Majestic Descending - Hardcover

Graham, Mitchell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765318121 ISBN 13: 9780765318121

Verlag: Forge, 2007

Inhaltsangabe

Katherine Adams, a beautiful Atlanta attorney, is on her first vacation in years aboard the magnificent Ocean Majestic cruise liner. She witnesses a violent argument between two men, and that same night she discovers that one of them has been murdered. Before she can do anything about it, the largest cruise ship in the world starts to sink in the middle of the Atlantic. Katherine is thrown into a world of international conspiracy and terrorism. They mystery continues through the streets of Portofino, back to Atlanta, and eventually to New York City as layer upon layer of the plot unfolds.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

MITCHELL GRAHAM was born in New York City and practiced law for twenty years. He lives in Marietta, Georgia. He holds a degree in neuropsychology and was a champion fencer with over eighty-two titles in his career.

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Chapter One

Atlanta

May, 2006

When Katherine Adams' telephone rang at seven-twenty in the morning, she opened one sleepy eye and looked at it with a groan. She let it ring twice more before her conscience got the better of her.

"This better be good," she mumbled into the receiver, "I'm on vacation."

There was a slight hesitation on the other end of the line before her secretary, Galena Olivares replied, "You're gonna kill me, K. J., but I swear I didn't know what else to do. The answering service called about fifteen minutes ago. Sherri Wallace was served with an emergency petition to change custody this morning."

Katherine opened the other eye and pushed herself up onto one elbow.

"Are you serious?"

"I called her and explained you were on leave of absence but she's hysterical. She says they're going to take her children. Do you want to fire me now or later?"

"Later," Katherine said.

"I'm really sorry," said Galena. "I know you're crazy with leaving this afternoon, but Bert's in Houston for depositions, Jerry is on trial in Savannah, and no one else here knows squat about domestic relations except you."

"Lucky me," Katherine said, brushing the hair away from her face.

"That's what you get for being a lawyer. What can I do to help?"

Fully awake now Katherine sat up in bed.

"What time is the hearing scheduled?" she asked.

"Ten-thirty, in front of Judge Morehouse."

"Morehouse? Frank Hanes is assigned to this case. How did Arthur Morehouse get it?"

"Hanes is on vacation," Galena explained. "Morehouse is presiding and it's an emergency petition, so it went to him."

"Damn it. Dick Royal knows I'm leaving today and he pulls a stunt like this."

"Dick's a good name for him. They can't make you come if you're on leave, can they, K. J.?"

Katherine swung her feet over the edge of the bed, stood up, and stretched. Her plan to sleep late, finish packing, and take a leisurely trip to Nordstrom for some last-minute items for her trip began to look more and more remote.

"No . . . they can't make me," she said slowly.

Technically, a leave of absence meant she was excused from appearing in court. There was no legal obligation to be there. It was as simple as that. The problem was the other attorney had filed an emergency proceeding which gave the judge the authority to temporarily remove Sherri's children from her home if he thought the situation warranted it. Worse, he might even place them in foster care. Katherine debated with herself for a few seconds whether to let the situation wait until she returned from vacation. She liked Sherri Wallace and couldn't imagine her doing anything that would place her children in jeopardy. The woman was a good mother. One more attempt to talk herself into leaving fell flat before she gave up. The children were the deciding factor.

"Get in touch with Sherri and tell her I'll call her in forty-five minutes."

"Will do. I'll be in the office at eight-thirty if you need me. Good luck."

 

Richard Royal, Katherine Adams' adversary, was a member of the "courthouse crowd." Had he been born in the South, Royal might have been known as a "good ol' boy." Unfortunately, he was born and raised in Philadelphia. Over the years he had painstakingly cultivated a Southern accent to help him fit in better, and that strategy had worked. Along with his two partners, he had managed to develop one of the more active domestic-relations practices in Atlanta. His specialty was boutique-type divorces for clients who could pay his fees.

Early on in the Wallace case Katherine concluded that for all Royal's talk about wanting to "settle things amicably," he was, to put it simply, a hardball player. "Amicable" meant settling on his client's terms.

For the past nine months Royal had frustrated every attempt at settlement they made. Each offer she submitted was either rejected as "outrageous" (in light of his client's limited financial condition) or simply ignored. Mark Wallace, Sherri's estranged husband, owned three cosmetic dentistry clinics. And the only counteroffer Katherine got back was so ridiculously low no competent attorney would have given it more than a passing glance.

The Wallaces had two children, both girls, who were presently living with their mother. Now with the trial fast approaching, it appeared that Royal and his client had decided raise the stakes considerably. It was probably just coincidence they chose the day she was leaving on vacation to do so. Katherine thought about that as she turned on the shower and stepped in.

Coincidence, my foot.

 

Fifteen minutes later she wrapped a towel around herself and sat down in front of her magnifying mirror to put on her makeup. A quick glance at the clock showed the time was seven fifty-five. She began to calculate rapidly.

Twenty minutes to get dressed. Thirty minutes to the office, pick up the file, and another thirty minutes to get to the courthouse. . . . I can just make it.

 

The face that regarded her in the mirror was still beautiful after forty-five years. High cheekbones and blue-gray eyes were inherited from her grandmother, and a trim figure that could still draw looks from men half her age was the result of regular workouts and good genes. Her workouts were part of her daily routine and something she adamantly refused to give up.

She kept at them throughout her marriage despite getting little or no help from her husband with the children. The heart surgeon's excuse was that he was simply too busy with his medical practice or on his way to various business meetings. Katherine never complained. She loved being with her kids and managed to sneak in enough exercise to maintain her shape by dancing in the family room for an hour each day. What she didn't know at the time was that half of the heart surgeon's "meetings" were with nurses at an apartment he and two other doctors had secretly rented for their trysts. The sordid details came out during their divorce trial.

James and Alley, Katherine's two oldest children, were now away at college at the University of Georgia. Two years apart in age, each had their own apartment, but saw the other frequently. Zach--her baby, as she referred to him, had started high school a year earlier and was nearly as tall as she was.

High school, Katherine sighed, as she applied a small amount of eyeliner to her lower lids.

Another glance at the clock told her she was still on schedule. She picked out a charcoal gray Rena Lange suit from the closet and put it on. It was professional and stylish without being overstated. A brief wave of panic hit her just as was zipping up the skirt.

Pantyhose.

It was one of the items she planned picking up later that day. A quick check of her stocking drawer confirmed her fears. She didn't have a decent pair to wear to court.

Then it dawned on her--Alley.

Katherine bounded up the stairs to the second floor of her home and into her daughter's room.

God, I hope she hasn't moved everything to her apartment yet.

Ever since her junior year in high school, Alley Adams had become something of an authority where lingerie was concerned. Katherine wasn't sure when the change took place or precisely how she felt about it since some of the things Alley wore tended to be sexier than her own undergarments. When the sales clerks at Victoria's Secret started sending thank-you notes to the house, she made a mental note to have a chat with her daughter the next time they got together.

Katherine started to open the top drawer of the dresser and stopped. On the corner was a...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Forge
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2007
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0765318121
• ISBN 13: 9780765318121
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 352
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar