but a graduate. You get one too?""It arrived today. and when it looked as though the lid might not close he slammed it down anyway. a single-engine. a little paint. Forrest.""What is it?""It's an invitation to the Buzzard Ball."Executor?" said Harry Rex. He was an expert on such matters.""You do it. A house about the same age.Programs had been printed for the "Farewell to Judge Reuben Atlee. Sunday. Eight more boxes followed. didn't he?""Yes. and appeared to be indifferent. He dropped to his knees and began withdrawing the Blake & Son boxes. The crowd moved obediently to the east wing and formed a line that snaked its way outside. as a friend.The lawyers had been in court all morning haggling over a piece of land up in the mountains.HIS INVOLVEMENT with gambling was limited to a weekend junket to Atlantic City with two other law professors. He lifted one end of the sofa and moved it six inches away from the bookshelves. A signthat read CRAWFORD INVESTIGATIONS pointed to stairs on one side of the building. at least for the moment.""What a disaster. could I?""Cash is still legal." Harry Rex had been up for hours. Harry Rex said he would. He crouched low and moved behind the sofa for a better look.The Atlee bloodline was thinning to Air Jordan 19 sad and inevitable halt. he dismissed them and they scattered. civic club. could he? And when could he count it?At some point. He wanted to go for a quick run. as if it were some grand estate with a staff and a social calendar. For the most part the faculty was a close group. right?""Right. You're the executor.Too cheap. and they eventually got around to it. but his mouth was dry. Now he had to plan the next step. but he just won't leave it alone. from all places. He lifted one end of the sofa and moved it six inches away from the bookshelves. a place that had been willed to him and his brother. Aside from luggage."So I'll get twenty-five thousand bucks in a year?" Forrest said.""The one in Memphis. then he drifted away.""I'll put out the word."Did he ever include Claudia in anything?" Ray asked. and was accepted everywhere." he said. Ray's name was nowhere on the paperwork for 37F.""And I live in Virginia. and as it sped along the taxiway toward the private terminal. the Shenandoah Valley changing as the farmers crossed and recrossed their perfect rows. then the money would quickly be removed from the trunk of the little TT convertible and repackaged in Blake & Son boxes and put back where it came from. but rather at Maple Run. It was a nice bar. The house stood there year after year. and his brother turned to see him. like an athlete swapping teams at the trading deadline. his casket was covered with the Stars and Stripes. Thirty-four messages awaited him. then we'll never see each other again. "For the first week. Ray wandered among the slots and scoped out the tables. The dealer pulled it close to his face. taking the contract. all were as wary as Ray.It was impossible not to admire the fortune spread before him. He crouched low and moved behind the sofa for a better look. Not yet. Forrest for an entire menu of banned substances. And because of this a contingent of Reservists from the local armory snapped to attention when Retired Captain Atlee was stopped in the center of the courthouse rotunda. He got the impression she had plenty of stories. He was due a sabbatical in a couple of years. Let's get him buried. There are a bunch of lawyers down here chasing those cases. and by Tuesday packs of young teenagers were hiding in the woods." Ray agreed. Just for the hell of it. He glanced at his watch.Ray pushed aside thoughts of the other aircraft long enough to make a textbook landing.He could park in the street while he dashed back and forth. cracking through the darkness. The first was Harry Rex. You want a beer?""No. everything was sticking to his ribs. couple of hours of rest and I'm ready to roll. He dropped to his knees and began withdrawing the Blake & Son boxes. instruments. Signed up forty today. nobody else recognized him. The merchants around the square came out to bid farewell to Judge Atlee.Let them have the damned money! One less thing to worry about.""Keep your eyes open. He crouched beside the kitchen table."Let's take it for a spin. all arranged nearly in chronological order. shoved the bags this way and that. He kept telling himself this. You there?""I'm listening. clear words. there was a cop or two always watching.""Let's get through one funeral at a time.""I'll be back in two weeks. They never had dinners at their home.Tonight he needed to think. who was not a bad dancer himself. was a small white plastic container.It must be real. Twenty-seven boxes of cash. weather. let's go after him. Poole had an amazing capacity for science and math. There wouldn't be many more trips home. You can take him now." Ray studied his intently because he didn't wish to look around the gathering. "I'm so sorry. and Fog was delighted for the rare chance to fly one. Still straight and slim. The guilty party was dead.""What a disaster.Across the Tennessee line.He could've pulled it off. now that they were men. Ray swatted away spiderwebs. I've been at war with the IRS for eighteen years. too. Sewanee got two thousand dollars a year. He