Rewriting the Will Learn English through story level 3

chapter 1

the last day

it’s the last day

even the last hour now

i’m an old man

lonely and unloved

sick and hurting

and tired of living

i am ready for death

it has to be better than this

i own this tall glass building

the land around it and the 2 000 people

who work here

i own silver in nevada

coffee in kenya

and coal in angola

my company owns businesses that produce

electricity

make computers and print books

i’m worth more than 11 billion dollars

the money

is my greatest problem

i had three families three ex-wives who

had seven children

they’re gathering here today

because i’m dying

and it’s time to divide the money

i don’t care who gets the money

but i do care very much who doesn’t get

it

my first wife was lillian

we married young

i was 24 and she was 18

and had four children

her oldest boy is now 47.

troy jr or tj

was thrown out of college when he was 19

for selling drugs

i gave him like the others

5 million dollars on his 21st birthday

it ran like water through his fingers

tj’s brother rex is 44.

our oldest daughter is libergale the

child i loved desperately

until she went to college and forgot

about me she married an african and i

took her name out of my will

our younger daughter mary ross

is married to a doctor

he wants to be super rich

but they’re heavily in debt

all lillian’s children are the same

they’re in debt and unemployable

and they want my money

after lillian i married my secretary

janie

a beautiful young thing 22 years younger

than me

she had two children

the younger one rocky was killed in a

car with two of his friends

her daughter gina is married to a fool

who could lose half a billion dollars in

three years

i married tyra when i was sixty each

family has hired a psychiatrist

their names are printed on cards in

front of them

dr zedell

dr flo

dr tyson

i study their eyes and faces

they expect me to be crazy

but i’m going to prove them wrong

josh stafford is speaking

my name is josh stafford and i am the

lawyer for mr troy phelan

the psychiatrists in this room will

examine mr phelan

if they believe that he is wholly sane

then he intends to sign a new will

stafford taps his pencil on the thick

will lying before us

my families haven’t seen the will

so they can only guess what it contains

they believe that the money will be

divided fairly among the children with

generous gifts to my ex-wives

stafford prepared the will and with my

permission

this is what he has implied

the psychiatrists begin their

examination zadel goes first

mr phelan can you tell us the date time

and place

i drop my chin to my chest like a fool

and think about the question

monday

december 9th

1996

the place is my office

the time

about

2 30 in the afternoon i say

and where is your office

mclean virginia

they ask many more questions

then taishan says

what is your current physical condition

i’m sick

i have cancer

my doctors say i won’t live more than

three months

i can feel their excitement

the rumor has been confirmed

are you under the influence of drugs or

alcohol

no

back to zadell

mr phelan you have about

11 billion dollars is that correct

yes

do you intend to sign a new will today

yes i do

is that the will on the table in front

of you

it is

does that will leave a large part of

your estate to your children

it does

zedell places his pen on the table and

looks at stafford

in my opinion mr phelan is mentally

capable of signing his will

do you all chapter 2

troy phelan’s testament

sneed reached the balcony just in time

to scream in horror

then he watched helplessly as mr phelan

fell silently

growing smaller and smaller until he

struck the ground sneed stared in

disbelief

then he began to cry

josh stafford was a step behind him and

witnessed most of the fall

it took him a minute or two to recover

from the shock and start thinking like a

lawyer again

he watched the family down below collect

around phelan’s body

then he went back into the room

the camera was still on

snead faced it raised his right hand and

swore to tell the truth

then explained what he’d just witnessed

stafford opened the envelope and held

the yellow sheets of paper close enough

for the camera to see

yes

i saw him sign that snead said just

seconds ago

did he say this was his last will and

testament

he called it his testament

stafford made durbin repeat the same

statement

then placed himself in front of the

camera and gave his version of events

when he finished he told sneed to leave

the room

stafford turned back to the camera and

looked at the sheets of yellow paper

the first sheet was a letter

stafford spoke to the camera

this letter is dated today

monday december 9th 1996.

it is addressed to me from troy phelan

i will read it in full

dear josh

i am dead now

these are my instructions and i want you

to follow them closely

first i want a quick examination of my

body

second there will be no funeral

i want to be cremated and my ashes

scattered from the air over my ranch in

wyoming

third i want you to keep my will secret

until january 15 1997.

