After she’d showered and dressed, she steered her golf cart in the direction of Gardenia Cottage. She needed to get a handle on what Ric was plotting.
Alberta seemed surprised to see her so soon after her last visit. “Something wrong?”
“I’m not sure,” Traci admitted. “I heard Ric was here earlier in the week, and that he brought a new lawyer.”
“He did,” Alberta said. “I never seen that man before. And he got Mr. Fred all riled up. His blood pressure spiked something scary. Brought a movie camera lady with him.”
“Did Ric tell you who the lawyer was, or what he was doing?”
Alberta pressed her lips together. “You know Mr. Ric don’t tell me nothing. I’m just the help to him. Somebody to wipe his daddy’s butt and dose his medicine.”
Traci nodded. “I’m not asking you to tattle, exactly, Alberta, but did you happen to hear anything that Ric and the lawyer were discussing with my father-in-law?”
“Oh, no. Mr. Ric told me to go ahead and take my lunch break. It was only eleven o’clock—and he knows I don’t go nowhere when I have lunch. I sit in the living room and watch my stories. But that day, he hands me a twenty-dollar bill and tells me lunch is on him.”
“He definitely didn’t want you to know what he was up to,” Traci said.
“When I got back from lunch, they were still in there, talking to Mr. Fred. Then, Mr. Ric said they need me to witness something. So I went on in there, and the lawyer handed me some papers to sign, and the video lady asked me to say my name. Made me repeat it twice.”
“What kind of paper? A will?”
“Maybe? Bunch of legal words.”
“Did you see Fred sign anything?”
“You’ve seen how bad he shakes, but they put a pen in his hand, and he managed to make some kind of a chicken scratch with Mr. Ric holding on to that paper they had.”
Traci drummed her fingers on the kitchen countertop. What was Ric up to?
“Won’t be long now,” Alberta muttered.
“What makes you say that?”
“I can just tell. He’s sleeping more, don’t hardly drink that liquid supplement. He’s skin and bones. New doctor told me he thinks maybe his organs are starting to shut down.”
“New doctor?” Traci said sharply. “What happened to Dr. Forney?”
“I guess maybe she retired or something. This new man is way younger, I’ll say that.”
“A new doctor and a new lawyer. He’s definitely scheming something,” Traci said.
Alberta walked her to the door, pausing to put her hand on Traci’s shoulder. “Been meaning to ask. How about you? Are you taking care of yourself? You know, I was about your age when my man Bennie passed. I was blessed, ’cause I had my two kids, but those were some lonely times. Especially early in the mornings. For the longest time, I’d wake up and expect him to be right there beside me.”
“You too?” Traci asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Alberta said softly. “When you got good husbands, like we had, I think the body remembers. And that’s not a bad thing, is it?”
Traci called Andy Plankenhorn as soon as she got back to her office. “I just came from Fred’s house. Alberta confirmed what I’d heard about Reeves Corbett, and the videographer.”
“Tell me exactly what she told you,” the older lawyer said.
“Ric didn’t want Alberta overhearing what they were saying to Fred, so he sent her out to get lunch. When she got back, theybrought her in and filmed her witnessing him sign a document of some sort, while Ric held the paper. She said it was chicken scratch.”
“Interesting.”
“Have you heard anything new?” she asked.
“I checked into Reeves Corbett. I understand he’s Ric’s fraternity brother.”
