I’m certain Leo’s about to scold him for the comment but it pulls a snort from me. “Only if I get to take a few whacks at him, too.”
* * *
Noneof us sleep well that night. We’re already sitting at the kitchen table with the breakfast casserole in the oven when Mom and Dad enter the kitchen a little after 5:30 that morning.
I decide that after my PDB I’ll come upstairs and spend as much of the day as I can with my parents. I also ask Leo to take Declan with him and Jordan, because I know Declan can stand up to Leo if he tries to do too much.
Casey-Marie, however, nixes that when she joins us in the kitchen just before 7:00. My parents have both stepped out of the kitchen for a few minutes and we can talk freely.
“I need him today, kiddo,” she says from where she’s leaning against our kitchen counter with a cup of coffee in hand. “I’ll make a deal with you. How about I send George with them?” She wears an evil smile. “He needs a project and the sadist won’t take any shit from this one.” She nods toward Leo.
“Love you, too, Case,” he snarks.
She blows Leo a raspberry. “The bonus is you’ll have an actual attorney with you. He’s not licensed to practice in Florida but, in case you need anything explained, you have him on hand.”
“Good call,” Jordan says. “But Declan’s an attorney, too.”
“Ineed him,” she repeats. Then she glances toward the doorway, like she’s checking to make sure my parents aren’t returning. All humor evaporates from her features as she drops her voice. “I also don’t want Dec seeing a bloody crime scene.Thatdoesnotleave this room, or I’ll neuter all three of you. His sister was murdered when he was a kid and he found her body.”
Oh.
Leo nods. “I’m fine with taking George.”
“Good.” She sets down her mug and pulls out her personal phone to text him. “Thank god he’s on the full-access list already so we don’t have to jump through hoops to get him in here. Put his ticket forAngelon Dec’s tab, please. It’ll look weird if it’s on mine.”
Jordan pulls out his work phone and shoots off a text. “Will do.”
Jordan stays upstairs in the residence with my parents while I go downstairs for my PDB and to receive updates in the SitRoom. I’m back upstairs just before 9:00 when Leo emerges from our bedroom, where he took the call with the attorneys. I’m sitting in the kitchen with George and discussing some of this…chaos. Jordan’s keeping Mom and Dad occupied up on the third floor, showing them new artwork that was swapped out since the last time they visited.
“She did have a will,” he tells us. “Elliot’s the executor, and she didn’t specify funeral arrangements. There will be some legal untangling regarding the marital assets but she had life insurance and several bank accounts and other property that default to your parents.”
“What legal untangling?” I ask.
“Well, Ellis had a will, too. There are prenups in place that also apply. Technically, she predeceased him.”
“But hemurderedher!”
He holds up a hand to silence me. “I know. There are, oddly enough, clauses covering crimes and incarcerations the attorneys believe will kick in. It’ll need to go through probate. You receive one of her life insurance policies but your parents are named the beneficiaries of everything else.”
The implications hit me as George lets out a low whistle. “Everything?” I ask.
Leo nods. “Immediately, approximately three million dollars’ worth, including the DC townhouse. I won’t know the rest until it’s all probated but between real estate, bank accounts, and other holdings, your parents could easily inherit over twenty million dollars.”
“Holy shit.” I need a moment to digest that. “They’re going to freak out.”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s not tell them about that part right now, huh?” Other than the SUV, TV, and a couple of new appliances, my parents have barely spent any of the money they earned from the sale of the property. Mom’s only regular concession to their new financial freedom is that she no longer clips coupons every Sunday, and sometimes she’ll buy brand-name groceries instead of generic, or shoes that aren’t on sale.
“I have to tell them about this,” Leo says. “I’ll be bringing back paperwork for their signatures.”
“Can we only tell them what they need to know right now? Just say that there will likely be more? Let them get used to that idea.”
He finally nods. “Okay.”
I run downstairs for another update in the SitRoom so I can be upstairs with my parents when Jordan, Leo, and George depart inMarine Onefor Andrews. Mom stares out the window, watching as the helicopter lifts off.
“There’s still part of me who can’t believe all of this is real,” she says. “Any of it.”