the law does not require you to produce

it immediately

goodbye

troy

stafford carefully picked up the second

piece of paper

this is a one-page document

it is the last testament of troy l

phelan

i will read it all

the last testament of troy l phelan

to each of my children troy phelan jr

rex phelan

libergale jeter

mary ross jackman gina strong and rap

the following day stafford met tip

durbin and together they drove to the

medical examiner’s office in mclean

the cause of death is obvious there’s no

trace of alcohol or drugs the medical

examiner said

and there was no sign of cancer

troy was in good health at the time of

his

death did he tell you he had cancer

durbin asked stafford on the drive back

yes

several times

why did he lie

who knows

everybody thought he was dying why did

he jump

he was a very lonely old man

it seems like a nasty trick durbin said

he promises money to his family

the psychiatrists say that he isn’t

crazy

then at the last minute he signs a

different will

why did he hate them so much

they embarrassed him

they fought with him

they never earned an honest dime and

they spent many of his millions

troy never planned to leave them

anything

back at his office stafford talked to

members of his team

you have to find a person who

i suspect

does not want to be found

he told them what he knew about rachel

lane

there wasn’t much

first find out about the world tribes

missions who are they how do they

operate

how do they pick their people

where do they send them

everything

find out about her mother evelyn

cunningham

she’s dead now

find out all you can

tj nursed a sore head until noon

then drank a beer

he walked around his dirty apartment

he couldn’t find his wife

he and biff had been through three

fights already that day

he opened another beer and looked at

himself in the mirror in the hall

troy phelan jr he said son of troy

phelan 10th richest man in america worth

11 billion

yes

he dressed in his best suit

a gray one he’d worn yesterday when dear

old dad faced the psychiatrists and

performed so wonderfully

armani here i come

he whistled joyfully

life had been soft and luxurious for the

first 20 years

and then he received his inheritance

his 5 million had disappeared before he

reached 30

and his father hated him for it

what can i do with half a billion

dollars he asked himself as he drove

along the highway

gina felin strong was 30 and married to

cody husband number two

he had big dreams

but after six months his businesses had

made huge losses

the five million troy gave gina on her

21st birthday had shrunk to less than a

million

and their debts were growing then troy

jumped from the window

they spent the morning looking for homes

in swinx mill the place of their

grandest dreams

by dusk they were looking at an empty

house priced at four and a half million

and seriously considering making an

offer

rex

age 44 brother of tj

was under criminal

investigation a bank had failed and the

fbi was making fierce inquiries

he owed more than seven million dollars

now troy was dead rex could stop

worrying

he could pay his debts and play with his

money

he spent the day with hark gettys his

lawyer

he wanted the money quickly desperately

and he pressured gettys to call josh

stafford we have to see that will he

shouted at hark throughout the day

hark calmed him with a long lunch and

good wine

amber rex’s wife dropped by

and found them both drunk

she wasn’t angry

she loved rex

more than ever now

hark gettys was excited the old man was

dead and his crazy family was a lawyer’s

dream

this was his chance to start his own

company and to make a lot of money

he wanted a long fight over the will a

fight that would make him famous and

rich

according to the internet the world

tribe’s missions headquarters was in

houston texas

their goal was to spread christianity

around the world

and they had 4 000 missionaries working

with native peoples

28 indian tribes in brazil were being

ministered to by world tribes

missionaries

these missionaries received training in

living in the jungle languages

and medical skills

so rachel lived in a hut

and slept on a bed she’d built herself

and cooked over a fire

she ate food she’d grown or trapped and

killed

and taught bible stories to the children

and the adults

she knew nothing and certainly cared

nothing for the worries and pressures of

the world

we may never find her durban said

chapter three

nate’s mission

nate walked to his window and looked at

the shenandoah valley one thousand

meters below

it was covered with new snow

he remembered that it was almost

christmas and the thought saddened him

the kids were gone now

either grown or taken away by their

mothers

the last thing nate wanted was another

christmas in a bar with other drunks

breakfast was black coffee which he had

with his nurse sergio

for the last four months sergio had also

been his best friend

he knew everything about the miserable

life of nate o’reilly

do you have a guest today mr stafford

sergio said wonderful

josh had visited once a month

nate was resting in his room when josh

arrived

you look great josh said

are you doing i need to get out of here

josh

your doctor says another week or two

great

then what

can i come back to the company

not so fast nate

you have a couple of problems

we can deal with a bankruptcy but that

still leaves the problem of your taxes

from 1992 to 1995

nate had failed to report about 60

dollars in other income

so what am i supposed to do nate asked

do you think i’m going to prison

troy phelan died

josh said

and it took nate a second to understand

i didn’t know

when did he die

four days ago

jumped out of a window

he just signed two wills

the first prepared by me

the second and last he wrote himself

then he jumped

he left everything to an illegitimate

daughter i’ve never heard of

i want you to find her

me

yes

we don’t know where she is

how much did he about 11 billion before

taxes

does she know it

no

she doesn’t even know he’s dead

where is she

brazil we think

she’s a missionary working with a tribe

of indians

how long will i be gone nate asked

it’s a wild guess but i’d say 10 days

there’s no hurry

and she might be hard to find

what part of the country

west near bolivia

this mission she works for says the

phelan case landed on the desk of judge

f par wycliffe

he was thrilled to get such a famous

lawsuit

and called josh stafford to introduce

himself

is there a will wickliffe asked yes

there’s a will

where is it when will the money be

released

i have it josh said

my client asked me to wait until january

15th

why

the reason was simple troy wanted his

greedy children to spend a lot of money

before they found out he hadn’t left

them anything

i have no idea josh said

what’s in the will

i can’t tell you

i’m a little sympathetic to the feeling

family wycliffe said

they have a right to know what’s in the

will

i think we should read it to them on

december 27th

josh wanted to laugh

gather them all together the feelings

and their lawyers and their new friends

make sure the newspapers know about it

he could hear the crying and the cursing

as the feelings tried to understand what

their father had done to them

suddenly

josh couldn’t wait

the 27’s fine with me he said

good wickliffe said

i’ll let everybody know

there are lots of lawyers

it helps if you remember that there are

six kids and three ex-wives so there are

nine principal sets of lawyers

i hope my courtroom is big enough

i suggest you read the will josh said

wycliffe intended to

he imagined what would happen

people crowded together

not a sound as the envelope was opened

this would be one of his finest moments

reading a will that gave away

11

billion dollars

i assume the will is

interesting

the judge said

it’s very interesting

the judge actually smiled

as usual josh had carefully planned

nate’s release

he arrived at the hospital with a bag

full of clothes a passport tickets and

plenty of cash

how do you feel josh asked as they drove

south

could you stop at the nearest store

sure

why

i’d like to get some beer

very funny

i’d kill for a tall coca-cola

back in the car josh said

your flight goes to sao paulo then

you’ll go on to a city called chapter

four into the pantanal

valderruez was a pleasant man

happy with life in the way most

brazilians tend to be

he worked efficiently in his small

office just him and a secretary

he was proud of his english

he produced a large air map and pointed

to the pantanal

no roads or highways more than 100 000

kilometers of swamp

there were four red x’s along the

western edge of the map near bolivia

there are tribes here

he said to nate pointing to the marks

how large are they nate asked

we don’t really know

valdir replied

his words very slow and careful

he was trying hard to impress the

american with his english

a hundred years ago

there were many more

but the tribes grow smaller

they have little contact with the

outside world

their culture hasn’t changed for one

thousand years

do we know where the missionaries are

it is difficult to say

valdere pointed at two of the x’s

these are guato

there will probably be missionaries

around here

you must understand that there are at

least 20 different american and canadian

groups with missionaries in brazil

it’s easy to get into our country

and it’s easy to move around

no one really cares who is out there and

what they are doing

nate pointed at korumba

then to the nearest red x

how long does it take to get from here

to there

by plane

about an hour

by boat

from three to five days

then where’s my plane

it’s not that easy valdeire said

he pointed

these are cattle farms

only a few can be reached by boat

so they use small airplanes

the airstrips are marked in blue

even if you flew into the area you would

have to use a boat to get to the indians

how good are the airstrips

they’re all grass

sometimes they cut the grass

sometimes they don’t

the biggest problem is cows

cows

yes

cows like grass

sometimes it’s hard to land because the

cows are eating the airstrip

could i fly into the pantanal then ren

he thanked valdir and left the office he

walked toward the river and found a

small park

the late afternoon was humid

his shirt was stained with sweat

and stuck to his chest

what happened back at valdere’s office

had scared him

he sat on the edge of a picnic table

and looked at the great pantanal lying

before him

a musician began to play his guitar

as the sun sank slowly

over the bolivian mountains

not far away

a pilot agreed to fly

but he wanted to leave early and be back

in karumba by noon because it was

christmas eve

valdir had hired a guide called jv

he was 24 single and strong

he ran into the palace hotel wearing a

bush hat shorts black army boots

and a shiny knife in his belt

nate liked him immediately

his truck was old but ready for the

jungle

they roared through the streets of

korumba

slowing only slightly at red lights

completely ignoring stop signs

jv talked as he held the wheel like a

race driver

nate didn’t hear a word

his heart stopped at each new

intersection

the airport was empty

the pilot’s name sounded like milton

he was friendly enough but it was

obvious he didn’t want to fly or work on

the day before christmas

do you feel safe

nate asked javi when the pilot announced

he was ready

jv laughed and said no problem

this man has four small children and a

pretty wife why would he risk his life

koremba was immediately beneath them

to the east and north a dozen small

rivers spun circles around and through

each other

because of the floods the rivers were

full

and in many places ran together

in the west were the distant mountains

of bolivia

the sky was darker beyond the mountains

milton dropped to 4 000 meters to stay

below the clouds he was worried about

the dark sky

we’ll watch it for a few minutes jv said

milton wanted to go home

but nate at least wanted to see the

indian villages

he still held the faint hope that he

could somehow fly to meet rachel and

take her back to korumba

where they could have lunch in a nice

cafe and discuss her father’s case

raindrops began hitting chapter five

the slide

nate woke up covered in blood

it was still raining

milton and javi were lying on top of

each other but moving and struggling to

get out of their seats

nate found a window and stuck his head

out

the plane was on its side with a wing

cracked and folded under the cabin

blood was everywhere but it was from the

cow not the passengers

the boy with a stick led them to a small

stable

out of the storm milton dropped to his

knees and began to pray

they sat in the dirt for a long time

watching the rain

hearing the wind

thinking of what could have been

saying nothing

marco the owner of the cow

appeared an hour later and began a

heated discussion with jv and milton

about the value of the cow

i’ll pay for the creature nate said to

jv

jv asked the man how much

then said a hundred dollars

does he take american express

nate asked

but the humor missed its mark

i’ll pay it

he’d pay as much as that to stop marco

complaining

the deal was settled and the man became

their host

when he realized nate was from the

states he sent for his wife and kids

they ate rice and black beans around a

small table

the children sat on the floor beside the

table eating bread and rice watching

every move nate made

marco had a small boat with a motor

the paraguay river was five hours away

maybe he had enough gasoline

maybe he didn’t

but it would be impossible to get there

with all three men in the boat

jv had a plan

there was an army base on the edge of

kurumba

when the sky cleared nate carefully

unpacked the satellite phone and turned

on the power

the signal was strong

and marco and his family gathered around

he wondered if they’d ever seen a phone

jv called a friend who found phone

numbers

he then explained the situation to an

army officer and asked for help after

all they had had a plane crash

finally the commander himself came to

the phone

he and jv traded army talk for five

minutes places they’d been to people

they knew

then jv explained what had happened

no problem

hey after valdir hung up

nate got up and moved slowly around the

room

he saw the empty beer cans in the

wastebasket

he would deal with that later

this was not a slide

he had nearly died yesterday and that

changed things

every day was a gift now

why not enjoy its pleasures

just a little beer and wine

nothing stronger

nate dressed and walked into town

the stores were locked and the streets

were empty

he went back to the park and looked down

at the great panthenal in front of him

somewhere in the vast wetlands before

him

was rachel lane

she would soon be one of the richest

women in the world

how would she react to the news of her

good fortune

the possible answers made him

uncomfortable

they had learned little about rachel

evelyn cunningham her mother was from

the small town of delhi louisiana

when she was 19 she moved to baton rouge

and found a job as a secretary in one of

troy phelan’s companies

she was a beautiful woman

and troy spotted her during one of his

visits from new york

within a few months

evelyn was pregnant

troy’s people arranged for evelyn to go

to a hospital in new orleans where

rachel was born in november 1954.

evelyn never saw her child

troy arranged for the quick private

adoption of rachel by a minister and his

wife in montana

evelyn took ten thousand dollars and

returned to delhi

she moved in with her parents

rarely left the house

and began to miss her daughter

she wrote letters to troy

none of which were answered

as the years passed

evelyn became more and more depressed

she killed herself on november 2nd 1959

on rachel’s fifth birthday

she drove her parents car to the edge of

town

and jumped off a bridge

rachel was an only child

her adoptive father mr lane

died when she was 17.

troy re-entered her life as she was

finishing high school

maybe he felt guilty

maybe he was worried about her college

education and how she would afford it

rachel knew she was adopted but had

never shown an interest in her real

parents

troy met rachel sometime in the summer

of 1972.

