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We both jump.
Halley looks at the number on the screen and her brow knits.
“What is it?”
She gives me an odd look before answering the phone. “Mr. Hale.”
Hale?
Who was Hale?
She’s not paying attention to me, her fingers tearing at the paper napkin on the table. “There were some issues with his phone. He’s not in the city at the…” She falls silent, listening to the person on the other end, and then, “I mean I guess so. When?”
The phone call takes a few more minutes where she’s agreeing to meet somebody tomorrow. When she closes the phone, she looks troubled.
“What is it?” I ask, frowning. “Is everything okay? Is Raymond—”
Halley puts the phone on the table, her hand lingering on it, and raises her head to meet my gaze. “That was my lawyer. Well, the family lawyer who was in charge of my mother’s will.”
This sounds like a personal issue and normally, I would step back, not wanting to interfere in other people’s affairs, but this isn’t just anyone and I plan to fully integrate myself into every aspect of this woman’s life. “What did he want?”
Halley’s fingers are now tapping restlessly on her phone. “He can’t get in touch with Uncle Raymond. Apparently, my mother left a safety deposit box that I was to get access to when I turned twenty-three. Mr. Hale wants me to get the key from him.”
“When did you turn twenty-three? I thought you said you were—?”
Halley blushes. “My birthday is next week.”
Point to note.
Her tone is uncertain as she continues, “He’s going on administrative leave in a few days, so he wants me to get this done tomorrow. Usually, Uncle Raymond handles all this. Maybe I should wait.”
“But it’s your safety deposit box.” I frown. “Your mother wanted you to open it.”
She looks torn. “I know. It’s just…” Her words trail off as if she doesn’t quite know how to express herself.
I lean forward in my seat. “Halley, when you thought for a moment that your mother might be alive, you were so excited or at least hopeful. Why does it sound like you want to have nothing to do with her now?”
The paper napkin is now in complete shreds.
I offer her mine to continue shredding.
She takes it without a moment’s hesitation and as her nimble fingers move over the paper, she meets my gaze. “That day I thought for sure that Mom may be alive, but if she is, why hasn’t she contacted me or tried to? It feels like I’m clinging onto the past when I should be moving forward. What if you’re right and this is just someone trying to get to me?”
Who would do that and what would be the point? I don’t voice my thoughts, instead choosing to say, “Obviously, I can’t tell you what to do, but if I were in your shoes, I think I would go even if just to see what she left for me or what was so important that it had to wait for so long.”
Halley looks away from me. “Well, I’ll be going tomorrow, so I guess I’ll find out.”
I purse my lips. “Do you want me to come with you?”
Something flickers in her eyes and she hesitates. “It won’t be weird for you?”
My lips twitch. “No more than it would be for you. Besides, we don’t have much workload for this week and we can rent a car to drive there.”
She doesn’t say anything, and I see a strange expression f
lit on her face, almost indecisiveness as if she wants to tell me something but doesn’t know how to. So, I wait for her to sort out her thoughts.
Her words are hesitant. “I have some other things to do in the city as well.”