and Forrest were rocking gently in the swing. or juvenile matter.""Keep your guard up. He wanted to go home.""Not a bad idea. He's tanked.The largest batch came from those who had received the Judge's charity. the Judge had never played the stock market. The prospect of a cash transaction had raised his spirits."I guess we should??ve been here. ordered delinquent fathers to jail - all manner of drastic and far-reaching decrees that were accomplished merely by signing his name. Not once in thirty years. Ray said. he would have sat there a long time reliving their marriage. he would not be unhappy. his marriage license.""He agrees we need to spend some dough to fix it up. "And hopefully this series will be over.And he would be busy at his desk in his study. Ray was quiet."Where's Forrest?" she asked. It was Harry Rex."Would you like something to drink?" asked the pit boss. You there?""I'm listening.The Coffee Shop was favored by the farmers. Forrest. He wore a battered Cubs baseball cap. then sitting down. then it's full."You need to go to the rest room?" Harry Rex asked.Dell dashed by and somehow managed to refill both coffee cups and pat Ray on the shoulder without missing a stride.""On a bad night?""Five hundred. Perhaps Alzheimer's had crept into his life. a hastily built box the size of a football field.The image of a cleaning service turned loose at Maple Run bothered him for a while. shook her head. it's the old cash discount. had never bought a single share of stock.LUNCH WAS tamales and sodas at a drive-in on the Air Jordan 10 of town. and a stick or two of worthless furniture he'd picked up at a flea market downtown for authenticity. smiling gamely as the faculty took the field with a most unimpressive lineup. same as everybody else. His lips were together with a hint of a smile. He parked on level one. burglaries.The coroner. For the most part the faculty was a close group. then I asked him for money. We're friends now. blah. exactly. and the crowd sat." He was walking toward his car as he talked. Sleep was made even more difficult with the knowledge that he was being billed a hundred dollars an hour through the night. and ducked into a narrow hallway. But if you go to Sewanee. watching the three windows with his gun ready. It will fly from New York to Paris. Ray hoped he was in Memphis. Any respect he might've once had for cops had long since been abandoned. Suzie says they'll be lucky to get thirty couples."Could he have rat-holed ninety thousand?" Ray asked. all nice and confidential." Harry Rex answered. If the Judge had somehow accumulated the money by illegal means. clear his head. and each lesson paid for on the spot with cash. one of those Higginbotham boys who sell used cars.""Let's not start that. Each had Air Jordan 13 a small paragraph of condolences. one that relied more on bullying than on shrewd tactics. he would buy the Bonanza and fly everywhere. Bury a fortune. It appeared to be a slow night. left Wall Street. a professor of law at a prestigious university. Ray had read Audi's announcement of a brand-new sports car about eighteen months earlier. then shrugged and said. "For the first week. For no salary. where Ray survived by waiting tables at an oyster bar in the French Quarter. a little too fast. you know that. Ray knew that much for sure because he'd watched the vitals in the local paper - births. See you. "Here's the appraisal. he boxed up three decades' worth of useless files and notes and dusty old books and took them home and stacked them in his study.""Five thousand for what?"He wiped his mouth with one long swipe."The name of Rusty Wattle was duly recorded and locked away forever in Ray's memory. "I guess he won't need a new ribbon after all. then the same for the other end. It was a terrible financial blunder. a little for everyone until it was all gone.Spring in the Piedmont. Both searches produced nothing. when there was plenty of light and before the town began moving. regardless of the number of stains and cinder holes. and said farewell to no one because no one really cared when he came or went. Forrest for an entire menu of banned substances." The questions would follow. a tray of hefty biscuits with a bowl of butter. though at this altitude he could see much farther."Are you gonna talk to the old man?" he was asking. looking at a tax return."I want something to remember."Forrest shifted somehow in the porch swing and the chains creaked. I'm flying to Atlantic City this afternoon.""He's dead. if by chance they met there. I called. where most of the old buildings had been renovated for more urban-style housing. with bodyguards. The Judge met him during an ugly family matter in court. the flimsy one with the malfunctioning lock. this great detox center that the old man paid for. but wearing it well. Twenty-seven boxes of cash. the latest style from either Hollywood or Paris. He shoved it wider."Stories of the war between Forrest and the Judge could be told forever. "Mexico."Ray. he said. and their ghosts grew restless and roamed about. in pain but not complainin'." said Forrest. then caught himself. on the edge of Holly Springs. heads could be turned. He returned to Clanton only for funerals. Wouldn't affect his life in the least. A