35. Chapter 35
Aldus Whitcock wasn’t a very important attorney, Jason figured, when he picked up on the first ring.
“You’re a hard man to reach,” the lawyer said.
“So I’ve heard,” Jason said over the rumble of an eighteen-wheeler pulling past him. The truck stop in central Illinois was thick with semis heading out for the day.
“I’ve been out to your place. Met your mom. Lovely woman,” Whitcock said amid the shuffling of papers. “We need to schedule a time for you to swing by my office.”
“I’m not swinging by anywhere.”
“No?” He paused, then, with a hint of sass Jason didn’t take from strangers, the lawyer said, “Your mother implied that that’s what you do.”
“You sweet on my ma, eh, Whitcock?”
“It’s Whitlock. Aldus Whitlock,” he chuffed. “I’m starting to understand the estrangement.”
“Estrangement?” Jason chuffed back. “I’m not estranged from my mother.”
“I wasn’t talking about her.”
“Then who?”
“Everyone else.”
“There is no one else.” Never had been. Never would be. Except… “You don’t mean Uncle Chuck?”
“I don’t know any Chuck. I’m talking about the Woodridges.”
“I don’t know any Woodridges. Is this some kind of joke? This call isn’t cheap.”
“I can’t divulge the details over the phone. I need to meet you in person.”
“I’m nowhere near North Carolina.”
“What makes you think I’m in North Carolina?”
“You popped in on my ma, didn’t you?”
“I did, and I flew there. This is serious, Mr. Young. I need to see you. In your…travels…will you be near Columbus, Ohio? If so, I can meet you.”
He didn’t want to admit he was two states away and already headed there. It wasn’t his plan to go back to Ohio after Arizona, but his wheels kept pointing in that direction.
“Where are you now?” the lawyer pressed.
“What is this about? Why can’t you tell me now?”
Whitcock—Whitlock—let out a heavy sigh, as if he was the one who had put so many quarters into the pay phone he lost count. “It’s about your father.”
Another semi passing him made it hard to hear. Jason covered his exposed ear and asked, “Come again?”
“Stanley Woodridge, your father. He just passed away.”