Burton led Justin to a seat on the sofa next to Julia and near his own chair. Diesel climbed into Justin’s lap. Andrea Ferris, who occupied the other spot on the sofa, stared at Diesel in fascination. Rick Tackett and Willie Clark had pulled chairs close in a semicircle.

Kanesha stood a few feet away, arms crossed. I found another chair and offered it to her, but she shook her head. I took it instead, sitting a little behind Rick Tackett. I had a clear view of Julia and Justin and the lawyer from this vantage point.

Miles Burton held a thick document in his hands. “I regret deeply the occasion that has brought all of us together. Godfrey Priest was my client for many years, and I wish he could have been with all of us for many more.” He glanced down at the papers he held. “But it is now my duty to share with his beneficiaries the terms of his will. Godfrey changed his will recently because of the knowledge that he had a son.

“He was thrilled with the knowledge, and I also deeply regret that he had such a short time with this young man. I know how excited Godfrey was to meet him for the first time.” He smiled at Justin, who ducked his head. Diesel rubbed his head against the boy’s cheek.

“I will spare you all the unnecessary details of a testament such as this. You must realize that, in the case of such a large estate, there are many details that have to be considered. Those, however, are of little concern to you at the moment.

“There are a number of relatively small bequests to which I will return in a few minutes. The important point is that Godfrey stipulated that these small requests should be paid first, and the remainder of the estate would be divided as follows:

“‘To my biological son, known as Justin Henry Wardlaw, I leave two-thirds of my estate;

“‘To my half brother, Richard Horace Tackett Jr., I leave the remaining third of my estate.’”

Burton paused, as if to gauge the impact of his words. In front of me, I could see Rick Tackett’s shoulders relax and his head go down. I thought I could hear him muttering a prayer of thanks.

Julia’s eyes glittered with triumph, and her smile was wide. Justin stared at the lawyer, as if he found it difficult to understand what the man had said.

“What are we talking about, in real terms?” Julia surprised me by the obvious note of greed in her voice.

Miles Burton eyed her with what I presumed to be slight distaste. “A conservative estimate of your son’s share, Mrs. Wardlaw, would be something in the range of seventy million dollars.”

Justin’s mouth dropped open, and even Julia appeared thunderstruck. She had obviously never realized how rich Godfrey was.