new one sells for somewhere Air Jordan 16 twenty-five million dollars. which could not hide his dumpy little belly; Lew with shrubs of bright gray hair above his ears; Lew the old goat trying to buy respect by saving the birds; Lew with the arthritic back and slow feet who moves like a dump truck; Lew proud of his trophy wife in her million-dollar dress. And no one but Forrest could get by with it. Taped to the inside was a small square piece of paper with a typed message that read: "It would be a mistake to spend the money. the burial. Like I said. Flying was a bargain. Sitting in a folding chair at the edge of his father's open grave. And because of this a contingent of Reservists from the local armory snapped to attention when Retired Captain Atlee was stopped in the center of the courthouse rotunda. and I don't mind. Fog had few other interests. he told himself. The estate would not be complicated because there would be so little to inventory. don't you think?""He'll always be the Judge. and at one time or another had tried virtually every job at the lesser levels of the legal profession. Air Jordan 21 taps or bugs. stuff like that?" Ray asked." he said. "What family?" He had no children.After doing so.""Me too."No. and in broad strokes Talbert laid out the current problems. "How much?""A boxful. She sees them all day long. We had this Nazi right-wing governor a few years back - ""I remember him."Where you going?" demanded Docker. black socks. Above. and went to take a shower. but he did it without my knowledge. all thirty thousand souls - blacks.She.It was the wind after all. Mr. sounded groggy. or maybe just a beer store where he would buy a case and slug it as he drove. still strapped in. and he made a list of the pallbearers. And perhaps have a few for her. then I asked him for money." but Ray caught himself. A new ribbon had been needed for a decade. They did not. the opinion could not have been more perfect." Harry Rex said several times. The night was cool so he opened a window and listened to the cars as they left town and faded over the hills. Sounds like Wattle or whoever it was wanted your buddies at the airport to give you a good description.""Sounds like a job for the executor. Bro."Ray. T. Cocktail waitresses in silly costumes showing skin and hauling drinks. There was an ex-wife but no prospect of a current one. I thought I was ready for it. and he certainly knew how to handle it better than Ray. he kept a perfect poker face as if he'd been winning like this for years. had no bad habits except for his pipe. Some. all talking at once. Never would anyone know."She'd found a better deal. Not yet." he said.""Keep your eyes open. "But Congress won't allow it. searches. no change in temperature. just a few inches above the floor. stopping inches behind Harry Rex's Cadillac. a small one.""I'll be back in two weeks. 2000. The drawers to the rolltop were filled with stationery. tired of death. looking for keys.""What's that?""A morphine pack. Where is it?"Ray flinched slightly and his heart stopped. He dropped to his knees and began withdrawing the Blake & Son boxes. He was dealt an ace and a king. With the runway in sight. gotten her pregnant with the children Ray was supposed to father. the casinos were all the same. it was Chancellor Reuben Y Atlee. the aroma of sour mash followed quickly. with a flight instructor named Fog Newton. which vanished when she realized who Ray was. Twenty minutes later. then when the pain hit he stretched out on the sofa. They ran the politics and banks and civic clubs and school boards. He stared at the pallid hands resting peacefully.The stories and photos made him sad. Under the close eye of Fog. and we've caught a few crooks that way. he was certain. Is this still the best number to reach him?""I guess. Maybe it was counterfeit. He circled around and eased up on the poker tables. probably the best appraiser in north Mississippi. not for a moment." said Harry Rex. not the other way around.""I like it. with hands and feet together. The red and yellow maples that once lined the street had died of some unknown disease. It attracted a thousand top students and a very bright faculty. None were worn badly."Ten minutes of insults and rental forms.""Who was he?""Never saw him before.Ray was impressed by the crowd. first through the slots where the crowd was older and subdued. When's the funeral?""Tuesday. new motels. not surprisingly. When Forrest sat down next to him. as a friend. He fixed a pot of coffee. a bitter defeat from which he would never recover. all spillover from the casinos a mile away. Back to the dining room window. The third might be impossible. were discussing illicit activity. Bro. The two-hundred-horsepower engine started smoothly. according to his mother. He opened windows and blinds so he could see and hear any visitors. "Not really. "I have a farm just east of town."When are you coming back?" he asked Ray. so he could enjoy the show. he'd be looking for money.""It's brilliant. Twenty minutes later. Ray grabbed the empty pitcher of tea on the counter and hurled it at the door." then said a short prayer.""Sounds like a job for the executor. Andy was the only cop protecting Clanton at that time. number two behind Cessna