Hampton Manor (24 page)

“May I ask why the sudden change of heart?”

“That shouldn’t be so hard to figure out. Everything you’ve done so far has turned out to be a dead end. I think the whole thing is a wild goose chase and I don’t want to spend another penny on it. I finally realized that the search is fruitless.”

“We did the best we could, Mister Hampton,” Chuck said, apologetically.

“Look, I’m not blaming you. It’s hard to locate someone who may not even exist. You guys did your best. I know that, but it’s like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. I think it’s best if I handle this matter directly with my father. Thanks for your help.”

“Okay, then. I’ll close it down. Thanks for the opportunity. I’ll make sure all your vital records are returned to the storage facility. If you have any more jobs, give us a call.”

Adam thought,
Yah, you’d love to take more of my money,
but he answered, “I’ll do that.”

Next, Adam buzzed for John, who appeared at the den door in less than a minute.

“What can I do for you, sir?”

“John, I’ve got a busy day ahead of me, so I won’t be home tomorrow night until around seven o’clock. I’d like to have a private meeting with my father in his den around eight-thirty. I think it best that you don’t tell him about it, before hand. Hold off any medicines that would sedate him. I need him to be to be as sharp as possible and I want you to turn off all recording equipment while I’m there with him. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. Everything will be ready for you at eight thirty, tomorrow night.”

Adam was apprehensive about meeting the with his father, but it was time for a showdown,
I don’t like being made a fool of. I’ve taken care of that old man since his breakdown. He’s gotten the very best care. How could he even consider taking
back
what
is
now
rightfully
mi
n
e.
I know that that’s what this is about. He’s trying to rock the boat hoping that I’ll slip up somewhere. Well I’m on to him. I’ll
make him tell me who
my
half
-
brother
is; if
he
even
exists. It’s time I put an end to this nonsense. You’ve met your match, old man. By tomorrow night all the suspense will be over. I can’t wait.

He mixed a double Rusty Nail and settled back in his Lazy Boy to re-think everything.
Was it an accident that dad mentioned to the doctors that he had two sons or was he deliberately creating doubt in my mind by the casual mention of another son? Either way, what does he expect to gain? Maybe he just wants to make trouble for me because I shut him up in the West Wing? Is that any way to repay my kindness? Well, I’m going to get to the bottom of it. He’ll tell me who “E” and my supposed half-brother are or I’ll put an end to this maddening search, order a change in his medication and let him sink back into infirmity. I just don’t have time for this nonsense. I’ve got an empire to run.

Chapter 34

Nelson Platt sat in his den holding the scrap of paper that Adam Hampton II smuggled to him during his visit. He read and re-read the grim message unsure of the emotions that were welling up inside. He felt a solitary tear flow down his left cheek as feelings of concern, fear, dismay and anger roiled in his mind.
If only I had worked harder on his behalf he might not be in this predicament. I should have appealed the hearings. Why did I trust his son? There was so much more I could have done. Instead of being loyal to him I fell for his son’s story of how much he was going to do to make sure his father would always have the best of care. What a fool I was. Adam, my friend, I’m so sorry I let you down. I hope it’s not too late to help you now .I’ll try my best.

Nelson Platt was Adam’s attorney when he suffered from what was diagnosed as spontaneous dementia, Adam’s sudden irrationality and violence, requiring restraint. His son hired a team of specialists who ran four days of intensive tests on his father and concluded that the neural damage to Adam Hampton’s brain was irreversible. This would prove to be damning evidence if he could arrange for another competency hearing.
 

Adam Hampton III had a team of specialists testify that they had never observed such a rapid deterioration in an individual, especially one that was previously involved in a multitude of mentally stimulating activity. They concluded that Adam Hampton II, due to mental deficiency, was incapable of managing his personal affairs or of discharging the duties of CEO of Hampton Industries. Nelson also had a panel of experts review the test results. They concurred that the prognosis for Adam was a lifetime of monitored care. With proper treatment, consisting of the latest drugs, they predicted that Adam would live anywhere from ten to twenty additional years without any hope of reversing the neural damage. His son presented, to the court, his plan to provide the best of care for his father.

At the time, Nelson accepted the inevitability of his client’s fate. Reluctantly, he acceded to Adam Hampton III’s request to be named as guardian of his father’s estate. The petition outlined elaborate plans to renovate Hampton Manor to provide a protected environment for his father. He was convinced that it was the solution at the time.

Adam Hampton II’s majority ownership of Hampton Industries was adjudicated independently from his personal affairs. In a separate decree, Adam Hampton II was found to be mentally incompetent to continue as CEO and Adam Hampton III, then Senior Vice-President of Operations was named to operate the enterprise as acting CEO and has been at the helm of Hampton Industries since that day. The company has prospered under his leadership, restoring the prestige that was Hampton Industries’ during its glory days.

Immediately upon securing the judgments, Adam’s son fired Platt and cut him off from any contact with his father; even going as far as to threaten him with disbarment if he attempted to make any contact with his father. In retrospect, Nelson realized that a red flag should have been raised when Adam III shut his father off from all contact with the outside world.
Why didn’t I see what he was up to?

That was water under the bridge. Nelson had to base his decisions on what was in the best interests of his client, now.
I wish I had had the foresight to provide for contingencies, especially with the research being conducted in the area of mental health. That file I saw the other day on Adam’s progress, proves that courts need to provide for periodic testing and not be so quick to accept judgments by so called “expert witnesses” that a condition is irreversible. I’m so sorry I let you down, Adam. Now I can only hope that I can prove to them that another competency hearing is justified. Well, here goes.

