Unnatural Acts (Stone Barrington 23)

Herbie shrugged. “There are worse ways to make a living, but, as with most careers, it’s only really good when you love doing it. A year in law school to find out if you could love it might be a good idea. Where are you thinking of?”

“Yale. I’ve always liked it there.”

“What are your grades like?”

“Surprisingly good, considering. I have a three-point-eight average, and I might be able to improve on that in my final year. I want to graduate before going on to law school.”

“Let me know if you need any advice.”

“That brings me to my other reason for being here,” Dink said. “I’d like you to represent me as my attorney.”

“You’re a college junior-why do you need an attorney?”

“Because I’ve just come into my inheritance from my mother, which is considerable.”

“How considerable?”

“Thanks to my dad’s brilliant investing over the years, my trust grew from around six million to just under twenty million,” Dink said.

“Is your dad going to continue to invest for you?”

“I’d be crazy not to let him. He’s the best there is. But I think I’m going to want to invest in other things, too.”

“What sort of things?”

“Small businesses that can grow.”

“I have another client-one your father sent me-who is that kind of entrepreneur,” Herbie said. “I’ll introduce you, if you like. You might learn a lot from him.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Dink said. He gave Herbie a card. “This is my address, until I go back to Yale in the autumn.”

Herbie looked at the card. “Nice address.”

“It’s one of two apartments Dad’s firm uses to house out-of-town investors.”

“What are you going to do with your money besides invest it?” Herbie asked.

“I haven’t decided.”

“I once came into a lot of money all at once,” Herbie said, “and I blew a third of it in a year. It’ll take me five or six years to earn that back.”

Dink shrugged. “I’ve already got a nice car. I may have some clothes made, and I’m thinking of buying an apartment in the city.”

“That could be a good investment, Dink. Prices are lower than they were before the recession.” Herbie took a card from a drawer and handed it to him. “This is a good agent, if you’re looking to buy on the East Side or downtown. Those are her specialties.”

“Downtown interests me,” Dink said. “I’ll give her a call.”

“All right, Dink, I’ll be your attorney. Just remember, you can fire me at any time, and I reserve the same right.”

Dink stood up to go. “I hope it won’t come to that on either side,” he said. He shook hands and left.

Cookie came into the office. “So that’s Dink Brennan? He looks awfully normal.”

“Yes, he does, doesn’t he? Let’s see how that goes. Oh, he’s our new client, so you can open a file for him.” He handed her the card. “Here’s his address, until he goes back to Yale in the fall.”

Cookie started back to her desk.

“Oh, and, Cookie?”