Chapter 38
West Bumfuck, AR
THE LAWYER’S HOME was an early twentieth-century house that looked very much like many of the houses in Riverside and Avondale. When they rang the doorbell, they heard a voice say through the screened door, “Come right in.”
The lawyer’s office was in what might have once been a dining room, and he said, “Have a seat, boys. Pardon me for not getting up, but I’m mostly wheelchair-bound these days.”
“I’m Chris Bottoms,” Chris said, “and this is my friend Mickey O’Donovan.”
“Sebastian Vanderbilt at your service, and no, I’m not one of the Vanderbilts.” The lawyer chuckled at his own humor.
Chris studied the lawyer and saw a man in his seventies, balding and quite heavy.
“I guess you’re here about your mother’s arrangements,” Vanderbilt said.
“Yes, Sir. I’ve
