The Return of the Fallen Angels Book Club (A Hollis Morgan Mystery 3) (17 page)

“This is Hollis, Shelby. I got your message. What’s going on?”

“Everything is okay, I guess.” Shelby sighed dramatically. “I need to see you. Denise said she told you about the family vote. I need to know what happens next.”

“I told her that nothing was final until you and I talked.” Hollis looked at her calendar. “You can have anytime this afternoon.” She glanced quickly through her messages. “I’m looking at an urgent message to call your real estate agent. So I should have some news for you.”

They agreed on three o’clock.

Hollis picked through the files on her desk. She needed to speak with George, but she wanted to be able to hand him a completed assignment first, so he’d be in a good mood. She chose one that was manageable, and an hour later she was done. It was close to lunchtime so she hurried to catch him in his office before he left.

“Good work,” George said, speed reading through her legal opinion. “This is a creative treatment for a complex issue. Let me take time go over it in detail. We can talk about it after lunch.”

Hollis nodded. “Not a problem, but I have a client meeting this afternoon I have to get ready for. Are you going to be here late?”

“I didn’t want to be.” George sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “Since you only have two clients, I assume it’s Shelby Patterson. Brian Wallace doesn’t seem to want to leave his house, and he’s busy fighting for his freedom.”

“You’re right; it’s Shelby. Her family decided that in order to keep the peace, Shelby would sell the house and give a percentage of the proceeds to her father to get a fresh start.”

“How does her father feel about that?” George asked. “Is he willing to settle for anything less than owning the house?”

Hollis shrugged. “Who knows? I haven’t heard anything about his reaction. I’ve been so caught up in the Todd Wallace murder that I haven’t had time to check in with the Patterson situation. I’ll know after my meeting with Shelby.”

H
ollis worked through lunch. Later, she called Kevin Gregg,
hoping the realtor had good news for once.

“Well, we had another open house. About fifteen brokers came through. Some weren’t too happy with how dated the house is, but everyone was effusive about the views and the amount of backyard. I took the initiative to hire a gardener to clear the back so it can be presented in its best light. He actually took care of the yard when the old lady was alive. You know, I hadn’t noticed there was a cottage back there. Once the yard crew got going, there it was—under the overgrowth of ivy and weeds. It doesn’t take long for a yard like that to get out of hand—”

“Kevin, I’m sorry
,
I don’t mean to cut you off. Well yes, I guess I do,” Hollis said. “The owner is coming into my office shortly and I want to give her a brief report. How are things going with the house sale?”

“It’s sold. Is that brief enough for you?” Kevin said. “Yesterday we got two offers, but only one buyer came in with an all-cash deal at five percent over asking price. He wants occupancy in two weeks. He’ll accept the house in as-is condition.”

“A buyer, yes!” Hollis’ fist shot into the air. “That’s fantastic. I’m sorry if I was abrupt earlier; it’s been a rocky week. You can messenger over the paperwork. No wait, I’ll send someone over to pick it up.”

“Great. I’ll let the buyer know. I’ll arrange for the title company tomorrow.”

“Who’s the buyer?”

“A Darol Patterson. He says he knows the house from when he was a child.”

Hollis groaned. “Are you kidding me? Kevin, that’s the man who’s causing all the trouble for my owner. He doesn’t have any money.”

“Now, are you kidding me? He seemed solid. Although he did tell me he would have to come back with a deposit check. It didn’t register that they have the same last names.” Kevin didn’t hide the disappointment in his voice. “Well, there’s still the backup offer.”

“What does the backup offer look like?”

“Hold on, let me get the paperwork. I was so sure,” he mumbled. Hollis could hear papers rustling. “Here it is. The buyer’s name is Naomi Irving. Do you know her, too?”

Hollis laughed. “No, I don’t know her. What’s the offer?”

“She’s an investor buyer. She’s going to rent it out, then sell it when the market goes up a little higher. She gave a low ball offer—fifteen thousand under your asking price.”

Hollis grimaced. “I’ll have to take the offer to my client. There’s no need to consider the first offer, but the second, I will definitely want her to think hard about. Scan me the offer, and I’ll get back to you.”

“Fifteen thousand dollars less! No way,” Shelby said. “That’s almost my tuition for a quarter. I want full price.” She swiveled her chair to look out the conference room window with her back to Hollis.

