Page 47 of Key West Homecoming

Rachel slid the folder across the desk.

“This is the copy recorded with Monroe County. I had Yolanda get it yesterday.”

Emma opened the folder.

Her grandmother’s name appeared near the top of the first page.

Gloria Kendrick.

Emma ran her eyes over the document, trying not to rush. The legal language meant very little to her, but Gloria’s name did. So did the date. She thought about where she’d been when her grandmother signed it and wondered whether Gloria had considered calling her afterward.

Rachel leaned forward and turned to a later page.

“Here.”

Emma followed her finger.

Twenty-Three Hibiscus Lane.

Her own name appeared beneath it.

Emma read the paragraph once and then again, even though the words didn’t change.

For days, the cottage had been something other people told her Gloria had left to her. Seeing it in front of her was different. Her grandmother had sat down with someone and signed her name to it.

She had wanted Emma to have the house.

Emma touched the edge of the page.

“Can I get a copy of this?”

“I already made one for you. That one’s yours.”

“Thank you.”

Rachel watched her close the folder before reaching for the second one.

“Now we deal with your uncle.”

The folder contained the affidavit Rachel had drafted from Emma’s notes. It described twelve separate statements Arthur had made between May of the previous year and April of this one. Each was dated when Emma had a date, and several included Arthur’s actual words because Emma had written them down at the time.

“I want you to read every line,” Rachel said. “If something isn’t true as written, we fix it. If it’s true but incomplete, we add what’s missing. Don’t sign anything until you’re comfortable with every word.”

Emma spent the next ten minutes reading the will.

Seeing Arthur’s statements gathered in one place was different from remembering them one at a time. He had told her the estate was settled. He had described the cottage as nearly worthless and said repairs would cost more than the property could justify. He had told her there was nothing she needed to do and nothing Gloria had left that required her attention.

Emma had known for several days that he’d lied to her. She hadn’t understood how often he had done it until Rachel put the lies in order.

She corrected two dates and asked Rachel to soften one adjective. Everything else stayed.

“It’s accurate,” Emma said.

“Good. Yolanda’s a notary. I’ll bring her in.”

Yolanda returned with a stamp and a small book. She watched Emma sign in three places, then stamped, signed and dated the affidavit before taking the executed original with her.

When the door closed, Rachel sat back in her chair.