privileged to live with you, Frank.”
Frank nodded. Delilah brought plates of food for Dustin and Olivia and took Frank’s order. Twenty minutes later, Frank had finished his corned beef hash and grits and headed off to work. Olivia looked at her watch and asked Delilah for her check. She glanced at Dustin, who’d grown thoughtful when Frank left.
While Delilah tallied their bills, Dustin said, “So that’s the officer who won’t believe you about Marcus? Seems like you two get on well enough.”
“That’s one of them. We have two sheriff’s deputies who handle this area—Frank, and Jimmy Callahan. They’re both decent guys. But...they feel sorry for those of us who wear rose-tinted glasses, as Jimmy phrased it. They’re very kind when they try to make me understand what they see as the sad truth.”
Delilah was on her way toward them, and Dustin fell silent. “See you in class, Agent Blake,” Olivia said, rising to take her bill and put money on the counter. “Delilah, thank you. Delicious as usual.”
“Bye, honey. See you soon,” Delilah said.
The sun was bright now. Special agent Dustin Blake was still at the counter in the diner behind her as Olivia walked to her car, wondering if she’d simply imagined that someone had tried to gain entry to her house.
She drove the short distance to the Horse Farm. Pulling into the parking area in front of the office, she saw that Drew and Sydney had been up early, too; the horses were out in the pasture. A quick count assured her they were all there. Shebaan, an aging Tennessee Walker. Trickster, often used in therapy sessions. Beloved Battle-ax, an old Percheron mix who was as big as a house and gentle as the Easter bunny. Zeus, a Paint. Carina, a gentle palomino. Martin, an Arabian mix. Chapparal, a one-time champion barrel-racer. Pixie and Nixie, rescued mixes from the swamps of Georgia. Gargantua, some kind of Clydesdale mix Marcus had owned forever. Beryl, a sweet bay, and her own personal favorite, Shiloh.
“Hey, guys. Morning!” she called to the horses.
She entered the office. Drew and Sydney were there, talking with Aaron, who held one of the Horse Farm cats on his lap. Sandra Cheever was seated on the arm of the sofa, and Mason Garlano stood by the window, smoothing back his hair. She saw that the window was providing him with a reflection.
“Who are we missing?” Aaron asked, waving her in.
“Just Mariah,” Sandra announced. “She gave me a call a minute ago. She’s on her way.” She glanced at Olivia. “Liv, you’re looking a little...tired. You okay?”
“I’m fine, thanks. I didn’t get much sleep, though. Had some kind of animal sniffing around the house last night.”
Mason turned to her with a grin. “Some kind of animal? Olivia, you practically live in the woods. Or the country, anyway. There are
“I know. But it made me decide to get an alarm system installed.”
“That’s never a bad idea,” Aaron said.
“Not really necessary around here, in my opinion,” Sandra said. She smiled. “But whatever. If creeping animals are giving you...well, the creeps!...you should get an alarm system.”
“Yep,” Mason agreed. He gave Olivia his best sexy smile. “Pretty girl in the woods. You never know when a wolf will show up.”
“We don’t have any wolves around here,” Aaron said.
“Ah, well, they also come on two feet, don’t they?” Mason teased. He grinned at Olivia. She grinned back. He’d tried to get something going with her when he’d first started working there. She liked him—as a friend. She knew that while he could be an effective therapist, he was also self-involved. He knew it, too. But his ego didn’t get in the way of his sense of humor, and they both saw the absurdity in many situations.
“They definitely come on two feet!” Sandra said, shaking her head. “Mason, would you bring me some more coffee?”
“Sure. Where’s the attorney?” Mason asked, walking over to the coffee service to oblige her. “He’s late.”
“I think that’s him driving in now,” Aaron said. “So, everyone, get your coffee and get settled.”
The attorney came in. Olivia had met him once before, just in passing. Aaron introduced him as Kevin Fairchild. He was a slim man, balding and out of place at the Horse Farm in a black business suit, white tailored shirt, striped tie and silver tiepin. But he was friendly, smiled easily and didn’t seem to care if he got dust or animal hair on his suit.
Mariah followed him in a moment later, sweeping her hair into a ponytail as she walked. She slid next to Olivia on the sofa and rolled her eyes. “Can you believe it? I overslept.”
“We’re all here, so we’ll get started,” Aaron said. “Mr. Fairchild, if you will? I have a feeling you’ll have to explain everything in layman’s terms. For me, certainly. I tried to fill out my own living will once and it confused the hell out of me!”
They all smiled and laughed, a little nervously, Olivia thought, although there was no reason for anyone to be nervous.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, let’s begin. I’ll explain the legalese as I go along and feel free to ask me questions.”
Fairchild started to read, and Olivia’s mind wandered as he went through legal phrase after legal phrase. It was more or less what she’d expected, although she’d never been to the “reading” of a will before. She found herself looking around at all her coworkers, trying to grasp the fact that one of them might have killed Marcus— and might want to kill her.
Aaron leaned against the counter, looking perplexed as he listened. Drew Dicksen appeared to be deep in thought. Sydney Roux dangled his key chain and stared out the window; from where he stood, he could see their horses in the field. Homer, the big yellow dog Deputy Frank Vine had asked her about, was running after a bird.
Mariah seemed to be dozing off.
Mason was worrying a fingernail.
Sandra Cheever was trying to look as if she was paying attention, but her eyes kept glazing over.
Olivia started as she suddenly heard her name. Fairchild was silent, as were the others; they all studied her curiously.
“I don’t understand,” Sandra said. “Aaron gets the place, but not really. And after him, Olivia gets it, and if she doesn’t run it into the ground, she names her own successor?”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Olivia murmured to Sandra, except that she was surprised herself and realized Sandra hadn’t meant to be offensive. She flashed her an apologetic smile.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” Aaron said.
“Better not!” Olivia told him.
“The Horse Farm is in a trust,” Fairchild explained. “Aaron maintains the senior position and makes all the decisions. In the event of something happening to Aaron, Olivia will take over as senior operating official. Sometime in the next year, they’re to name the others who’ll follow in their places, and so on, down the line. It’s very straightforward. Marcus had this will written so he could ensure that the Horse Farm would continue. The nonprofit will not be dissolved, and someone will always be there to see that it goes on doing the work he intended.”
“What would happen in the event of a natural catastrophe, like a flood?” Mason asked. “We did have that major one a few years back!”
“Okay, if something catastrophic were to happen or if the Horse Farm fell into such severe financial hardship that it couldn’t be maintained and your salaries couldn’t be paid, the property would revert to the actual estate. The land would go up for sale, and any profits would be distributed to a number of other charities. Do you all understand?” Fairchild asked, looking around at them.
They all nodded.
“Now let me go on with the individual items he’s left you.”
Olivia listened but his words blurred. Marcus had left them things that were special to him. A saddle and a desk to Drew, collectible books to Mariah, a sterling tea set to Sandra and other personal property to others. She heard her name again and looked up.
“What?”
Once more, they were all staring at her. “Another house,” Sandra said. “Nice.”
