AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Nathan is going to pull the death certificate.”
She nodded. “Any questions?”
“Let’s hear what everyone has to say first,” Nathan said.
Nathan took the floor and told what his father had told him. Watching Lillian’s expressions, Cal could see that she disagreed with his father’s assessment of her grandfather. She didn’t believe he was a drunk. And yet, how else could a man lose possession of this ranch?
When he finished, he sighed. “Tomorrow, I’d like to go with you, Lillian, to speak to the bar owner. I’d also like to see if any other players from that poker game are still alive. And I’d like to talk to the sheriff at the time. Why didn’t he investigate your grandmother’s death?”
Cal knew he needed to find out what happened to his grandmother, Barbara. He’d never met the woman, and yet, his grandfather had never spoken ill of her that he could remember.
Everything he’d heard so far had not convinced him that his grandfather was lying. In fact, he really believed that it was Lillian’s grandfather who had not spoken the truth.
“Your turn, Cal,” Nathan said.
For the next five minutes, he told them what his grandfather had said. He ended on the ominous warning his grandfather had given him about telling Lillian’s grandfather’s secret.
“Did your grandfather mention a secret?” he asked Lillian.
“No,” she said. “He did say that by stopping to help your grandmother that day, your grandfather assumed they were having an affair. But that he loved my grandmother way too much and would never have cheated on her.”
Sitting at the kitchen table, they all stared at one another.
“We have three different stories. Now we need to find out which one is telling us the truth,” Lillian said.
Cal could almost see her lawyer brain working overtime.
“And are the people we speak to going to tell us the truth?” Nathan said.
“Or will this just tear us apart,” Cal said with a sigh.
Nathan jumped up from the table.
“And you, Lillian, were told not to go out to your grandfather’s place alone. That is a scary area, and I wanted to protect you in case something went wrong.”
“It was fine,” she said, getting up from the table. “The old woman next door came out again with a cigarette dangling from her lips. I’m moving Grandpa tomorrow if I can find him an apartment.”
Cal watched her carry her dirty dishes into the kitchen and load them in the dishwasher.
“He doesn’t have long to live. And I’m going to do my best to clear his name and bring my family back together before he dies.”
Stunned, Cal stared at her. How would he react if he knew his grandfather was dying and he wanted to clear his name and bring his family back together one last time before he died? He’d do precisely like Lillian was doing.
Damn. Something wasn’t right, and he knew it, and suddenly he was afraid that his grandfather might have done some evil of his own.
CHAPTER 12
Lillian called her mother, and her grandmother picked up the phone.
“You need to come to Blessing,” she told her. “I found Grandpa, and he didn’t lose the ranch. It was stolen from him.”
There was a moment of silence on the phone.
“He didn’t cheat on you. In fact, did you know that Barbara died before she ever moved out to the ranch? We’re checking on that. But I saw the paperwork that Grandfather signed. It’s not legal. Especially since I think he was drugged. He said he only drank one beer, and it knocked him for a loop.”
“You just couldn’t leave things alone,” her grandmother said, the anger radiating through the phone. “He’s a drunk. He lies, and yes, he cheated on me. I found panties in his truck. Barbara’s panties.”
Lillian gasped. Had she been wrong about her grandfather? Had he lied to her?
