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“I should tell you,” Freeman said, “that since our phone conversation I have been able to learn a great deal about you. I was appalled at the mess you made of your existence early on, but I’m very impressed with the turnaround you’ve made in your life. Because I’m impressed, I’m going to do you a favor, with your permission.”
“You have my permission,” Herbie said, “whatever the favor is.”
“You will recall that when Stone handled your divorce he got your former wife to cede to you her investment account at her father’s firm, amounting to some three million dollars.”
“Yes, I recall that, but she and her brother stole so much from the firm’s clients that I don’t see how those funds can ever be released to me.”
“That would be the case if any of the victims had bothered to sue the young woman, but although there was a suit against the firm, their insurance company has made good most of their losses, so a request made to the United States attorney can be made to release the funds to you.” Freeman slid a sheet of paper across the table. “If the wording of this request seems satisfactory to you, sign it and we’ll go to work to get your money. The trick is to get the funds released before the firm realizes that they should have sued the daughter.”
Herbie read the document and signed it. “Thank you, Mike, I’m very grateful to you.”
Freeman typed a short e-mail and sent it. “You’ll be pleased to learn that, since your divorce, the funds have grown to about three million, six hundred thousand dollars, due to a very successful IPO of a company in which your former wife owned shares.”
“Wow.”
“Herbie, you’re a very impressive young man, and I’m always looking for impressive young men to join Strategic Services. Perhaps you’ve found an interesting and rewarding career at Woodman and Weld, but I suspect that, in time, you might well be considering a career path that offers you more latitude for personal growth.”
“You suspect correctly, Mike,” Herbie said. “The truth is, I’m already finding the law something of a grind, because of the sort of work assigned to associates.”
“You mean work that no one else wishes to do?”
“Exactly. I mean, getting Dink Brennan into treatment and settling his gambling debt was fun, in its way, but not something that helps build a career.”
“Don’t be too sure about that,” Freeman said. “I’ll see that Marshall Brennan knows of your role, and you may be sure that he will express his gratitude, and not just to Bill Eggers.”
“That’s kind of you, Mike.”
“Has it occurred to you that Eggers is probably considering you for the role of the new Stone Barrington at Woodman and Weld?”
“It has occurred to me.”
“Stone had a fair deal there, one that paid him a very good income, but one that did not improve his status in the firm. That did not occur until Stone gained us as a client, and further, the Steele Companies, an insurance conglomerate I was able to introduce him to. After that, when he brought his late wife, Arrington Calder, into the firm, a partnership became possible for Stone.”
“I had a sort of general idea about that,” Herbie said.
“But it took him a long time to accomplish that, and if the firm sidetracked you into the kind of services Stone provided them for so long, you might not get as lucky as he did. Strategic Services offers extremely interesting work and much more rapid advancement for the right young people. I suspect that you might be one of those people.”
“I appreciate that, Mike,” Herbie said.
“But go on and work at Woodman and Weld for a little while longer. See if you can gain a promotion to senior associate. That would look very good on your resume. Then, when you feel the time is right, give me a call, and we’ll see what we can do for you.”
“Thank you, Mike, I’ll give that a lot of thought.”
A little chime rang, and Freeman turned to look at his computer monitor. “Aha,” he said, “young Mr. Brennan is, as we speak, en route to Winwood Farm, and this time, you may be sure he will arrive there.”
Herbie felt enormously relieved. “I can’t thank you enough, Mike.”
“Tell you what, Herbie,” Freeman said, “since we were able to wrap this up so quickly, I won’t bill Woodman and Weld for our services. Why don’t you call Bill Eggers and give him the good news? Use the phone over there.” He pointed to a coffee table.
Herbie went to the phone and called Eggers.
“Hello, Herbert,” Eggers said. “This had better be good news.”
“Bill,” Herbie replied, “Dink Brennan is on his way back to Winwood Farm.”
“Well, that is good news! How did you manage it?”
“I don’t think I need to go into the details, Bill. Suffice it to say that everything you asked me to do has been done, and in very short order. And I have to tell you, I don’t appreciate the threat implicit in your earlier statement.”
