Wilmington, NC 10 - Much Ado About Murder

Jon said angrily. Then realizing he was speaking to me, he softened his tone. “Ashley, call Walt. He’ll know what to do.”
    Walter Brice is Wilmington’s best defense attorney. He took my call right away. He always takes calls from Melanie and me. He had been a close friend of our father, the late Superior Court Judge Peter Wilkes.
    “Ashley, my dear. What a pleasure to hear from you. And how is life treating my favorite young lady?”
    I explained the situation to Walt, including Thomas’s assertion that he could not be evicted.
    “Ashley, I’m afraid to tell you it isn’t as easy as you think to evict someone. He’s right that as your house has been his home for three years that does make it harder to evict him. It would be easier if there had been a lease. You could charge him with being in violation of it.”
    I was horrified. I stared at Jon with alarm trying to convey to him that the news was not good. “Are you saying we can’t get him out?”
    Jon groaned.
    “Oh no. We can get him out. It’s just not as simple as you think. And it could take time. Months even. The sheriff handles evictions and we’ll have to start legal proceedings with his office.”
    “ Noooo ,” I moaned. “You see he’s not the only tenant here. There are a couple . And one – well he’s dead – and his things are still up there in his room. Dalton Montjoy could straighten this all out but maybe you heard , he’s in a coma.”
    “I did hear about that. ‘Course I know Dalton. Not well. Just an acquaintance. I knew his parents. Yes, my dear, you’re in a delicate position. Now here’s what I advise. Legally, they don’t have a right to live in your home. If the onus is on you to remove them, the process will eventually succeed but could turn into a long drawn-out battle.”
    “Walt, our general contractor has planned his schedule so he can begin work here day after tomorrow. We’ve got walls to tear down, bathrooms to rip out, demolition to be done. We can’t wait months!”
    “Okay, Ashley, calm down. I said I’d advise you. When these tenants are out of the house, simply get a locksmith to change the locks. You will be perfectly within your legal rights. And I believe you said they have not packed their possessions but they are still occupying their rooms?”
    “It sure looks that way. The house is full of their junk. And one of the tenants has refused to leave. As I just told you.”
    “Well, here’s what you do. Call Linda Price of Declutter Pros. Tell her I told you to call. Tell her it’s an emergency. She’ll drop whatever she’s doing and help you out. She’ll do it for me. She’s fast and she’s good. She’ll have everything sorted, catalogued, and packed in a day or two. Then you find a room in the house to store all the boxes – Linda will label everything – and get messages to the tenants to make appointments to come retrieve their belongings.”
    “And they won’t sue us?” I asked.
    “You of all people, Ashley, with your dad having been a judge and all, know we live in a litigious society. Anyone can sue anyone. But they wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. Besides suing is costly. And I believe these tenants are poor actors, are they not?”
    “Yes.” I breathed a sigh of relief.
    “Give your contractor a key and tell him to let no one but his crew inside the house. Y’all can tell the tenants that demolition work is going on and it would be dangerous for them to come inside.”
    And that was very true. Restoration sites can be dangerous.
    “Thank you, Walt. I can’t wait to tell Jon the good news.”
    “Give him my best. And give that gorgeous sister of yours a hug for me.”

16

    Dalton Montjoy

    In his hospital bed, Dalton was unaware that Melanie Wilkes visited often. That somehow the successful realtor and busy socialite had formed a soft spot in her heart for the old man. That she stroked his hand and spoke to him in her melodic Southern voice. If he had been conscious he might have wondered if the young Ms. Wilkes was missing her father. But Dalton was not conscious; he lived in another world – a world of memories.
    He was a child living with his family in the big house on Front Street as it used to be with ancestral furniture and paintings that later had to be sold. Large dark pieces of furniture, dark paintings as well. The household was multi-generational. There were his parents, his grandparents, and even his elderly great-grandfather whom he called