Conviction

Libby & Max Skinner

by Beej & Layne

Libby was waiting in the office of Sam Lords, one of the solicitors in Coffs for whom she'd done a few cases. He also happened to be the solicitor who'd drawn up the will she'd spoken to Max Skinner about, back when she'd first moved her money to his bank in the Glen. It was Max Skinner she was waiting for now. She'd phoned, told him she needed him to meet her on an urgent matter, and he'd graciously agreed to come to Coffs.

That had been about an hour after she'd left Richie at the flat he was leasing from Michael Stanley. The flat where they'd made love. Deep down inside somewhere she was still hurting, but on the outside she was calm. Making the most difficult decision you'd ever make in your life did that for you, she'd discovered. It brought about a weird sense of calm. She knew she was doing the right thing. Now all she had to do was see it through.

The outside door opened and Max Skinner stepped through it. "Mr. Skinner," Libby said, almost formally. "Thank you for being kind enough to meet me here."

Max was surprised at the formality in Libby's greeting. Holding out his hand, he replied in kind. "Miss Tyler, think nothing of it. Tell me, is there any specific reason that you wanted to meet me here rather than at the bank?"

Sam Lords stood up from his desk and came around it. "Mr. Skinner." He shook hands with the banker from the Glen. "Have a seat." He motioned toward the chairs in front of the desk.

"Miss Tyler has some financial matters she wants taken care of and she'd like you to have power-of-attorney over her money for that purpose. I advised her that we should meet here in my office, so I could take care of the legalities. If you agree that, that is."

"Thank you, Mr. Lords. It's a pleasure to meet you. I have to say that my curiosity was working overtime." He stopped to look over at Libby, frowning slightly. "Libby, I'm honoured that you've chosen me to have power-of-attorney. I sincerely hope that doesn't mean you're thinking that something less than pleasant is about to happen to you."

Libby sat quietly in the chair opposite him. "I plan to be...away...for awhile, but there are some things I want done with my money and I know I can trust you to get them done for me."

"And, of course, you'll be paid a fee for your services," Lords put in from the other side of the desk.

"I'm sad to hear that, Libby. We'll miss seeing your smiling face around the village. Of course you can trust me to carry out your financial affairs. I would do it as a friend, but of course I'm not going to turn down a fee," he grinned, hoping to bring a smile to Libby's very serious face.

She couldn't tell him, or anyone, what 'away' meant, but it was too serious a matter for her to smile. "Thank you," was her hushed reply.

Mr. Lords pushed some papers across the desk to him. "If you'd like to take a look at this, Mr. Skinner, and then add your signature. Miss Tyler's already signed it. It's pretty standard and straightforward. Gives you the power to handle the list of particular items she's made out for you to do, as well as any other matters concerning her money and property which might crop up during the course of dealing with those items. Once you add your signature, I'll step out and leave Miss Tyler here to explain to you what she wants."

Max frowned once again. Something just wasn't right somewhere. Libby looked like she'd lost a loved one, he wasn't sure if she was going to cry or not, but she seemed to be only just holding herself together. He took the paperwork from Mr. Lords and began reading the document very carefully. This was about Libby, he wasn't going to risk missing something he might later regret.

Libby waited silently as Max Skinner read over the paperwork. She was past crying. There was nothing to cry over any more. She'd made her decision and her plans, and this was just one step in carrying it out. She hoped he would agree, but if he didn't, she had someone else in mind. Someone she was fairly sure wouldn't have any problems with the whole thing.

Everything seemed to be in order, and Max reached for his pen, a rather nice turned wood fountain pen which Ceri had bought him whilst they were in Sydney, and signed his name beneath Libby's signature. He looked across at her and then at the lawyer. "There you are, Mr. Lords; signed and delivered if not sealed," he remarked, handing the papers back.

"Thank you, Mr. Skinner." Lords checked his signature and got up. "I'll leave you and Miss Tyler to talk. Could I get you something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Anything?"

"Tea would be fine thank you. Libby, do you want a diet coke?" Max asked.

"No. But a glass of water would be good."

When Lords had brought the drinks and left the room, Libby took a sip from her glass and turned her chair to face Max. Handing him an envelope, she cleared her throat. Her voice serious, she began what she had to say.

"That envelope is instructions, but I'll explain things to you while I'm here. First- There's a bar here in Coffs. The name of it and the location are in the envelope. Three-quarters of it is owned by a man named Bartholomew Madison. The other quarter is still owned by the bank. I want the other quarter to be paid off, so that Mr. Madison owns all of it, free and clear."

Without waiting for his response to that, she went on, "And Mr. Madison has a son. A boy named Jason. I want a trust fund to be set up for him for college."

Max rubbed his temple. This didn't feel right. "Libby, when you said you're going away for a while...you are coming back aren't you, only the way you're talking, things sound very...final."

She gave a long sigh. "Mr. Skinner. Max-" Her look was calm, but pleading. "I- I've had...family problems...come up. It's something very private, and I don't mean to hurt your feelings or anything, but I hope you can respect that I'd rather not talk about it." Libby was biting her lip, but at least she hadn't lied to him, she thought to herself. To her, Richie was family.