He dialed the number of Michael Dennison, the senior partner at his old firm, Dennison, Platt and Stevens of New Haven, Connecticut.

“Mike, Nelson, here.”

“Nel, it’s so great hearing from you. How’s retirement suiting you?”

“So far so good. Look, Mike, I’m going to need a favor from you.”

“Ask and it’s yours.”

“I need to comeback for one more case; something I left undone.”

“Tell me what I can do.”

Platt spent the next few minutes bringing Michael up to date with Adam’s situation.

“I think I understand. What do you want me to do?

“Set up some space for me. Any corner will do. I’ll need a phone, access to a computer and a para-legal that’s familiar with competency cases.”

“That’s easy. I have an empty office. I’ll have it set up in about an hour. Anything else I can do?”

“Yes there is. Time is precious in this case. I need to get a hearing set up for Adam in the next two days and I want to get him out of Hampton Manor immediately and under the care of a court sanctioned medical facility. I don’t trust his son. If he gets wind of his father asking for a competency hearing, there is no telling what he might do. Changes in his medicine got him out of his dementia, it could just as easily put him right back in. He needs to be at a neutral facility. Please do what you can to make this happen.”

“I’ll see what I can do. I know a few judges that are sympathetic to situations such as this. Familial abuse is very common today. It will probably take me a few days, though.”

“Do the best you can. I’m on my way over there now. If you need to contact me, call on my cell phone.”

Nelson was within a mile of the office when he heard from Dennison.

“Yeah, Mike, what have you got for me?”

“Not good news, Nel. The docket for competency cases is full for at least two weeks. I stressed the urgency, but I was told they were all urgent. The supervising judge was implacable on the matter.”

“Damn, I was afraid of that. How about getting him out of Hampton Manor? We need to protect him from any harm while we’re waiting.”

“He also told me that the court would need more than your scrap of paper to take him out of his house. They certified the facility at the time Adam was released from the hospital. There is no viable evidence that his care has deteriorated, quite the contrary from what you tell me. They take all that into consideration in cases like this. You’re just going to have to keep your fingers crossed.”

“I know your right, Mike, but I can’t just sit idly by while he might be in danger. Please keep searching for a case we can use as a precedent.”

“You don’t have any choice. If you try to intervene before the court is ready to act you will put him into the jeopardy that you’re trying to save him from. In the meantime I’ll try a few more contacts. I have Bert Jenkins checking for any precedents we can use to skirt the waiting list. I’ve assigned him to assist you. I’m sorry I can’t do any more than that right now.

“I know you’re doing your best. I’m pretty sure that Hampton doesn’t suspect anything. Adam and I put on a good show for him. I just hope that there is enough time for us to get him out of there once his son finds out what we’re up to. He’s got a lot to lose if we’re successful. I can’t shake the feeling that he’ll stop at nothing to prevent us from succeeding.”

“We’ll just have to risk that.”

Chapter 35

The Assassin looked at his pager. Neil Gilbert’s number was displayed on the screen. He dialed the number and waited.

“Neil, what have you got for me?”

“I’ve got what you’ve been waiting for. They’re having a meeting tomorrow night at eight-thirty. I overheard my supervisor John making arrangements to shut down the security cameras and audio. They don’t do that very often. He also check with me to be sure that I would be able to work. He said he would not honor any requests for shift changes. I told him that it wasn’t a problem. I hope that was okay. I thought you might prefer to have me on site when things go down. That way I can help in case there are any last minute changes.”

The Assassin smiled as he realized how fortuitous it was that the only link to him would be in the center of the conflagration.
One less loose end for me to be concerned with.

“That’s fine Neil. I appreciate the extra effort on your part. If everything goes well there’ll be a bonus in it for you. You said that the two will be meeting in the West Wing at 8:30 tomorrow night. Are you absolutely certain of time and location?”

“Yes, sir. I even checked the time log to be sure.”

“That’s good. Remember now, not a word to anyone about our arrangement.”

“You can count on me. Is there anything else I can do? I’ll be here, so I‘ll be glad to help in any way I can”

“I tell you what, Neil. You’re absolutely correct that things can change at the last minute. If that happened it could cost me a lot of money. Just to be safe, why don’t you page me three times in rapid succession as soon as Adam Hampton is with his father. That way I’ll know for sure that he’s there. If, for any reason, he should leave, page me twice right away. If that happens, I’ll call you back to find out what the problem is.

“You bet, but I hope that everything goes well for you the first time.”

“So do I, Neil. Have a good night.”

“You too, sir.”

It was time for the Assassin to check his equipment and set up a timetable for the next day. He put fresh batteries in the remote detonator and started on the list. The Old Brooking Water System would be first to go; he would set off the Nitrex at 7:15 p.m., effectively leaving the town without running water. The million and one-half gallons of water stored in the town’s lone water tower would immediately begin emptying at 0.43 PSI of pressure from the gaping hole in the conduit caused by the collapse of the pumps. He counted on them being unable to close off the main valves in time. Streets surrounding the station would be under water for hours until the sewer system could drain the excess away. The vantage point he chose would protect him from the explosion, implosion and sudden surge of water onto the streets. He would then move to his second base where he would detonate the Nitrex at the abandoned warehouse at 7:30. Once again, being at a safe distance, he could admire his handiwork prior to moving on to his last destination.

The final observation point is the parking lot of a two-story condominium complex where there were always empty “visitors” parking spots. From there he could see Hampton Manor, his final target. His plan was to arrive there about 8p.m, wait for the three beeps from Neil, set off both devices and watch the flames in his rear view mirror on his way out of town. By the time he put enough distance behind him, news of the fire should be available on the local “all news/all the time” radio station.