The Widow and the Will (13 page)

Chapter 21

Tess rinsed the last of the conditioner from her hair and reached to turn off the shower. Stepping over the lip of the bathtub, Timothy appeared immediately to try and lick the drops of water running down her legs. “Git!” she shouted. It wasn’t that she minded him wanting a drink, but the tickling sensation drove her nuts. She waggled her right leg at him and off he ran to sit in the doorway, giving her the typical cat stink eye.

Wrapping herself in her bathrobe, Tess yawned. She tied her hair up into a thick, fluffy towel and ambled out to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. She still had a little more transcription to complete, in spite of having stayed up until nearly three a.m. Knowing she needed to deliver on her promise to finish her backlog weighed heavily on her while the insurance check sat in her bank account.

As she inhaled the thick scent of coffee, she heard her cell phone go off. The bong sound from the Law & Order theme filled the apartment and she chuckled. That was the ringtone she’d chosen for Hudson Marks.

Tess dashed to the bedroom and grabbed the vibrating phone from the bedside table. “Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning to you too.” Hudson’s voice was low. “I’d like to meet with you this morning, if you’re available.”

“What’s wrong?” Tess sat down on the side of the bed and scratched Spencer’s chin when he jumped up onto her lap.

“I’d rather not talk over the phone. I could be there in about fifteen minutes.”

Glancing down at her robe, Tess felt her cheeks grow a little warm. “Here? Uh, sure. You’re kind of scaring me though.”

“Don’t be scared. I’ll see you then.”

Tess ended the call and rushed into the walk-in closet to find fresh underwear. What could be so important that Hudson would want to come to her home? And why was he in the area? Was he waiting to see her? Tess felt the familiar knot of worry tie itself in her stomach and tried to calm down with a few deep breaths. She put on underwear, yoga pants and a t-shirt, then moved back into the bathroom to brush her teeth and tie her hair in a messy bun.

By the time she made it back to the kitchen to transfer the fresh coffee into a carafe, the doorbell was ringing. Leaving the kitchen, she shooed the cats away and opened the door. Hudson stood there with his briefcase, looking excited and anxious at the same time. His smile was warm and it eased her fears a little.
He wouldn’t be smiling like that if it was bad news, right
?

“Come on in. I was just getting coffee. Want some?”

“Absolutely.”

Hudson followed Tess toward the kitchen and took a seat at the dining room table. She brought the carafe and cream and sugar, along with two cups, to the table. “What’s so important that you were lurking near my home, waiting for me?”

Hudson accepted a mug from her. “Well, Ford and I have been talking and we really aren’t getting anywhere digging up any dirt on the Kingstons. We want to take a different route with it, but I needed to discuss things with you first. That and some other theories we’re developing.”

Tess bit her lip. “I don’t like the sound of that.” She lowered herself gently into a chair kitty corner from him and felt as jumpy as a spooked cat.

Hudson sighed and sat back in his chair. “I need to be honest with you. I’ve had a difficult time staying objective about all this. I knew Jack in college and even if we weren’t good friends, I still liked him. Then I met you and I decided that I like you too. I can see why Jack loved and wanted to take care of you.”

Tess stared into her cup and a wistful smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Thank you for that.” Jack always had taken care of her, from the day they met. He dispatched the schoolyard bullies. He walked her home from school. He was as much of a best friend as her own sister. Surprisingly, Tess felt honored and grateful for those memories instead of lost; knowing Jack wasn’t there to do it anymore.

“Ford and I were talking yesterday and I think we should look into Jack’s background a little bit more.”

Tess’s head bobbed up. “Why?”

“Well, we just want to see if maybe there’s a possibility he knew about the adoption and inheritance before he says he found out.”

“That’s silly.” Tess shook her head in disbelief. “Jack would never have kept a secret that big for that long. I’m beginning to understand why he didn’t tell me before the wedding, but the letter proves he was going to.”

“You’re right. He was going to say something. Obviously his death prevented that. But don’t you find it just a little strange that he died?”

Tess rolled her eyes and then raised a single eyebrow at him. “Now that’s a stupid thing to say.” She reached out and smacked him on the arm. “Of course I’ve thought about it. But the ME said it was because of all those energy drinks. I told Jack all the time he shouldn’t drink those things but he wouldn’t listen. You know, I’ve been thinking about that a lot. I might take some of the insurance money and see if I could donate it to research on them or do some kind of awareness campaign or something. I think it’s really important–”

“Tess, wait. Let’s not get off the subject. I could be wrong but Jack’s death might not have been an accident.”

* * * * *

Tess gasped and nearly dropped her coffee cup. Hudson reached out to steady her hands and lower the porcelain to the table. Her skin was warm against his own. The color drained from her face and he thought she might faint from shock. He felt instantly guilty for blurting it out like that, but she was going off on a tangent and he needed her attention.

