I Gave Him Half My Liver, Then He Sold My Father's House novel · Chapter 6 of 24

Chapter 6: The Cost of Cormac's Clean Hands

Cormac shuts the consultation-room blinds before placing a single sheet between us.

The paper lands face down. He keeps his hand on it for a moment, as though it might leave without permission.

'You asked to speak without Gregor,' I say.

'I did.'

'And now the blinds are closed.'

'Because Mr Vale has mistaken an audience for authority.'

That is the first useful thing he has said since we left the records room.

He turns the page towards me. The firm's letterhead sits at the top. Beneath it, a reference number, a date, and Cormac's name in the reporting solicitor's box.

His pencil is beside the acknowledgment. The point is worn flat from use.

I read the first paragraph. Then I read it again.

'You filed this before the viewing.'

'Before I arrived at the house. I sent the report from the train.'

'Why?'

'Because the completion statement said the property was vacant, and the title papers did not support that assertion.'

He says it without looking at me. His voice has taken on that formal shape he uses when the truth is expensive.

I turn the page over. There is nothing on the back except the firm's internal classification and a line requiring preservation of all documents connected with the sale.

The marked completion clause comes back to me. His pencil had crossed it twice while Gregor was still talking about my father's cufflink and the welcome he claimed it represented.

That was not caution.

It was evidence being made safe.

'You reported your own client,' I say.

'The buyers are my clients. Mr Vale is the seller. The distinction matters professionally, although it will not make anyone feel better.'

'You knew the title was defective before you stood in that house.'

'I knew the title required verification. I did not know how many statements had been prepared around it.'

His eyes lift to mine.

'Now I do.'

There is a knock at the door. Cormac does not answer. The handle moves once, then stops.

'Cormac?' Elena calls from the corridor. 'You have ten minutes before Harland starts making people nervous again.'

'We are aware,' Cormac says.

Elena's footsteps move away.

I place the acknowledgment flat on the table and smooth its lower corner. The paper is warm from his hand.

'Your firm knows.'

'Compliance knows. The head of property knows. The managing partner will know if the matter proceeds.'

'Proceeding means what, exactly?'

'Any further work on the transaction may be examined later. The report, the title search, the communications with Mr Vale, the completion statement, and my conduct in the room.'

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