The Clearing

by sucker

16 May 2012 4198 readers Score 8.7 (50 votes) PDF Mobi ePub Txt


I'm Mark Greyson. I'm twenty-eight years old and work as a CPA mainly out of my home.

Two years ago, I received a visit from a private investigator that changed my life. I need to give you some background information so you will understand.

From what I found out during my youth, my mother's father disowned her when she became pregnant with me and married my father. He said that my father was no good and would never amount to anything.

My parents moved from the Denver area to the east coast of North Carolina. Dad got a good job in construction and became successful. We lived very comfortably and had all we needed. My mother tried to contact her father but he had moved, changed his number and had it unlisted. I never knew him at all.

Now to the visit from the attorney two years ago.

I had just finished working on a clients books and had stopped for the day. As I pulled a cold beer from the fridge, there was a knock at the door. It was a Friday afternoon and I was looking forward to a quiet weekend.

Answering the door, I saw a man about forty wearing a suit and tie.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, sir, you can if you are Mark Anthony Greyson," he replied.

"That's me, and just who is asking?"

"I'm John Lucas," he said, handing me his card. "I'm a private investigator. Was your mothers maiden name Carol Sue Waters?"

"Yes, it was. May I ask what this is all about?"

"If I may I come in, I'll be glad to explain everything to you."

I invited him in and led him to the den. After sitting on the sofa across from my chair, he began.

"Mr. Greyson, I work for an attorney in Denver and have been searching for you for four months. '

They are handling the estate of your late grandfather, Marcus Waters."

"Wait a minute," I said. "My late grandfather?"

"Yes, sir. He passed away four and a half months ago and you were named in his will."

"Mr. Lucas, I've never met my grandfather," I said, and proceeded to tell him what I had learned over the years.

He said he understood and proceeded to tell me that he wasn't permitted to give me any information except that the attorneys would like for me to visit their offices in Denver as soon as possible.

He gave me a card with an attorney's name on it as well as the firms name, address and phone number.

"As soon as I leave here, I'll be contacting them and letting them know that I've located you and that I assume that you will be contacting them."

Stunned, I thanked him and said I would give the attorney a call.

We bid each other goodbye with a handshake and after closing the door, I went to my bedroom and after going through some of my mother's keepsakes, I found the only picture of my grandfather she had. He was a stern, no-nonsense looking man.

Looking at my watch, I saw it was just after five. In Denver, it was just after three. Picking up my phone, I called the lawyer's number. After telling the secretary who I was and who I needed to speak with, there was a short pause.

"Mr. Greyson, Jack Taylor here. I just spoke with Mr. Lucas. I'm glad we finally located you."

"Mr. Taylor, I never knew my grandfather so how can I be in his will?"

"Mr. Greyson, I would really prefer to go over all this in person. Can you come to Denver?"

"Yes, I guess so. I'll have to cancel some appointments but I should be able to be there Tuesday afternoon."

"Great. I'll make reservations for you at the Hyatt Hotel. It's just a few blocks from our office. I'll arrange fr a driver to pick you up at the hotel at nine Wednesday morning."

"Fine. If there is a change, I'll let you know," I told him.

"I look forward to meeting you," he replied. "Let me know when you will be arriving and I'll have someone meet your flight.

I hung up and wondered why he couldn't tell me more on the phone.

I began changing my appointments, clearing all of the following week. Once that was done, I grabbed another beer and tried to relax, although my brain was working overtime.

After a while I called the airline and scheduled a flight out Tuesday morning at ten and arriving in Denver at three their time. On Monday, I called Mr. Taylor and gave him my flight number and arrival time.

When I arrived, I got my bag and walked out to the passenger pick-up area. There, next to a limo, stood a driver holding a card with my name. Walking up to him, I gave my name and he opened the door and once I was seated, he placed my bag in the trunk.

As we pulled out, he lowered the privacy window saying, "Mr. Greyson, please feel free to help yourself to the bar."

I thanked him and opened the fridge and grabbed a beer. At the hotel, he handed my bag to the bellman and said he'd pick me up at nine the following morning.

I was waiting and at nine sharp, he pulled up, opened the door and once inside drove me to the office. Mr. Taylor greeted me in the lobby and escorted me to his office.

After we both had a cup of coffee in hand, he said, "Mr. Greyson, you may not have known your grandfather but he knew of you."

He pulled out a file and said, "With your permission, I'll read his will exactly as it was dictated to us."

I nodded and sipped my coffee.

He went through the normal crap of being of sound mind and will and said that he had indeed officially disinherited my mother and that he had been wrong about my father. He then admitted that he hadn't been man enough to tell either my mother or father that he was wrong. He said the only thing he knew to do to try and make it up t me was to leave his entire estate to me.

"What exactly does that include?" I asked, figuring it wasn't much.

"Mr. Greyson, to put it in simple terms, you are now a very wealthy man. Your grandfather was a very shrewed business man."

His words stunned me to no end as he continued with the details.

I soon learned that I was to receive his home ad property which amounted to twenty-fine hundred acres of woodlands where his home was located on a three thousand acre lake. There was also numerous stocks and bonds worth seven figures, and a banking account that also was in seven figures.

I gasped and became light headed. He noticed ad came to my side asking if I was okay.

"I'm not sure. I was expecting anything near what you told me."

"When you're ready, there are some papers for you to sign then if you'd like, I'll take you to his property."

"Let's get it over with," I said.

After everything was signed, he called for his driver and together we rode the fifty or so miles out of town to his property. He had the remote to open the gate and after a half mile or so down the drive through thick woods, we came to a clearing next to the lake.

