Miranda James - Murder Past Due

Andrea laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Who else could have written them? Godfrey changed his style, that’s all. He wanted to break out and make serious money, and he did.”

She seemed sincere, and I thought Godfrey had kept his ghostwriter a secret from her, too. She was in for a rude shock, though.

Julia regarded me, obviously curious. She knew that I wouldn’t have asked such a question without a reason.

Before either of us could respond to Andrea’s last remark, she spoke again. “He made it after all.” She waved at someone.

Julia and I turned our heads to look. “Who is it?” I asked.

“The tall man in the suit there, talking to the deputy. You know who I mean, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Julia and I said in unison.

About twenty feet away Kanesha Berry was deep in conversation with a distinguished-looking man about sixty years old.

“Who is he?” Julia asked.

“Miles Burton,” Andrea replied. “Godfrey’s attorney.” She grinned at Julia. “And if Godfrey managed to get his will changed like he was planning to, your son is going to be really rich, Mrs. Wardlaw.”

THIRTY-ONE

After her announcement, Andrea excused herself, saying she wanted to talk to Miles Burton.

“That was hardly discreet,” I said as she walked away.

“No,” Julia said. “But I already knew that. Godfrey told me he changed his will to include Justin and acknowledge him as his son.” She smiled with what appeared to me to be grim satisfaction. “And he died before he could change it again.”

“Why would he want to change it again?”

For a moment Julia looked uneasy. “Well, Justin did quarrel with him, and you know how nasty Godfrey could be when he didn’t get his way.”

That didn’t make much sense to me. One disagreement on the day Godfrey met his son for the first time didn’t mean he would disinherit Justin. Godfrey was too excited about having a son, I figured, to do something vindictive after one meeting.

I didn’t express my doubts to Julia, though. She was watching Andrea Ferris speak with Kanesha Berry and Miles Burton. Her face betrayed her avid interest. I wondered why she didn’t simply go up to them and introduce herself to the lawyer.

Kanesha saved her the trouble. She beckoned for Julia to join them, and I decided I was included in the invitation. Julia needed support, especially since Ezra wasn’t here with her.

Kanesha frowned at me as she introduced Julia to Miles Burton.

“I regret that we are meeting under such tragic circumstances,” Burton said, his voice a mellow baritone. “Where is your son? Did he attend the service?”

“Yes, he did,” Julia said. “He’s here somewhere.”

“He was in the sanctuary, up in the choir loft the last time I saw him.” I introduced myself. “Would you like to speak to him?”

“Yes, I would,” Burton said with a grave smile. “I have matters to discuss with him and with Mrs. Wardlaw.”

“I’ll go find him,” I said, and Burton nodded his thanks.

As I left them, Julia was asking Burton how long he had been Godfrey’s attorney. I didn’t hear the answer.

Out in the sanctuary, I turned to look up into the choir loft. Justin and Diesel weren’t there. I scanned the sanctuary, but there was no sign of them. Perhaps Justin had gone to the restroom.

I went down the hall on the side of the chapel opposite the meeting room and checked inside the men’s room. All was quiet, and I didn’t see any legs, human or feline, in any of the stalls. Had Justin and Diesel gone home?

How had they made it past the media outside? I had visions of Justin being pinned to the front steps of the chapel while reporters bombarded him with questions. But I realized that, unless they knew who Justin was, they probably would have asked him only general questions. Like why did he have a cat with him?

On a hunch, I went further down the hall to the back of the chapel. There was another short hallway running across the rear of the building, which led to a back door. I opened the door and peeked outside. There were no reporters out here.

I stepped outside on the stoop and looked around. No sign of boy and cat here, but I realized that Justin and Diesel could easily have slipped away without attracting attention. They could have taken a roundabout way to the house without having to cross paths with the media.

I made my way back into the meeting room to report to Miles Burton and the others. As I approached them, Andrea Ferris was speaking.

“. . . shame that after the new book is out next fall, there won’t be any more. Thank goodness Godfrey finished it before he came here.” She tittered. “It’s the best thing he’s done yet, and I predict it will outsell his last two.”

“How tragic,” Julia said. She turned to look at me.

I answered the unspoken question. “No sign of Justin, nor of Diesel. I think they slipped out the back and went home.”

“Diesel? Who is that?” Miles Burton frowned.

“My cat,” I said. “Justin is very attached to him, and I brought him along to the service to help comfort the boy. This has all been a severe shock to him.”

“Naturally,” Burton said, though he eyed me doubtfully. “I would like to speak with the young man sometime today, if possible. My plane leaves Memphis very early tomorrow morning. I have a case coming to trial on Tuesday in LA.”

“I can bring him to your hotel,” Julia said.

“Or you can come back to my house now.” I made the offer with a smile. “There will probably be reporters at the hotel, and if we go out the back way to my house, you can avoid all that.”

“Excellent idea,” Burton said. He turned to Julia. “If that is okay with you, Mrs. Wardlaw.” He looked in Kanesha’s direction. “And you too, Deputy.”

“It’s fine,” Julia said.

“Okay with me,” Kanesha said. “I’m in no hurry to make a statement to the media, and I need to hear what Mr. Burton has to say.”

“In that case,” Burton said, pulling a small notebook from the jacket of suit. He opened it and flipped through a few pages. “If Mr. Harris wouldn’t mind, I’d like to request that a few others be present as well. I might as well address all beneficiaries of Godfrey’s will at one time.”

“It’s fine with me,” I said. “You’re welcome to use my living room.”

Kanesha frowned. Would this interfere with her plans for arresting the murderer? To me it looked like she was figuring something out, and after a moment the frown relaxed.

“I think that’s okay,” Kanesha said. “Who else do you need to speak to?”

Burton consulted his list. “Richard Tackett and William Clark. And a representative of the college, if possible.”

Beside me, Julia tensed. What was bothering her? I was surprised at hearing Willie’s name, and no doubt she was, too. But perhaps it was the mention of Godfrey’s half brother that concerned her. After all, she had dated Rick for a while before Godfrey and she had the fling that produced Justin. And she knew perfectly well, unlike me until recently, that the men were half brothers.

“I work for the college,” I said. “And I’m the archivist. Godfrey spoke with me earlier in the week about donating his papers to us. I saw the president leave a few minutes ago.”

“You should be sufficient as a representative for the moment,” Burton said. “Official notice will come later, and that can be addressed to the president and board of trustees.”

I scanned the crowd in the meeting room. I caught sight of Rick and pointed him out to the lawyer. Burton strode off to speak to him.

“Do you see Willie anywhere?” I asked Julia. “I’ll go around the room. He’s short enough that we might not be able to see him in a crowd.”