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“I sympathize. I’d like to shoot him between the eyes myself.”
“Your numbers are legion, Fitz,” he said, forcing himself to use that name.
“Is it true that you represent him?”
“It is not, sir. I am merely the appointed trustee of a trust set up for him by his stepmother, Annetta.”
“Ah, Annetta,” Barron said with a little smile. “We all remember her well.”
Stone was afraid he knew what that meant. “So I hear. She asked me to draw up her will and to be the executor of hers and her husband’s estates.”
“So, you exercise some authority over Junior?”
“Only the authority, I fear, to control his withdrawals from his trust.”
“Off the record, of course, do you think Junior murdered Annetta?”
Stone shrugged. “He had a motive, of course, or at least he thought he did.”
“Oh? Did he inherit?”
“No. Annetta surgically removed that possibility when she signed her last will. Of course, Junior didn’t know that at the time.”
“You haven’t answered my question,” Barron said.
“I think it’s a distinct possibility. Though, like the police, I can’t prove it. Indeed, if it went to trial, I think a good lawyer might get him off, if he could impose a little courtroom decorum on his client.”
“If that trial ever happens, I’d like a seat in the courtroom,” Barron said. “Though not on the bench.”
Stone finished his coffee, and the cup was immediately replenished by the butler.
“I’d like to retain you,” Barron said.
Stone was surprised. “Oh?”
“I have a granddaughter who has been seeing rather too much of Junior.”
“Oh,” Stone replied. “My condolences.”
“I’d like you to make him go away.”
“Fitz,” Stone said regretfully. “If I knew how to do that, he would already be gone.”
“Quite,” the judge said. “Nevertheless...”
“I have a friend who has a solution for problems like Eddie Jr.,” Stone said.
“And what is his solution?”
“Shoot him in the head, and don’t get caught.”
The judge laughed aloud for a moment, then composed himself. “Nevertheless.”
“I’d be grateful if you would complete that thought,” Stone said, “because I can’t complete it for you.”
“I’m afraid I’ve imposed on your good nature, Stone—not to mention your ethical standards. I apologize.”
“No offense taken, Fitz.”