The house was a one story log home with a wide porch completely encircling the house. Inside was the living room, dining room, kitchen and breakfast room, den with a half bath, master suite with sitting area and large bath with jacuzzi tub and large walk-in shower, and three other bedrooms each with their own private bath. The place was huge.

"You're grandfather often had guest here to go fishing. The lake is stocked with bass and catfish."

"This place is huge," I said.

"Yes, it is, but he loved having company on weekends."

I ambled around the house, taking it all in. The furnishings were rustic, as was the house itself and I loved it. It was elegant yet homely and inviting.

Soon, we returned to Denver and Mr. Taylor said he would file the will for probate. He said he knew the judge and would do what he could to rush it through.

Before leaving his office for my hotel, he handed me an envelope. "Your grandfather personally left this for you the last time he was here."

I took it and placed it in my inside jacket pocket, wanting to open it in the privacy of my room.

Then as I left, he handed me another of his cards saying, "On the back is George's number. He's the driver. He has been assigned to you as your driver for the length of your stay. Call him at any hour when you want to go out."

Once in the limo, I told George to just drive around the city for a while. As he did, I decided to go ahead and open the envelope. Inside was a letter, hand written by my grandfather, apologizing for not coming forward and getting to know me. With the letter was a thousand dollars saying it was for my expenses until his estate was settled.

By Friday, everything had been settled and everything had been transferred to my name. It seemed extremely unnerving to look at my checkbook and see a seven figure balance. I had been given the keys to the house as well as the gate remote.

I flew home and made my decision. I contacted several other accountants I knew and trusted and told them I was leaving and moving to Colorado and would be referring clients to them.

I made a list of the accountants and visited my clients. with each of their files in hand, I gave them the files and the list of the accountants. They all wished me well.

By the end of the week, I had contacted a mover and had all my personal belongings packed and loaded for shipment. I also contacted a realtor and put the house on the market, fully furnished. For a quick sale, I priced the house at market price. The furniture left behind was included in the price.

I drove to Denver and to my new home, having my personal items delivered the day after my arrival. Once settled I called Mr. Taylor and asked if he would act as my attorney and he readily agreed.

Within a week, I decided what I wanted to do. I called Mr. Taylor and told him of my plans. He said my grandfather would greatly approve, and made a suggestion on who to call, saying that all he had heard was good things about them. The company was BJ Land Services.

I called them and set up an appointment for them to come out. When they arrived they pressed the buzzer at the gate and I let them in.

I soon saw a pick up arrive and out climbed two men in late twenties or early thirties. Both were well built and muscular. One had his head shaved and the other had his hair cut in a Marine style cut.

Introduction were made and the bald one was Brad Connors and the other Josh Phillips.

It was late afternoon so I asked if they would like a beer. They both quickly accepted. as we sat on the back porch overlooking the lake, I explained that I wanted to clear some property farther around the lake and build a pier and open it up to the public on weekends for fishing.

They said that they could handle the entire job and would even build some picnic tables if I wanted them there also. I agreed and they said that they would be out on Monday morning to go over exactly where I wanted it.

They arrived and the three of us made our way to the area I had chosen. It was about a quarter mile from the house and as we went through the area, they tied red streamers around the trees that would be left. Then I showed them where I wanted the road leading to it. I said i wanted the area fenced to protect the rest of the property. I gave them a copy of the plot plan of my property and indicated where we were. They took it and said that they would be back on Saturday with plans laid out and a cost.

Saturday they arrived and we went over the plans and I said it looked great. There was a nice gravel parking lot, restrooms, and pier. I asked the price and how long it would take.

"Mr.Greyson, I'll tell you now, we do not rush our jobs. And after we get some cleared, we will stop and get your inspection and approval."

"Sounds good to me, but please call me Mark," I told them.

Fine, and we're Brad and Josh. We will begin on Monday with the road in. We'll get it done first so we can get our equipment in."

"How many people will you have here?"

"Just the two of us. Once we get some clearing done, we'll have a couple of guys we know come in to haul off the brush we clear."

"Fine," I said. "I'll leave all that up to you two." Looking again at their plans, i asked why the entrance road curved around.

"It prevents people from seeing in from the road and possibly trying to come in when you're closed."

"Nice."

They began their work and soon the road was cleared. Then the work of clearing the main area began. They had been at it a couple of days and I could hear their equipment faintly off in the distance. Around noon, I headed over to see how it was coming. Walking over, as I neared the area, I heard the equipments roar stop and figured that they were taking lunch.

As I neared the work area, I got a glimpse of them through the trees and brush. What I saw shocked me.

Brad was climbing down from a large piece of equipment and Josh was standing nearby. As Brad stepped to the ground, Josh stepped to him and they leaned forward and began kissing each other as their hands reached for each others crotch.

I froze for a second then began to ease closer to get a better view and see if I was seeing things correctly.

Easing closer, I stepped behind a large tree and as I did, I stepped on a dead twig which snapped loudly.

Hearing it, they quickly separated and tried to act normal as I began walking up.

"Hey, guys," I said in a casual tone. "Breaking for lunch?"

"Yea," Josh said. "Anything wrong?"

"No, why?" I asked.

"Well, we just weren't expecting you," he replied.

'That was obvious,' I thought to myself. Instead, I said, "I just wanted to let you now that I'll be gone for a couple days and see if you were going to need anything."

"Nah," Brad said. "If we do it can wait until you get back."

"Okay, then. I'll see you when I get back."

I headed home knowing that I wasn't going anywhere. I had plans on coming back the next day at lunch time but i was damn sure going to be quieter.'

TO BE CONTINUED.........

by sucker

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