Chapter 47
Holly walked from her own chambers to the offices of Barker, Momen and Dodds on the edge of the cathedral yard. Not due in court that day, she’d nevertheless changed into court attire, figuring the black suit and white, band-collared shirt stood a good chance of fooling the media.
As she drew close, she clutched her black case and fixed her eyes on her phone.
Ignoring the news crews, she walked straight inside.
Her appearance created a little confusion at reception – they understandably thought she was there on a case – but after paying her bill, she was directed to a waiting area on the first floor, close to a door with Joseph Caiger inscribed in gold.
It had been a quick matter of looking him up to learn that he was one of the firm’s partners and that his speciality was wills and probate.
She had a choice of three armchairs, two of which were white.
Holly, who’d started her period that morning, and who didn’t feel easy on white furniture at the best of times, opted for the brown chair facing a huge print of orange poppies.
To her left a frosted glass wall screened off the solicitors working in the communal area; on a low coffee table were a bowl of fresh flowers, still in bud, and a box of tissues.
Holly took out her phone, set it to record, and placed it in her inside jacket pocket, as Caiger’s door opened to reveal a tall man with the look of a pirate.
Curly black hair fell in long ringlets around his ears; his face was tanned and smooth and his eyes looked dark.
His clothes, though, were extraordinary.
He wore a black shirt and tie, black Dr. Martens and trousers that were patterned in a bright pink paisley.
A scarf in similar colours hung around his neck and he carried a heavy corduroy coat in a dark shade of rust. As he drew closer, she saw that he was older than she’d first thought.
Their eyes met. He gave her the tiniest nod, just as a man Holly assumed was Caiger appeared in the doorway.
A coin landed on the carpet, making no sound. The dark-haired man had reached the stairs.
‘Excuse me!’ Holly was on her feet. The pirate turned.
‘Miss Baker? Come through, please.’
‘I think you dropped something.’ Holly bent to pick up the coin.
Not a coin. A token. She felt an urge to check her purse, make sure hers was still in it.
‘Miss Baker, come inside, please. Can I get you some coffee?’
The pirate had drawn close, was reaching out to take the token back. As Holly dropped it in his hand, his own tightened around it.
‘I got one too,’ she said. ‘How can I get in touch with you?’
‘Maybe a glass of water?’ Caiger had rested his fingers lightly on Holly’s arm.
The other man stared for a second. Then he pulled a wallet from his trouser pocket and fished a card from it. He handed it over before turning on his heels and walking out.
Holly glanced down. Robin Knight, wedding planner and celebrant.
Feeling a strange sense of triumph, Holly turned to face Caiger. ‘Was that against the rules?’ she asked.
Caiger was younger than Holly had expected, maybe early forties, slim but not tall and with thick, dark hair.
He looked like he needed a shave, but some men always did.
His suit was well cut, and he smelled of bergamot.
Holly declined the offer of anything to drink and was waved towards a conference table.
She didn’t think she’d ever been in a lawyer’s office with less clutter; there wasn’t even any paperwork on his desk.
Everything in the room, from the pictures on the walls, to the vase on the filing cabinet, looked stylish, corporate and totally unpersonal.
It couldn’t have been more different to her own workspace.
At work, with no Charlie to stress out over mess, Holly gave her untidy nature free rein.
‘We haven’t come across each other, have we?’ Caiger pulled a chair back for her. ‘But I don’t get involved in personal injury much.’
Well, she’d have been disappointed if he hadn’t known exactly who she was.
Holly took a moment before allowing herself to be seated. The floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the cathedral yard where the trees had started to turn in earnest. The scarlet and apricot colours of foreign specimens stood out among the dark tan of the English oaks.
‘Beautiful room,’ she said.
‘Modern offices have a lot to recommend them.’ Caiger gave her a tight smile. ‘Our last place went back to Tudor times. We were glad to get out of it.’ He inclined his head to the table. ‘Please.’
As Holly took a seat and pulled out her legal pad, she wondered if her clothes were as much about sending a message to Caiger as avoiding the press outside. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him.
Several seconds went by.
‘I expect you have some questions,’ he said. ‘Fire away. I’ll tell you what I can.’
Caiger had neither legal pad nor device, which meant he too was probably recording the meeting.
‘Is this for real?’ She started with the first of the fourteen questions that she and Coffie had brainstormed. ‘Are you really acting on behalf of Logan Quick and is he really leaving me money in his will?’
She saw a slight bristling on the solicitor’s face.
‘Mr Quick has been a client of this firm for nearly fifteen years. We handle much of his business and personal affairs. I myself drew up his most recent will and I can assure you it is entirely genuine. And that you are, currently, one of the beneficiaries.’
‘Can I see it?’
‘Regrettably not.’
