Off the Beaten Path (19 page)

Jack’s letters and her backlog of work were a pleasant distraction from the media frenzy that had been steadily growing as a result of the incident at the fundraiser and the resulting law suit Clarence had filed. Kristin and Clarence’s divorce had been a very public matter and despite the fact that the coverage of their divorce had just began to die down this latest incident seemed to take on a life of its own like a forest fire that creates its own weather and fuels the fire. Local newspaper photographers had taken up residence again outside Kristin’s apartment building and in the vacant lot across from the
Palmer agency. The newspapers did not waste any time, there was a picture on the front page of the Wednesday morning paper of Jack and Kristin kissing goodbye underneath a photo of Clarence’s swollen face, which he had gladly donated to the paper. The papers headline read

“Personal Injury Lawyer Personally Injured at Hospital fundraiser.”

Kristin had called Dean and Jake into her office and asked them if there was anything they could do to keep her from winding up on the front page of the papers every day. She understood that it was next to impossible to totally hide from the press besides they had quite an inventory of photos of her form the divorce trial as well as her days as a model. They assured her that they would do everything they could to protect her from the vultures that were circling.

Jack put his pen down folded the letter and placed it in the envelope addressed to Kristin. It was late and he had to get up early to get ready for the veterinarian that was scheduled to show up at around eight o’clock tomorrow morning. Once every six months the vet made the trek up the canyon to spend most of the morning looking over Jack’s heard, giving Buck and Sara a clean bill of health and even checking Sam’s general well-being. Jack leaned back in his chair and thought about the last month. It seemed like a blur to him since he had stopped to help fix a flat tire on a red Mercedes less than a month ago, a lot can happen in a short amount of time. Especially when you find yourself totally captivated by someone you never expected to meet. Jack had carved out a safe and secure life in the valley since Angela had died. Friends and neighbors scattered at a comfortable distance around the valley. People close enough to lean on if he needed the support like Ben and Mary but far enough away to give him the time and space he needed to get through the pain. Most important of all, he knew everyone in the valley and they all knew what he had been through in the last couple of years and they all seemed content to let him work it out in his own time. Jack thought about Ben and Mary and their Sunday afternoon visits he suddenly realized that all this time he had been laboring under the notion that they stopped by to help with their own healing process. He now understood that they came by every Sunday to help him with his pain. Sometimes it amazed him how blind he could be to the people around him. Jack started thinking about Kristin and himself, who was helping who more and who had really been rescued out there on that dirt road?

The vet always finished up with Samantha on these scheduled trips to the valley. He said that he always saved the best for last. The prognosis was above average for all of the four legged animals on the ranch. The vet was not so sure about the only two legged animal on the ranch.

“Are you getting enough sleep Jack?” He asked with some concern is his voice.

“I think so, you know how hard it can be to work a place like this by yourself Doc?”

The old vet looked at Jack over the rim of his glasses and waited for Jack to continue. He could tell that there was something weighing heavy on Jack’s mind. Jack had known Doc Prichard for as many years as he could remember growing up in this valley and he knew how patient he could be when was waiting for a straight answer. They leaned on the top rail of the fence and as they looked out over the heard of buffalo Jack told the older gentleman what had happened on his recent trip to the coast. He told him all about Kristin and how he had punched her ex-husband at a very public and social occasion. Jack told him about the law suit and his secret trip to Clarence’s office to apologize. He had not told anyone else about what had happened, not even Ben and Mary, he did not want to worry them. Telling the old vet
was like lifting a weight off his chest. When he finished the Doc kicked a couple rocks down the fence line and asked

“Is she worth it?”

Jack did not hesitate, “Yep.” Was all he said.

Kristin leaned back in her chair and looked up in the direction of the second floor. She watched the photo shoot with the relaxed concentration of someone who could tell at the slightest glance if there was something out of place or not quite right. She could tell that the session needed a little jolt in the arm. She walked out of her office and up the stairs to the second floor. Her ascent up the stairs and onto the landing resembled the carefulness of a prowler rather than the authority of a boss. Kristin knew how intimidating her presence could be during one of these sessions, she also understood the power of just the right amount of creative tension injected into a room. Tension was a useful component in one of these types of high energy affairs. Tension was one of the reasons that the photographers were never allowed to touch the models, even to adjust a strand of hair. The moment a photographer touched a model it broke the tension between them. The natural conflict between two professionals merged to create a kind of focused foreplay that inspired a drive to be more creative from everyone involved.

Without even turning around everyone in the room could tell that Kristin had appeared on the second floor. They could see it by the reflection in the models eyes and in the hurried movements of the photographer and his assistant. It was if a mixture of oxygen and adrenaline had saturated the second floor upon her arrival. She stayed well away from the immediate area of the shoot as she circled the back of the room and made her way to the only bay window that was not
closed off from the afternoon sun. As Kristin stood looking out the window with her back to the shoot she could tell that she had had the desired effect on the photo session, they were back on track and the room had come to life.

Kristin remained at the window while the hurried motions of the people went on behind her. She was looking out over the sound and found herself thinking about Clarence. Had she been that blind to what was going on around her? How had she let herself get so focused on what she wanted instead of what she really needed? Kristin chuckled to herself thinking about the place that she had first met Clarence. It was a fundraiser that was not much different than the one that had resulted in Clarence coming face to face with a man that did not know or care how important Clarence thought he was.