traffic. the preachers got things organized and launched a counterattack. had begun each lesson with a gruesome tale of fire and death caused by pilots too hurried or lazy to use checklists. another pilot came on the radio. Even worse.There wasn't a lawyer in the county with serious cash. If someone was after the money. For eighty bucks an hour he could rent a Cessna that would take him a mile above the earth.""I talked to him five hours ago. Blackjack tables crowded with subdued players slugging free beer and whiskey. He tried for a half-day rate because he would need it only for a few hours. no cat. seeking injunctive relief. small flat ass. but simply nodded at Mr. Their clothes were nicer. then no one would ever know it. one feeble key at a time. He had disappeared so many times over the years. But Ray parked three blocks nike factory outlet store just the same. The Judge didn't believe in zip codes either. "He and I used to go once a month. charm. huh?" Fog said.Judge Reuben V Atlee was dead.At the bottom of a tiny closet in the hall.""May I ask why not?""My mother. I doubt he'll remember it this mornin'. all spillover from the casinos a mile away. then silence. But crime was rare in Charlottesville. but Forrest wouldn't budge. There were the churches - Baptist. One just happened to be married.""Where'd you find this?" Ray asked.""I prefer to deal in cash. chatting aimlessly about the final exam."Why are you awake?" asked the deep voice of Corey Crawford. "Clean the damned thing first. Ray wore his new suit and looked tired. the roof leaked. You know how he loved to write checks.""Do oak. All those folks you just mentioned can pay their respects in public."Tell me about it. a person with marked money will use it in one general location over a period of time."Yes. If someone was after the money. It opened at five every morning but Sunday. but Air Jordan 26 seemed unlikely he could have cleared $3. a two-seat convertible he'd owned for less than a week. swore to God. The testimony had been so sad and pitiful that everyone. the Judge had earned a chancellor's salary. evidently untouched since Irene's death. He'd had too much coffee. You don't sleep with a woman for years then cut her off without a replacement. He was an expert on such matters. and most of those folks have a good dose of blue blood. and she wanted to know what was in the will. I can find folks around here to do it. cancel a class. so he asked me to do a will that gave the house to the church. where no one was there to hear it. but was thankful nonetheless.If he'd had a gun he would've stuck it in his pocket. The letters were long and heartfelt. He placed ten black chips in the circle and with an audience hit blackjack. Ray froze. settling into his recliner. But he had lived his life and the Judge had lived his. watching Harry Rex but not listening to him. Then he tidied up the study.""He went to a bar. He would want them to think he had work to do. When Forrest sat down next to him.""I don't think so either. He had a student-pilot on a cross-country to Lynchburg and back. He chose a Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church as his time and place. pretending to read but listening to the lawyers. A ten-by-ten bay was forty-eight dollars a month. with a small desk and a small sofa. a touch of morphine for a little relief. Fortunately. who went eight months without speaking to him. and at one time or another had tried virtually every job at the lesser levels of the legal profession.118." he said.Fog was quiet as they rode back to the airport. pulling the gurney. Ray jumped in a taxi and fifteen minutes later was at the Treasury Department on Pennsylvania Avenue." said Forrest. the only one who knew where ate might be headed with this. and. away from the busy airspace around Dulles and Reagan National. who stayed close to his brother's shoulder with his chinStanding next to the casket. where he sat on the swing and waited for Forrest.""You'll be there. and a navy sweatshirt with VIRGINIA across the chest. He never got less than eighty percent of the vote in Ford County. tail number eight-one-five-romeo. It was also an antebellum but without the vines and weeds. his authority had been granted by the State of Mississippi.THE SUMMONSTo outpace the counterfeiters. a retreating squeeze from Ray. " he said with a mouthful. a dead father. there's plenty of it. He'd love it. which vanished when she realized who Ray was. Ray. shedding a few tears." Yates said."Four or five?" asked Forrest. His long sandy hair was turning gray much quicker than Ray's.Next to his hands. and fly back to Charlottesville. The retail shops were mixed in with the banks and law offices and cafes. "Some guy came poking around today. A wake would require a thorough scouring of the house by a cleaning service. Where is it?"Ray flinched slightly and his heart stopped.The apartment looked precisely the same as when he'd left it." he said in a lower voice. Retrieved like buried treasure from the crumbling home of a man who had earned less than half that during his lifetime. Ray opened the other five doors of the cabinet. They were moving slowly in his general direction.""Other places"Sometimes I do lunch. Three hundred is her max.