Chapter 2
The voice on the other end sounded shrill and excited, and Lily wondered what could be wrong now. Lily’s older sister, Violet, almost never got worked up about anything, which meant the news she was about to impart was either wonderful or horrible. But with the way her day had been going, Lily was afraid to guess which way it was leaning.
She walked over to her tiny couch, wrapped the blanket more securely around her body, and sat down. “Okay, I’m sitting. What is it?”
“You’ll never guess who I just got a call from!”
Lily didn’t want to guess. What she wanted to do was take a hot shower, make herself a warm cup of tea, and forget that today had ever happened.
She rubbed at her temples and closed her eyes. “Look, Vi, I’m tired, and it hasn’t exactly been a great day. I’m not really in the mood for guessing games. Just tell me what’s going on, please.”
Her sister sighed. “Okay, Grumpus, I will, but you’re taking all the fun out of my surprise.” Her sister’s voice sounded disappointed, and Lily immediately felt bad for not having the energy to play along.
“I’m sorry, Violet. Like I said, it’s been a rough day. I’m not trying to rain on your parade, and I’m glad you’ve got good news for a change. I could really use some. So, tell me, who did you get a call from? Publishers Clearing House?” Lily tried to keep her voice light and jovial, but she kept her eyes closed, trying to fight against the headache she felt coming on.
“Ha! Good guess, but no. You remember that estate lawyer who contacted us right after Dad died, right?”
“Yes, I remember him.”
It would be impossible not to. The man had been cold and arrogant. A typical young lawyer type who had more questions than answers. They’d already had a will their father had given them as soon as he found out about his heart condition. What little he had was to be divided equally between the sisters. Not that they’d needed a will to tell them that—the two of them had always divided everything equally between them anyway.
“What did he want now? No, wait. Don’t tell me. He wants to double-check our addresses so he can bill us for that absolute waste of a call he made a few months ago?” Lily sighed, resigned. She really didn’t have any extra cash to waste on a useless lawyer right now. She’d never understood why her father had gone to the expense and hassle of hiring an estate lawyer anyway.
On the other end of the line, Violet giggled. “Boy, you really don’t like him, do you?” she asked.
She dropped her hand and popped her eyes open as she furrowed her brow. “What’s to like about that snake? He contacted us out of the blue a few weeks after Dad died and didn’t even tell us how he got our names and addresses, or how he even found out that Dad had died. Then he had the audacity to threaten us with a subpoena if we didn’t send our birth certificates and notarized IDs to a stranger on the other end of the phone. I’m telling you, Vi, sending him our information was a big mistake.”
“You’re not going to think so when I tell you the news he just gave me!” Violet sounded like she was absolutely going to burst from holding in her surprise.
Lily took a deep breath, preparing herself for whatever the guy had dumped on her sister. “Okay, Violet, just tell me what your arrogant snake buddy had to say before you explode all over your phone!”
“We’ve just inherited a house in Lake Tahoe!” Violet squealed into the phone.
Lily sat frozen on the couch, staring at her phone in disbelief. There had to be a mistake. Either that or Violet was playing a very distasteful prank on her.
“Lily? Are you still there? Did you hear what I said?”
She could barely make out Violet’s concerned voice through the ringing in her ears as she sat back against the couch, breathing deeply and hoping she didn’t pass out. “I heard you, Violet, and that’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking, Lily! That lawyer called me to tell me that Dad owned a house in Lake Tahoe, clear and paid for, and apparently, we are in line to inherit it.”
Lily shook her head in an effort to clear it. “But how could Dad have afforded a house in Tahoe, Vi? He could barely afford the mortgage on the house he had here. We’ve both had to jump in and help him out over the years. If he had a house somewhere else, he would have told us.”
Violet was silent on the other end of the line, and Lily supposed her sister was just as stumped as she was. “Well, I don’t know. Your friend, the snake, wouldn’t exactly give me any details. As usual, he wasn’t too forthcoming with information,” Violet admitted.
She threw her hands in the air, nearly dropping the phone when she did. “So, what does he want us to do? Oh, let me guess. Send him a few thousand dollars, and then he’ll release the deed? Honestly, Vi, I think we’re being catfished here.” Lily’s head throbbed as she started to believe that her first instinct about the smarmy lawyer had been correct.
“No. He didn’t ask for any money. He actually gave me the address to the property, told me to come by his office to pick up the key, and advised us to go take a look at it for ourselves,” Violet said.
She tucked the phone between her cheek and shoulder and rested her hands in her lap. “That’s it? He didn’t ask for money?”
“No. I asked him about that, and he said his fees were being paid for out of Dad’s estate.”
Lily snorted. “What estate? The few thousand dollars that were left over after we sold the house? Dad never even bothered to tell us he’d taken out a second mortgage on the place.” Lily hated thinking about any of it. The whole situation had been a nightmare, and the lawyer hadn’t helped make it any easier.
“Dad must have had money somewhere else, Lily. We both know the money from the sale of the house went to funeral expenses and what little was left just barely settled his debts. I don’t think he was talking about any of that.”
