Chapter 25
Ben woke up and slid out of her arms. As he got out of bed he saw that Susan was awake and reading her comic books. The stories were much different than they were the last time. When he asked Susan what she wanted to eat she told him she wanted a McDonalds. He laughed and told her that he would take her to McDonalds another day and she settled on sandwich.
As he set the sandwich in front of the child he noticed that Emma was watching them. He went to the counter and got a cup of coffee for her. She took the coffee and sipped it.
"It's a shame you never had any children. You'd make a good father. Susan really loves you."
He sat on the bed and put his hand on her arm. She set her coffee on the floor and put her hand on his.
"I've been thinking about what you told me earlier. I believe what you told me. It is the only explanation for some of the things I've seen since you brought me here. I don't think that it is in you to lie to Susan or me. I don't know how, but I want to help you."
He smiled and got up, "The first thing is to get you to sit up. Do you think you could set in a chair today?"
She nodded and he got a long shirt for her to put on. After she sat up, he put his old robe around her and helped her over to the chair. Susan immediately went to her and jumped into her lap.
After she had read all of the comic books to Susan again Ben went to her side, "Emma, you told me that the lawyer for the estate of your husband won't talk to you. I told you that I know a bit about the law. If you'll give me his name and address, I'll go and see him today, if you think that you're strong enough to take care of Susan this afternoon. Oh, by the way, I don't know your last name."
"My last name is Hammond. He won't talk to you. If he knows that you are trying to get some answers for me he won't even see you."
"Let me worry about that. I'll tell him that I have a big case for him. After I get into his office, I'll ask about your legal problems."
She gave him the name and address of her lawyer and he got dressed. He told her that he would have to go to the grocery store and pick up some food. He had little that a child would eat.
Ben took the bus downtown. He made his way to the office building where the lawyer had his office. The lawyer worked alone and had an older woman that did all of the jobs that a staff would do in a normal legal office. There were few papers laying around and Ben began to wonder how much business that the lawyer had.
He approached the woman and asked if he could see a lawyer. When she asked what his problem was, he told her that a drunk driver had killed his wife. He explained that the man had been drunk on the job and had been driving a company truck. Now the company was giving him the runaround. When she asked for the name of the company, he gave her the name of the largest local employer in town.
The woman got up and walked into the lawyer's office. After several minutes they came out of the office. The lawyer came over to him with a big smile and greeted him. Ben knew that the lawyer smelled big money from this type of lawsuit. The lawyer took him into his office and shut the door.
"Well sir, you don't have a thing to worry about. This seems to be an easy case to win. I think that we can get you a nice settlement without even going to court. Can you give me your name and address?"
The lawyer was an obese man and sweated as he talked to Ben. He was constantly searching Ben's face.
"I don't think you need my name and address," Ben snapped.
The lawyer looked up from the legal pad he had been writing in, "Why not? How can we proceed if we don't have your name and address?"
"I am here about the estate of John Hammond. I have been told that you've been working on it for a long time and refuse to even speak to his widow. I want this thing settled now. "
The lawyer jumped up, "Who the hell are you. Get out of this office right now or I'll call the police."
Ben got up and put his hand on the lawyer's chest and pushed him back into the chair. He concentrated on the lawyer and froze the lawyer's hands to his desk. The man tried to get his hands off of the desk, but could not move them. Then he went inside the man's mind and caused a pain so great that the lawyer frantically tried to get his hands to his head. He felt like he had to rip the top of his head off and try to massage his brain. The pain was like nothing he had ever experienced in his life.
Slowly Ben eased the pain. After the pain was gone from his mind, he released the man's hands from the desk.
"I trust that you do not want a repeat of that do you? I can make the pain come back anytime I wish. I don't even have to be in the same country as you. If you do not do as I wish I can make it worse. Now please get me the file on Mr. Hammond's estate."
The lawyer started to argue. Ben seized the man's hands again and started the pain in his head again. He held the pain longer and when he released it the man sagged into his chair exhausted.
"Do you have any children?" Ben asked.
The look on the man's face told him that he did, "I can also make your children experience the same pain. Would you like that?"
The lawyer looked down at the desk, "What do you want?'
"The file on Mr. Hammonds estate. It had better be complete and there had better not have anything in it that shouldn't be there."
The lawyer pulled a file from his desk and handed it to Ben. He started to get up but sat back down when Ben glared at him.
The file seemed to be in order. John Hammond had a five hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy that had the estate as the beneficiary. The sale of the house had brought two hundred thousand and the sale of everything else had netted seven thousand. There were papers showing that the estate had been finalized by the state.
Ben looked up from the file, "It seems that you owe Mrs. Hammond seven hundred and seven thousand dollars."
The lawyer whined, "There's taxes and my fee to deduct from that."
"I think that you'll pay the taxes and as for your fee, let's just say that you agree to waive the fee."
The lawyer started to protest loudly and Ben started the pain slowly rising in the man's head.
He grabbed his head, "OK, what do you want?"
"I need a cashier's check made out to Emma Hammond for seven hundred and seven thousand dollars. We can drive to the bank that holds the escrow account right now and get it. That is unless you failed to open an escrow account. In that case, I would like to use your phone to call the police."
"There's no need for that. I can write you a check right here. I have the money in a personal account."
Ben stared at him, "A cashier's check, right now. Let's go."
He started the pain again and the lawyer jumped up and nodded his head. They got in the lawyer's car and drove to the bank where the escrow account was held. When Ben saw the car he knew that Emma was just one of the people that the lawyer had fleeced. The car was a Bentley.
The transaction at the bank only took about a half hour. Ben walked out of the bank with the cashier's check in his hand. The lawyer looked like he had lost his best friend.
Ben turned to the lawyer, "I am working with several of your other clients. I'm not an unreasonable man; let's say that I give you thirty days to clean up all of the estates that have been sitting around your office for a long time. I naturally expect you to wave your fees. If you take one penny from the estates I promise you that I will cause you so much pain that death will be a blessing for you. I remind you that I do not have to see you to make the pain return. Do you agree?"
The lawyer nodded his head He was totally beaten. Ben told him to
drive back to the office and start working on those estates. The lawyer
left, his shoulders slumped and walking very slowly.