Hollis raised her eyebrows in speculation. “It’s up to you, but who knows how long it will be before you get your asking price? Your tuition is due in six weeks. That means you have to close during that time to get your proceeds.”

Shelby shook her head as if not to hear her. “And the family says I have to pay Dad’s rent at an apartment, too. It’s not fair. Gram gave the whole house to me. She never said I had to share the proceeds with Dad.” She slammed her purse on the table. “I can’t believe Dad tried to buy the house with no money. What was he thinking?”

Not very much.

“Okay, I understand where you’re coming from, but I have an idea,” Hollis said. “Push back a little on the investor’s offer; tell her you’ll take it contingent on her renting back to your father. See if she’ll take a deep discounted rent for a good tenant. It’s a win-win. She’s got a tenant who cares about the place, and you don’t have to pay your father as much.”

Shelby was silent. Her brow furrowed as she weighed the pros and cons.

Finally, she said, “Hmm … that might work.”

Hollis lowered her voice. “And Shelby, what do you think about not pursuing charges against Sonny and Joy? The police are cutting them a deal with firing a gun at the process server. They’ll probably spend some time in jail or get a gazillion hours of community service anyway.”

“Yeah, Dad told me. I’m not … I’m not sure. At first I thought about what you said about them not thinking straight. Not thinking at all is more like it. But Hollis, they locked me up to make me change my mind. Dad admitted that Sonny and Joy were responsible for the crazy hang-ups, the harassment, even my car in LA for God’s sake. They told him they were only trying to help him, and they didn’t show me any mercy.”

“I know, but you weren’t tortured. They fed you, and you were only there for one day. I’m not saying it wasn’t the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard of, but Shelby, you’re getting ready to go to college. Let it go so you can move on.”

“Move on. That’s easy for you to say,” she pouted. “Tell you what. If they apologize to me, not Dad, I’ll tell the police I’m not pressing charges.” She played with her purse strap. “Oh, Hollis, there’s something I haven’t told you.”

Now what?

“I’ve always had this feeling that my Grandmother only showed me so much kindness and love to get back at Dad. He’s right; she and I really weren’t that close.” Shelby’s shoulders slumped and she said, “If I didn’t need this money so much …. Anyway, I guess things worked out. It’s just that she wasn’t
for
me, she was
against
him. I don’t deserve … I mean ….”

“Don’t dwell on it,” Hollis said. “Life can be curious.” She knew what Shelby wasn’t saying or able to articulate. “I didn’t know your grandmother. While she may not have been perfect, she was a strong woman, and in a way your stepfather sounds a lot like her. Accept her gift for what it is. I’m going to contact Kevin Gregg today and tell him to move forward as quickly as possible with the Irving offer and your counteroffer. Do you want to go through the house one last time? Is there anything you want to have of your grandmother’s?”

“I didn’t think of that. Yes, I’d like to find something to remind me of her. Maybe Dad will want to go there too.”

After Hollis had Shelby sign a counter offer to the buyer, they agreed to get together the next morning at the house before Shelby caught her flight back to LA.

“If the buyer signs this, you can tell your father that he can return to his home, for a good while anyway.”

Shelby gave her a weak smile. “He probably won’t thank me for it, but it will be off my conscience.”

Back in her office, Hollis felt her shoulders relax as she put the phone down. Kevin had taken the changes to the offer in stride. He was confident that the buyer would agree to the counteroffer.

“We’ll schedule a closing by the end of the month,” he said. “It was good working with you, Hollis.”

Tiffany gave her a message from Brian that Hollis picked up with a certain degree of foreboding. It said he needed to talk to her. It was the word “needed” that got her thinking. “Needed” versus “wanted.” Brian was becoming very needy. The stress of the murder charge must finally be weighing on him.

She picked up the phone again, but before she called Brian back, she wanted to have a conversation with his criminal lawyer, Matthew Kerr. Hollis was pleasantly surprised when he agreed to meet her in his office in a half hour.

“Ms. Morgan, it’s good you caught me. I’m going out of town for a few days. What can I do for you and our mutual client?”

Hollis shook his hand and sat. “I’m just about done with the trust. The hearing is a week from today.” She licked her lips. “Have you noticed that Brian has been acting more edgy and … and agitated lately? He left me a message today saying he ‘needed’ to see me. Is there anything going on?”

