Page 35 of Summer Shivers
She buries her face in my chest and clings to my shirt, her tears dampening the fabric. “I can’t do this, Ty. I can’t believe I killed Harrison. I can’t go to jail for it.”
“Well first darlin’, it would be prison, not jail.”
She laughs, despite herself.
“Second, I believe the videos will show you didn’t do it.”
She looks up and sniffles. “Do you really?”
“Yeah, really.”
She takes a deep, shuddering breath, letting it out slowly. “And Al can get us the videos?”
“She’s working on it as we speak.”
Genevieve nods and stands, moving into the kitchen. “What’s this?” she asks, pointing to the certified letter that was delivered today. “Oh, now I see. it’s from Grant. Harrison’s attorney.”
She opens it and pulls out a sheath of paper. “It’s a letter from Harrison. And his last will and testament.”
I head to the patio to give her space to read it in private. I don’t want to intrude on a private moment. But stay close enough to hear her in case she calls out. She goes through the pages one by one, tears streaming down her face.
eighteen
GENEVIEVE
Last Willand Testament of Harrison Benjamin Daniels
BE IT KNOWN, that I, Harrison Daniels, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, in the County of Clackamas in the State of Oregon, being of sound mind, do make, publish and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all my prior Wills and Codicils at any time made.
FIRST: I direct my Personal Representative, herein named, to pay all my just debts and funeral expenses as soon as may be convenient.
SECOND: To my daughters: Eerie Shelley Daniels and Curious Raven Daniels, I bequeath the sums of twenty-five thousand dollars a month to be paid in perpetuity upon their graduation from an accredited university after acquiring degrees in a field outside of the social sciences with minimum grade point averages of 3.0. Said education will be paid for in its entirety, from separate funds set aside for this sole purpose and to be executed by my Personal Representative.
THIRD: All the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, whether real, personal or mixed property, of whatsoever situate (herein referred to as my “residuary estate”), I give, devise and bequeath to Genevieve Bujold Daniels, in total and without exception.
FOURTH: In the event that Genevieve Bujold Daniels, shall die with me, predecease me or not live beyond forty-eight hours after my death, I then give, devise and bequeath my estate in its entirety to Eerie Shelley Daniels and Curious Raven Daniels to be split evenly between them. or their issue per stirpes.
FIFTH: I hereby nominate, constitute, and appoint Grant Carter Show, my Personal Representative of this my Last Will and Testament, to act without bond.
I don’t read beyond the fifth point, there’s no need to. Everything I need to know is in points one, two, three, and four. I motion Ty forward and hand it to him before sinking in a chair at the table and trying to collect my thoughts.
Harrison left me a literal fortune. And I have no idea what to do with it.
I pick up my phone and try to call the girls again. Eerie and Curious. They aren't talking to me, and I don't know why. Tyler mentioned they haven't spoken to the police yet either, which I’m surprised by. And apparently the police haven’t pushed for an interview with them. Why not? Surely the girls will say I didn’t kill Harrison, right?
I understand they're in shock and hurt. But why are they blocking me out? Unless they believe I’m guilty. By now, if I got a copy of Harrison’s will, they probably did too. I can’t imagine they are too happy about how things settled out. If I were them, I wouldn’t be.
But they weren’t talking to me before that. Why? I figured at a time like this they would want us all to be together.
I let the phone ring for a while. And let out a sigh when it goes to voicemail again.
“Hi, girls. It's me again. Can you please call me? I just want to know you’re okay. I'm worried about you. Just let me know that you’re okay. Please.”
I wonder if I should call again and hope they answer this time. I mean they haven’t in the last two days, but maybe this time would be different.
What’s the definition of insanity, Genevieve?
I laugh to myself and put the phone down on the table.