Holly made a note. That had been a long shot, but worth a try.
‘Why me?’ she said, when she looked up. ‘Why would Logan Quick leave me money?’
‘I’m afraid I can’t answer that. Mr Quick didn’t share his motivation with me.’
‘Have he and I ever met?’
Caiger shook his head. ‘I couldn’t say one way or the other. If you have, he didn’t share the information.’
‘You said, currently, just now,’ she went on. ‘That I’m currently one of the beneficiaries. What did you mean by that?’
‘You’re a lawyer yourself, Miss Baker. You must be aware that wills can be changed at any time.’
And Logan Quick wasn’t an old man. He was younger than her parents. Damn it, she was not going to let herself feel disappointed. Disappointment meant she was starting to hope.
‘How many other beneficiaries are there?’
‘I’m not at liberty to disclose that.’
‘More than a thousand?’
No reply. Instead, Caiger gave a surreptitious look at his watch.
‘The man who left your offices just now.’ She thought back to the card. Robin Knight. ‘Is he a beneficiary too?’
‘You saw the token he dropped. You can draw your own conclusions. I’m not at liberty to say.’
‘Do any of the other beneficiaries and I know each other?’
‘Again, I couldn’t say. But not to my knowledge.’
‘Did Mr Quick share with you his reasons for leaving money to me?’
A slight pause. ‘He did not.’
Holly took a moment to make sure her notes were comprehensive. Ten minutes of the thirty-minute appointment had passed. When she looked up again, she said, ‘Am I the beneficiary or the token holder?’
Caiger breathed out audibly. ‘A tricky one, to be honest with you. And one that may be subject to legal challenge in the fullness of time.’ He leaned forward and placed his hands in the prayer position beneath his chin.
‘Mr Quick was very clear about who should receive the letters. But the will refers to the current holders of the tokens. To be clear, you are not directly named in the will itself.’
Holly thought about the token in her purse and where she could keep it safe for what might be years.
Caiger said, ‘The clause in the letter about keeping it safe was my idea. It took a little persuasion before Mr Quick agreed.’
‘So, if I lose the token, I can’t claim my inheritance?’
‘Correct, you cannot. Or rather, almost certainly not without considerable legal shenanigans and probably not even then. I advise you to put it somewhere very safe.’
‘If it’s stolen from me, will the new holder be able to claim?’
Caiger leaned back in his chair. ‘Another tricky one, and something I was very aware of while I was drawing up the will. The law doesn’t like to benefit criminals.
On the other hand, our first duty is to our clients.
For what it’s worth, I think the wording is watertight, and that the person who has possession of the token when the inheritance is claimed, will be the one who benefits, howsoever it was obtained. ’
Holly held his stare.
‘But I guess I would say that, wouldn’t I?’ he concluded.
Caiger had no real skin in the game, Holly acknowledged. A long, drawn-out legal battle over the will would bring in thousands of pounds of fees. Maybe hundreds of thousands with an estate the size of Quick’s. Caiger didn’t care if Holly inherited or someone else did.
Which rather begged the question, did Quick?
‘Are there any conditions to inheriting? Other than being in possession of the token.’
‘There are not.’
‘The letter said I should tell no one that I was a recipient,’ Holly said. ‘Does that mean I’ve already broken the terms of the will? I told that man outside, for a start.’
‘An act I didn’t think was wise, if I may say so. But the advice to keep the existence of the token secret was merely that. Advice. Again, included at my instigation. There is no mention in the will itself of secrecy.’
Holly made a note.
‘I do strongly advise, though, Miss Baker, that you exercise discretion. These offices have been besieged for a week now because one recipient was foolish enough to talk to the media. I understand she is experiencing the same annoyance at her home, and she has a family.
Sabri Carter. The ambulance driver.
‘I think you too have a young son,’ Caiger said.
Alarm shot through Holly before she reminded herself that, of course, Caiger knew her circumstances. ‘Are you saying I need to be afraid?’ she asked.
‘I’d say having the media on the doorstep of the Carter home, while a nuisance, is probably what’s keeping the family safe right now,’ he replied. ‘But I’m not sure that can be relied on. It really would have been much better if they’d been discreet.’
Another glance at his watch. Holly wondered if he was expecting another token holder, if he was trying to bring this meeting to an end ahead of time so she wouldn’t run into whoever it was.
‘One last question,’ she said. ‘What happens when Logan Quick dies?’
‘There will be the usual legalities and formalities to go through. It will take some time, of course. But I advise making a claim through these offices at the earliest opportunity.’
Holly got to her feet. Caiger did likewise and held out a hand for her to shake.
‘Good luck, Miss Baker. I do hope it works out for you. In the meantime, take very good care of yourself. And your young son.’