Waters called the secretary, Margie, to the stand and asked her to give her version of events on the day Walter Keeler had died.
“Mr. Keeler had come into the office that day to sign the will that Mr. Wilen had prepared from his telephone instructions,” she said. “He also instructed Mr. Wilen to disperse funds to pay for an airplane he had bought.”
“Did Mr. Keeler read the will?” Waters asked.
“Yes, and very carefully. He took his time, then he signed it and Ms. Hight, another office worker, and I witnessed it, and I notarized his signature.”
“What did you do with the will at that point?” Waters asked.
“I made two copies for Mr. Keeler and his wife, and I put the original in our safe, at his request.”
“Can you give us a brief summary of Mr. Keeler’s bequests in the will?”
“He left bequests for his alma mater and several friends, and a bequest to his personal charitable foundation. The remainder of the estate he left to his wife, Eleanor Keeler.”
“How much was the total of the bequests left to others?” Waters asked.
“Approximately four hundred million dollars,” Margie replied.
“And how much was the residue left to Mrs. Keeler?”
“Approximately one billion two hundred million dollars in liquid assets,” she said, “plus the San Francisco apartment; the Palo Alto apartment, which he planned to sell; the new airplane he had just bought; and several pieces of commercial real estate, including a hangar with an apartment in it at San Jose Airport.”
“What was Mr. Keeler’s mood during his visit to your law firm?”
“He was quite cheerful and happy. He had just been married, and he was very happy about that.”
“What time did Mr. Keeler leave the firm?”
“Around three in the afternoon,” she replied. “He wanted to beat the rush-hour traffic back to San Francisco, and he took the two copies of the will with him.”
“And do you remember what happened after that?”
“Yes, vividly. Half an hour after he left the office, someone had a local TV station on our office set, and they reported that a car driven by Walter Keeler had collided with a gasoline tanker truck on the interstate, and that he had been killed and his car destroyed by the flames.”
“What happened then?”
“Joe Wilen called Ms. Hight and me into his office and read us a letter from Mrs. Keeler’s ex-husband, which said some bad things about her. I didn’t think much of it, since people who’ve been divorced often say terrible things about each other, but Mr. Wilen took it very seriously. He told us he had shown the letter to Mr. Keeler and urged him not to leave so much to Mrs. Keeler, but that he had refused to even read it and said the will reflected his desires, something he also said when the witnesses were sworn.”
“What happened next?”
“Mr. Wilen told Ms. Hight and me that he despised Mrs. Keeler and was determined to see that she did not get the bulk of Mr. Keeler’s estate. He told us about his plan for doing her in and asked if the two of us would cooperate with him. He warned us that what he was doing was unethical, and that if it was ever found out, all of us might go to prison.”
“What was the reaction of Ms. Hight and yourself?”
“Ms. Hight agreed immediately, as she shared Mr. Wilen’s opinion of Mrs. Keeler, but I was reluctant because although I had met her only once, I thought Mrs. Keeler was a very nice lady.”
“But you agreed to join them in this?”
“I felt under a great deal of pressure,” Margie said. “I had worked for Mr. Wilen for more than twenty years, and he had been very kind to me, so, to my regret, I went along.”
“Tell us how the will was changed, please.”
“It was very simple: Mr. Wilen removed the two pages of the will that dealt with bequests and dictated changes to me which reduced Mrs. Keeler’s inheritance to the use of, but not the ownership of, the San Francisco apartment, and an allowance of fifty thousand dollars a month, both for life. I typed up the new pages and Mr. Wilen forged Mr. Keeler’s initials on them with the same pen he had used to sign the will, and he instructed me to destroy the original pages.”
“Did you do so?”
“I did not. I could foresee a time when I might have to reveal what Mr. Wilen had done.”
“And did you do so?”
“Yes. Mr. Wilen was murdered a couple of weeks later, and a few weeks later Ms. Hight was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. She died a couple of months later. Since they were both gone, I felt I should reveal what had been done to the will, so I wrote to the Ethics Committee of the California Bar Association and told them what had been done to the will.”
Waters picked up four pieces of paper from his table and handed them to Margie. “What are these papers?” he asked.
Margie held up two pages. “These are the original pages from the will, as Mr. Keeler had instructed them to be drawn.” She held up two pages with her other hand. “These are the two pages that Mr. Wilen dictated to me, eliminating nearly all of Mrs. Keeler’s inheritance.”
The judge spoke up. “Hand them to me,” he said. He read all four pages carefully. “I understand that the chairman of Mr. Keeler’s foundation is here with her attorney.”
A lawyer stood up. “I represent the foundation, judge.”
“Have you read these four pages?” the judge asked.
“Yes, Judge, both the chairman and I have read them.”
“Do you have an opinion as to the veracity of this witness’s testimony?”
“Judge, we believe her testimony is accurate, and although accepting it reduces drastically the amount due to the foundation, we feel we must accept it.”
“Is there any other person in the courtroom who has any objections to raise or wishes to contradict this lady’s testimony?”
There was silence in the courtroom.
“In that case I rule in favor of Mrs. Keeler and order that the original pages be restored to the will, and that it receive expedited probate. Mr. Waters, do you have any requests?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Waters said. “We request that the executor immediately transfer the sum of one hundred million dollars, or securities in that value, and that she be given the free use of Mr. Keeler’s airplane and its hangar, and that bills for the support and fuel of the airplane be paid by the executor until the will is probated and all the funds dispersed.” Waters held up a document. “I have prepared an order to that effect.”
“So ruled,” the judge said. “Give me the order.” He signed two copies and gave one to the executor and one to Waters. “This court is adjourned.”
BARBARA HAD TO SIT DOWN, and she had to work very hard not to pee in her pants.
Waters sat down beside her and handed her the court order. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m very well, thank you. I just need a moment.”
“Take your time.”
The executor walked over and introduced himself. “Mrs. Keeler, if you will give me a voided check on your bank account, I will transfer the funds in cash immediately.”
Barbara ripped out a check, wrote “VOID” across it and handed it to the man.
“And as soon as I get back to the office I’ll fax a letter to the FBO ordering that you control the airplane and that bills are to come to me, until the estate is settled.”
“Thank you so much,” Barbara said, giving him a winning smile.
51
Half an hour passed before Barbara could collect herself enough to allow Ralph Waters to walk her out of the court-house and put her into a cab.
As Waters held the door for her, she grabbed him and gave him a huge, wet kiss. “Send me a big bill,” she said, “and on top of that, I owe you the best blow job of your life.”