Page 39 of Grave Danger

He blinked. “What? Why?”

“Good question,” Lucia said. “One I was going to ask you.”

“Dude, the Widow left you something in her will?” Jugs turned the chair to face him. “What do you think it is?”

“Hell if I know.” Cody looked at Lucia. “Did Dorothea open the envelope?”

“Nope. Strict instructions from the Widow that it’s for your eyes only.”

Cody blew out a breath. “Well, shit. I’ve got no idea what it might be. I didn’t even know the Widow. I mean, she ran over a couple of monsters for us—”

“Alleged monsters,” Lucia corrected.

“But I never thought she knew what she’d done,” Cody continued without acknowledging Lucia’s interruption.

“I think we’re all going to find out the Widow was a lot sharper than this town gave her credit for,” Lucia said. “Anyway, there’s your heads up that you’ll be receiving a visit from the Widow’s sister in the next few days.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

Demmy pulled the office door open and walked in. He stopped short and looked between the three of them. “Oh, um, hi Lucia. Something happen?”

“No, nothing’s happened,” Lucia said, shooting Cody a satisfied smirk. “Yet. Good day, Critter Catchers.”

Demmy stepped aside to allow Lucia to pass. Once she’d left, he looked at Cody. “What was that about? Did she give you an update on Eileen?”

“No. The Widow left something for me.”

“She left something for you? What’s that mean? Did they find it on her at the hospital or something?”

“No, she sent an envelope with my name on it to her sister.”

“Oh. What’s in it?”

“No one knows,” Jugs said with excitement. “How crazy is that?” He spun the chair to look at Cody, eyes wide. “You think it’s money? What if the Widow was crazy rich, and she left you a bunch of money?”

“I highly doubt the Widow was some crazy rich old woman who drove a fifty-year-old car and lived in a run-down house.”

“I dunno, remember Miss Havisham?” Jugs said.

“The bitter recluse from Great Expectations?” Jugs and Demmy exchanged a look, and he put his hands on his hips. “Yes, I read the book in high school. Don’t look at each other like that.” He fixed Jugs with a scowl. “And how is she at all relevant in this situation?”

“While you two debate this, I’m going to use the bathroom.” Demmy squeezed Cody’s arm as he passed him.

“Miss Havisham was a bitter recluse, yes,” Jugs said. “But she was a wealthy woman. She lived in a mansion that was falling apart. The Widow Monroe could be incredibly rich and no one knew it.”

“All right, fine. Whatever.” Cody waved toward the computer. “Don’t you have work to finish?”

Jugs gave him a stony look. “You’re taking all the fun out of this.”

“I’m sorry to have ruined the fact that an old woman I barely knew left me an envelope, which is down in Florida with her equally old sister. For all we know it’s an old shopping list or a dry cleaning receipt or something.”

“You’re like three steps away from becoming a bitter recluse like Miss Havisham.”

“Well, you can relax. I’m not about to sit around the house in my wedding tuxedo.”

Jugs turned back to the computer. “Fun crusher.”

“Stop horning in on my ‘fun.’” Cody made air quotes even though Jugs had his back to him. “You’ll find out what’s in the envelope when I find out.”