chapter six

legal challenges

next morning jv drove to the river and

parked near the water’s edge

the santa lora hadn’t moved

he was pleased to see that welly had

arrived

well he wasn’t yet 18 but claimed he

could cook pilot guide clean and

navigate

jv knew he was lying

have you seen mr o’reilly jv asked

the american

no no sign of him

jv drove downtown to the hotel to find

nate

the girl at the front desk hadn’t seen

mr o’reilly

she phoned his room and no one answered

javy persuaded her to give him the key

the door was locked but unchained

and jv entered slowly

the first thing he noticed was the empty

bed

then he saw the bottles

one was empty

and the other half filled

he saw a bare foot

then stepped closer to see nate lying

between the bed and the wall

javi gently kicked his foot and the leg

moved at least he wasn’t dead

javy pulled nate up from the floor and

rolled him onto the bed

his eyes were swollen and still closed

his hair wild his breathing slow

nate

jv said loudly speak to me

no response

in the bathroom he wet a towel with cold

water

then wrapped it around nate’s neck

nate opened his mouth in an effort to

speak

where am i

he said

his tongue thick and sticky

in brazil

in your hotel room

i’m alive

more or less

jv carried nate into the bathroom into

the shower where he fell onto the

plastic floor

i’m sorry nate said over and over again

jv left him there and went downstairs

for a pot of strong coffee

it was almost two when welly heard them

coming

jv parked on the bank

there was no sign of the american

then a head slowly lifted itself from

inside the car

the eyes were covered with thick shades

and a cap was pulled as low as possible

jv walked to the passenger door and

helped mr o’reilly out

he looked very sick

with white skin that was wet with sweat

and he was too weak

to walk alone

jv nate slept for four hours and the

santa lora traveled slowly toward the

north

the sun was beginning to fall behind the

distant mountains of bolivia the air was

light and much cooler

the water is high jv said we’ll go much

faster on the return

he pointed to a place on the map

the first indian village is in this area

it will take two

maybe three days

nate didn’t care

time had stopped

his watch was in his pocket

he’d cheated death and so every day now

was a gift

are you okay jv asked

i’m fine

i feel good

this little trip will be good for me

there was a lot more jv wanted to ask

but nate wasn’t ready to talk

he went back to his hammock with the

papers josh had given him

he put insect repellent on his arms and

legs

and began to read

the courtroom filled with members of the

phelan family and their lawyers

at ten o’clock judge wickliffe came in

the room was silent as he took his place

at the front of the court

good morning he said

everyone smiled back

to his great satisfaction the room was

full

is everybody here he asked

i need to identify everyone

the first papers were filed by rex

phelan

hark gettys jumped to his feet

your honor i’m hark geddes he said

loudly i represent mr rex felin

thank you you may take your seat

wycliffe went around the tables taking

the names of the heirs and their lawyers

six children three ex-wives

everyone was present

22 lawyers wycliffe said to himself

do you have the will mr stafford he

asked

josh stood holding a file i do

you represented troy phelan wickliffe

asked

did you prepare a will for him

i prepared several

did you prepare his last will

there was a pause it grew longer as the

felons leaned closer

no

i did not

josh said slowly

the words were soft but they cut through

the air like thunder

the courtroom grew quiet

who prepared his last will and testament

wyclef asked

mr phelan himself

oh my god

heart get is said under his breath the

head of south american missions was a

woman named neva collier

she’d spent 11 years working in the

mountains of new guinea so she

understood the challenges of the 900

people whose activities she organized

and she was the only person who knew

that rachel porter had once been rachel

lane illegitimate daughter of troy

phelan

after medical school rachel had changed

her name to wipe out her past

she had no family

both adoptive parents had died

she had only troy

and she was desperate to remove him from

her life

after completing the world tribe’s

training rachel had told her secrets to

neva collier

neva had promised never to tell anyone

about rachel

including where she was in south america

sitting in her small neat office in

houston

neva read the extraordinary account of

mr phelan’s will

she’d followed the story since the

suicide

communication with rachel was slow

they exchanged mail twice a year in

march

and august

rachel usually called once a year from a

pay phone in kurumba when she went there

for supplies

neva had spoken to her the year before

rachel’s last vacation had been in 1992.

