Paradise ran her fingers through the soft grass and inhaled the aroma of the pond and trees, a fresh scent unlike any other. “I don’t know what to do to help resolve all this. I’ve been putting up social media posts, trying to combat the continually bad press, and that seemed to be working—especially after Governor George’s visit with her grandson hit the news. But this whole contested sale thing is monumental. We’re all scrambling to figure out if it’s even true, but it feels very ominous.”
Abby reached down and picked several leaves of mint, then offered some to Paradise. “I hope you find out it’s a forgery.”
“Blake was going to take Allen’s signature sample to Hez for him to get analyzed. I can’t believe Mary would be part of trying to pull something like this, and I feel terrible that I suspect her. I mean, Iknowher. You and I spent a lot of time over at Steerforths’ roadside zoo.”
“You always want to believe the best in people. Even with all you’ve been through, you have hope in their better instincts.”
Paradise chewed on a mint leaf and the tang sharpened her thoughts. There was an undercurrent in Abby’s tone, a reserve that Paradise had never heard before. Or maybe she hadn’t been listening closely enough. “You want to tell me something, but I’m not good at riddles. Just spit it out. Am I wrong to suspect Mary is involved?”
Abby rolled the mint leaves in her palm. “I think you’re veryastute. Go with your gut. I wish I could say more, Paradise, but it wouldn’t be ethical. Your instincts are on target.”
“But how do I find out? I know nothing about figuring out anyone’s financial situation.”
“Check out the online places that will do the work for you. It’s not that expensive. Even a cursory look will—” She clamped her mouth shut, then tucked the mint leaves in her mouth. “Things are always changing in life.” Her brown eyes took on a faraway expression. “I love the ranch so much, but even Dad is talking about it becoming too much for him. He doesn’t say so, but I can see he’s thinking of selling it. I don’t know what I would do if he did, but I would adjust and adapt. We all do. Change is hard no matter how it happens.”
Was Abby telling her she needed to stop trying to control things in life so tightly? Paradise had always known she tended to cling to the familiar because she’d experienced so much change when she was younger. The cataclysmic upheaval that could be barreling toward them wasn’t anything any of them would welcome.
Paradise reached for more mint leaves. “I can’t imagine your dad selling this place. It’s such a wonderful haven.”
“Something’s up with him. He’s aged quite a bit the last three months. I worry he’s ill, like, seriously ill. But he’s always kept his problems closely guarded, so it would take something unprecedented for him to tell me anything. But he’s managed this ranch and this county by sheer force of will, and I don’t think he could ever sign his name to a sale document. I’m probably worrying for nothing.”
“Quinn is great. She’s your only child?”
“She’s ten going on fourteen. I think that says it all right now.Friends assure me she’ll be human again soon. Remembering the drama we went through at that age gives me hope.”
“How will you handle telling her... about Jason’s remarriage?”
Abby’s smile faded. “I have no idea. She adores Jason and already feels like she doesn’t see him enough. I have to do it today though. Confrontations are hard.”
“They are. I need to talk to Adams, but I haven’t been able to force myself to do it.”
“That’s a job you should delegate to Blake or Jenna. He probably sees you as that vulnerable fifteen-year-old and he wouldn’t listen anyway. A big guy like Blake might be able to get him to back off.”
“While you’re right that he might underestimate me, that could be in our favor. He might think I’m no threat and tell me something he wouldn’t if Blake cornered him. I need to be the one to confront him. Blake offered, but I told him he needed to let me stand on my own two feet.”
“Independence is highly overrated. We are all stronger together. Blake loves you. I mean, hereallyloves you. He wouldn’t change anything about you. That’s so rare. It’s not weakness for the two of you to bolster each other when you need to, to be the one who comes alongside and helps the other stand when your knees want to give out. I never felt that with Jason.”
Paradise had never thought of it that way, but it made sense. She glanced at her phone. “I need to get back. I want to hear what Blake found out from Hez.”
When Blake left the Dillard Ranch, Paradise had run off with Abby to change clothes and go on a horseback ride. He drove toTupelo Grove University and found Hez’s office in Connor Hall. It was quitting time, but recovering or not, his workaholic cousin would still be in the office.
Blake parked in the lot near the pond and spotted the old gator Boo Radley sleeping in the grass. Students chatted in small groups and glanced his way as he entered the building and found the office for the Justice Chamber.
Hez hadn’t been wrong to warn him that the tiny room was the second-worst office on campus. The scarred oak door stood open, and his cousin sat at a tiny desk with a computer that should have been in an antique store. A small printer perched on one corner of the desk, and a shiny coffeemaker, emitting the aroma of strong coffee, occupied another corner. Four mismatched chairs completed the room. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead since the drafty trefoil window didn’t do much to push back the shadows.
Hez hadn’t seen him yet, and Blake studied the plaque on the wall behind the desk. He had to read it aloud. “‘But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ Amos 5:24.”
Hez glanced up and his harried expression morphed to a smile. He rose and came around the desk. “Blake, I wasn’t expecting you.” His shaved dark hair was beginning to grow back around the scar.
Blake gestured at the plaque. “I like the verse. I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“You’re saving me from digging deep into a case that makes no sense, but that’s what we do at the Justice Chamber. The plaque was a gift from Savannah. I like it too. Have a seat.”
Blake settled on a cracked plastic seat closest to the desk and handed over the envelope containing the copy of the card Quinnhad found as well as the will. “We managed to get a sample of Allen’s handwriting. I hope you’ll be able to have the writing analyzed to see if the will is a forgery.”
“Great thinking. We can start with scanning them and uploading them to an online program for preliminary scrutiny. If the program sniffs out a rat, we can go a step further.” Hez took the card to the printer. He plugged in a USB drive. “I’ll scan them and we’ll see what we’ve got. Fingers crossed.” The scanner hummed to life, and the light swept the underside of the printer top. When it was done, he plugged the USB drive into his computer to upload. “This will take a few minutes. Any other clues to this mess?”
Blake told him about the video of Dean at the park and about Clark’s trailer exploding. “I told Jane that Abby had seen Adams’s car at Bea Davis’s house and that Paradise and I saw it at Mary’s. They’re looking hard for him.”
