Jack’s eyebrow’s jumped. “Where is this place?”
“Murray Hill.”
He smiled. “No kidding. That might be cheap for Murray Hill.”
“It’s a three-story brownstone. Worth every penny.”
“So far, I don’t see why you think you need me. Take the money and run.”
Now came the touchy part. Now he’d start wondering why. But Alicia had evaded the hard questions—the impossible questions—with poor Leo Weinstein, and she could evade them with Jack.
“But I didn’t. I turned him down.”
“You knew the price would go up.”
“No way. But it did. Thomas came back and offered me four million. And I gave him the same answer. And then he told me he was tired of bidding against himself and that I should ‘name a fucking price’—his words—and I hung up on him.”
“Turned him down again… sort of like winning the lottery and not cashing in your ticket, isn’t it?”
“Not exactly. You see, Thomas hardly has a dime to his name.”
Jack leaned forward and stared at her. Now he looked interested.
“You know that for sure?”
“I suspected it. I mean, he’s been in a low-level research job at AT&T since he graduated college. Where would he get approval for a mortgage that size? So I checked him out: His credit rating is the pits, and he quit his job about the time he started calling me.”
“So… a guy with no money and no job offers you four mil. I don’t blame you for hanging up on him.”
“No,” Alicia said, “you don’t understand. I think he does have the money—in cash.”
“In cash?”
“That’s what he offered me—said I can take it or he can donate it all to the charity of my choice. How do you explain that?”
“Either he’s crazy or somebody’s backing him.”
“Exactly, but who? And why not approach me directly? Why go through Thomas?”
“Does it matter?” Jack said, leaning back again. “A valuable piece of real estate lands in your lap. You can either live in it or sell it. You don’t need me, you need a tax attorney.”
Alicia sensed him withdrawing, losing interest. She rushed forward with the rest of her story.
“But I can’t live in it, and I can’t sell it. When I turned him down, Thomas hired some high-priced attorneys to challenge the will. I can’t take possession until this is resolved. They even got a court order to board up the place, so I can’t even take a look around inside.” Not that I’d ever want to.
“Why board it up?”
“Apparently it’s been broken into since it’s been empty. Thomas says he wants to protect what he expects to be his property once his challenge to the will is upheld. He’s even hired a security firm to guard the property.”
Jack smiled. “All this from a guy with no income. Your half brother is very resourceful.”
“That’s not the word I’d use for Thomas.”
“Still, you don’t need me—you need a lawyer.” Alicia bit her lip. No, she needed Jack for what she wanted. But how would he react when she asked?