Free Irrevocable Trust (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller Book 6) by Melissa F. Miller
Authors: Melissa F. Miller
trace.
He sat under the vines and waited for time to pass, jittering his leg to release his pent up energy.
First, McCandless.
Then his children.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“ I gave it to her, ” Naya said.
She closed her outline and set her highlighter on her desk then looked up at Sasha with a stricken look.
Sasha pocketed the business card.
“ It ’ s okay. ”
“ I didn ’ t know it was her, Mac. ” Her voice shook.
“ Well, of course you didn ’ t. It ’ s okay . ”
“ A woman called the office right after New Year ’ s Day. She said her resolution was to get her affairs in order. We got a bunch of calls like that in early January, actually. ”
“ Sure. ”
It made sense. Procrastinating about having a will prepared was a national pastime, but overcoming inertia was relatively easy: Call a lawyer and get the ball rolling and then turn to more painful pursuits like giving up sugar or training for a marathon.
“ I told her — I tell all of them that we don ’ t do that. I explain that you and Will are trial lawyers, but I offer to give them referrals. ”
“ Allison Bennett took down the name I gave her but she asked me to send her your card, just in case she needed it for something else. I remember because she gave me her address. I told her you ’ re not admitted to practice in North Carolina and that she should get a local attorney for her estate work, anyway. ”
Sasha nodded. “ Good answer. ”
“ But she said she had ties to Pennsylvania and needed an attorney up here, too. Anyway, I sent her a set of the marketing materials Will had printed up and one of your cards. ” Naya placed her palms flat on the desk as if she were bracing herself. “ Did I lead Bricker to her? ”
The truth, of course, was Sasha had no idea. But the notion that Bricker had access to the firm ’ s mailing list database sent a shiver up her spine. And Naya looked sick, like she might vomit all over her exam preparation materials. So Sasha did the only thing she could do. She lied.
“ Absolutely not. The feds are working all the angles. Don ’ t you think they ’ d be crawling all over this place and pissing you off while you try to study if they thought for a minute Bricker found her through us? ”
The color returned to Naya ’ s face. “ But seriously, get back to work. I have what I need. ”
She was glad to have closed the loop on how her business card had gotten into Allison ’ s hands, but she had to get back to work herself. Her eyes had started to glaze over about two paragraphs into her reading of Allison ’ s will. She ’ d gone hunting for answers on the card in an effort to wake herself up as much as to find an answer.
“ Thanks for talking me down, Mac. ”
“ It ’ s what I do. ” She turned to leave and then had a thought. “ Hey, did you give her a recommendation for an estates and trust lawyer? ”
Naya narrowed her eyes for a moment and thought. “ I sure did. ”
Sasha waited.
“ Marshall Alverson. ”
Sasha blinked. “ You sent her to Prescott? ”
Naya had the decency to look sheepish. “ Listen, I usually refer people to Kevin Williams, over in the Lawyers ’ Building, for simple wills. But she said she had some complicated issues. Complicated issues, large amounts of money — those things call for a specialist. And where are you gonna find a specialist? It ’ s either P&T or WC&C. ” She raised an eyebrow. “ And say what you will about our former employer, but they ’ re less dodgy than Whitmore, Clay, & Charles. ”
Sasha matched her with a raised brow of her own. “ The less dodgy of the two dodgiest, stodgiest firms in town? That ’ s quite an endorsement. Did he take her on as a client, do you know? ”
“ How would I know? Those fools don ’ t even bother to say ‘ thanks. ’ They assume a steady flow of clients is a God-given right. Meanwhile, Kevin sends me a gift card every time I send him a client.
He sat under the vines and waited for time to pass, jittering his leg to release his pent up energy.
First, McCandless.
Then his children.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“ I gave it to her, ” Naya said.
She closed her outline and set her highlighter on her desk then looked up at Sasha with a stricken look.
Sasha pocketed the business card.
“ It ’ s okay. ”
“ I didn ’ t know it was her, Mac. ” Her voice shook.
“ Well, of course you didn ’ t. It ’ s okay . ”
“ A woman called the office right after New Year ’ s Day. She said her resolution was to get her affairs in order. We got a bunch of calls like that in early January, actually. ”
“ Sure. ”
It made sense. Procrastinating about having a will prepared was a national pastime, but overcoming inertia was relatively easy: Call a lawyer and get the ball rolling and then turn to more painful pursuits like giving up sugar or training for a marathon.
“ I told her — I tell all of them that we don ’ t do that. I explain that you and Will are trial lawyers, but I offer to give them referrals. ”
“ Allison Bennett took down the name I gave her but she asked me to send her your card, just in case she needed it for something else. I remember because she gave me her address. I told her you ’ re not admitted to practice in North Carolina and that she should get a local attorney for her estate work, anyway. ”
Sasha nodded. “ Good answer. ”
“ But she said she had ties to Pennsylvania and needed an attorney up here, too. Anyway, I sent her a set of the marketing materials Will had printed up and one of your cards. ” Naya placed her palms flat on the desk as if she were bracing herself. “ Did I lead Bricker to her? ”
The truth, of course, was Sasha had no idea. But the notion that Bricker had access to the firm ’ s mailing list database sent a shiver up her spine. And Naya looked sick, like she might vomit all over her exam preparation materials. So Sasha did the only thing she could do. She lied.
“ Absolutely not. The feds are working all the angles. Don ’ t you think they ’ d be crawling all over this place and pissing you off while you try to study if they thought for a minute Bricker found her through us? ”
The color returned to Naya ’ s face. “ But seriously, get back to work. I have what I need. ”
She was glad to have closed the loop on how her business card had gotten into Allison ’ s hands, but she had to get back to work herself. Her eyes had started to glaze over about two paragraphs into her reading of Allison ’ s will. She ’ d gone hunting for answers on the card in an effort to wake herself up as much as to find an answer.
“ Thanks for talking me down, Mac. ”
“ It ’ s what I do. ” She turned to leave and then had a thought. “ Hey, did you give her a recommendation for an estates and trust lawyer? ”
Naya narrowed her eyes for a moment and thought. “ I sure did. ”
Sasha waited.
“ Marshall Alverson. ”
Sasha blinked. “ You sent her to Prescott? ”
Naya had the decency to look sheepish. “ Listen, I usually refer people to Kevin Williams, over in the Lawyers ’ Building, for simple wills. But she said she had some complicated issues. Complicated issues, large amounts of money — those things call for a specialist. And where are you gonna find a specialist? It ’ s either P&T or WC&C. ” She raised an eyebrow. “ And say what you will about our former employer, but they ’ re less dodgy than Whitmore, Clay, & Charles. ”
Sasha matched her with a raised brow of her own. “ The less dodgy of the two dodgiest, stodgiest firms in town? That ’ s quite an endorsement. Did he take her on as a client, do you know? ”
“ How would I know? Those fools don ’ t even bother to say ‘ thanks. ’ They assume a steady flow of clients is a God-given right. Meanwhile, Kevin sends me a gift card every time I send him a client.