she had no interest in the united states

it was not her home

she belonged with her people

the lawyers met at a hotel in a large

room where the tables had been hastily

put together in a perfect square

there were 50 people in the room

no felines were present only their legal

teams

hark gettys started the meeting

he suggested that each lawyer briefly

state his or her ideas about the lawsuit

grit the lawyer hired by mary ross

phelan jackman and her husband

stood and demanded war we must challenge

the will

the old man was crazy

he jumped to his death

and he gave one of the world’s great

fortunes to an unknown heir

sounds crazy to me

we can find psychiatrists who’ll say he

was crazy

what about the three who examined him

before he jumped someone said from

across the table

that was stupid grit said

feeling fooled you and you guys fell for

it

the head of the legal team for gina and

cody strong was a woman named langhorne

she’d won chapter seven

alligators and indians

nate spent the morning reading

jv joined him for coffee

so what do you think of the pantanal he

asked

it’s magnificent

were you born here

i took my first breath in the hospital

at columba

but i was born on these rivers

this is my home

you told me your father was a river

pilot

yes

when i was a small boy i began going

with him

early in the morning when everybody was

asleep

he would allow me to take the wheel

i knew all the main rivers by the time i

was ten

and he died on the river

not this

but the takiri to the east

five years ago he was guiding a boat of

germans when a storm hit them

only the deckhand lived

he was quiet for a moment then he said

a lot of people want to destroy the

panthenal

big companies that own big farms

they are clearing large sections of land

for their crops

the soil is not good so the companies

use chemicals to grow crops

and the chemicals get into the water

they run into the rivers the rivers

eventually run into the panthanal

our fish swallow them and die

doesn’t the government help

jv gave a bitter laugh

have you heard of hydrovia

no

it’s a big ditch

it will be cut through the pantanal to

link brazil bolivia paraguay argentina

and uruguay

it is supposed to save south america

but it will drain the panthanal

and our government supports it

nate wanted to say something deep and

serious about taking care of the

environment

then he remembered that his countrymen

had destroyed large areas of the united

states in the name of progress

it’s still beautiful nate said

it is

sometimes i think it’s too big for them

to destroy

there is a small trading post a few

hours away we should be there before

dark

fernando is the owner and he hears

everything on the river

maybe he will know something about the

missionaries

jv emptied his coffee cup and stretched

his arms

sometimes he has beer for sale

i think

we should not buy any

he walked away

fine with me

thought nate

a cold brown bottle of beer

excellent beer

he began to sweat when the portuguese

explorer pedro alvarez gabral

first stepped on brazilian soil in 1500

the country had five million indians

after five centuries of european

civilization

only two hundred and seventy thousand

survived

it was a sick

and violent history

if the indians tried to live with the

europeans they caught strange diseases

and died if they fought the europeans

they were killed by weapons more deadly

than poison arrows

they were the slaves of ranchers and

rubber farmers

men with guns drove them from their

homes

priests murdered them and armies hunted

them

now the government was also the enemy

in 1967 the agency in charge of indian

affairs used chemical weapons to kill

indians

they gave the indians clothing that was

infected with diseases

using airplanes and helicopters they

bombed indian villages and land

with poison gas

in the 1990s the government wanted to

open up the region to the north of the

pantanal

but the indians were still in the way

the abuse of indians was growing as

ranchers pushed deep into the amazon

with the support of the government

nate read this sad history for four

hours

then went to drink coffee with jv

do you have any indian blood he asked

jv smiled

all of us have indian blood

why do you ask

i’ve been reading the history of the

indians in brazil

it’s pretty tragic

it is

do you think the indians have been

treated badly here

of course they have

what about in your country

now much better i’m afraid nate said

it wasn’t a matter he wanted to discuss

it was still dark when the engine

stopped and nate woke up

well he was loading the small boat

three large gas tanks were arranged

neatly in the center of the boat

these should give us 15 hours jv

explained

how far away is the settlement nate

asked i’m not sure

jv packed a small tent two blankets two

mosquito nets some food and bottled

water

the last item he packed was a large

knife this is for the alligators he said

laughing

nate tried to ignore it

nate took the copy of the will two hours

later they entered a large lake with

more than a dozen little rivers twisting

into it

jv didn’t know which one was the khabita

they saw a man fishing at the side of

the lake

when they were a few meters away jv

began talking to him

finally he said goodbye and they paddled

away

his mother was indian jv said

there’s a settlement a few hours from

here

a few hours

three

maybe nate moved lower in the boat and

found a spot on the bottom between the

box of food and the fuel tanks

the boat slowed

engine trouble wasn’t something he’d

worried about

suddenly nate was really scared

then they were off again the motor

roaring as if nothing had happened

it became a routine

every 20 minutes just as nate was

falling asleep

the steady beat of the motor would stop

jv played with the engine

then things would be fine for another 20

minutes

the first sign of the settlement came

seven hours after they left the sun to

lure

nate saw a thin line of blue smoke

rising above the trees near the foot of

a hill

jv was certain they were in bolivia the

ground was higher and they were close to

the mountains

they came to a gap in the trees and saw

two canoes

jv guided the boat to the bank

nate quickly jumped out anxious to

stretch his legs and feel the earth

stay close

jv warned

nate looked at him

their eyes met and jv nodded toward the

trees

an indian was watching them

a male brown skinned bare chested with a

grass skirt hanging from his waist

no visible weapon

he had long black hair and red stripes

on his forehead

he was very frightening

is he friendly nate asked without taking

his eyes off the man

i think so

does he speak portuguese

i don’t know

why don’t you go find out

relax jv stepped from the boat

he looks like he wants to eat you he

whispered

nate wasn’t amused

jv spoke to the indian but it was

obvious he didn’t speak portuguese he

looked young probably not twenty

there was a movement behind the indian

three of his tribesmen appeared

they weren’t friendly folk there were no

smiles or hellos

a young female suddenly appeared from

the trees and stood next to the first

indian

she too was brown and bare chested the

indians were guatto who preferred no

contact with outsiders

they grew their food in small patches

fished the rivers and hunted with bows

and arrows

after an hour javy smelled smoke he

climbed a tree near the boat and nate

joined him

they could see the tops of three huts

was he so close to rachel lane

was she there now listening to her

people and deciding what to do

would she send an indian to bring them

or would she simply walk through the

wood and say hello

what do you think they’re doing he asked

talking

just talking

well we need to leave soon

we left the boat eight and a half hours

ago i’d like to see welly before dark

no problem

we’ll go back with the current

and i know the way it will be much

faster

back on the ground nate had settled into

the boat to sleep when jv saw the

indians

they slowly approached the river behind

their chief

he carried a long stick

it didn’t appear sharp or dangerous

the chief directed his comments at jv

why are you here he asked in portuguese

his face wasn’t friendly but he wasn’t

aggressive

we are looking for an american

missionary a woman

jv explained

we’ve come from kurumba

this man is an american he needs to find

the woman

why does he need to find the woman is

she in danger

it was the first hint that the indians

might know of rachel lane

no

she is not here

have you ever seen a woman missionary

around here jv

asked at first there was no response

then a slight nod

the man pointed somewhere off to the

north and west

she’s with another tribe jv asked watto

the man said

how far away

a day

jv opened two maps and spread them on

the ground

the indians were very curious the chief

told jv that they hadn’t come in on the

khabita

they’d taken a wrong turn onto the river

guato

jv whispered the news to nate

nate was worried

he was trusting jv with his life

the indians talked among themselves

they couldn’t agree on a route to get to

the epicus

finally they turned again to jv

there is a settlement of epicus at the

edge of the mountains jv translated

chapter eight

the missionary

flows adele and tyson the three

psychiatrists who had declared troy feel

insane were fired

new psychiatrists were found

arcgettis bought the first one at three

hundred dollars an hour

the heirs couldn’t pay high hourly fees

to the lawyers so the lawyers agreed to

take percentages of the final

settlements

hark wanted 40 percent

but he and rex finally agreed on 25

percent

grit squeezed 25 out of mary ross phelan

jackman

the winner was wally bright

who insisted on half of libigale

settlement

none of the felon heirs asked if they

were doing the right thing they trusted

their lawyers

no one could afford to be left out

because hark was the loudest of the

felon lawyers he caught the attention of

sneed

no one had noticed sneed since the

suicide

when the will was read he was sitting in

the courtroom his face disguised with

sunglasses and a hat

he’d left in tears

he hated the feeling children because

troy hated them

over the years sneed had been forced to

do many unpleasant things to protect

troy from his families

and in return

mr phelan left him nothing

not a scent

over the years the old man had made many

promises to take care of sneed

he knew that he’d been named in one will

he’d seen the document himself

he would inherit one million dollars

when mr phelan died

at the time mr phelan was worth three

billion and snead remembered thinking

how small a million seemed

he’d occasionally asked about the matter

but mr phelan had cursed him and

threatened to cut him out completely

you’re as bad as my children

he’d said to poor sneed

somehow he’d gone from a million to zero

and he was bitter about it

he would join the enemies simply because

he had no choice

he went to hark getty’s office

the receptionist explained that mr

gettys was very busy

so am i snead replied rudely

give him this envelope it’s urgent i’ll

wait for ten minutes then i’ll walk down

the street to the next law office

the envelope held a note that read

i worked for troy phelan for 30 years

i know everything

malcolm sneed

hark appeared immediately took sneed

into a large office

at dawn the current was strong so they

moved with it as the sun rose

the only sound was the rush of the water

i guess we’re lost aren’t we nate said

i know exactly where we are

where

we’re in the panthenal

and all rivers run to the paraguay

jv tried to start the motor on the fifth

pole the motor caught

and then died

i’ll die here nate said to himself

i’ll either drown starve or be eaten

to their surprise they heard a shout

a kid of no more than 15 came toward

them in a tiny canoe

a long lazy conversation followed

what’s he saying nate asked jv

he says the indians are not far away

how far

one hour maybe two

can he take us there

he may want a few dollars

fine

the feel of state on one side of the

table and this little kid in the other

ten dollars jv said after another brief

discussion okay

for ten dollars they would be delivered

to rachel lane

they followed the boy in the canoe for

20 minutes until they entered a small

shallow stream

it was almost one when they came to the

higher ground

the boy seemed afraid to go further

just up there he told jv

nate gave him the money and they thanked

him

the boy turned back with the current and

disappeared quickly

the river ran into a forest where the

trees hung low over the water

nate felt as if they were being watched

he waited for an attack of deadly arrows

by indians dressed in war paint and

trained to kill anyone with a white face

but they saw children first

happy little brown bodies splashing in

the water

the mothers were bathing too

jv stopped the engine and began talking

and smiling

an older girl ran away toward the

settlement

three men arrived within minutes

the oldest one said he spoke jv’s

language

after a few minutes nate said

translation please what about the woman

don’t rush it i’m still trying to

persuade them not to burn you alive

more indians arrived their huts were 100

meters away near the edge of the forest

a little boy studied nate

very softly he said

hello

nate knew they were in the right place

no one else heard the boy

nate lee the indians stopped but rachel

kept walking

she removed her hat

her hair was brown and half gray

and very short

she was 42 years old but she looked

younger

she didn’t shake hands

nor did she give them her name

my name is nate o’reilly

i’m an attorney from washington

and you she said to jv

i’m jv cardozo from columba

i’m his guide

she looked them up and down with a

slight grin

the moment was not at all unpleasant for

her

what brings you here she asked

i’m looking for rachel lane

my company has important legal business

with her

what kind of legal business

i can only tell her

i’m not rachel lane i’m sorry

jv sighed and nate’s shoulders dropped

she saw every movement

are you hungry she asked them

they both nodded

she called the indians

jv she said

go with these men into the village they

will feed you and give you enough food

for mr o’reilly

she sat with nate on the bench and

watched silently as the indians took

javy to the village

he turned around once just to make sure

nate was okay

rachel lane disappeared many years ago

the woman said looking at the village in

the distance

i capped the name rachel but dropped the

lane

it must be serious or you wouldn’t be

here

she spoke softly and slowly

troy’s dead

he killed himself three weeks ago

