AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sounds good, but first you need to make a phone call,” Luna said, pulling Cullen’s cell from her pocket. “Mr. Clive Dunbar called twice. I didn’t want to give him any information until I spoke with both of you.”
“Yes, that’s the lawyer for Millstone,” Gaines confirmed. “And we found Colette Petrov and her son.”
“But where? How?” Luna was astonished that Gaines had gathered so much information in such a short amount of time.
“I know people who know people.” Gaines winked. “We followed the money. Clive Dunbar was the attorney of record for Millstone. One of the field offices got in touch with him at his cabin and told Dunbar they believed they had located a legal document signed by Randolph Millstone. They told him they did not have it in their possession but could make the document available. And Colette Petrov was with Mr. Dunbar.”
Luna and Cullen gave the place the once-over and decided it was safe to leave the premises. They shut the lights, locked the doors, and the four of them exited the building. Ellie went back to her vehicle, where Ziggy and Marley were pacing in the back seat. She waved and called out to Luna, “I want more details in the morning!”
“For sure,” Luna shouted back. “Scones and coffee.”
* * *
When Rowena insisted on calling her lawyer, much to her dismay Clive Dunbar refused to speak to her, advising her to seek other counsel. Arthur met with a similar response. With the pending litigation, all the Millstone assets were frozen, forcing Rowena and Arthur to have a court-appointed attorney represent them. Bail would be out of the question unless Rowena hocked her jewelry. Such a dilemma. Arthur and Rowena were sitting on their glorious butts with no lawyer in all of New England wishing to represent them. Too bad. So sad.
The reading of the will would move forward, as per Randolph’s wishes, bequeathing his worldly holdings to several charities. Animal Care Sanctuary, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, the World Wildlife Fund, and several other foundations for the protection of animals or children.
* * *
As they left the Stillwell, Gaines continued to disclose the rest of Colette’s involvement. “Turns out, Colette Petrov, who was Randolph Millstone’s girl Friday, had stashed the letter in the table when her boss had his heart attack in the garage. She was also in possession of a spiral notebook that Randolph had given her. When someone impersonating a lawyer from Dunbar’s firm came looking for her in Buffalo, she got spooked, so she took her son out of school and went in search of the Dunbar cabin.”
“Wow. That is quite a story. That was very brave of her, going in search of Mr. Dunbar.”
“Hmmm,” Gaines mused. “Seems like good things come from search parties.”
Luna blushed and looped her arm through Gaines’s as they walked toward his Jeep. Chi-Chi did the same with Cullen. It seemed like the natural thing to do. And it felt that way to all of them. Natural.
The four piled into the Jeep and headed to their favorite pizza restaurant. When they finally settled in at their table, Luna noticed a man sitting at the bar. He was looking in their direction. He smiled and lifted his glass. Luna raised her glass in return and smiled. She was willing to bet that he was the enigmatic Jimmy Can-Do.
Gaines looked over in the man’s direction. “Recognize someone?”
Luna twisted her mouth. “Not exactly.” She motioned for the waitress. “Could you please buy that gentleman a drink on us?”
“Of course,” the waitress responded.
“I thought you said you didn’texactlyrecognize that guy.”
Gaines wasn’t jealous, but curious. It had been an enormously curious day.
“Let’s just say I think I know who he is.” Her eyes went around the table. Chi-Chi was the first one to pick up on it. Then Cullen.
“What?” Gaines looked left out. “What am I missing?”
Luna leaned in toward the middle of the table, trying not to be too conspicuous. “I think that’s Jimmy Can-Do. Don’t look!”
“How do you know?” Gaines asked. She gave him a sideways glance.
“OK. OK. Your woo-woo, voodoo.” He leaned back and pulled the menu up to his face.
“Such a baby.” Luna tapped his foot.
“Oh, and you’re Annie Oakley with your rootin’-tootin’ fire extinguisher,” Gaines teased.
“Well, you were nowhere to be found. You, too, mister.” She focused her gaze on her brother.
Chi-Chi finally chimed in. “I think your sister was very brave. She had no idea what was going on in the showroom, yet she ignored all of her own fear and marched ahead with what was at her disposal. I think we should toast her.”
Gaines and Cullen looked just a tad embarrassed. They weren’t sure if Chi-Chi was totally serious or if she was admonishing them for not moving fast enough. It didn’t matter. Everyone was caught up in the joy of the moment. Mr. Millstone would get his final wish. Rowena and Arthur were certainly going to jail.
When Gaines asked for the check, the waitress told them it had been taken care of. Evidently, the man who had been sitting at the bar earlier had picked up the tab.
Gaines helped Luna out of her chair. “Well, missy. It seems as if every time I’m around you, there is a whirling dervish about to hit.”
“You should be so lucky.” She squeezed his arm.
The four of them got into Gaines’s Jeep, and he proceeded to drop each of them off. Luna was the last one. When he pulled into her driveway, he turned off the ignition. Luna unbuckled her seat belt, waiting for him to come around and open the door. Instead, he unbuckled his seat belt, turned her head toward him, brushed the hair from her face, and landed a kiss on her lips. He didn’t miss the mark this time. That would have easily scored a 10.0 in the Olympics.
