“But first, I wanted to ask, is it true you have to keep anything I tell you secret?”
He put his palms together and brought his fingertips to the end of his long nose. After a moment he lowered his hands flat on the desk. “Yes, that’s right.
Seborn was my client and you have inherited his right to confidentiality.”
“I wanted to ask you about the land,” Olivia said.
“All right.” He leafed through the papers. “Yes, here it is.” He began reading.
“Forty acres of farmland in Culpepper County, Kentucky – the deed to which is
attached to this document – which were left to me by my dear departed wife, Nola June Sessions Killion, are to be inherited by my firstborn grandson. If there
is no grandson –”
“No, not that,” she said. “I meant the other land – the farm out in Michigan
that Uncle Scruggs left him.” She leaned forward, watching him turn the pages.
Mr. Carmichael moved his finger down the text and then read in a steady
drone. “My wife’s brother, Lorenzo Scruggs, left me eighty useless acres in the
swamp known as Michigan, near a Godforsaken place by the name of Fae’s
Landing. This worthless piece of wilderness shall be inherited by whichever of
my offspring is fool enough to claim it and try to put in a crop. If neither of them
does so within two years of my demise, the land is to be sold and the proceeds
divided between my two sons.” The lawyer stopped reading and looked up at
Olivia.
“That’s what I thought,” she said, raising her forefinger. “When it talks about
who can claim that land it says ‘my offspring,’ not ‘my sons.’”
“And?”
“Well, I’m sprung off him just as much as Avis or Tobey.”
“Am I to understand that you wish to make a claim on this land?”
“Yes. I do. The way I see it – when he says ‘offspring’ and ‘neither of them,’
he’s talking about me and Tobey. I mean, he knew perfectly well that Avis was
going to get the house and the store, so he decided to give Tobey and me a chance at that piece of land.”
Mr. Carmichael read the paragraph again, then put his hands back in their
praying position and thought before replying. “Well, not a soul would agree with
you on the face of it,” he pronounced. “Anyone reading this would assume that
the entire paragraph refers to your brothers. I have little doubt that you also believe that to have been your father’s intention. However, the ambiguity of the
text could make for an interesting court case. You are correct. One could argue
that his specific reference to ‘my sons’ in regard to the proceeds from a sale could be taken to suggest that he was not referring to those same sons when he
said ‘my offspring.’ Hence, the different terminology. Of course, if it ever came before a judge the opposing counsel would say it was obvious that the entire paragraph refers to your brothers, and I’ve no doubt the judge would rule in his
favor.”
“But I could make a claim?”
“Anyone can make a claim to anything. Winning the case is another matter.
Do you think your brothers would challenge such a claim?”
Olivia tilted her head and stared at the wall behind him while she considered
his question. “No. I mean, there’s a good chance they wouldn’t. Neither of them
cares two cents about having that land and once I got going farming it I could pay them back the money they’d have gotten if they’d sold it. But them wanting