she lowered her head slightly closed her

eyes and prayed

it was a brief prayer followed by a long

pause

silence didn’t bother her

did you know him

she finally asked

i met him once years ago

no i didn’t know him

neither did i

he was my father but he was always a

stranger

how did you find me

troy tried to find you before he died

but couldn’t

he knew you were a missionary with world

tribes and that you were in this part of

the world

it became my job to find you

he had an awful lot of money

that’s why i’m here

we need to talk

business troy left me something in his

will

you could say that

i don’t want to talk business

i want to chat

i was with a patient just an hour ago

when the boys came to tell chapter nine

a death

next morning ayesh was walking in front

of her mother when she felt the snake

move under her bare foot

it struck below her ankle as she

screamed

by the time her father got to her she

was in shock and her right foot had

doubled in size

a boy of 15 the fastest runner in the

tribe was sent to get rachel

there were four poisonous snakes in

their part of the pantanal

and rachel usually had the medicine to

cure their bites

but she’d been unable to find the

medicine for this type of snake during

her last trip to korumba

ayesha was small and thin

and she’d probably die without medicine

rachel prayed as she ran behind the boys

a group of indians took nate and jv into

the village where the chief wanted to

see them

his wife was preparing breakfast

while they were eating javi and the

chief talked

after a few sentences jv translated them

into english

nate ate

listened

and watched the village for rachel

she wasn’t there the chief explained

she was in the next village looking

after a child who’d been bitten by a

snake

he wasn’t sure when she’d return

he wants us to stay here tonight in the

village jv said

nate wished he’d brought the satellite

phone

josh must be very worried they hadn’t

talked in almost a week

lawyer valdir took the early call from

mr stafford

i haven’t heard from nate o’reilly in

days stafford said

we have had many storms down here

you haven’t heard from your boy

no they are together

the guide is very good the boat is very

good i’m sure they are well

they agreed that valdere would call when

he heard something from the boat

valdere walked to the window and looked

at the busy streets of korumba

there were many stories about people who

entered the pantanal and never came back

jv’s father had piloted the river for 30

years

and his body was never found

well he found the law office an hour

later valdir came out to see him

who are you he demanded my name is welly

jv hired me to work on the santa lura

where is jv he’s still in the panthenal

the boat sank

jv and mr o’reilly left in the small

boat to find the indians

when

a few days ago

i

lacco found nate and javy as the sun was

falling behind the mountains

nate followed the boy along the trail to

rachel’s hut

she was standing in the door

i’m sorry about the little girl nate

said

she is with the lord

she sat outside the door the boy stood

under a tree almost hidden by the

darkness

i cannot invite you into my home

only married people can be indoors at

this time of day

how long did it take you to get used to

living here nate asked

a couple of years

i missed home for three years

and there are times now when i would

like to drive a car

eat a pizza and see a good movie

bart you were just

i became a christian when i was 14 years

old and i knew that god wanted me to be

a missionary

i put my faith in him

can we talk about troy

the shadows were falling fast

they were three meters apart and could

still see each other

but the darkness would soon separate

them

if you must she said

her voice tired

troy had three wives and six children

that we knew about

you of course were a surprise

he didn’t like the other six

he left them almost nothing just enough

to cover their debts

he gave everything else to you

i haven’t seen troy for 20 years

that’s not important

he left his fortune to you

i have a copy of the will for you

i don’t want to see it

and i have some other papers which i’d

like you to sign maybe tomorrow morning

then i can be on my way

what kind of papers

legal stuff

all for your benefit

you’re not concerned with my benefit

her words were much sharper

you don’t know what i want or need you

don’t know me nate so how can you know

what’s good for me

okay you’re right

but it is very important for you to see

these papers and sign them

all the heirs must tell the court either

in person or in writing that they

understand the will it’s required by the

law

and if i refuse

honestly

i haven’t thought about that it’s

routine

everybody always cooperates

rachel was quiet for a moment

then she changed the subject

do you have family

she asked

i’ve had a couple

two marriages two divorces four children

i now live alone

divorce is so easy isn’t it

we marry then divorce

finds

josh met judge wycliffe and showed him

the video of troy phelan signing his

testament

they watched the first part of the video

without comment

it began with old troy sitting in his

wheelchair being examined by the

psychiatrists

the examination ended with the agreement

that mr phelan knew exactly what he was

doing

wycliffe smiled to himself

the room cleared the camera across from

troy was kept on

troy took out the second will and signed

it four minutes after the mental

examination had ended

how are they going to sort this out

wickliffe asked

it was a question with no answer

rex and libigale had already started to

contest the will the other heirs would

quickly do the same

what about the will he signed first

wycliffe said

he didn’t sign it

but i saw him it’s on the video

no he signed the name mickey mouse

from 1982 until 1996 i prepared 11 wills

from mr felin

the law says that with each new will the

old one has to be destroyed

when he signed the new one we

mr phelan and i burned the old one he

enjoyed it

he’d be happy for a few months then one

of his kids would make him mad and he’d

start talking about changing his will

if the heirs can prove he wasn’t sane

when he signed that handwritten will

then there is no other will

they were all destroyed

his estate will be divided between all

his children

why would he give 11 billion to an

illegitimate daughter who’s a missionary

sounds a little crazy doesn’t it

you think that feeling was crazy

wickliffe asked josh

no

strange

and very mean

but he knew what he was doing

find the girl josh

we’re trying

the next morning rachel spoke to the

chief

he thinks there’ll be a storm she said

to nate when the meeting was over

he says you can go

but he will not send a guide it’s too

dangerous

can we get back without a guide

it wouldn’t be wise

the rivers run together it’s easy to get

lost even the epicus have lost men

during the rainy season

i need to get back nate said

this trip has already taken too long

we have to talk

i have to go to the next village for the

funeral of the little girl

why don’t you go with me

we’ll have plenty of time to talk

locker led the way rachel followed him

then nate

he tried to persuade rachel to take the

money

if you had lots of money you could buy

lots of medicine you could fill your

shelves with all the medicines you need

you could buy a nice little boat to take

you to kurumba

you could build a hospital in a school

and spread christianity all over the

pantanal

she stopped and turned

i’ve done nothing to earn the money

and i didn’t know the man who made it

please

don’t mention it again

give it away

give it all to charity

it’s not mine to give

it’ll be wasted millions will go to the

lawyers and what’s left will go to your

brothers and sisters and believe me you

don’t want that

those people will cause a lot of

unhappiness if they get the money

she took his hand

very slowly she said

i don’t care

i’ll pray for them

they stopped by a stream for a few

moments to rest

you said last night that you were weak

rachel said what does that mean

i’m an alcoholic nate replied

i’ve hit the bottom four times i have no

money

i’m in trouble for non-payment of taxes

i may go to jail lose my license and not

be able to practice law

you know about the two divorces

both women dislike me and they’ve

poisoned my children

i’ve wrecked my life

anything else

rachel asked

oh yes

i’ve tried to kill myself at least twice

once last august then just a few days

ago in kurumba

i almost drank myself to death on cheap

vodka

you poor man

i’m sick

i have a disease i’ve admitted it

have you ever confessed to god

he won’t help you unless you ask

you have to go to him in prayer

he can forgive all your sins chapter 10.

fever

the storm never came

when rachel returned in the

mid-afternoon she and laco went straight

to the chief and reported on events in

the other village

she spoke to nate and jv

she was tired and wanted to sleep before

they discussed business

later she and nate walked down toward

the river to the narrow bench under the

trees

they sat close their knees touching

again

every village has a local doctor rachel

said

he cooks plants and roots to make his

medicine

he calls up spirits to help with all

sorts of problems

these doctors are my enemies

i’m a threat to their religion

they attack christians

in a village down the river i had a

small school where i taught reading and

writing it was for the christians but it

was also open to anyone

a year ago we had malaria and three

people died

the local doctor told the village chief

that the people were sick

because of my school

they were being punished

the school is now closed

the parents of the girl who died are

christians

the local doctor said he could have

saved the girl but the parents didn’t

call him

he blamed me for her death

and he blamed god

during the funeral today he began

dancing and singing i couldn’t finish

the service

voice cracked slightly and she bit her

lip

she couldn’t cry in front of the indians

she had to be strong all the time

but she could cry with nate

and he would

understand i think you should go now she

said suddenly

i think i saw a case of malaria in the

other village today mosquitoes carry it

and it spreads quickly

trust me nate i’ve had malaria twice and

you don’t want it the second time almost

killed me

it never occurred to nate that she might

die

if she died it would take years to

settle the feeling of state

and he admired her greatly she was

everything he wasn’t strong and brave

happy with a simple life

don’t die rachel he said

you’re a good man

you have a good heart

and a good mind

you just

need some help

i know

i’m not very strong

he had the papers in his pocket

can we discuss these

she read the will slowly

troy didn’t care for his other children

she said

as they moved away he waved at rachel

and the indians

at the first turn in the river he

glanced over his shoulder

rachel and the indians hadn’t moved

he was sweating even though it was cool

his arms and legs were wet i’m sick he

thought

jv noticed him and after a few minutes

said nate

are you okay

he shook his head no and pain shot from

his eyes to his spine

jv

i think i have malaria

how do you know

rachel warned me

she saw it in the other village

yesterday

that’s why we left today

i have a fever

and i can’t see

jv stopped the boat and shouted to the

indians

he quickly unrolled the tent

you will feel cold and shiver he said as

he worked

have you had malaria

no but most of my friends have died from

it

what

bad joke

it doesn’t kill many but you will be

very sick

moving gently keeping his head as still

as possible

nate lay down in the center of the boat

jv spread the tent over him and secured

it with two empty gas tanks

the indians were beside them

lako asked javy what was happening

nate heard the word malaria

then they left

twice the canoes slowed as the ipekas

discussed which fork of the river to

take

jv kept their boat 100 meters behind

he couldn’t see nate under the tent but

he knew his friend was suffering

locko was concerned about the american

what should i tell the missionary about

him he asked jv tell her he has malaria

nate heard their voices

the fever burned him from head to toe

his skin and clothes were wet

his mouth was so dry that it hurt to

open it

the storm followed them but didn’t catch

them

jv thought they would find welly in the

santa lora by dawn

the indians were tired and ready to stop

finally they found a spot and landed

locko explained that he’d been the

missionary’s assistant for many years

he’d seen lots of cases of malaria

he looked at nate a very high fever he

told jv

the fever would go away

but there would be another attack in 48

hours

the oldest guide began talking to laco

he translated for jv telling him to keep

in the center of the river

in two hours they would find the

paraguay

in korumba valdir called a doctor friend

and persuaded him to meet them at the

hospital

they raced through town in valder’s car

ignoring lights and signs

did you find the woman valdeira asked jv

what did she say

i don’t know

i didn’t really talk to her i think she

liked our friend back there

nate was curled tightly in the back seat

hearing nothing

the doctor studied the rash which began

at nate’s chin and stopped at his waist

he was covered with mosquito bites

looks like dengue fever he said after 10

minutes

because he was a rich american nate got

the best drugs in the hospital

the fever dropped a little

the sweating stopped

his temperature should fall soon the

doctor told the nurse

i’ll see him again early in the morning

nate was sleeping heavily when the nurse

took him into a room with five other

patients

he didn’t see the open sores the

uncontrolled shaking of the old man next

to him

he couldn’t smell the waste

like his father rex felin was good with

numbers

he realized that six law firms were

doing the same work

six firms fighting the same fight each

wanting a big slice of the pie it was

time for the family to get together

he decided to begin with his brother tj

the two brothers met in secret

rex began with a sneed story this is

enormous he said

it could make or break our lawsuit

snaid will say he was the only person

with dad when he wrote the will

he wanted five million but he only wants

half a million now

we’ll find some way not to pay him the

rest

we have six law firms all attacking the

same will and they all expect to get

rich when we settle

how much are your boys getting

how much is hark getties getting troy

asked 25

mine wanted 30. we agreed on 20.

