Book 3: 3rd World Products, Inc by Ed Howdershelt Page B

They've dressed it up and called it something else, but it has happened and it can happen again. At any rate, finding a country that will grant her legal status is part of the deal. If I have to pack up my cat and and move with her, I can do that."
    "I see. May I have some time to think this over?"
    "You mean to try to find out more about Stephanie Montgomery?"
    He paused momentarily, then said, “That, too."
    "I can bring her to meet you and explain her situation, but we'll have ourselves a lawyer by close of business today, Mr. Wilmot."
    "Why the big hurry, Mr. Howdershelt?"
    "Because the lawyer will be handling the situation before word gets out and the government tries to clamp things down."
    "Do you really believe that they'd try to do that, sir?"
    I laughed softly and said, “I remember the battles over the Atocha's stuff. The state and feds and a dozen others tried to freeze things in various courts until they could dig up some vague reason for making claims against the treasure. Do you want to meet Stephanie before you say yes or no, Mr. Wilmot?"
    He again tried to give me the impression that he was considering matters, but his questions had pretty much assured his interest.
    "Yes,” he said. “Bring her to my office and bring samples of the treasure. I'll need to have them verified. How soon can you be here?"
    "Fifteen minutes."
    "I was under the impression you were in Spring Hill. That's fifty miles from here."
    "I have the use of a flitter."
    Finally, something had impressed him. “You have a flitter?"
    "The use of one, as I said. Do you need more time?"
    "Ah ... No. No, fifteen minutes will be fine, Mr. Howdershelt."
    We signed off and I hopped to the driveway to open the garage door for Steph, then I retrieved the mail and went into the house to make a coffee for the road while she added the stuff in the garage to the pile on her deck. Before we left, I grabbed a small cardboard box to carry some sample items and put Stephie's CW passport in my pocket.
    The chubby little man who met me in his office looked over the gold coins and one of the gold bars for a few moments, then asked that I provide some ID for his secretary to copy and place on file. I handed her my driver's license and watched her zap a copy of it, then place the copy in a manila folder.
    "One of these coins will suffice to cover my time for the moment,” said Wilmot, taking one of the smaller ones and placing the other stuff back in the cardboard box on his desk. “If that's all right with you..?"
    I shrugged. “Sure, but it's all you get if you don't sign on."
    He handed the coin to his secretary and said, “Mrs. Javitz, make us a receipt for this, please."
    She said, “Right away, sir,” and closed the door as she left the office. Wilmot pulled a magnifying glass from his desk and examined one of the other coins in more detail.
    After a moment, he said, “She'll take pictures of that coin to accompany the receipt. We'll worry about its dollar value and fill in the blank on the receipt later. Let's go over what you expect of me one more time. Summarize, please."
    "Residency or citizenship for the lady and you'll handle the quiet disposition and sale of the gold. Also any correspondence and news media that may be involved. Maybe some other stuff, but I'm not sure what that would be yet."
    He nodded and spoke as he studied the gold bar with the magnifying glass.
    "Acceptable. If these samples prove to be authentic, that is."
    He looked up at me as he said the word ‘authentic'. I met his gaze and asked how long it would be before we could start selling gold.
    "Well, first these samples will have to be examined by experts..."
    "Time, Mr.Wilmot. Not who will look at them. How long before we have a dollar value on the stuff and start selling it off?"
    He continued as if I hadn't interrupted him. “...And, of course, I'll have to meet the lady in question before I can agree to represent her. Did she happen to accompany you to my