Page 97 of Luck of the Devil
“John David,” I said, “This is Harper Adams.”
“Oh. Harper.” He sounded surprised, then lowered his voice. “I suppose I know why you’re calling.”
“About my mother’s will?”
He exhaled an exaggerated sigh. “Yes, thank God you came to me. Your mother asked me to change her will, but I could only give you a copy if you asked for it.”
That fit what I suspected was my mother’s agenda.
“And I was hoping you’d ask me for it before your father files probate. We’d contest the first will, of course, but it would get messy and with your father and me in the same firm…”
“It would put you in an awkward situation,” I finished.
“Exactly. Sarah Jane knew it might be a possibility. She offered to see someone else if I was uncomfortable, but I assured her I’d take Paul on.” His voice hardened as he finished the sentence.
“I take it you and my father haven’t been getting along?”
“That’s an understatement.”
“Funny,” I said. “I never picked up on it in the office. Or even when you came over for dinner at my parent’s house back in February.”
“We’ve tried to keep things civil in the office, and we didn’t have a problem in February.”
“If it’s not too personal to ask, why were you two having problems now?”
“Let’s just say I didn’t approve of some of the company he kept,” he said, his words tight and clipped.
“Was he having an affair?” I asked.
He hesitated. “I have no proof, but I saw him with another woman, and it was clear he was trying to be secretive.”
My stomach dropped. “Can I ask where you saw them?”
“I went fishing in the city park early one Sunday morning. When I pulled into the parking lot in front of the lake, I saw two cars parked side by side, about a space apart. I parked a few spaces away. As I was getting my gear out of the trunk, I saw your father getting out of one of the cars and into the other. It was his car. Then the first car left, and as it drove past, I saw that the driver was an attractive woman. He must have seen me, because he confronted me the next day in the office. He told me it wasn’t how it looked, but a few days later, I heard he’d left your mother, and about a week after that, Sarah Jane came to me, asking me to create a new will for her. She said I had to keep it from Paul, and if I couldn’t, she’d go somewhere else.” His voice hardened. “I told her I had no problem at all. But it was the contents of her will that took me by surprise.”
“Is there something about a safe deposit box?” I asked, then held my breath.
“Actually … yes.”
“Thank God,” I muttered. “She left me a key without any information on how to access it.”
“It’s all in her will,” he said. “I’m pulling into the office right now. I can email it to you as soon I get settled at my desk. I suspect the copy she signed is in the box.”
“Thanks, John David. That would be great. But, before you go”—I drew a breath—“do you know the identity of the woman my father is having an affair with?”
“No,” he said, “and while she was attractive, she didn’t fit the stereotypical mid-life crisis affair partner. She looked like she was in her fifties.”
So far, she fit the description of the woman who’d shown up at my mother’s house. “I know this is a lot to ask, but if I text you a photo of a woman, can you tell me if it’s the woman who met my father?”
“You have a photo?” A hard edge filled his voice. “I’d be happy to.”
We hung up, and I texted the photo. Seconds later, he texted back.
That’s her.
The mix of emotions caught me off guard. At least we knew she had a connection to my father, but I realized I’d still been hoping he hadn’t been having an affair. Funny, after all the other crap I’d learned about him—including the fact he’d slept with a woman years ago—I was still disappointed in him.
Of course, there was a chance he didn’t have a romantic relationship with her, but the evidence wasn’t looking good for his innocence.