troy jr was proud that he’d made a

better deal than rex let’s play with

numbers rex continued

imagine we hire sneed and he says all

the right things

the estate wants to settle

we each get

maybe 20 million five goes to heart

getties four goes to your boys that’s

nine

so we get 31.

but if we join up

then hark will cut his fee we don’t need

all these lawyers tj

i hate heart gettys why don’t we fire

him and stick with my chapter 11

a new beginning

it was the middle of the night when nate

finally woke up

he robbed his sore eyes

his forehead was very hot

he was thirsty and couldn’t remember his

last meal

in the darkness of the room somebody

moved from bed to bed

finally stopping beside nate’s

she touched him gently on the arm

nate

she whispered

it’s rachel

rachel

he whispered

i’m here nate

god sent me to protect you

he reached for her

and she took his hand

you are not going to die nate she said

god has plans for you

he could say nothing

slowly his eyes adjusted and he could

see her

it’s you

he said or was it another dream

he rested his head on the pillow

his muscles relaxed and his joints

became loose

the heat left his forehead and face

and he fell into a deep sleep

he dreamed of girls in white dresses

floating in the clouds above him

they sang songs he’d never heard before

but they somehow seemed familiar

he left the hospital at noon the next

day against his doctor’s advice

no one had seen rachel at the hospital

nate had whispered his secret to jv who

would ask the nurses

after lunch javi began walking through

town on foot searching for her

no one seemed to know anything about a

white woman arriving from the pantanal

in valder’s office

nate phoned josh stafford

the favor is gone he said

i’ll come home in a couple of days

okay

tell me about the woman

she’s not interested in the money

you can’t talk this woman into anything

i tried got nowhere

so i stopped

nobody walks away from this kind of

money nate

couldn’t you talk some sense into her

no josh

she is the happiest person i’ve ever met

perfectly content to spend the rest of

her life working among her people

it’s where god wants her to be

she signed the papers

no sorry boss i tried to make her sign

them she’ll never sign them

jamie found no trace of rachel

and he began to doubt his friend’s story

dengue makes you see things makes you

hear voices makes you believe in ghosts

nate searched until the end of the week

he walked the streets

watched the crowds

checked out hotels and sidewalk cafes

and saw no one who looked like rachel

on his last day he stopped at valdir’s

office and collected his passport

they parted like old friends

and promised to see each other soon

they both knew it would never happen

jv drove him to the airport

he wanted to spend time in the united

states and asked for nate’s help

i’ll need a job he said

nate listened with sympathy

not certain if he himself was still

employed

i’ll see what i can do he said

the lady in the seat next to him on the

plane ordered a beer nate studied the

can

not anymore he told himself

he closed his eyes and asked god to give

him strength

he ordered coffee

hours later the plane dropped through

the clouds

in washington the earth was covered with

heavy snow

josh was waiting for him

i thought you could stay at our place

for a couple of days he said thanks

how do you feel

i’m fine

a little weak that’s all

they rode in silence for a while

traffic was slow

then nate announced

i’m not going back to the office josh

those days are over

why

let’s just say i’m tired

back at the house he told josh about his

adventures in the pantanal

he talked about rachel and described her

in great detail

he used her exact words when he talked

about the money in the papers

if she won’t take the gift from troy’s

will the money remains in his estate

josh said

if however the heirs can prove troy was

crazy then there is no will

all seven of his children will share

equally in his estate

if rachel doesn’t want to share then her

money will be divided by the other six

they’ll get a billion dollars each

why are we fighting for the will if

rachel says she doesn’t want the money

nate asked

first and most importantly my client

gave away his estate as he wanted

i want to protect his will

second i know how mr felin felt about

his children

he really didn’t want them to get their

hands on his money

i share his feelings i hate to think

what they do if they got a billion each

third

rachel could change her mind

we’re gonna fight nate but rachel needs

a lawyer

saint michael’s had a population of

thirteen thousand

there were stores on both sides of the

main street old buildings side by side

the house was on green street and had a

view of the harbor

the front yard was small and under

almost a meter of snow

nate parked his car and fought his way

to the porch

inside the house was neat and organized

josh said a woman came every wednesday

to clean

but there was no coffee

and this was the first emergency of the

day

nate locked the doors and went into town

it was sunday all the stores were closed

nate studied their windows as he walked

along

ahead the church bells began

nate went into the church

it was a handsome building

but there were few people inside

father phil lancaster a little man with

thick glasses and curly red and gray

hair stood at the front

they struggled through the songs and

prayers

father phil noticed nate sitting in the

last row when they exchanged smiles

sitting in the warm little church

safe from fevers and storms

safe from the dangers of the city

nate realized that he was at peace

god was pulling him in some direction

he wasn’t sure where

but he was no longer afraid

as he left the church father phil

grabbed nate by the hand welcome he said

welcome to trinity church

i’m nate o’reilly from washington

i’m staying in the stafford house for a

few days

nice to have you with us when did you

arrive

this morning are you alone

yes

then you must join us for lunch

my wife makes soup every time it snows

it’s on the stove now

please our house is just behind the

church

phil was already pulling nate’s arm

what brings you here he asked

it’s a long story oh

wonderful

laura and i love stories let’s have a

long lunch and tell stories

why not thought nate

there was no food at the house

at the back of the church laura was

turning off the lights phil introduced

her to nate she had short gray hair and

looked older than her husband

she wasn’t surprised to have a guest for

lunch

as they ate

nate told them about his trip to brazil

in his story the storms grew fiercer the

boats smaller the indians less friendly

when he finished the questions began

phil wanted to know about the missionary

her chapter 12

a letter to rachel

mary ross fired grit early monday

morning

her gettys now had three of the four

heirs from the first family

his percentage had dropped to seventeen

five but the sum he could earn was

enormous

he called a meeting to tell the other

lawyers

the back of wally bright’s neck turned

red with the news he would kill gettys

if he tried to steal libigale

stay away from my client he said loudly

we know the game you’re playing we’re

not stupid

sneed came in and hark introduced him to

the group

now the lawyers for the other side will

ask you a lot of questions first

so for the next hour or so assume that

we are the enemy

hark began asking questions sneed

handled them well and relaxed

then ms langhorne asked sneed about the

felon families

did you know about rachel lane she asked

i haven’t thought about that sneed said

what do you think he asked mr gettys

hark was quick with the fiction

i guess that you knew everything about

mr phelan rachel was 10 or 11 when you

went to work for mr phelan

he tried to reach out to her over the

years but she would have nothing to do

with him so if he left her everything it

shows that he was crazy

sneed repeated and expanded the story

when he finished the lawyers were

pleased

they all began to help sneed find

answers for difficult questions

for three hours they built his story

then for two hours they tried to tear it

down

at one point he was nearly in tears

when he was exhausted they sent him home

and told him to practice his answers

poor sneed drove home in his new car

he was determined to give them what they

wanted

nate planned to read and write through

the morning his plans were changed by a

phone call

are you busy father phil asked i’m at

the church working in the basement i

need some help

nate thought about the soup there was

plenty of it left

i’ll be there in 10 minutes he said

phil was measuring wood in the basement

i’m building six classrooms for bible

study he said

it was a big job and phil worked very

slowly and took plenty of coffee breaks

as they worked they talked

nate talked about some of his troubles

including the problems with the

government

what will you do phil asked

i have no idea

do you trust in god

yes i think so judge wycliffe entered

his office at 12 30.

