Page 2 of Black Dog

“It won’t be as hard as you might imagine,” she said. “I’ve no quarrel with the contents except for the one document relating to my stepson, Edwin Jr.”

Stone grabbed a legal pad and unsheathed his pen. “What changes would you like to make?”

“First, excise page three: that’s the page outlining my stepson’s legacy.”

Stone found page three, pulled it from the document, and set it aside. “Done.”

“Now, I would like you to set up a trust for Eddie,” she said.“It should pay him one hundred thousand dollars a month, for my lifetime.”

“Foryourlifetime?”

“Yes.”

“Why your lifetime, not his?”

“It’s the only way I can think of to stop him from killing me.”

Stone was brought up short.

“Let me explain,” she said. “Since my husband’s death, I have been receiving threatening notes. I am certain they are from Eddie. He is the black dog of the family.”

“You mean ‘black sheep’?”

“There is no sheep in Eddie,” she said. “He’s all dog, all the way through, and a mean one at that.”

“I see,” Stone replied, although he did not. “And what happens to his bequest after your death?”

“The bequest outlined in the present will is to be paid into the trust you are creating, and he may withdraw funds from it only with the permission of the trustee.”

“And who would you like the trustee to be?”

“You.”

Stone blinked. “Why, may I ask?”

“I happen to know—and this is not by way of your secretary—that you have a son who received a large bequest, that you are his trustee, and that you have done a remarkably good job in that role.”

“Well, I’m grateful for the praise, whatever its origin. Perhaps you could tell me a little about Edwin Charles Jr.?”

She shrugged. “Eddie is, not to put too fine a point on it, a right little shite.”

“That is rather a broad description,” Stone replied. “Could you be more specific?”

“His father had become sick, and instead of caring for the man, all Eddie could see was the paycheck. All he did was badger his father for more money, right on his deathbed. Eddie is selfish, to the point of caring nothing about the feelings or needs of any other person; he is cruel, unfeeling, and, at once, both priggish and piggish. He is demanding, but ungiving, foul of both tongue and temper. Now I feel that twistedness turning in my direction.”

“Why don’t you cut him off entirely?” Stone asked.

“Eddie may seem simply a nuisance, but there is a dangerous side to him. Full disinheritance might set that off sooner than one would like. But I want it part of the document that he is never again to enter my home or any room of any other house where I might be present. Did I mention that I want you to explain all this to him?”

“Ah, no.”

“I would imagine that, being a lawyer, the first thing that entered your mind was ‘What’s in it for me?’ ”

“Actually, that was the second or third thing that entered my mind.”

“Let’s cut to the chase,” she said. “If I approve of the way you write this document,andthe manner in which you impart the news to Eddie, I will withdraw all my legal representation by other firms and move everything to Woodman & Weld, tobe supervised by you. And before you ask, my legal expenses last year exceeded a million and a half dollars. In some years, it has been substantially more.”

Stone buzzed Joan, and she appeared in the doorway. “Yes, sir?”

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