That caused me to smile. “Please call me Jodi.”
“Jodi it is. In your message, you said you wanted to go over the details of the deed, correct?”
“Yes. I know that ownership was transferred to my name once my grandfather passed.”
“That’s correct.”
“My question is, what are my options for selling?”
“In terms of …”
“In terms of everything, I guess. I have the right to sell if I want?”
“Yes. You’re the owner. If selling the property is what you would like, that’s your decision to make. I do have a couple of real estate agents I work with that might be helpful, should you decide to put the property on the market.”
I watched as he began rooting around in his desk. He removed two business cards, each of them offering a different name of a real estate agent.
“Nancy is great with commercial properties, but she has plenty of experience with residential as well. Steve has been in the business for years and knows this area very well. Either one of them would be able to assist you.”
As I took the cards from him and stared at them, an ache filled my chest. “It’s hard to think about selling the home my grandfather built,” I admitted, still looking down at the cards.
“I’m sure it is. Tom was very proud of what he’d built over the years.”
My gaze rose to meet Walcott’s. “Renting could be an option.”
He nodded. “That’d be a great way to keep the property in the family. Since you’re in New York, you might want to look into hiring a property manager to oversee any tenant issues while you’re out of town. Nancy could help with that.”
I didn’t say anything for a long time. I was aware of my options, having spent some time over the past few days before this meeting, looking over them.
“No decisions have to be made today,” he finally stated.
I pushed out a breath, feeling relieved at remembering that. “I need to ask you something, Mr. Walcott.”
“Jason, please.”
“Jason, when was the last time you spoke with my grandfather?”
He paused, taking a moment to consider my question. “Let’s see. He came in about two weeks before his death, I believe. Let me check.” He turned to his computer screen, clicking the mouse a few times. “Ah, yes. I had an appointment with Tom Walker back on February twenty-fourth.”
“And he was found on March eleventh.”
Jason’s face took on a grim look as he nodded.
“What was that meeting about?”
He hesitated. “Jodi, I can’t get into specifics regarding my client. I can tell you that he came across in the same way he was any other time we’d met.”
“Then he didn’t seem down or depressed, in your opinion?”
“This is strictly my opinion, not a professional assessment in any way, but no. I mean, the subject matter we discussed was pretty heavy.”
“What was that?” I questioned, moving to the edge of my seat.
“I can’t give you specifics because attorney-client privilege still exists, but I’m an estate attorney.”
I swallowed down the retort I wanted to give in the face of his refusal to answer seemingly simple questions.
“You talked to him, saw him days before he supposedly killed himself. If you know anything that could help me, please tell me,” I implored.
