Malpractice Makes Perfect

Chapter 14

            The day of the will reading was murky and damp. A heavy rain had fallen the night before and every bit of the Florida soil was soaked and sinking. I could consider it a bad omen—the long streak of sunshine broken on the day the family would read a dead woman's last will and testament—but I wasn't much for believing in signs. Especially not since rain and Florida went together like white on rice. My intuition, however, was sounding in alarm. It said—danger, danger, there's tomfoolery afoot.

          I arrived at the manor at ten fifty; sharp. Alexis was standing on the porch, waiting with her braids in a loose ponytail and her arms folded over her chest. I parked in the driveway, grateful for the opulent brick path so I wouldn't have to sink my heels into the wet earth to walk across the grass.

         Up on the porch Alexis greeted me with a terse, "Ms. Harper."

          "Please, you can call me Evie."

          "Evie." She nodded but kept her arms folded. "Readings in ten."

          Cutting it a little close I must admit, but I didn't want anyone, especially Robert, knowing I was coming. "You ready?"

          "I guess."

          "Who's coming?"

          "All my siblings." She turned back to the large embellished door and pushed it open. "And Corrine."

          Corrine. Looks like our runaway nurse found her way to me. "She's with Malik I take it."

          "Well, yes."

          "Robert's here too?"

          "Yes."

          "And Este?"

         "Out for the day."

          Inside the house was as quiet as a mausoleum. Our footsteps echoed through the empty halls. The faint smell of coffee grew louder the deeper we went into the house. Neither of us spoke. I suspect we were both lost in our own thoughts, and besides there wasn't much to say. If the will read today matched the one in Diana's keepsake box then the likelihood of foul play was slim and my job was over.

          And if not...

          As we rounded the corner Robert's voice grew from a whisper. He stood just outside of the open doorway to the office wearing his usual three-piece suit and laughing into his cell. He hung up and smiled when he saw Alexis. His smiled dropped when he saw me.

          "Hello, Robert." I said with a barely contained smirk.

          "Ms. Harper." The surprise of my presence did its job. He forced himself to smile, unnerved by the intrusion. "I'm surprised you're here."

          "I'll bet."

          He turned to Alexis and dipped his head a bit. "Could I speak with Ms. Harper alone."

         Alexis hesitated, sensing hostility but I smiled and said, "Yeah, it's fine. We're buds. I'll see you inside."

          When she was far enough inside the office, he took a step further into my personal space, then whispered in a quaking irritated voice, "Does the family know you're a private investigator?"

          "Does the family know you had all of them investigated."

          His back straightened. "You're quite a nosy person."