Lily’s head hurt too badly to put the pieces together herself. “Then what are you saying, Violet? Are you saying Dad had money hidden away somewhere that he wasn’t telling us about?”
“I have no idea, Lily. He never said anything about that to me, and from the sounds of it, he never said anything to you, either. The only way for us to find out is to go to Lake Tahoe and visit with this lawyer in person.”
Lily looked out her window. Her studio apartment was on a main road, right across from a row of restaurants she couldn’t afford. The glow from their lights lit the outside enough so she could clearly see it was still raining out. She huddled deeper into her blanket.
“Well? What do you think?” Violet’s voice sounded hopeful. “Are you up for a trip to Tahoe? The lawyer did say we should probably get there sooner than later, unless we wanted to risk losing the inheritance.”
Lily’s suspicions immediately rose to the surface again. “Why would we lose it? Who else would Dad leave it to? We’re all he had left. Besides, it’s been over a year since Dad died. Why the sudden hurry? And why didn’t the guy tell us about the house when Dad died?”
Lily could visualize her sister’s thin shoulders shrugging as she said, “Sorry, Lily. I don’t know. He wouldn’t say. He just kept repeating that it was imperative we get there as soon as possible and decide whether we wanted to take possession. Otherwise we would forfeit it.”
Exasperated, Lily expelled a breath of air. “I’m not thrilled with all this mystery, Vi. Something tells me there’s a lot more going on than this arrogant lawyer is telling us. I don’t trust him.”
“You’re probably right, but what have we got to lose? If Dad really did leave us a house in Tahoe, then I, for one, would be thrilled. I love Tahoe, and you and Scott used to love it there as well when the kids were young. We should at least go take a look at the house and see what the lawyer has to say.”
A car’s passing headlights lit up her darkened living room, since she hadn’t yet turned on any lights. It practically blinded her when she accidentally looked into them. “The house is probably falling apart, and there are a million dollars of taxes due on it or something like that.” Lily’s voice was morose.
Her sister couldn’t be deterred. “You’re probably right, but what else do you have going on this weekend? Come on, sis! Where’s your sense of adventure? Aren’t you supposed to be the daring one of the two of us?” Violet asked, sounding jovial.
“I’m fifty-seven, divorced, and living in a hellhole I can barely afford. Excuse me if my sense of adventure has left the building!”
“Exactly!” Violet’s voice sounded triumphant. “Just like I said. You’ve got nothing left to lose! Pack up. I’m picking you up first thing in the morning. You and I are going on an adventure!”
Lily sat straight up on the couch. “Hold on, Vi. I can’t just up and leave like that. I have a job—an--and responsibilities.”
But even as she protested, Lily weighed the possibilities. She had some vacation time that she needed to use before the end of the year anyway, or she would lose it. A weekend away from the dreariness of her life and the city did sound appealing.
“Oh, poppycock!” Violet expelled an annoyed breath. “You haven’t taken a vacation since Dad died. That stupid bookstore overworks and underpays you. Call tomorrow and tell that miserly boss of yours you won’t be in. I’ll be there at eight sharp!” With that, Violet hung up abruptly, leaving Lily no chance to protest any further.
Lily pulled the blanket around her and got up, heading toward the tiny kitchenette to make herself some tea as she tried to process what her sister had just told her.
How could her father have owned a house in Lake Tahoe? One that neither she nor Violet ever knew about. He’d been away a lot while they were growing up, but that just didn’t seem to be reason enough to hide an entire house from them.
She wondered if their mother had known about it.
As Lily settled back onto her couch, cradling her tea, a feeling of dread and foreboding overcame her. There was only one reason a man would have a house somewhere and not tell his family. The lawyer was clearly still withholding information, and Lily wasn’t so sure she wanted to hear what he had to say. Her gut told her it wasn’t going to be good. Even so, she knew she had to go with Violet tomorrow to find out the truth, no matter what it turned out to be.
Scowling, she looked up the number for the bookstore in her phone. It was probably best to leave a message that she wasn’t coming in tomorrow. If Violet truly intended to leave at eight, they’d already be gone before her boss got there in the morning, but at least her co-worker would get the message before they opened. Lily just hoped her boss wouldn’t be too mad at her. Even if she and Violet did actually own a house in Tahoe now, she needed a job to come back to.
After she left a detailed message on the machine, also reminding her boss of the vacation she was still owed, she disconnected the call and sighed. The neon lights shining in from outside were bright enough that she still hadn’t turned any lights on in the apartment, and Lily decided it was time for a hot shower. Afterward, she would pack an overnight bag and head to bed. She was still only dressed in her underclothes, so she dropped the blanket on the floor and made her way to the bathroom, leaving the lights off. If she left her curtains open, she could at least save on the electric bill, she thought ruefully.
She had already stripped naked and was just about to shut the bathroom door behind her when she heard the unmistakable click of the lock on her front door being opened from the outside.