Killing Me Softly (#Wattys2016)

FORTY

FORTY

She knew without a doubt the woman in those photos wasn't her sister.

So who the hell was she?

Sondra was sitting at a coffee shop, scrawling all types of questions, answers and narrative into her notebook, trying to make sense of everything. Truthfully, she didn't know what to think anymore, but she knew that she had to keep going in order to figure out the trail, no matter where it led. Sondra looked at her watch and realized she was late for her appointment with Carl Fisher, Phillip's lawyer. She hailed a cab, and within minutes she was in the lobby of his Loop office and the receptionist was taking her to see him.

The stout silver-haired gentleman rose when he saw Sondra and held out his hand. "Ms. Ellis," he said, his thick Midwestern twang ringing in Sondra's ears as he shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too."

Carl sat down and folded his hands in front of him. "What can I do for you, Ms. Ellis?"

"I'm looking for my brother-in-law, Phillip Pearson."

"I'm afraid I don't know where he is. Haven't spoken to him in about a year."

"Well, where was he then?"

"Back in Michigan from my understanding."

"Hmm. What kind of work were you doing for him?"

"Ms. Ellis, you understand I can't divulge the exact nature of my business with Mr. Pearson. What I can tell you is that I settled your sister's estate."

"All right, all right, how about this... I ask vague questions and you nod. Will that work?"

Carl raised his scraggly white eyebrows. "Well, we can try that."

"Did my sister have a life insurance policy?"

"Yes."

"Phillip got all the money when she was declared dead?"

"Yes, he was the beneficiary."

"What about the house? He made money on that, even though it was Tracy's house?"

"Ms. Ellis, your sister and her husband sat down with me right after they got married and drafted their wills. They made themselves the executor of each other's estate, which included all life insurance policies, retirement accounts, investments, etc. So, to vaguely answer your questions, yes, Mr. Pearson was left all of your sister's assets. Your sister wasn't wealthy by any means, but she was careful with her money."

Sondra tapped her finger on the edge of the desk. "And you said the last time you talked to him was about six months ago. Do you have his address?"

"Mr. Pearson preferred to conduct all of our business in person. He would come to my office to collect his mail, sign any papers, and pick up any checks. He would call me periodically to see if we needed to meet, and that's what we would do."

Sondra bit her bottom lip. "So you never had a phone number or address for him? Didn't you think that was strange?"

"Oh, people handle these kinds of things all kinds of ways. I had one client who would only meet with me on the third Sunday of each month in the parking lot of the Jewel on Clark and Division. People are strange. Besides, he always paid me in cash, so I didn't much care how he wanted to conduct our business." Carl paused. "Why are you looking for Mr. Pearson?"

Sondra ran her tongue across her teeth. "Just some family business I wanted to discuss with him. Do you think he'll be calling you anytime soon?"

Carl shook his head. "Doubtful. We concluded business rather swiftly since your sister's estate was pretty well in order."

"If by chance, he does call you, could you call me? Don't tell him I was looking for him, though."

Carl frowned. "Why not?"

"I'd prefer to discuss that with him. Confidentiality. You understand."

Carl gave her a tight smile. "I suppose I could do that."

Sondra scribbled her cell phone number on the back of one of Carl Fisher's cards from the holder on his desk. "I really would appreciate it if you let me know." She stood up and handed Carl her phone number.

"Thanks, Mr. Fisher. You've been very helpful."

"Good day, Ms. Ellis."

Sondra gave him a curt nod and left the office.