Kerr swiveled slightly in his chair. “No, things are starting to look up, but I do know what you mean. I’ve noticed it too.”

“Have you found any evidence pointing to the real killer?”

He visibly bristled. “I’m not looking for the real killer. All I have to do is prove to one juror that Brian Wallace didn’t do it.”

Hollis let the chastisement float over her, but decided to recast her words. “Of course, you only have to worry about reasonable doubt. But in your efforts to defend your client, have you come across any other viable suspects?”

“Perhaps.” He seemed to relax a bit. “The argument the police put forth earlier is the most damning—the fact that he owned a gun with the same caliber and had traces of GSR on his clothing. That said, there are at least two other of Jeffrey Wallace’s parolees who he recommended be returned to prison. One had gotten the bad news that same week, the other the week before.”

“That’s good. I mean do they sound more viable than Brian as a suspect?”

“Doesn’t matter. That’s why I’ve let the police do their job. Unfortunately they don’t feel they have enough yet to charge either one, so Brian is still the prime suspect.”

Hollis wasn’t as confident that life would sort itself out without some nudging. “It’s good that Brian has you for his criminal attorney. I don’t think I could leave the investigation in the hands of the police.”

He frowned as if deciding whether she was being critical with a back-handed compliment. He stood when she did and stated, “Yes, it’s best to work with them and let them do the heavy lifting.”

Brian led her into his living room and motioned to the loveseat. This time it was clear of clutter. “Thanks, Hollis, for coming over. I haven’t been feeling that well lately.”

Dressed in sweat pants and a stained gray T-shirt, Brian had dark circles under his eyes and his hair needed a trim. Hollis took a moment to contain her surprise at his appearance.

The drapes were drawn, with only a thin sliver of light slipping in where the panels joined. Hollis again noticed Jeffrey’s cat poster leaning against several boxes stacked in the corner.

She pointed to the rear of the room. “I’ve always hated that poster. I never understood your father’s preference for it.”

Brian’s head jerked in the direction of the subject of her comment. His smile was sardonic as he responded, “Yeah, me neither.” He got up and slid it behind the boxes. “Now we don’t have to look at it. In a way, though, it says it all, don’t you think?”

Hollis frowned. Sitting in the overstuffed loveseat she didn’t understand his comment and didn’t know what to think. “Brian, I’m sorry about Todd, I know that must be weighing on you.”

“The police told me you were with him.” He looked at her. “First Dad, now Todd. He’d just gotten out. My attorney thinks it was someone from prison who didn’t like him.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I loved him. He was my big brother, and now my family is all gone.”

Hollis reached over to the side table and placed a tissue box in front of him.

“I was curious why you had to see me right away. If you’re not feeling well, you could come to my office almost anytime, or we could have talked on the phone.”

“No, I don’t go out much since ….”

He didn’t finish the sentence and instead offered her a bottle of water from a tray on the table. Hollis waved it away.

The silence was heavy between them. Hollis cleared her throat and said, “What’s the matter, Brian? Why did you need to see me?”

He got up and walked over to the draped windows as if he could see out. “You remind me of my dad, do you know that?” He turned to face her. “I mean the words you use … what you say … the way you say things.”

“I guess he rubbed off on me.” Hollis furrowed her brow. “Jeffrey saved my life. He saved a lot of lives. That’s why we’re helping you.”

He nodded rapidly. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

“It’s getting late. Why did you need to see me, Brian?”

He ran his hand over his head. “What happens to the trust if something happens to me?”

She took a deep breath. For this he could have picked up the phone and asked her. “We’ve already been through this. There’s a line of secession dictated by the state. As the co-executor I would make sure that the proper steps were followed. What are you really asking me?”

“I guess I’m just nervous about my criminal court hearing. Maybe … maybe I’ll have to go to jail.” He looked woeful. “What happens to the estate then, especially now that Todd is … is gone?”

Hollis thought a moment. She knew he didn’t want to hear the answer. “Brian, I think you know that answer. But I talked to your attorney. He’s confident you won’t be convicted.” Hollis moved to the edge of the loveseat. “Besides, I know you don’t care for Frances, but the trust holdings aren’t that big. Even if … even if she is able to have the first use of the funds, there’s just not that much.”

“You keep saying that.”

“That’s because as estates go, your father’s is on the low end.” She paused. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

He shook his head. “No, I think it’s Frances who’s not telling.”