Page 55 of Tessa's Trust

“That’s quite the smile,” Marilyn said.

“You have no idea,” I agreed. “So, I guess the famous brother would be Hank?” The guy was a good snowmobiler and even had sponsors, but I didn’t know that I would call him famous.

“Yeah, they met up a couple times. He was a nice guy. Much nicer than the other two.”

That didn’t make a lot of sense. “Why did Sadie hand over her property to a guy she barely knew?” I wasn’t giving in on the quitclaim deed because I still believed Sadie had been honest with me. Still, I might as well get all the information I could.

Marilyn swallowed. “I don’t know. I think she felt bad that Rudy wasn’t part of the family. That George had never told anybody he had a kid, and that Rudy had grown up without a dad because apparently George never even met him. I think she was just doing the right thing when she deeded over the property.”

Now, that did not sound like Sadie.

“I see,” I said quietly. “Well, we’re having the deed authenticated. I find it interesting that it was recorded mere hours before I purchased the property from Sadie.”

“I don’t know anything about that,” Marilyn said. “Rudy took care of it.”

Right. This woman didn’t seem to be the type to remain in the dark. About anything. “If she gave the property to him six months ago, why did he wait ‘til just the other day to record it?”

Marilyn rolled her eyes. “Because he was Rudy. He did things on his own time, and he never worried about anything. He was charming, though.” She sighed. “If you can’t buy the property, I’m going to put it back on the market.”

“I don’t think you own it,” I said honestly. “Sadie wasn’t a liar, and she would never have taken advantage of me like that.” In my heart, I believed that.

Marilyn lifted her chin and chuckled. “You are a naïve one, aren’t you?”

I didn’t like her tone, but I also wasn’t about to get into another fistfight.

She sighed. “I have several attorneys who could make your life a living hell, so why don’t we just do it the nice way? You go away, try to find Sadie and your money, and stay out of my way.”

“Do you think anybody else will buy that building?” I asked. “It’s in a small town where everybody knows everybody.” I shook my head. “I can make sure nobody buys it.” I wasn’t entirely certain I could do that, but if word got out on the street, maybe some of the residents would back me up and refuse to buy it.

She laughed. “You don’t think I can handle you and a small town? Give me a break. That building’s mine, and you’re on notice. You’ve got two days to get your crap out of there.”

“Why do you want it so badly?”

“Apparently, it’s worth one hundred and fifty grand,” Marilyn said.

Okay. That was a fair point.

“Listen,” she said, “I spoke to my attorneys today. I understand the recording rules in Idaho, and since Rudy recorded first, he owned the building. He’s dead. Now, I own it. That’s a fact. Any legal recourse you have is against Sadie, so you need to go that route.”

Unfortunately, that was my understanding, as well—if the quitclaim deed to Rudy was genuine. “I’m going to challenge the deed. There is no way Sadie would’ve double-crossed me like that.”

“Then where is she?” Marilyn asked, lifting her hands. “She’s nowhere to be seen.”

I couldn’t explain that one, so I didn’t try. “If you’ll excuse me,” I said, “I need to get back to work.”

The door opened, and I looked up, only to have my stomach sink. The hits just kept on coming, didn’t they? Louise Transkei stomped over to my table.

“I thought you were in jail,” I said.

She shook her head. “I got out on bond. You know I didn’t mean to fire at the fish, right?”

I just looked at her. “Marilyn, meet Louise. Louise, Marilyn.”

“How do you do?” Marilyn said.

Louise barely cast her a glance. “Listen. I need you to at least file a witness statement that I didn’t mean to fire. Apparently, that’s what I’m in trouble for.”

“You shot a gun in a restaurant,” I argued. “You could have killed a person. At the very least, you could have killed those fish..”

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