The first time she was introduced Clarence Palmer he was a rising legal superstar with the arrogance of a seasoned lawyer. He was just enough older than Kristin to make him appear distinguished and charming enough to make him seem caring. At that time there were a dozen of the major legal firms in Seattle looking very closely at his career. Clarence could have had his pick of any one of them he choose a firm that allowed him to go after the type of high profile cases that would get him the most attention in the shortest amount of time. Clarence would have accepted most of the cases pro bono just for the publicity however he was smart enough to take the cases that got him both exposure and large settlements in one neat little package after another. Cases that involved going after deep pocket companies while still looking like he was representing the little guy. It was easy to appear humble when you walk away with forty percent of a million dollar lawsuit. Clarence would make a point of announcing hefty donations to local charities during the press conferences immediately following one of his wins in court. Anyone that thought that this form of community outreach did not have an effect on future juries did not understand public sentiment. Clarence had his picture taken with
every public official, community organizer, celebrity, and charity organization he could get close to. On more than one occasion people were excused from jury duty because they had received money from Clarence or they had had their picture taken with him. One entire jury pool was excused due to the fact that one of the potential jurors waved to Clarence as they entered the courtroom and thanked him for his generous donation to his youth group. The local newspapers had nick named Clarence’s Press conference antics as “Donation Litigation”. Heads of local charities would attend trials where Clarence was presiding hoping to be recognized and rewarded for appearing to support him and in turn supporting his client, juries noticed. It seemed that Clarence was disappointed when Companies would settle out of court they had robbed him of the thing he most enjoyed, the publicity. After only five years with his first law firm Clarence left a very profitable relationship and opened his own firm, no partners and no restrictions, opening his own Law firm proved to be both extremely profitable and personally detrimental to Clarence. Clarence violated the first rule of being in the public eye “don’t believe your own press clippings”. Clarence became enamored with his own success. There were no senior partners to answer to, there were no peers or coworkers to keep him in check, and there was no one that he respected or looked up too. In a nutshell there were no limits on what would say or do.

Jack propped open the chest cavity with a medium sized branch and started to remove the insides of the five point bull elk that Ben had shot twenty minutes ago, eighty five years old and Ben could still drop an elk from two hundred and fifty yards with one shot while sitting on horseback. Ben was presently standing behind Jack’s with his callused old hand resting on Jack’s left shoulder giving him some welcome guidance and encouragement. Mainly Ben was making sure that Jack did not ruin some of his favorite delicacies that he and Jack did not share a taste for, the liver and the heart. Jack thought that he would leave his present chore out of his daily letter to Kristin. They had brought along one of Ben’s mules in case they were successful. The two men had been watching the heard of elk along the tree line for a week now and they were very confident that they would be bringing home fresh meet this morning.

The two men had performed this ritual a couple dozen times over the years. Jack learned most of what he knew about hunting and everything he knew about the care and respect for an animal he shot from Ben Miller. The ritual always began when they reached the animal. The first thing they did was to make sure the animal was dead, according to Ben “No animal should suffer”. Next, Ben would say a short prayer over the dead animal. Jack still remembered the first time he had stood by and watched Ben complete this sacrament and how impressed he had been with the level of respect his Father in Law had for the animal. The rest of the process involved removing all of the
internal organs and separating every ounce of useable meat from the skeleton and then placing the bones back exactly where the animal had fallen. Ben had learned this custom from an old friend of his that was an Indian Chief, the old chief had explained to a young Ben Miller that killing an animal for food was part of nature and that they should do everything in their power not to disturb the balance of nature.

They were halfway back to Jack’s ranch with the elk wrapped and packed on the back of Ben’s mule when Ben said casually,

“Are you in some trouble Jack?”

Jack adjusted himself in the saddle and said with the sound of mild betrayal in his voice,

“I thought that there was a doctor patient relationship even between veterinarians.”

“Son, you know that there aren’t any secrets in the country, that’s why people are so honest.”

Jack laughed, “Ya, I knew it would eventually get out.”

A gravely concerned look washed across Ben’s face,

“Jack, what happened?”

Jack described the entire event including the consultation with Kristin’s attorney as well as the visit he made to Clarence’s office. When he finished Ben asked him,

“What kind of man is this Clarence Palmer?”

Jack did not answer immediately. The two men rode along in silence for a minute or two before Jack said almost as an indictment of Clarence’s character,

“Every once in a while you here about some guy who goes crazy and kills his entire family and then turns the gun on himself, I think without much force Clarence Palmer could become that type of man.”

“Is he dangerous?” Ben asked.

“I believe so.”

“Do you think he is out for blood?”

“I think that he is an extremely desperate man on the verge of losing everything.”

“Desperation doesn’t just happen overnight son, what do you think is behind this law suit?”

“Money, pride, and a woman and not necessarily in that order.”

“What do you think he is capable of?”

“I think that he will do whatever it takes to inflict as much pain as possible on Kristin and anyone close enough to her to make her happy.”

“Does that include dredging up the past?” Ben asked, sorry that he even had to bring the subject up.

Ben put his hand on Jack’s shoulder as they walked out of the barn and toward the house.

“Let me know if there is anything we can do to help you.”

“I appreciate that but I don’t think there is anything anybody can do at this point.”

“Son, you can’t just wait for a man like that to hold all the cards.”

“Don’t worry Pop, sometimes you got to sit back and watch the game before you get in.”

“Son, Just don’t wait too long to get in.”

Ben hugged Jack and climbed into his truck. They had loaded the mule in the horse trailer and put some of the elk meat in a cooler in the back of the pickup. Ben told Jack that he would stop by in the next few days with the rest of his half of the elk. Ben told him to keep it in his freezer it would give him and Mary a reason to stop by and see him besides their usual Sunday visits.