josh tells me you found the richest

woman in the world he said

yes i did

about two weeks ago

and you can’t tell me where she is

she begged me not to i promised

will she appear in my court

she doesn’t have to josh explained she

knows nothing about mr phelan’s mental

state so she can’t be a witness

we can proceed with a lawsuit without

her

i need a letter from your client saying

that she’s seen the will and knows what

we’re doing

yes judge josh said

judge wycliffe began to ask questions

about rachel

questions were dangerous

wickliffe mustn’t know that rachel

didn’t want the money

josh interrupted you know judge this is

not a complicated case and everybody’s

anxious

why can’t we start the lawsuit as soon

as possible get all the lawyers in one

room now and make them produce a list of

witnesses and documents

then set a trial date for 90 days time

what about you mr o’reilly is your

client anxious to get the money

wouldn’t you be anxious judge nate asked

and they all laughed

that night nate began a letter to rachel

he had the address of world tribes in

houston he would mark the letter private

and address it to rachel lane

someone at world tribes knew who and

where she was

there must be some way to contact her

he wrote the date then

dear rachel

an hour passed and he tried to think of

words that would sound intelligent

finally he started writing about the

snow

did she miss it from her childhood

there was half a meter on the ground

outside his window

he told her that he was acting as her

lawyer and explained what was happening

about the will

he told her about father phil and the

church and the basement

he was studying the bible and enjoying

it

he was praying for her

when he finished the letter was three

pages long

nate read it twice

and thought she’d like it

if she received it he knew she’d read it

again and again

nate wanted to see her again

the story appeared in the newspapers on

friday morning

it said that rachel lane was acting

through her lawyer mr nate o’reilly to

fight the people who were contesting her

father’s will

mr o’reilly had tracked down rachel lane

shown her a copy of the will

discussed the various legal issues with

her and become her lawyer

the felon lawyers were astonished by the

news the brown envelope was sent to the

desk of neva collier organizer of south

american missions

it was addressed for rachel lane

missionary in south america personal

inside was a letter addressed to whom it

may concern

and a smaller envelope

never read the letter aloud

enclosed is a letter to rachel lane

one of your missionaries in brazil

please send it to her i met rachel about

two weeks ago i found her in the

pantanal

the purpose of my visit was a legal

matter

she is doing well

i promised rachel that i would not tell

anyone where she is

she does not want to be disturbed with

any more legal matters and i agreed to

her request

she needs money for a new boat and

medicines

i will gladly forward a check to you

i want to write to rachel again please

let me know that you sent her this

letter thanks

nate o’reilly

it wasn’t easy to reach rachel

twice a year on march 1st and august 1st

world tribes sent packages to the post

office in corumba

these included medical supplies

christian literature and anything else

she needed

the post office held the packages for 30

days

if rachel didn’t collect them they were

returned to houston

this never happened

every august rachel went to korumba and

called the world tribe’s office

in march the packages were sent up the

river on a boat and left at a farm near

the mouth of the zekko river

locko collected them

in 11 years rachel had never received a

personal letter

neva copied nate’s phone number and

address

then hid the letter in a drawer she

would send it in a month with the usual

supplies for march

nate was in bed when the phone rang the

female voice said

nate o’reilly please

this is nate o’reilly

good evening my name is neva collier

i received your letter i will send

rachel’s letter to her

thank you i’d like to write to her again

have you heard from her recently

no

rachel had been in korumba two weeks

earlier he knew this because she’d come

to the hospital she’d spoken to him

touched him

then disappeared

but she hadn’t called the world tribe’s

office

how strange

why did you find her neva collier asked

you’ve seen the newspapers you

understand what her father did

somebody had to explain what was

happening and it had to be a lawyer

you mentioned chapter 13

the lawsuit

first stage of the lawsuit began on

monday february 17th

all the people who wanted to fight troy

phelan’s will had to declare their

interest

nate could question them to see if they

were acceptable witnesses

nate didn’t want to spend two weeks in a

room full of lawyers

his attitude changed when he met the

feeling heirs

the first witness was mr troy phelan jr

nate introduced himself

are you currently under the influence of

any drugs or alcohol he began pleasantly

i am not troy jr said angrily

which one is your lawyer nate asked

waving at the crowd opposite

heart gettys

the lawyers were annoyed

nate hadn’t learned which lawyers

represented each client it showed that

he didn’t respect them

how many wives have you had

how many of you had junior shot back

let me explain something to you mr

phelan nate said

i will say this very slowly

so listen carefully

i am the lawyer

you are the witness

i ask the questions

you give the answers

now let’s try again how many wives have

you had

an hour later they finished with his

marriages his children his divorce

junior was sweating and wondering when

it would end

nate used one question to lead to

another no detail was too small for him

to investigate

the afternoon was even harder

nate asked about the five million

dollars troy jr received on his 21st

birthday

how was the money given to you nate

asked it was placed in an account in a

bank

how did you get the money from the

account by writing checks

he wrote a lot of them

troy jr never returned to college after

he received the money he simply partied

nate revealed that troy jr didn’t work

for nine years he played golf and

football bought cars spent a year in the

bahamas and lived in a grand style until

his money ran out

then he crawled back to his father and

asked for a job

nate talked about what troy jr did after

his father died

you bought two expensive porsches on

credit

now two months later you haven’t paid a

dime

you owe money for furniture american

express wants more than fifteen thousand

dollars a bank is taking you to court

because you owe them money correct

the witness nodded

libigale came in early on friday morning

nate asked about her 5 million and under

pressure she told stories of good drugs

and bad men

she now lived with an ex-biker and

ex-addict called spike

what would you do

if you got one-sixth of your father’s

estate nate asked

buy lots of things she said

but i would be smart with the money this

time real smart

what’s the first thing you would buy

the biggest motorcycle in the world for

spike then a nicer house

her eyes danced as she spent the money

mary ross felin jackman followed

the early questions revealed that she

took her 5 million and lived in italy

for three years

at 28 she married a doctor and had two

girls

it wasn’t clear how much of the money

was left

they lived well but were heavily in

debt ramble came in after lunch

after a few questions it was obvious

that he was as stupid as he looked

he said that he seldom went to school

lived alone in a basement like to play

the guitar and plan to be a rock star

soon

he played no sports had never seen the

inside of a church

spoke to his mother as little as

possible and watched mtv when he was

awake and not playing his music

gina was the last witness of the week

four days after her father’s death she

and her husband had signed a contract

for a 3.8 million dollar house

how do you plan to pay for the home nate

asked

the answer was obvious but she couldn’t

confess it

we have money she said

let’s talk about your money he said with

a smile

you’re 30 years old

nine years ago you received five million

dollars

how much is left

she struggled with the answer for a long

time

but finally admitted that there was only

two hundred thousand dollars in her bank

account

her husband cody had invested millions

in bad business deals

as nate left the city that night he

thought about the feeling heirs

he felt sorry for them for the way they

were raised

but he knew that in their hands the

money would cause pain and unhappiness

it was late when he arrived in saint

michael’s and as he passed the church he

wanted to stop go inside kneel and pray

to god to forgive him for the sins of

the weak

the next day nate sat with phil on the

front steps of the stafford house

i’m planning a trip he said quietly

i need to see my kids

i have to at 8 30 on tuesday morning

sneed came into the courtroom

the lawyers had been coaching him for

weeks

it was important that the judge believed

his stories

josh had known sneed for many years mr

phelan often talked about getting rid of

him

josh guessed that he was being paid to

give evidence and had discovered that

sneed now had an expensive apartment and

a new car

snead was ready

if nate asked him whether he was being

paid to appear sneed would lie about the

half a million dollars he had already

received and the promise of a further

four and a half million

nate introduced himself and then asked

loudly

mr sneed how much you being paid to give

evidence in this case

sneed thought the question would be are

you being paid not how much

he looked wildly at heart getting

mr o’reilly seemed to know everything

the feel and lawyers shrank in their

seats

how much are you being paid

nate asked again

five hundred thousand dollars sneed

admitted

have you already received this money

snaid didn’t know whether to lie or tell

the truth so he said

yes

half a million now how much later nate

asked

anxious to start lying snead answered

nothing

who paid you this money

the lawyers for the billionaires

did you go to them or did they go to you

i went to them

finally snead was on familiar territory

i was with mr phelan before he died and

i knew the poor man was out of his mind

how long did you work for mr phelan

30 years

and you knew everything about him right

yes

and you didn’t tell anyone that he was

crazy

snaid thought he was doing well it was a

private matter

until now

until they offered you half a million

dollars right

snaid could not think of a quick reply

in the last 14 years of his life mr

phelan wrote 11 wills

in one of them he left you a million

dollars did you tell anyone then that he

was crazy

it wasn’t my job to tell

nate continued to question him

late in the afternoon he suddenly asked

did you sign a contract with the lawyers

when you took the half a million

a simple no would have been enough

but sneed hesitated looked at hark and

then looked at nate

uh

of course not he said

nobody believed him

nicolette the secretary lasted for eight

minutes

she was 23 with few qualifications

except for a nice chest a pretty chapter

14

the settlement

at the end of the week nate left the

city

he was exhausted from nine days of

questioning the feel and heirs he felt

ashamed he pitied the feeling children

he felt sorry for sneed a sad little man

who just wanted to survive

two days later nate arrived in salem

where his kids from his second marriage

lived with their mother christy and her

new husband theo

the last time he saw them nate was drunk

and fought with his ex-wife in the front

yard while the children watched

theo had threatened him with a shovel

nate later woke up in his car in the

parking lot of a mcdonald’s with six

empty beer cans on the seat beside him

he called christy four hours before he

arrived at their home

christie it’s me nate he said

i’m in oregon i’d like to see the kids

maybe tonight tomorrow

well sure nate i guess we can work

something out but the kids are very busy

you know school dance class soccer

how are they

they’re doing very well we love oregon

they agreed to have dinner the following

night

that gave her enough time to prepare the

kids

theo decided to work late

