Weaving Sorrow: An Australian Crime Thriller (Detective Tony Packer Book 4) by JT Viner

Author:JT Viner [Viner, JT]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HSB Publishing
Published: 2024-08-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Hawthorne & Associates was one of the older law firms in Perth, but not one that was well known. Nathaniel Hawthorne had begun his practice shortly after the Second World War, and had nurtured a reputation for diligence and professionalism. Given the number of families forced to deal with the loss of fathers, husbands and brothers, and the division of estates that had occurred as a result, Nathaniel Hawthorne had, through circumstances, rather than design, become a specialist in wills and estates law.

His own son, Matthew Hawthorne, had been born in the early part of the 1960's. From an early age, Matthew been groomed to take over his father's position as the head of the family firm. He had begun work with his father after being admitted to practice and had quietly assumed a sizeable part of the firm's clientele.

When Nathaniel Hawthorne had died, the transition had been seamless. Hawthorn & Associates had continued in its quiet, understated way with Matthew Hawthorne as the 'Hawthorne' in the firm's name.

Rather than attempt to expand the firm's business or attract new clients, Matthew had instead followed along the same path that his father had taken and maintained a small, but very select list of clients. Many of Perth's mining magnates and real estate developers counted themselves among the clients of Hawthorne & Associates.

In keeping with its understated persona, the firm did not keep an office in any of the towering corporate monuments of glass and steel where the newer, trendier firms kept theirs. Instead, the firm was housed in a small office nestled away in one of the more exclusive parts of Cottesloe.

So understated was the office, that Thompson and Simmons missed the front of the office entirely as they drove along the street. After doubling back and driving past again, they were still unable to locate the front of the building.

Simmons parked the car and they walked along the street past the tiny coffee shops, book shops and boutiques. Eventually, they located a small brass plaque reading, 'Hawthorne & Associates - By Appointment Only,' inside a narrow entrance way with a door leading up a set of stairs.

They mounted the narrow staircase and found themselves in a small office at the top.

Dark blue carpet covered the floor of a small waiting area. A door led off to the inside of the office, and beside it was a small mahogany table. A bell, the old-fashioned kind with a handle, sat in the middle of the table without any ornamentation.

Thompson and Simmons exchanged glances.

Simmons picked up the handle and rang the bell. The sound of the bell tolling seemed shockingly loud in the stillness of the room.

After a moment, the door was opened. A man in his early thirties wearing a dark suit and somber tie opened the door and walked into the room.

"Good morning," he said, "How can I help?"

"Detectives Simmons and Thompson," Simmons said.

They showed their identification. If this surprised or disturbed the man, he gave no indication of it, keeping his face completely neutral.

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