Page 10 of Bridles and Bribery

You’re a better man than me, bro.Gil’s miserable first marriage was one of the biggest reasons Dave had stayed single for so long.

He tried to ignore the next incoming call, half-tempted to toss his work phone out the nearest window.

The Harrises were lounged on the leather sofa acrossfrom the two dining room chairs his mother had insisted on placing him and Jillian in. They were pretending to snap photos of the two of them opening gifts. Their engrossed expressions, however, were a dead giveaway that they were preoccupied with something else entirely — reading emails, playing games, anything other than the celebration they were supposed to be taking part in.

To her credit, Dave’s mother was doing everything in her power to make up for their inattention by hopping around the room like an energetic cricket. She was snapping photos from every possible angle.

“Sweetie, you might as well take that call,” she chirped as she took a knee in front of them to take another picture. “Whoever is trying to reach you sounds mighty persistent.”

“I know.” He grimaced. “Sorry about that.” He leaned closer to Jillian to brush his lips against her cheek. “I won’t be gone long. Promise.” He hoped like crazy he’d be able to keep his word.

“Take as long as you need.” She stopped unwrapping the next gift to give him a smile infused with understanding. “I’ve got this.” The guilty look she darted toward her parents felt like a silent apology for their chilly, distant attitudes.

For an answer, he lightly tapped the tip of her nose. “I’ll make it up to you later,” he promised in a whisper. She had nothing to apologize for. His mother was acting every bit as poorly as her parents were. He bent closer to her ear to add, “after everyone leaves.”

The pink color that spread across her cheeks made his heart swell with happiness.

As he strode across the great room, he lifted his work phone to his ear and finally accepted the call. “Dave Phillipsspeaking.”

“Oh, thank goodness, Dave!” The woman on the other end of the line sobbed out his name. “You may not remember me, but this is Jan Jacobson. Jordan’s mom.”

Jan Jacobson?Dave reached the double glass doors to his office and pushed them open. The Jacobson name was one he hadn’t heard in a good long while. “Of course, I remember you.” Her son, Jordan, had been one of his and Gil’s high school classmates. He’d left town in his early twenties to race horses. Shortly afterward, his parents had sold their farm and gone on the racing circuit with him. “What can I do for you?” Since she’d called his work number, he had to assume it wasn’t a social call.

“We lost Jordan’s father last month.” Her voice grew choked. “It’s been ruled a suicide, but…” a sob erupted from her. “I don’t believe it. Not for a second!”

Whoa!Dave’s mind instantly slammed into lawyer mode. He shut his office doors and strode to the wide picture window overlooking Heart Lake. “I’m sorry for your loss, ma’am.” Like his mother, Jan Jacobson and her late husband, Jason, were in their mid-seventies. Old enough to die of natural causes. It made him sad to find out that Jason Jacobson’s death had been anything but natural. Did Mrs. Jacobson have grounds for her refusal to accept it was suicide? Or was she simply a grieving loved one in denial of her newly widowed status?

“Loss?” The word came out as a near shriek that made him hold the phone a few inches away from his ear. “This wasn’t simply a loss. Sure, Jason was under a certain amount of stress. Who isn’t? But he wouldn’t have abandoned me and Jordan like this. He just…wouldn’t have.” By now, she was sobbing so hard that Dave could barely understand what she said next. “There has to be…more to it.”

He waited for her to compose herself, silently sending up a prayer for her peace and comfort. As soon as he finished praying, his mind began to reel with questions. It was in his nature to question everything.

Only after Jan Jacobson’s sobs subsided to sniffles did he speak again. “What can you tell me about the events leading up to your husband’s death?”

“Plenty,” she spat, “but not over the phone. I need to speak with you in person. Today, if there are any flights available. I’ll pay for everything — your plane ticket, time, and legal representation. I’ll wire you the retainer fee right away. Just let me know how much and where?—”

“Hang on a sec, Mrs. Jacobson!” Dave held up a hand as he strove to halt her avalanche of frenzied promises. For starters, he had no idea what she required representation for. Secondly, now wasn’t a good time to add anything new to his calendar.

“Just Jan,” she cut in quickly.

It felt strange calling a high school friend’s mother by her first name, but okay. “I know you had no way of knowing this, Jan, but today is my wedding day. Tomorrow, my wife and I are leaving on our honeymoon.”

A stretch of silence met his announcement. Then Jan Jacobson’s quavering voice wafted across the line again. “Congratulations, kiddo!” She rushed to add, “Is there any chance you have a business partner you can send in your place? We’re desperate, Dave. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be asking to meet on such short notice.”

“I don’t have a business partner, ma’am, and I don’t normally take out-of-town cases. I’m sorry. I’d be happy to recommend someone else to represent you, though. I know attorneys all over the great state of Texas. Good ones.” To date, there hadn’t been enough crime in Heart Lake tojustify working any way besides solo. There were, however, enough cases to keep him from having to accept out-of-town clients. The last time he’d done so was over twenty years ago, right after he’d first opened his private practice. He’d quickly discovered it wasn’t worth the added expense of all the required overnight traveling.

“That might not be as easy as you think,” Jan Jacobson declared bitterly. “The person suing us has already called every reputable legal firm in a hundred-mile radius for an initial consultation. There’s no way it’s an accident. Somebody must have coached him into doing it.”

It sure didn’t sound like an accident. Or the work of amateurs, for that matter. Whatever trouble the Jacobsons were in, they were going to need a good lawyer for sure. “So your family ended up in Dallas, eh?” That was news to him. So was the fact that they were involved in a lawsuit. He still wasn’t convinced that their problems needed to become his problems, though.

“We did. My husband and I bought a few acres on the outskirts of the city and opened Triple J Ranch.”

No surprise there. They’d always dreamed of owning a horse ranch. “Is Jordan still on the racing circuit?”

“Clearly, you don’t follow horse racing.” Jan sounded mildly offended. “Otherwise, you’d already know that our son and his horse have been winning races all over the country for two years straight. We honestly believe he has a shot at a Triple Crown if the current allegations don’t get him disqualified.”

The way she kept using pronouns likeourandwestrengthened Dave’s theory that she was in denial over the loss of her husband. “Something tells me there’s a story behind the name of your ranch.” He already had a solid guess what it was.

“Of course.” There was a bittersweet edge to her voice. “We named it after the three J’s in our family — Jason, Jan, and Jordan.” She drew a shaky breath. “Being down to two J’s feels really strange…and wrong.”

---