some big shot lawyers from Houston one time. They damn near had me for lunch. That night, he told me everything I’d done wrong, as if he was the attorney, not me. We went over strategy all night. The next day, we blew their socks off.”

“I take it your practice here is mostly for show?” she guessed.

He nodded. “Your father compensated me well, yes. Mary has no idea, of course. She thinks we can afford to live at the Country Club because I do legal work for the bank and a handful of other small businesses in town.”

“I see. So, keeping secrets from wives is a common thing around here?”

He shrugged. “Women tend to talk.”

She smiled. “And some things are best kept quiet?”

“Exactly.”

Kay smiled when she saw Jackie’s black Lexus parked in her driveway.

She’d left early that morning, before Jacqueline was even up. She was behind on her bookkeeping and thought she’d work before she opened at eight. Bookkeeping was something she usually reserved for Sundays, but she had been happy to forego it this time. She’d enjoyed their day at Rose’s, and she knew that Jackie had, too.

She found Jacqueline at the table, tapping away on her laptop.

“You’re home,” Jacqueline said, her fingers never stopping.

Kay grinned. “Glasses?”

Jacqueline shoved them tightly against her nose. “I need them with the computer. Nerdy, huh?”

“No. Cute.” She peered over Jackie’s shoulder. “New book?”

“No. Edits. I’m just doing some touch-ups. Ingrid’s been badgering me for them, even though I still have a couple of weeks before my deadline.

I thought I’d send them to her early and get her off my back.” She finally stopped and looked back at Kay. “How was your day?”

“Great. Yours?”

Jacqueline took a deep breath. “I went to see John Lawrence. And it’s just so overwhelming, I don’t even know where to start.”

“I see. Keys Industries?”

“Yeah. I’ll skip all the bullshit and just tell you that I’ve been part owner of Keys Industries all these years.”

“What the hell?”

“And now that my father is gone, sole owner, thanks to an affidavit I allegedly signed about ten years ago.”

Kay sat down, staring. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s a long story, Kay. And honestly, I’m tired of thinking about it.”

Kay stood. “I understand.”

But Jacqueline grabbed her arm as she moved to walk past. “Kay? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be short.”

“It’s okay. It’s really not any of my business.”

“Don’t say that. There are no secrets, Kay. Later, after you’ve fed me and I’ve had something alcoholic to drink, I’ll tell you all about it.”

Kay relaxed. “But that would mean I’d have to cook.”

“Yes. No pizza.”

“I’ll see what I can whip up.”

After Kay changed into a comfortable pair of sweats, she again found Jacqueline typing on her laptop. She walked by without disturbing her, intent on fixing something suitable for dinner. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought to stop by the grocery store. Well, she knew why. She was in a hurry to get home. But now, as she stared into her near-empty freezer, she wished she’d taken time. She moved a box of frozen corn aside, finding a lone package of ground beef. She shrugged as she took it out. There were a hundred things you could do with ground beef, surely.

She stood staring into her pantry for a good five minutes, her eyes moving over the cans of vegetables and beans, to the bag of rice and the one potato that . . . well, that needed to be thrown out weeks ago.

“This is all Rose’s fault,” she mumbled. As children, Rose was the only one who showed any interest in cooking. So, Mama had taught her everything she knew, much to the delight of Kay who would have much rather been outside playing with Jackie. She gave up her search of the pantry. Instead, she perched on the counter, phone in hand.