Free Water's Edge by Robert Whitlow Page A

crumb to the floor. “Pressure from the IRS is tough to handle too. Was that the only problem he had hanging over him?”
    “As far as I know. Once he moved in with Elias, his life was simple.”
    “That’s good to hear. I know he liked to fish a lot.”
    Tom took another bite of his burger.
    “Do you know much about his relationship with Harold Addington?”
    “We never discussed it.”
    Williams tapped his finger against the counter. “Addington met Arthur Pelham in London about five years ago. Arthur hired him to develop the overseas market for Pelham’s investment products. About a year ago Addington was transferred to Bethel and moved here with his wife. That’s a long way from London, isn’t it?”
    “About six thousand miles, give or take a few.”
    Williams didn’t smile. “Did your father ever represent Addington?”
    “I’m not sure since I haven’t gone through all his files. Why do you want to know?”
    Williams turned his head so that his eyes met Tom’s. “Two men died in what everyone says was a tragic boating accident. It’s my job to make sure that’s all it was.”
    Tom’s mouth felt dry. “Do you have any reason to think differently?”
    “My job is to ask questions.”
    “Have you talked to Addington’s widow?”
    “Yes.” Williams nodded. “Did you know she has multiple sclerosis?”
    “No.”
    “She takes an injection every day that’s supposed to help, but the illness is starting to give her more problems, maybe in part due to all the stress she’s had.”
    “What did she tell you about the relationship between her husband and my father?”
    “They went fishing a lot. She said the first time a largemouth bass hit her husband’s lure he couldn’t get enough of it. Of course, your father knew all the fishing holes where big bass like to hang out.” Williams paused. “She also says your father represented her husband but she doesn’t know why, which seems strange to me. I was hoping you could help me with that.”
    “I can check the files.”
    “You should do that. One of Addington’s daughters is handling the business affairs. According to the probate records, she’s the executrix of the estate. You might want to talk to her too.”
    “What’s the daughter’s name?”
    “Rose. She was in Serbia at the time her father died and couldn’t get a flight out for a couple of days.”
    “Serbia?”
    “Yeah, she works for an international adoption agency.”
    “You’ve really been checking this out, haven’t you?”
    “Noah Keller helped.” Williams motioned to a slightly built man with dark, close-cropped hair sitting alone at a table across the room. “He’s a detective with the sheriff’s department. Like I said, there’s no formal investigation, but I’m sure you want us to exercise due diligence.”
    “Of course.”
    “When can I expect to hear from you?”
    “The beginning of the week if I talk to the Addington family and they waive the attorney-client privilege. Most of the cases I’ve looked at so far are small stuff. My father never handled any complex litigation or business transactions.”
    “Right. If he’d ever put his whole heart into it, he could have had a solid practice.”
    The DA stood and put his hand on Tom’s shoulder again. “Any chance you’ll stay in Bethel? With your local connections, you could make a name for yourself and build a solid practice.”
    “No. This is home, but it’s not where I want to live.”
    “Caught the big-city bug?”
    “Yeah, I guess so.”
    “Too bad. Give me a call as soon as you find out anything.”
    Williams left. The last bite of the hamburger on Tom’s plate didn’t look nearly as appetizing as the first.
    Returning to the office, he placed all the boxes on the floor and began looking for files with the name Addington on them. Toward the back of the fourth box he found a folder with the words “Addington Matter” written on the tab. Tom pulled it out and flipped it open.
    It was