“Are you all right?” he asked, grabbing her hands and squeezing. “Put your head between your knees if you think you’re going to pass out.”

Tess shook her head slowly, taking in a slow breath through her nose. As she exhaled, she turned her head away from Hudson. “I’m okay. I’m all right.”

She continued to breathe until he realized his hands still clenched hers.

“Good.” Hudson withdrew them back into his own lap. “I’m sorry to startle you. I didn’t know any other way but to come out with it. I really hope I’m wrong. I need to ask you a few questions.” He rushed on with them before she could say anything, hoping he wasn’t moving too fast. “How were you able to have Jack buried so fast? A young, twenty-five year old male, in apparently good health drops dead of a heart attack and no one questioned it?”

“I don’t know,” Tess admitted. “It’s all a blur. There are moments burned in my memory but most of it is just… gone.”

“I’ve read the autopsy report. They blamed heavy consumption of energy drinks. Did you really believe that?” Hudson watched her face for a reaction and wasn’t disappointed when pain settled there like a storm cloud rolling in.

Tess began to tremble and wrapped herself in her arms. “I guess. I mean, what was I supposed to believe?” Pulling her knees up to her chest, Tess rested her chin on them. “Who would want to kill him? Everyone loved Jack.”

“I know it seemed that way, but there was a lot of money at stake. And the people with the most to gain are the Kingstons. Especially Roger. We need that toxicology report.” Hudson paused. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re getting pale again.”

“I’m fine,” Tess sighed. “My head is going to blow up with questions.”

Hudson waited patiently and watched with fascination at the myriad of expressions crossing Tess’s face. He also knew, without a doubt, Tess was not responsible for Jack’s death. There was no way she could be that good of an actress. It was as if he could see the wheels inside her head turning faster and faster. Her eyes were filled with pain and torment, which caused his own heart to twist. Her body was stiff with anxiety. It made his gut clench to see her like that and he wanted to reach to comfort her in some way, but he knew it would be inappropriate. Just that morning, while in the shower, he had resolved to no longer look at her as more than just a client. He was her lawyer, for Christ’s sakes. The whole experience was new for him, though. He’d never dealt with a grieving widow, especially one as attractive as Tess. His clientele consisted mostly of blue collar guys popped for DUIs or bar fights, acrimonious divorces, and real estate transactions.

“Should I call your sister? Your parents?” he asked softly, trying to reach through her distress.

Sniffling, she shook her head no.

This was a bad idea
.
What the hell was I thinking
? Hudson wondered if he should leave and wait for her to collect herself. There just wasn’t time for it, though. If his suspicions were correct, a clock was ticking and he would need answers. He decided to take a chance and push on, test her strength. If she cracked, he would call her family. If she bucked up and pulled it together, he knew she could handle whatever else there was to come.

Tess pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and first finger, then shook her head vigorously. Hudson found the way her blonde hair tried to wiggle its way out of the bun to be very sexy.
Dammit, knock it off
! His voice inside his head was thunderous.

“You think Jack was killed?
Murdered
?”

“I think it’s a possibility.”

“Tell me why.”

Hudson nodded. Ford had sent him some texts the night before with his theory and Hudson had run with it from there, even though there was no proof or evidence to support the conclusion.

As she listened, Tess got up and paced around like a caged cat. “As pissed as I am with them, I can’t believe Jack’s family would kill him. He would’ve given them all the money back if he was alive.”

“They have motive,” Hudson reminded.

“Of course, but so do I. I could be lying to you. I could have known about the will and everything else.”

Hudson snorted and took another slug of coffee. “Unlikely. But I see your point.”

Tess chewed on her thumb as she gazed out the large French doors. “This is too cloak and dagger for me. This shit doesn’t happen in real life, does it? I must have woken up in some bad movie.”

Hudson wanted to laugh but held it in. He knew she was joking, but the sadness in her voice was all too serious. “I wish I could tell you that’s true, Tess.”

“Couldn’t it all just be a coincidence? I mean, I don’t know you from Adam. You don’t know me, or even Jack. Are you reaching?”

Hudson nodded. He was prepared for this. He felt it himself. “It could be my imagination running amok, I’ll give you that. But my gut says something’s not right.”

Tess sat back down and laced her fingers together, leaning her elbows on the table. She rested her chin on her hands and looked at Hudson. He wondered how many times Jack might have seen that very same pose.
So much for looking at her as just a client
. Hudson turned to look into his coffee cup.

“For real, Hudson, I can’t even… I just can’t.”

It was then that a pudgy black cat sidled up beside her chair and jumped into her lap. Hudson instinctively smiled and reached to pet it. Their hands bumped as they each found space to scratch and pet it.