nate kissed angela austin just shook

hands

christy stayed in her bedroom for an

hour while their father got to know his

children again

dinner lasted an hour

at seven o’clock nate said he had to go

i have a soccer game tomorrow dad austin

said and nate’s heart almost stopped

he couldn’t remember the last time he’d

been called dad

it’s at the school angela said could you

come

nate didn’t know what to say

christy settled the issue

i’ll be there we could talk she said

of course i’ll come he said

the children kissed him

driving away nate suspected christy

wanted to see him two days in a row to

examine his eyes she knew the signs

nate stayed in salem for three days

he watched his son play soccer and was

full of pride

he was invited back to dinner but agreed

to come only if theo joined them

he had lunch with angela and her friends

at school

he left salem with a broken heart

how could a man lose such a wonderful

family

he remembered almost nothing about the

kids when they were smaller

no school plays christmas mornings trips

to the mall

now they were almost grown

and another man was raising them

daniel his oldest child

met nate in a bar near the university

he was waiting with a girl

both were smoking and had bottles in

front of them

this is staff daniel said she’s a model

the first thing nate noticed about steph

was her gray lipstick applied heavily to

her thick lips

she was certainly thin enough to be a

model

nate disliked her immediately you want a

beer daniel asked

no just water nate said

daniel shouted at the waiter

how’s school nate asked i dropped out

daniel was angry and tense the girl was

there for two reasons

she would prevent hasty words in a fight

nate suspected that his son had no money

that he wanted to punish his father for

lack of support

he was afraid though because nate was

weak and might start to slide again

steph would keep a hold on his anger and

his language

the second reason was to make the

meeting as short as possible

why did you drop out of school nate

asked it was boring

he ran out of money steph said helpfully

nate wanted to pull out his checkbook

and solve the kids problems that’s what

he’d always done

but now daniel was 23

and it was time for him to sink or swim

on his own

it’s good for you nate said

work for a while it’ll make you

appreciate school

after four drinks steph was drunk and

daniel and nate had nothing else to say

he wrote down his phone number at st

michael’s and gave it to daniel

this is where i’ll be for the next

couple of months

call me if you need me

see you daniel said

take care

two days later he was in pittsburgh for

his third and final meeting with his

children

it didn’t happen

he’d spoken twice to caitlin and the

details were clear she said she’d meet

him for dinner at 7 30 at the restaurant

in his hotel

she called him at 8 30 and said that a

friend had been involved in an accident

she was at the hospital

nate suggested that they have lunch the

following day

caitlyn said that she couldn’t her

friend had a head injury and she planned

to stay with her until she was stable

she couldn’t see nate she couldn’t leave

the hospital

did she hate him so much

in a lonely hotel room in a city where

he knew no one

it was easy to pity himself

he grabbed the phone and got busy he

called phil to check on things at st

michael’s he called sergio

he felt surprisingly under control

his hotel room what does rachel lane

plan to do with the money one of the

lawyers asked

i’m not sure

josh said as if he and rachel discussed

it every day

she’ll probably keep a little and give

most of it to charity in my opinion

that’s what troy wanted

he knew that if your clients got the

money it wouldn’t last 90 days by

leaving it to rachel he knew it would be

passed on to people in need

we can take this lawsuit to the highest

courts langhorne said does she realize

this could take years

she does josh said

that’s why she would like to discuss

settlement possibilities

where do we start asked wally bright

for a long time they talked numbers

then josh said

nato riley has contacted his client she

will offer each of the six heirs 10

million dollars

the lawyers made rapid calculations hark

had three clients

17.5 percent gave him a fee of

5.25 million

wally bright would collect five million

from his contract with libigale and

spike

the other lawyers would collect two

million

wally spoke first

my client will settle for no less than

50 million

the others shook their heads too and

tried to look disgusted at josh’s offer

they talked about numbers for a while

then josh said

rachel lane is not a greedy woman

i think she might settle at 20 million

per heir

the lawyer’s fees doubled over 10

million for hark alone

poor wally at 10 million now suddenly

felt sick and asked to leave the meeting

nate was helping father phil when the

phone rang it was josh

it couldn’t have gone better i stopped

at 20 million they want 50.

50 nate said in disbelief

yes but they’re already spending the

money i bet two of them are at the

mercedes garage right now

we should complete the deal on wednesday

i can’t wait nate said

time for a coffee break

we meet the judge on wednesday nate told

phil

then i’m going back to the pantanal to

tell rachel what’s happened

are you excited

i don’t know

i want to see her but i’m not sure she

wants to see me she’s very happy and she

doesn’t want any part of this world

then why do it

because if she rejects the money again

the other side gets everything

but you’ve already said that rachel

won’t take the money she’s not going to

change her mind phil said

no

never

so the trip down is a waste of time

i’m afraid so

but at chapter 15

return to the pantanal

on friday afternoon phil drove nate to

the baltimore washington airport in nine

hours he would be in kurumba

he and josh had written a trust document

for rachel

the money she received would be placed

in a trust named the rachel trust

the money itself wouldn’t be touched

but the trustees could invest it and use

the profits for charity work

if rachel wanted she would never see or

touch the money

it would take only a quick signature and

the feel and estate would be closed

if she didn’t agree to sign

then she must write a letter to say that

she didn’t want the money

she could decline the gift but she had

to tell the court

the law would then give the money to the

felon

children how would she react when he

arrived

he hoped that she would be delighted to

see him but he wasn’t sure

he remembered her waving to his boat as

he left

she was standing among her people waving

him away

saying goodbye forever

she didn’t want to be bothered with the

things of the world

valdere had hired a helicopter which

took him to the trading post in the

pantanal his old friends jv and welly

were waiting for him on the ground

time was precious

nate feared storms darkness floods and

mosquitoes and he wanted to move as

quickly as possible

nate and jv quickly climbed into the

boat and set off

jv thought it would take them three

hours to reach the indian settlement

the trees on both sides of the river

grew thicker

and nate began to recognize the

territory

finally they stepped off the boat where

rachel had waved goodbye

a young indian ran toward them he told

him to stay there by the river until

further orders he seemed scared

as they waited javy talked about his

efforts to find rachel and korumba

i tell you he said

i have listened to people on the river

and the lady did not come

she was not in the hospital you were

dreaming my friend

nate didn’t want to argue

he wasn’t sure himself

a mosquito circled nate’s hand he wanted

to crush it but instead he waited

would his super repellent work

his ears neck and face were covered in

oil

the mosquito made a sudden dive toward

the back of his hand then stopped

it pulled away and disappeared

a second attack of dengue would probably

kill him

nate wasn’t taking any chances

when the chief came back he was alone

they followed him for 50 meters

then moved behind the huts on another

trail

nate could see the area around the

village it was empty

there was not a single ipica walking

about

no children were playing no women were

cooking and cleaning

there was no sound

the only movement was the smoke from

their fires

then he saw faces at the windows

they were being watched

the chief kept them away from the hots

as if they were carrying diseases

he turned onto another trail one that

led through the woods for a few moments

when they came to the end of it

they were near rachel’s hut

there was no sign of her

the chief led them past the front door

and to the side

under the thick shade of the trees

they saw the graves

the matching white crosses were made of

wood they were small and stuck into the

fresh dirt at the far end of both graves

the chief began talking

the woman is on the left

lakko is on the right

jb translated

malaria has killed ten people since we

left

the chief went on talking

nate looked at the pile of dirt on the

left

rachel lane was buried there

the bravest person he’d ever known

because she had no fear of death

she welcomed it

she was at peace

her soul finally with god

her body lying forever among the people

she loved

she wouldn’t want anyone to be sad

she wouldn’t approve of tears

and nate had none to give her

he’d hardly known her but his heart

ached anyway

he’d thought about her every day since

he left the pantanal

he dreamed about her felt her touch

heard her voice remembered her wisdom

she’d taught him to pray

and given him hope

he’d never met anyone like rachel lane

and he missed her greatly

the chief says we can’t stay long jv

said

the spirits blame us for the malaria it

arrived when we came the first time they

are not happy to see us

he has something to show you

slowly nate followed the chief into

rachel’s hut

the chief pointed to a box on a small

table

there are things in that box for you

jb translated

for me

yes

she knew she was dying she asked the

chief to guard her hut

if the american came then show him the

box there was a second letter typed and

written in portuguese

nate read the will again january 6th was

the day he walked out of the hospital in

korumba she wasn’t a dream

she’d touched him and told him he

wouldn’t die

then she’d written her will

nate gave the second letter to jv and

told him to read it

it’s from a lawyer

jb said

he says he saw rachel lane porter sign

her testament in his office in columba

she was mentally okay

and she knew what she was doing

it is signed by some other people as

well

they stepped into the sunlight

the chief had his arms folded over his

chest he wanted them to leave

nate removed the camera from his bag and

took pictures of the hot and the graves

he made javy hold her will while he

knelt by her grave

they found the trail and headed for the

woods

as the trees grew thicker nate turned

for one last look at her hut

he wanted to take it with him somehow

transport it to the states and preserve

it then the millions of people she

helped would have a place to say thanks

but that was the last thing she would

want

the chief said something as they got

into their boat

he says he doesn’t want us to come back

jv said

tell him he has nothing to worry about

the chief was already walking away

toward his village

nate wondered if he missed rachel

she’d been there for 11 years

was he sorry she was gone

or was he relieved that his gods and

spirits now ruled again

what would happen to the epicas who were

christians now

jv stopped the motor and guided the boat

with a paddle the current was slow and

the water was smooth

nate carefully opened the satellite

phone

within two minutes he was talking to

josh

tell me she signed the letter josh

shouted you don’t have to shout josh i

can hear you sorry

tell me she signed it

she signed a letter but not ours

she’s dead josh

she died two weeks ago malaria

she left a will just like her father

do you have it

yes it’s safe

everything goes into a trust i’m the

trustee

what happens now

nothing happens josh said

troy phelan’s will is paid out his

estate goes to rachel

it happens all the time in car accidents

the husband dies one day then the wife

dies the next day

the money goes

you