Free A Lady's Choice by Sandra Robbins Page A

father’s death was such a shock.”
    â€œI can imagine.”
    Sarah frowned and swiveled around to face him. “I still don’t understand it. He had come home from his office the day after I graduated from high school, but all through supper he seemed preoccupied and didn’t talk. Then after we’d finished he said he had to go back to the office. There was a matter he had to attend. He kissed my mother and me and told us he’d be home soon. Instead, a few hours later a policeman arrived at our door with the news that his body had been found on the sidewalk outside his building. They said he’d jumped from his office window.”
    Alex touched her arm. “Sarah, you don’t have to tell me this if it’s too painful.”
    â€œIt is painful, but I can’t quit thinking about it. There were too many unanswered questions.”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œFor instance, there was no note left, and his lucky token wasn’t in his pocket.”
    â€œWhat was that?”
    â€œMy grandfather and father both worked for the Cotton Exchange. When my father was a boy, my grandfather gave him a silver token he’d brought back from the 1884 World Industrial and Cotton Exposition in New Orleans. My father called it his lucky piece, and he always carried it in his pocket, but it wasn’t on his body or in his office. It’s never been found, and I know he had it.”
    â€œWhat did the police say about that?”
    She shrugged. “They said maybe somebody had rifled his pockets before his body was discovered. They also dismissed the story of a hobo who was sleeping behind the building. He said he saw a man slip out the back door and run away, but he said it was too dark to see what he looked like.”
    â€œAnd they didn’t try to find the man?”
    â€œNo, they said they couldn’t put any stock into the word of a man who wandered around the country. So they ruled it suicide.”
    Alex didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and shook his head. “You really have had a rough time. Now that you’re here, I want you to know Ellen and I will do everything we can to help you get through what you’re facing with your mother’s illness. All you have to do is tell us what you need.”
    She reached over and squeezed his hand. “Thank you. You’ll never know how much that means to me. It seems for the past few years our problems have come nonstop.” She sighed. “Now I have another one I have to address.”
    He frowned. “Can I help you with it?”
    She shook her head. “Thank you, but…” She paused and her eyes grew wide. “Why didn’t I think of this before? You’re a lawyer—just what I need.”
    A look of surprise crossed his face. “A lawyer? Well, I won’t officially be one until I’m admitted to the Tennessee Bar, but I’ll help you if I can.”
    â€œOh Alex, I’ve been out of my mind with worry, and I’ve been afraid my mother would find out. It might trigger an attack that she wouldn’t overcome.”
    He reached over and grabbed Sarah by the shoulders. “This sounds serious. Tell me what’s wrong.”
    She took a deep breath. “About ten years ago my father decided he needed to make a will. He wanted to make sure my mother and I would be cared for if he died. When the will was drawn up, he asked his cousin to be executor. My father had grown up with this cousin, and he trusted him. After my father died, this relative came to see my mother and me and told us not to worry, he would take care of everything. For the past two years we’ve been receiving a monthly check from him, but this stopped several months ago.”
    â€œDid you ask what happened?”
    â€œMy mother had become so ill she didn’t realize we weren’t receiving any money, so I went to see him and asked him what had