“What a beautiful cat. I’ve always liked the black ones.”

Spencer looked up at Tess and then leaned up to put his front paws on her shoulders. He bumped his nose and head against her chin. “This is Spencer,” Tess whispered. “He was Jack’s boy.”

And just like that, Tess was back to being a client again. Just a client. Watching her nuzzle the cat and knowing he had been “Jack’s boy” sealed the deal in Hudson’s mind and heart. He figured it would take years before Tess would be ready to move on from the traumatic events of the last few months and he wasn’t going to wait around for her. He liked her, she was cute as hell, but he would never be able to separate Tess from Jack or the circumstances under which they met.

“Just make it be over, Hudson. Do whatever you can to make things normal again.”

Hudson nodded and stood up. “I’ll do my best.” Feeling the tremendous pressure of that request on his shoulders, he walked through the living room to the front door where he’d left his briefcase. Tess remained seated at the table, focused on loving the cat still in her lap. Even from across the apartment, he could see the tears falling from her eyes onto the cat’s silky coat and the burden settled more heavily.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” he called to her.

She waved a hand at him but did not speak and Hudson let himself out of the apartment.

Chapter 22

After Hudson left and Spencer abandoned her for his favorite napping spot, Tess paced around the apartment trying to get a handle on the bombshell he had dropped. She racked her brain for any detail she might have missed before the wedding, but there was nothing. She had been so consumed with all her own worries and final details, she honestly couldn’t remember anything being out of the ordinary.

Tess tried to imagine Roger, Emily, or David planning a murder and then killing their own son or brother. She couldn’t do it. Emily and Roger had been devastated when Jack died. It was obvious at the funeral, with Emily crying constantly and clinging to Tess. Roger had cried too, in the silent way men tended to do. Even David, with all his bluff and bluster, had been sickeningly pale, walking around in a fog of disbelief.

Yes, they had treated her very unkindly that day in their kitchen. Yes, it seemed like they were accusing her of something. Yes, they were lying to try and keep Jack’s fortune for themselves. But such a tragic, unexpected death makes people do the craziest things and Tess’s heart just wouldn’t let a sliver of doubt inside. “Maybe I’m being naïve,” she said to the cats, who watched her walk around the apartment like a lost traveler.

After an hour of drinking coffee, pacing and obsessing, Tess could feel her nerves fraying like the ends of the pieces of yarn her cats played with. She needed a distraction, something to do with herself so she could focus on something else. She thought about typing and the small amount of transcription left, but she didn’t want to sit still. She wanted to move.

Striding with a purpose to the spare bedroom, Tess flung open the door. The only remaining furniture was the futon and a single two-drawer metal filing cabinet. She’d gotten rid of Jack’s rickety pressboard desk, but opted to keep the lateral file for paperwork. She stepped over to the closet and opened the accordion doors to look inside; making sure nothing was left inside. She then went to the file cabinet and began shoving it until it was centered inside the closet. While she was bent over and giving it one final push, Timothy bolted into the room, leapt on her back and up onto the shelf above the hanger rod. “You little shit!” she hollered. His front paws were declawed, but not the back, and they left scratches along the skin on either side of her spine.

He looked down from the shelf and meowed, but it didn’t sound like much of an apology to Tess. As she gave him her best pissed off look, she noticed something in the far corner of the ceiling. Cocking her head to the side, she stepped closer for a better look. It seemed like a six by six inch square of the drywall had been cut out and replaced. There was also a circle cut through the middle and some wires were threaded through, going into another circle in the wall. Tess figured it was just wiring for the cable or phones or whatever, but still, she wanted to see for herself. Just to make sure.

Grunting, she pulled the cabinet back out of the closet to create a make-shift ladder. Climbing up, she shooed the cat out of the way and leaned on the shelf. Reaching up, she poked at the square of drywall and shrieked when it came crashing down, followed by a metal lockbox. The box bounced off the shelf and landed on the floor with a heavy thud. She pressed a hand to her chest to try and calm her thumping heart. Her legs felt shaky and she thought she might fall. Tess stared at it for a moment, then jumped down and picked it up. It was the kind of lockbox that needed a key to open it.

“Shit,” she mumbled as her breathing returned to normal. “I’m going to have to look up there again.”

