5—Candor At Law
Bonhi Candor sat behind her desk, closing out the day’s work.
She was a door lawyer, meaning she’d take any case that walked in the door.
That day, she’d drafted two wills, shuttled paperwork for an eviction, represented a teenaged girl in traffic court, and filed a pro bono restraining order for a woman in need.
She finished writing her reports, then backed everything up and shut the computer down.
“Done!” she called out to the empty room. Now she could go home and get something to eat. She’d worked late with only some yogurt for dinner and she was hungry.
Headlights shone in her office window, and she looked out into the evening darkness to see a sleek silver sedan pull into the complex parking lot.
It parked, and a pickup truck followed and parked next to it.
They turned off their lights. A stocky older man with tanned wrinkled skin and a high and tight haircut got out of the sedan, wearing crisply ironed jeans and white button-up shirt.
From the truck, a younger man got out, dressed all in black.
He walked behind the older guy, his eyes roving around like security.
“Interesting,” Bonhi muttered. She hurried out of her office into the foyer and to the door.
She worked alone with no assistant, and she shared the small complex with a bakery, a restaurant, a thrift store, and a paint store.
All the other businesses were closed already.
Security cameras covered each doorway, but other than that, she was alone.
She had pepper spray in her purse and bear spray in her car, but those were her only defenses.
It was a small town, and she hadn’t felt unsafe yet.
Bonhi got to the door just as it was being knocked on. She opened it, assessing the men analytically. The one in back didn’t look at her but instead continued to look out and around at the nearby forest and the road and businesses that lined it.
The older man in the middle bowed his head, then smiled. “Excuse me, miss, I’m here to talk to the lawyer.”
Bonhi nodded once. “That’s me. It’s after-hours. Is this an emergency?”
The man looked surprised. “B. Candor?” he said.
Bonhi nodded. “Yes.”
“Oh. I thought...”
Bonhi didn’t smile. “You thought I was a man.”
“I did, I did,” the man spouted, smiling broadly.
“But this is much better. The fairer sex is also the smarter sex. I know it’s after-hours Miss Candor, and this may not be a true life or death emergency, but it’s an emergency to me, and I hope you’ll help me.
I just know if anyone can help me, it’s you. ”
Bonhi smiled politely. “Why is that?”
The man stepped back and gestured to Bonhi’s sign.
In large letters it said, ‘CANDOR AT LAW,’ with smaller letters reading, ‘B. Candor, attorney.’ The backdrop was a cut-out of a white wolf in an alert posture standing alongside a tree line.
The White Wolf of Nantahala was a local legend, one Bonhi had found fascinating from the moment she’d rolled into town many years ago.
She’d put him on her sign as a touchstone reminding her of the heart of the community she aimed to serve.
“The wolf told me, of course,” the man said. He bowed his head, then held out a hand. “Pleased to meet you, my name is Vernon Bunn.”
Bonhi shook his hand. “Thank you. Please come in.”
The man smiled and entered, leaving the other guy outside, where he stood solidly and did not move. Bonhi raised her eyebrows, then shut the door.
Inside, she gestured him to a seat in her inner office, and she sat behind her desk. “What can I help you with, Mr. Bunn?”
“Please, call me Vernon.”
“If you’ll call me Bonhi.”
He nodded and opened his wallet, pulling out a folded note, which he handed over.
She opened it and read it:
I won’t be back for years. Take care of the cabin. It must stay in the family. The evil will be seeking it. If it stays in the family, they will never find it.
Bonhi held the note up, looking at Vernon quizzically.
“The cabin is on a plot of land surrounded by the Nantahala National Forest. The land and cabin were promised to Augustino Cove Sr., and his descendants. Augustino Cove Jr. wrote that note to his son, my nephew-in-law.” Vernon shook his head.
“My nephew took off. He doesn’t care about the cabin, or about family.
” Vernon leaned forward. “I think family is the most important thing, don’t you? ”
Bonhi nodded. She agreed, and she hoped to someday have a family of her own, with a lawyer husband, raising two tiny lawyers-to-be.
“Augustino Cove Jr., that’s the father’s name.” He inclined his head. “Perhaps you’ve heard of him?”
“No.”
“His father was an infamous Civil War general. There’s a statue out at Cove Park.”
Bonhi nodded politely. She didn’t know where Cove Park was. She spent most of her time working.
“The cabin was built by Augustino Cove Sr., and it’s always been in the Cove family. The government is trying to steal it from them!”
Bonhi shook her head. “That’s not right.”
“It’s not right, young lady, that’s correct. It’s exactly wrong, and that’s why I need your help.”
Bonhi nodded. “It’s not easy going up against the government.”
Vernon shook his fist. “But we must! Evil must be stopped.”
“Evil?”
Vernon nodded, deep lines around his eyes. “Evil has infiltrated the government, otherwise, why would they be doing this?”
“Greed?” Bonhi offered.
“Greed! Evil! Yes!”
He handed over a letter with the federal letterhead on it. Bonhi read it quickly. The government was claiming eminent domain for nonsense reasons, and they planned to take ownership of the cabin in eleven days.
“Here’s what I can do,” Bonhi said. “I can file an injunction which will force a court to consider the case. If the court rules in our favor, it could end there. If the judge rules against us, we can appeal and raise the matter to a higher court, but once you get to a federal level, you’re going to need a lawyer with federal experience, and that’s not me, but I can give you recommendations of competent colleagues. ”
Vernon nodded. “Let’s do it.”
“My fee is $200 an hour.”
Vernon nodded again.
Bonhi smiled and went to her computer to turn it back on, dinner forgotten.