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Authors: James Lepore
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do?”
“They’ll want you and Marcy to repay the money your father paid you every year.”
“All of it?”
“You didn’t do anything to earn it. It was a total scam.”
“Can you represent us?”
“Yes,” Jay answered. “I can, but it’ll be expensive.”
“How long will it take?”
“A year, more or less.”
Melissa remained serenely silent, occasionally stroking her long, honey-colored hair from her face, while Jay explained some of the issues he anticipated would come up in the case, and told her that she stood to lose a substantial portion of her share of the estate in settlements and attorney’s fees. He could see her calculating her net share as he spoke.
There had been no real romance in Jay’s affair with Melissa, no emotional connection to help him rationalize what he had done. Was this good or bad? He did not know. Certainly falling for Melissa Powers would be painful. But then again he only dimly remembered the joy and the pain of being in love. He was not surprised now to see Melissa’s flawless amorality serving her so well in the face of the horror of her parents’ death. She had her way of surviving.
Did he? This was another thing he didn’t know.
When Melissa left, he looked at his watch. Noon.
11.
5:00 PM, December 3, 2004, Newark
“Jay, John Parker, how are you?”
“Yes, John. I’m fine, thank you, and you?”
“Good, thanks. I’ll tell you why I called. We just had a call from an attorney in Houston. He says he represents the Santaria family. Apparently you sent a subpoena to a Herman Santaria. Is that right?”
Parker was a senior partner at McCrae & French. He was representing Chemical Bank, the executor of Bryce Powers’s estate, in the suits started by Plaza I and Plaza II and Mesa Associates. Jay had filed answering papers for Melissa and Marcy and, in October, over two months ago, using the lawsuit as a vehicle, had in fact sent a subpoena duces tecum , that is, for documents, to Herman Santaria, at the post office box in Houston given as his address in the Lantana Gardens partnership agreement.
“Yes, that’s right,” he replied.
“Well,” said Parker, “then I’m puzzled. I mean, I assume you know the subpoena is not valid, and that whether it is or it isn’t, we should have had notice.”
Parker had a junior partner and senior associate working with him in the cases. For him to make this call, his first personal
communication ever with Jay, meant that the “Santaria family” had a lot of clout.
“Who’s the lawyer in Houston?” Jay asked.
“His name is Reid McKenzie, but you haven’t answered my question.”
“You didn’t ask a question.” Jay was playing for time. He could think of no plausible excuse for taking a step that was in blatant violation of the New Jersey Court Rules, that is, serving a subpoena beyond the state’s jurisdiction, by mail no less, and without notifying his adversaries.
“Look, Jay,” said Parker, whose reputation as a stuffy but brilliant lawyer, still in his prime in his mid-fifties, Jay knew well. “People tell me you know what you’re doing, so I don’t believe it was incompetence or stupidity that prompted you, but I’m here to tell you that if it happens again, you will wish it didn’t. They’re talking about suing you right now, and going after your license.”
“Nothing would come of that, John, you know that.”
“Probably not,” replied Parker, “but they sound like they would see it through, and in high style. You know the headache that would cause you.”
“I made a mistake,” said Jay.
“Yes,” said Parker, “you did. I assume you thought they’d simply respond, like some country bumpkins.”
Jay did not answer. He had not expected Herman Santaria to respond “like some country bumpkin” to his request for numerous documents, including all of the invoices and contracts relating to work done by H.S. Company for Lantana Gardens and the other three Texas properties owned
“They’ll want you and Marcy to repay the money your father paid you every year.”
“All of it?”
“You didn’t do anything to earn it. It was a total scam.”
“Can you represent us?”
“Yes,” Jay answered. “I can, but it’ll be expensive.”
“How long will it take?”
“A year, more or less.”
Melissa remained serenely silent, occasionally stroking her long, honey-colored hair from her face, while Jay explained some of the issues he anticipated would come up in the case, and told her that she stood to lose a substantial portion of her share of the estate in settlements and attorney’s fees. He could see her calculating her net share as he spoke.
There had been no real romance in Jay’s affair with Melissa, no emotional connection to help him rationalize what he had done. Was this good or bad? He did not know. Certainly falling for Melissa Powers would be painful. But then again he only dimly remembered the joy and the pain of being in love. He was not surprised now to see Melissa’s flawless amorality serving her so well in the face of the horror of her parents’ death. She had her way of surviving.
Did he? This was another thing he didn’t know.
When Melissa left, he looked at his watch. Noon.
11.
5:00 PM, December 3, 2004, Newark
“Jay, John Parker, how are you?”
“Yes, John. I’m fine, thank you, and you?”
“Good, thanks. I’ll tell you why I called. We just had a call from an attorney in Houston. He says he represents the Santaria family. Apparently you sent a subpoena to a Herman Santaria. Is that right?”
Parker was a senior partner at McCrae & French. He was representing Chemical Bank, the executor of Bryce Powers’s estate, in the suits started by Plaza I and Plaza II and Mesa Associates. Jay had filed answering papers for Melissa and Marcy and, in October, over two months ago, using the lawsuit as a vehicle, had in fact sent a subpoena duces tecum , that is, for documents, to Herman Santaria, at the post office box in Houston given as his address in the Lantana Gardens partnership agreement.
“Yes, that’s right,” he replied.
“Well,” said Parker, “then I’m puzzled. I mean, I assume you know the subpoena is not valid, and that whether it is or it isn’t, we should have had notice.”
Parker had a junior partner and senior associate working with him in the cases. For him to make this call, his first personal
communication ever with Jay, meant that the “Santaria family” had a lot of clout.
“Who’s the lawyer in Houston?” Jay asked.
“His name is Reid McKenzie, but you haven’t answered my question.”
“You didn’t ask a question.” Jay was playing for time. He could think of no plausible excuse for taking a step that was in blatant violation of the New Jersey Court Rules, that is, serving a subpoena beyond the state’s jurisdiction, by mail no less, and without notifying his adversaries.
“Look, Jay,” said Parker, whose reputation as a stuffy but brilliant lawyer, still in his prime in his mid-fifties, Jay knew well. “People tell me you know what you’re doing, so I don’t believe it was incompetence or stupidity that prompted you, but I’m here to tell you that if it happens again, you will wish it didn’t. They’re talking about suing you right now, and going after your license.”
“Nothing would come of that, John, you know that.”
“Probably not,” replied Parker, “but they sound like they would see it through, and in high style. You know the headache that would cause you.”
“I made a mistake,” said Jay.
“Yes,” said Parker, “you did. I assume you thought they’d simply respond, like some country bumpkins.”
Jay did not answer. He had not expected Herman Santaria to respond “like some country bumpkin” to his request for numerous documents, including all of the invoices and contracts relating to work done by H.S. Company for Lantana Gardens and the other three Texas properties owned
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