“That’s insane,” he agreed. “But… have you considered that she might have some psychic abilities? If she’s after your job, that’s the only reason that makes sense, even if it seems crazy. Besides that, she sounds like trouble. Are you sure you want to get involved?”
“No. But I told Dimples I’d help him. Still… maybe he won’t need me. In fact… maybe none of them will need me anymore.”
Chris’s brows rose. “You sound disappointed. But look at it this way; now that the police have another psychic, you can finally take some time off.”
He thought I’d been through a lot lately and it was taking a toll. Besides, I’d hardly had any vacation time on our vacation, so this was a good excuse to lay low and hopefully not get shot at, kidnapped, or stabbed.
In fact, staying away from the police might be the best thing that’s happened to me lately, especially with Uncle Joey’s request. He still didn’t know what to make of it. Should he tell me or wait for a better time?
What the hell? I caught his gaze and raised my brows. He swore, realizing I’d picked that up from his mind before he could squash it. “It’s nothing to be worried about.”
“Then why don’t you want to tell me?”
He tamped down his concern, thinking that we needed to be calm and level-headed about this. It could be really good… or maybe really bad. Still, no one was going to make me do anything I didn’t want to, so we could handle it.
“What’s he done now? Is he in trouble?” Worry tightened my stomach.
“No. Not at all.” Chris wished he had more time to think it through, but I wasn’t about to let it go. Plus, there was the meeting tomorrow—
“Chris—what’s going on?” I needed him to spit it out before I had a full-fledged panic attack.
“He’s just changing a few things in his trust. You know… in case anything happens to him or Jackie… or… uh… when they die of old age? So it’s probably fine.”
“What’s he done?”
“He’s added you to his trust as the executor of his estate.”
“What?” Shock rolled over me. “What does that mean?”
“It just means that you have to carry out his wishes. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but I guess after what happened in New York, he wants to be prepared in case something happens to him.”
I snorted. “Sorry, but that’s kind of funny. I mean… if anything happens to anyone, it will probably be me, not him.”
“You have a point,” Chris agreed, thinking I was a bona fide trouble magnet. “I don’t think you have to worry about it too much, I mean Jackie will probably outlive him, and it falls to her first.”
“Then why put me in it at all?”
Chris shrugged. “I guess because it’s better to be prepared for all circumstances.”
“But surely Miguel could take care of it.” I thought he’d probably outlive us both, but I didn’t want to say that part out loud. Did that mean I was becoming cynical? Hmm… maybe I should talk to Bob about that.
“Yeah, but I don’t think Manetto wants to put that on Miguel. He trusts you, Shelby, and I think he’d rather have you take care of things.”
I shook my head. “But couldn’t you do a better job than me? Why doesn’t he just leave it to you?”
“Because I think he’s got something else in mind.” Chris knew this was the part that might upset me. “I could be wrong, and he certainly hasn’t told me this, but I think he wants to name you as a beneficiary.”
“Really? Huh… does that mean he’s leaving me some of his money?”
“I think so. I’m just starting up the paperwork. We’re meeting tomorrow, and he wants both of us there. So I guess we’ll find out then.”
“He wants me there—in a meeting with you—and you’re just telling me this now?”
“Uh… yeah.” His brows drew together. Why was I getting so upset? He hadn’t had a chance to tell me before now.
“What time and where?”
“In his office at ten. Will that work?”
He may have asked me now, but it griped me that he’d gone ahead and set up a meeting with a time and place before asking me if that would work. He should have called me first to make sure it would work for me too, but no… he’d just gone ahead without asking. What if I was busy?
I caught confusion coming from Chris. He wondered what was going on with me. He could have called to make sure the time would work, but he knew I wasn’t busy with anything at the moment, and it was Uncle Joey. Since I always jumped to do his bidding, why was I sitting there like I was angry with him?
I heaved out a breath to calm down. “Uh… sure, ten should be fine, but next time, can you call and ask me before you set something up? I mean… it’s true that I’m not busy with anything at the moment, but things can change. I could be helping the police… or a client… you never know.”
“Right,” he quickly agreed. “Of course. I can do that. I just thought… never mind. I get it, and I should have spoken to you when we set it up.”
He rubbed his chin, thinking that I seemed more stressed than normal. Was there something else going on that I’d kept to myself? Had Chief Winder coerced me into doing something for him again, and I hadn’t told him? “Don’t you have to be cleared before you can go back to work for the police?”
I pursed my lips. Why did Chris always think the worst? Sure, I kept things from him, but not so much
