Chapter 3 #3
“No.” She pulled her hand free of his grasp, surprised by the sharp stab of grief that sliced through her.
She’d accepted this moment was inevitable, but that didn’t ease the pain.
Nine years ago she’d thought Eric Walker was going to be their savior.
She’d even bought him a fancy bottle of champagne to celebrate the start of a new life for her father.
Giving up that dream felt like she was losing Mac Hudson all over again.
“If I don’t do this now, I’m not sure I’ll have the nerve to come back. ”
“Understandable. This is never an easy decision.” He motioned toward the leather seat in front of the desk, waiting for her to sit down before he settled back into his own chair.
He leaned forward, grabbing a pen and a yellow pad.
“But if it helps, I think it’s the right one.
The longer you delay, the harder it becomes to deal with the legal issues. ”
“Right.” She folded her hands in her lap. “So, what happens first?”
He scribbled on the pad as he spoke. “We’ll make a legal petition to the courts.
I’ll get it started today and have you come back in and sign the paperwork.
” He glanced up, his green eyes as clear as ever despite the deep wrinkles that fanned out from them.
“I’ll warn you that it could take weeks before we have a formal hearing.
Nothing in the justice system works faster than a snail’s pace. ”
She shivered. “I remember. Is there anything else?”
“I have a copy of your father’s will, but I’m not sure if there is anyone named in the document that might try to make a claim on your father’s estate.
You’ll need to contact them to let them know you’re starting the process to have him declared dead so we can deal with them now.
Otherwise they might hold up your inheritance. ”
“There’s no one who is directly related to my dad. He was an only child.”
“What about Victoria’s family?” he pressed. “I know Mac didn’t change his will even after he remarried, but could there be someone who thinks they have a right to his property?”
“Victoria never said anything about her family,” she admitted.
“I have no idea if she had any siblings or if her parents are still alive. No one ever came to visit while she lived with us, and the police never located anyone after she disappeared. If they’re out there they didn’t have any contact with her. ”
He accepted her explanation with a nod of his head. “I’ll also need any police reports that you filed after your father went missing.”
Jesse’s breath hissed through her clenched teeth. “All of them?”
Eric arched a brow. “There’s more than one?”
“Are you kidding? I started going into the sheriff’s office exactly twenty-four hours after my dad disappeared from the courthouse.
I didn’t want to go before then, even though I knew something was wrong, because I didn’t want to cause a fuss.
” Her laugh was sharp. “I shouldn’t have worried.
Not only was there no fuss, they refused to believe that anything had happened to him.
At first the sheriff was certain he’d taken off because he needed time to recover from the stress; then he decided my dad left town to be with Victoria and Tegan, who were remaining in hiding for some mysterious reason.
Adam Tillman, of course, was convinced my dad had killed his wife and stepdaughter and was terrified he was going to be arrested again, so he was on the run.
Finally, it was concluded that my dad had been driven crazy by the traumatic events, including being arrested, and was out wandering the world without any memory of who he was.
Case closed. No one in the sheriff’s department was willing to consider the possibility that he’d been hurt.
Or worse.” She made a sound of disgust. “I filed a dozen reports and they were all ignored.”
“I’m sorry they put you through that.” Eric sounded genuinely regretful.
“And I’m even more sorry to admit that the local law enforcement hasn’t improved over the past few years.
” He shook his head. “Adam Tillman is the sheriff now, and even more willing to cut corners and bend facts when it suits him.”
Another shiver raced through her. Of course the bastard was the sheriff. Whoever believed in karma hadn’t lived in Canton. It was the jerks who came out on top and the good people who ended up in the gutter. Or dead.
“Thankfully, I’m not going to be in town long enough to care who’s sheriff,” she muttered.
“Do you have copies of the missing person reports?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I kept them. They’re in the safe at the Tap Room.”
“Good. It’s proof you did your due diligence trying to locate your father.”
“Should I include the report from the private detective?” she asked.
Eric blinked in surprise. “You hired a private detective?”
Jesse hunched a shoulder. “Another waste of time. In fact, I’m pretty sure he was a scam.
He spent the week sniffing around town, asking questions and pretending to follow clues.
Then he demanded his payment and said he couldn’t find any trace of Dad.
Do you want to know what his final conclusion was? ”
A strange expression rippled over the lawyer’s face. “What was it?”
“That Dad disappeared into thin air.” Jesse snapped her fingers. “Like magic.”
“Scam or not, we’ll include the report in the petition,” Eric decided, scribbling on the pad.
“Is that it?”
“I’ll also put an ad in the local paper.”
Jesse flinched. The last thing she wanted was publicity that she was in town declaring her father dead. The memory of the knock from last night shattered any hope of a peaceful few days clearing out the bar and saying goodbye to her past.
“Is that necessary?”
“It’s more tradition than law these days, but it gives any creditors an opportunity to make a claim against the estate for any outstanding bills. The sooner we wrap up the details, the sooner you can get the death certificate and get on with your life.”
“Okay.” Jesse rose to her feet. He was right. Time to get on with her life. “Thanks for your help.”
“Of course. Mac was a good friend.” Something that might have been regret flared through his green eyes. “I’ve missed him every day for the past nine years.”
“Me too.”
Turning, Jesse headed toward the door.
“Oh. Wait.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Is there something else?”
“Not for the petition, but I remember you once asked me if your dad said anything that was odd before he left the courthouse the day he disappeared.”
“You said he didn’t.”
Eric tapped a manila folder on the corner of his desk. “It wasn’t until I pulled out his old file after you set up this meeting that I recalled our first conversation after he was arrested.”
“What about it?”
“I asked him if he wanted me to contact a defense attorney. Someone who specialized in murder investigations, on the off chance his case went to trial. He looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘You can’t kill a woman who never existed.’”