Chapter 49
"What!?" Bailey explained when we caught up with her at Fish.
We had told her about the amended trust agreement.
She shook her head. "No. Sydney would flip out if she knew they were getting everything and that nothing went to charity. Are you shitting me?"
The lunch crowd had died down, and the dinner crowd hadn’t arrived yet. Bailey had just come on shift.
"From what I understand, complete control of Preston Capital Management will now be under the direction and control of Judy Hollister."
"Wow," she said, stunned. "It's not like Sydney had a say in that, but she would have pitched a fit. I can tell you that."
"Why?"
"Sydney was close to Preston. Closer than she was to anybody else in the family.
He repeatedly expressed to her his desire to leave his fortune to charity.
He believed his children needed to make their own fortunes.
He told Sydney he had given them every opportunity to succeed, and if they couldn't make it on their own by now, it was their issue. "
I shared a look with Jack.
Bailey cringed. "Do you think that's why she was killed?"
"Starting to look that way, isn't it?"
“Preston wouldn’t have signed that document if he knew what was in it.”
Jack said, "I'm beginning to think Sydney caught on to what was going down and protested. Maybe she threatened to expose their scheme."
"Sydney would never have kept quiet, that’s for sure,” Bailey said. “She was pretty outspoken."
"I didn't know her personally, but from everything we've learned, she didn’t hide her feelings," I said.
I thanked her for the information, and we left the restaurant. The valet pulled the car around, and I called Isabella while I waited.
"You're impatient, aren't you?"
"Yes, I guess I am. You got anything interesting for me?"
“Possibly,“ Isabella replied.
JD and I hopped into the Porsche, and Jack drove away.
“I have four cell phones at Preston Hollister’s mansion, the night of Sydney‘s death—Preston’s, Judy’s, Sydney’s, and Bryce’s.
Sydney‘s phone leaves the residence at 10:30 PM. It arrives at her apartment 10 minutes later. Judy and Preston‘s phones are at the Hollister residence all night, as well as Bryce Van Allen’s.”
That hung there for a moment.
I had the call on speakerphone so Jack could hear.
“That’s interesting,” I said. “Provides a solid alibi. I wonder if he’s offering something more than legal services to Judy?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. She convinces him to amend the document, they get Preston to sign it, she’s several billion dollars richer. Maybe she promised to kick something back to him off the books.”
“You’re the best,” I said.
“Let me know if you need anything else. I’m curious now.”
“I’ll keep you posted.”
Jack drove back to Palm Haven and parked at the curb in front of Preston's house. We needed to have another word with Judy.
I called Brenda. “Did you make a determination as to whether Sydney was sexually assaulted?”
“Inconclusive. But it looked like she did have sex recently. Perhaps consensual with a boyfriend prior.”
“Thanks.”
I ended the call, and we hopped out of the car and strolled the walkway to the gate. I rang the buzzer.
Judy’s voice crackled through the speaker a moment later.
"Ms. Hollister, it's Deputies Wild and Donovan. Sorry to disturb you, we just need your help with something."
“Certainly," she replied.
She buzzed the gate, and we pushed through and strolled to the door. She arrived a few moments later, pulled it open, and invited us in. She wore an elegant cream designer dress. "Please come in, gentlemen."
Judy escorted us into the living room and offered us a seat on the couch. "Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee, water, a glass of wine?”
"No thank you," I said with a smile.
"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to pour myself another glass.
I promise you, I'm not an alcoholic. But I have been treating myself to a small glass of wine in the afternoon the last few days.
Ever since Preston's passing, it’s been difficult.
I know we had time to prepare, and some people don't get that, but still. I expected to have more years with him.”
She moved into the kitchen and poured herself another glass of red, then joined us in the living room. If that was a small glass, I’d hate to see her idea of large. Judy took a seat and made herself comfortable. "So, how can I be of assistance?"
I thought about how to approach this. I didn't want to spook her, though I'm sure Bryce had already made a phone call to her. I’m sure she’d been alerted to our trip to his office.
"I'm just trying to put together the pieces of the timeline, shore everything up.
Nothing major. Do you recall what time Bryce left the estate the night of Sydney's death? "
She thought about it for a moment, then exhaled. "It was late. That's the only thing I recall. That whole evening is a blur.”
"If you had to say, was it before midnight? After midnight?"
"It was late. Don't quote me on this, but I think it was after midnight."
I shared a look with Jack, then fixed my gaze back on Judy. "That's interesting because phone records have his device here all night."
Judy's brow lifted with surprise. She shrugged. "I guess it's possible he left his phone here. In fact, I think he did leave his phone here."
"Is your relationship with Bryce strictly professional?"
She looked offended by the question. "I don't see how that's anyone's business.
But I can assure you, my relationship with Bryce is strictly professional.
He's been my father's attorney for some years now.
I'm fond of Bryce. He's become like a family member to us. I trust him implicitly in all of our legal dealings.”
"That brings me to another question. It's my understanding that you made a last-minute change to the trust document."
"No. Preston made a last-minute change to the trust document."
“Ah, of course. You wouldn't be able to make a change to the document without Preston’s approval.”
She had definitely talked to Bryce before we came over. She was too calm and cool. She had prepared herself for these questions.
"It's my understanding these amendments are to your benefit," I said.
"What can I say? Preston came to his senses and decided to keep the assets within the family, where they belong.”
"It's quite a windfall to come into."
"I'm not sure what you're getting at."
"From what I understand, Preston was adamant that the bulk of his fortune go to charity."
"I'm not sure where you're getting your information from."
"Preston had made several public statements to that effect."
"Like I said, he had a change of heart."
"You have to admit, it looks a little suspicious."
"Are you accusing me of something?"
"Your daughter wanted Preston to give the fortune to charity."
"It wasn't Sydney's money. She had no say in the matter."
“How did Sydney react when she found out about the changes?”
That question flustered her.