"Now-" She got back to her list. "There's also a flat here in Coffs. Again, the address of it is in those instructions. It belongs to Michael Stanly, Toni Roberts' father, but he's leasing it to Richie Roberts."

Libby never allowed her voice to falter. "Mr. Lords and I have checked the fair market value on it. I'm sure there'll be some negotiating to be done, but I know you can handle that." She gave him a bit of a smile there. "I want you to buy it and put the deed in Richie's name."

The mention of the flat and Richie made Max stop and think. He and Ceri hated gossip, but of course in a place as small as The Glen talk was inevitable, especially if you got caught by old man Jessup. He knew that Libby and Richie had been close, but he was now with Nonnie from the antique shop wasn't he? He also had his own house, so why on earth was she buying him a flat in Coffs?

"Libby, I don't like gossip, and I never pry into private matters. I'm very sorry to hear of your family problems, and I hope that things sort themselves out. I wasn't trying to get you to tell me anything...apart from maybe that you won't stay away too long. You do know that everyone will miss you don't you? "I'll be more than happy to negotiate with Mr. Stanley, and I promise I'll be gentle with him," he added, hoping to get at least a hint of a smile from Libby.

"I'll look through all your instructions when I get back. I'm sure that you're going to tell me everything I need to know as we chat though. I'm also hoping that when we finish our business you'll let this old man treat you to a bite to eat. Now, back to business. What next?"

"I honestly don't know how long I'll be away, Mr. Skinner," Libby said in her quiet, detached voice. She knew, but she couldn't tell him. Couldn't tell anyone anything.

"I know there's enough money in my accounts to handle all this," she continued. "When I was at college, I used to get teased about being a 'trust fund baby', but there comes a time when having a father who had money comes in handy."

"Now- Where was I? The flat. Oh, yeah- Richie Roberts has the mortgage on his house with you, doesn't he?"

At Max's nod, she went on, "I want that to be paid in full and the deed given to him."

Max made a note on the outside of the envelope, just in case that wasn't part of the written instructions. He was getting increasingly worried about Libby's state of mind. When she spoke she sounded almost like an automaton. He knew that if he said anything she would clam up completely or just get up and leave, so he kept his mouth shut. When he'd finished his note, he looked at Libby again.

"Do you want me to set this all in motion as soon as I get back home, or do you want me to wait a couple of days? I assume that you don't want me to tell Richie about anything until I've actually got the deeds to both properties."

"You can go ahead and set it all up," Libby told him, knowing that by the time the wheels were really in motion she'd already be gone. "No need to wait. As for when you tell Richie and Mr. Madison, I'll leave that up to you."

"And one last thing. I'm not sure how much money will be left after all that, but I know you've set up investment accounts for me too. Everything that's left--money, investments, my house and everything... All of it should be transferred over to Richie's name."

Now Max was really worried. This didn't sound like Libby was just going on a trip. He looked at her for a few minutes in silence, looking for some emotion in her face. She seemed like an empty shell. He'd never been in such a position before and wondered if he should try to stop her. He looked at her again and finally saw something in her eyes...determination. He knew all at once that there was nothing he could say or do to steer her away from the course she'd chosen for her life. Sighing, he made another note on the envelope before speaking.

"Very well, Miss Tyler." He no longer thought she would welcome him using her first name. "I'll set the ball rolling as soon as I get back to the bank. Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

"I think that's about it." Libby was relieved that he wasn't going to argue. She wanted to get everything done as quickly as possible. Wanted to be on her way so that she could finish with what she had decided to do.

"I do want to thank you, Mr. Ski- Max-" She did manage to muster up a smile for him. "I really do appreciate your doing this for me."

"As your financial adviser, and I hope your friend, how could I refuse to carry out your wishes. Now, would you allow me to buy you a bite to eat now that our business is concluded?" He didn't want to leave her just yet and was hoping that they could depart as friends and not bank manager and client.

"I appreciate the offer, Max, but I'm honestly not hungry." Libby looked at her watch. "There are some other things I need to do and I'm kind of in a hurry to get to them." Her stomach didn't feel as though it could really handle food right now anyway.

"I really do thank you." On an impulse, she hugged him. "You're a good man."

Max was a little taken aback when Libby hugged him, but he quickly returned the embrace, holding her close to him for as long as he dared. He stepped back, one hand on her shoulder as the other went under her chin to gently lift up her face to enable her to look at him.

"I just need you to promise me one thing, Libby. Please be careful, and when you feel up to it, call me to let me know you're safe. I promise I won't tell anyone I've spoken to you if that's what you want." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly, resting the palm of his hand on her cheek for a moment. "I will be very disappointed if I never see you again, young lady," he smiled sadly.

His kindness was nice, but Libby kept herself carefully numb. Too many times for her, comforting from men had led to something more. The same thing could probably happen with Max Skinner if she let it. She was finished with all that now. "I promise I'll call you when I feel up to it," she told him.

Giving him a last, almost wistful, smile, she left the solicitor's office. Time to get on with things.

Max watched as she walked through the door, then turned to pick up the thick brown envelope. He looked around the office before heading to the door himself. Suddenly he wanted to be as far from Coffs as possible and in the arms of Ceri.