Tess was deathly afraid of spiders and mice, and she realized that both such creatures could be making homes up in that black hole. But if there was a key for the box, it might just be up there, sitting just inside. She set the box on the futon and raced to the kitchen to grab a flashlight from the junk drawer. Screwing up her courage, she hurried back to get up on the cabinet again. She poked the flashlight’s bright yellow beam into the darkness. Breathing a sigh of relief, she saw no legions of tarantulas or rats waiting to attack. Using two fingers, she felt along the edge of the opening, hoping she wouldn’t get any splinters, until the familiar coolness of metal met her hot fingertips. She pulled the key down and stared at it. Looking back at the opening, she reached for the piece of drywall still sitting on the shelf. She shoved it back in place and kept mashing at it until it stayed. Praying it wouldn’t fall out again, she promised to call her dad and ask him to come put a few nails in it. Just because she hadn’t seen any creatures didn’t mean they weren’t there, waiting for her guard to slip.

Unable to wait to see what was inside the box, Tess hopped down, clicked off the flashlight and tossed it onto the futon. Sitting, she pulled the box onto her lap and unlocked it. She flipped open the lid and almost dropped the box onto her toes. Inside lie piles and piles of rubber-banded cash. She sifted through one and noticed that all the bills were hundreds. She twisted to the side and dumped the entire contents onto the futon. Each pack she held up contained nothing but hundred dollar bills. Underneath all the money, there was a file folder. She pried it out and flipped it open to find a copy of Jack’s estate documents and a bunch of other financial documents she’d already been given from Hudson.

“What the hell?” she whispered.

She started to pile the money back into the box when she noticed an envelope taped to the inside of the lid. It was the same gray color as the box, so it hadn’t been noticeable right away. She ripped it off and tore it open. A piece of paper fluttered out which she caught and unfolded. An email address and a series of numbers and letters were handwritten on it. Tess recognized the handwriting immediately as Jack’s. [email protected].

“
What the hell
?” she repeated. Taking the paper and box with her, she made a beeline for her computer out in the living room. Tess opened a web browser and navigated to the email website. She punched in the address and then the series of numbers and letters, hoping it was the password. It was and she was greeted by an inbox filled with emails dating back to the month before the wedding. She clicked to open the first one that appeared to be from Jack to his father.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Date: November 18, 2013 8:49 pm

Subject: Revelations

Dad,

I’m sorry for the way I acted at the campsite, but you have to understand how shocking it was to discover that I was adopted and a millionaire all at the same time. I don’t give a shit about the money. I’m more pissed because you didn’t give me the opportunity to know my birth father. He contacted you when I was 12 for God’s sakes. How could you not have told me then? I am still trying to process all of this so I don’t want you saying anything to Tess. Tell Mom and David to keep their mouths shut too. I will tell Tess when I’m ready.

Jack

Poor Jack, Tess thought as she scrolled down to see if there was a reply. He probably felt then like she did right now. She was shocked and overwhelmed and completely unable to really understand how or why things had happened the way they had.
If only you’d told me
.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: November 19, 2013 7:12 am

Subject: Re: Revelations

I understand your anger, son. Your mother and I thought we were doing the right thing. We won’t say anything to Tess.

Dad

The next couple of emails were more of the same, Jack expressing anger and asking questions about his birth father and mother. Roger’s responses seemed kind of curt to Tess. Maybe she was just projecting, but it was as if her father-in-law hadn’t wanted to answer the questions at all.

The next email that caught her attention had a subject line reading, “The Money.” It took her two tries to click fast enough to get it open.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Date: November 22, 2013 5:42 pm

Subject: The Money

I’ve had a couple of days to think about the inheritance my birth father left for me. I’m grateful that you took care of it for all those years, but I’m 25 and I think I should be able to take over. Technically, I was supposed to get control at age 21. I would appreciate it if you could gather together all of the paperwork so I can come by and get it. If there’s anything you want to explain to me, we can sit down and talk about it then. Thanks.

Jack

Looking at the date, Tess realized it was just before Jack called Hudson.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: November 23, 2013 6:48 am

Subject: Re: The Money

It will take me a few days to get everything together. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: November 23, 2013 9:12 am

Subject: Re: Re: The Money

I’ll be by tonight after work. I really don’t want to wait that long.

Tess could feel the tension coming off the computer screen in waves. Her stomach began to feel queasy as she counted the number of emails that went back and forth. There were sixteen more and she wasn’t sure she could read through them by herself. She didn’t know what they held, but she wanted someone with her when whatever truth they held came to light. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she tapped Lilly’s direct contact icon.

“Hey!” Her sister’s voice was a balm to her aching soul.

“Hey sis,” Tess answered. “I could really use some company again.”

“What?” Lilly immediately switched from happiness to concern. “Is everything all right? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. There’s just a lot of shit happening. Can you spare your little sis a few hours to scarf some pizza and drink some beer?”

Lilly never hesitated. “Absolutely. What time do you want me there?”

“What time do you get off work?”

“Five.”

“Perfect. It’s almost four now. You bring the beer and I’ll have the pizza waiting.”

“You got it! I’ll see you then.”