“Oh, I doubt that will be the case. You and Mr. Holmes will likely have a long relationship if Willis’s business activities were as complex as that storage room indicates, not to mention what we talked about in the car.”
Dolores raised a quizzical eyebrow, then realized what I meant. “Oh. Yes. I guess Mr. Holmes will be able to tell us exactly how many more business types like Mr. Carbonetti I’ll have to contend with. Willis really got around. I’d never even heard of Carbonetti or his company.”
“Dolores, I think that is exactly the point. There are thousands of companies that aren’t well-known to the general public.”
The secretary’s phone gave a short ring. She answered, and after a few seconds said, “Yes, sir.”
Elizabeth rose from her chair and said, “Mrs. Nickens, Mr. Holmes will see you now.”
When we both stood up, she looked uncertain. “Are you bringing your friend to meet with Mr. Holmes?”
“Definitely,” Dolores said. “I want Mrs. Fletcher with me.”
Marcus Holmes had perfected the rumpled look you would expect of a backwoods country lawyer, which made me think he was probably sharp as a tack.
After Dolores introduced me to him, Holmes led us to some forest green jacquard chairs arranged in a semicircle around a glass-topped coffee table.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Fletcher. I seem to recall that I’ve been told that Mrs. Nickens has an old and dear friend who is the very popular mystery writer J. B. Fletcher. Would I be right in assumin’ . . . ?” He let the end of his sentence hang in midair.
I smiled politely at his obvious attempt at flattery. “Guilty as charged, I must admit.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have much time for readin’, but I assure you my wife tells me your books are highly entertaining.” Then he looked at Elizabeth, who was still standing in the doorway. “Did you offer these fine ladies some refreshment?” He turned back to us. “Coffee? Sweet tea?”
When we both declined, Elizabeth closed the door and disappeared behind it.
Mr. Holmes tugged on the edge of his necktie. “Well then, I guess it is straight to business. But first off, Mrs. Nickens, I need to tell you how sorry I am at the loss of your dear husband and my good friend, Willis Nickens.”
Dolores murmured her thanks and said, “This has been an excruciating ordeal made worse by the fact that, so far as I know, Willis’s business interests are spread far and wide with no one taking care of them. I am really here for you to give me a crash course so I know what I have to take care of immediately and what can wait. I do recall signing a barrage of papers after our wedding, but I am not exactly sure which entities most of them covered.”
“I see. I really do understand your concern. My own position in this matter is truly quite awkward. Let me see how I can say this.” He rubbed his hands together in rapid motion, which reminded me of Pontius Pilate on a fateful day two thousand years ago.
It was clear there was a problem, but since Holmes was Willis’s attorney and had organized all the postwedding paper signing, I was not sure what he could possibly be hemming and hawing about.
He cleared his throat. “There is no other way to say this, Mrs. Nickens. As long as Sheriff Halvorson considers you a person of interest regarding your husband’s unfortunate death, I am not comfortable sharing any of his business information with you.”
“Now just a minute, Mr. Holmes.” I was outraged. “You and I both know that as soon as they were married Willis Nickens signed over to Dolores partial ownership of at least some of his business interests and perhaps even full ownership of others.” That was a wild, but not unlikely, guess. “She is entitled to information regarding those companies.”
Holmes ran a finger around his shirt collar. Clearly he was a man who made pronouncements and expected them to be accepted.
“I wanted to sit down with you, Mrs. Nickens, so that we could have this conversation in person. I am sure that your tribulations with the sheriff’s office will be cleared up any day now. As soon as that happens you and I can review every piece of information I have regarding Willis’s businesses and his estate.”
“You can’t be serious.” I was about to start another rampage when Dolores spoke, quite calmly.
“As you wish. But rest assured, when that moment comes, and it will, my first act will be to replace you as attorney for all the Nickens holdings.” Dolores stood. “Good day, Mr. Holmes.”
I jumped to my feet and followed her out of his office, even as Holmes was spluttering, “Now hold on there, just a minute. No need to . . .”
And the rest of what he was saying was lost in the sound of Dolores’s slamming his office door.
Chapter Twenty-six
Dolores held her tongue until we got out of the building elevator. Then she looked at me and giggled. “Did you see the look on his face? The old fool. It never occurred to him that he isn’t in charge. He’s the lawyer. He forgot that Willis and I are the clients.”
“Kudos to you. He was completely stunned. I bet Mr. Holmes was hollering for Elizabeth to bring him some headache tablets before we pressed the elevator button.”
It was such a relief to me that Dolores had taken command of the situation forcefully. I was far less worried about how she would manage on her own than I was a day or so ago.
Elton was standing at the car, door open, helping hand extended. “Root beer floats will be at the ready, but Lucinda said that y’all will have to dig into her chicken and rib dinner beforehand.”
Dolores said, “That sounds perfect to me.”
Elton switched on the ignition and said, “Miss Jessica, you will never want to leave South Carolina once
