Page 117 of Silent Ties

I knew Fujimori’s is a family restaurant, but I didn’t expect such a friendly environment. It’s like a fucked up version ofCheers.

The man beside Ren rakes a hand through floppy brown hair. He smiles good-naturedly but sighs tiredly before shrugging out of his leather jacket.

Ren jerks her head towards him. “This is Bennie.”

“Hi.” He holds up his hand.

I nod back.

“He’s a lawyer,” Ren says.

He runs a hand through his hair again. Sitting side by side I catalog their features, wondering if they’re related somehow.

“I’ll admit this is a new one for us.” She closes the planner in front of her, clasping her hands together on the table. She’s ready to talk business. “I’ve never done a will reading before.”

“Will?” I blurt.

“Bennie will do the talking.”

He sets a folder down and opens to some notes. “Right, so here we’ve got the last will and testament of Daisy Montgomery.”

Ren peeks over his shoulder, reading.

Meanwhile, I’m sitting in my chair reeling. “W-what are you talking about?”

Bennie peers up. “Last will and testament of Daisy Montgomery.”

“What is that?” I scoot it forward, not caring that it’s in his hands.

Holy fuck.

The paper is thin and lined. Its edges are crinkled like it’s been ripped from a spiral notebook.

And sure enough, it’s Daisy’s handwriting.

All day I’ve operated on bleak emptiness but now tears threaten again.

“How is this possible?”

I look to them for answers. How did they get this?

Bennie and Ren share a look.

Ren clears her throat. “One of the girls had it. Got it to the Ghost and. . .”

She’s not interested in telling me more about her interaction with the mysterious hitman. That’s fine because I’m struggling enough as it is.

I run a thumb over the paper Daisy once touched.

“It’s valid,” Ben explains. He points to Daisy’s signature and then to two others. “Signed and witnessed.”

It hardly looks official to me, but I take the lawyer’s word for it as I study Daisy’s loopy handwriting. It’s only a page and hardly that.

“I have fuck all,” I read aloud, a painful laugh tightening my chest. Yeah, that sounds like Daisy.

Ren gently points out, “She wanted you to be the one to take care of her daughter if she wasn’t able to.”

I hold the paper away from me, afraid the few tears running down my cheeks will drip on it.

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