Free MURDER TO GO (Food Truck Mysteries Book 1) by Chloe Kendrick Page B

me more determined to prove that this was a fake will.
    I was finally able to get the name of a reputable handwriting analyst in town, and Mr. Huff was even kind enough to pay for the service out of the estate funds. “After all, anything that would change the disposition of the estate would be of great interest to the estate.” He wrote a note to the man, explaining the payment option.
     
    I wasted no time. I headed over to the office of the handwriting analyst. My head still throbbed, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to rest and close my eyes while this matter was still up in the air. Now that I’d seen a plausible alternate explanation, I wanted to prove it before others got involved. The more people who knew about it, the more speculation about my part in the recent murders there would be.
    Of course, John Summers was incredibly good looking. That was just my luck. The person that I wanted to provide an expert opinion regarding some documents was attractive, which meant that I could never say “yes” to a date with him since it would look like I had conspired with him to fake the will. My life was becoming a minefield of men I couldn’t date after months of no prospects in sight.
    Summers wore glasses that would have looked nerdy on someone less attractive. He had brown hair that nearly fell to his wide, muscular shoulders. He was wearing a button-down shirt and jeans that looked to have been tailor-made for his narrow waist.
    He looked me over carefully before he spoke. Given that I’d spent the last several hours in a food truck making wieners with a concussion probably didn’t put me in my best light. It didn’t matter anyway since we had to remain professional. I’d save my best look for an eligible man.
    “How can I help you?” he asked.
    I explained that Mr. Huff had sent me regarding the matter of an estate and a possible new will. I produced the will and the handwritten instructions from my aunt along with the note from Mr. Boyko. “How long will this take?” I asked, checking my watch. I didn’t want to wait days to hear if I’d lost the truck. I wanted to get the pain over with now, like ripping off a Band-Aid.
    “If you give me a few minutes, I can give you a preliminary result—if you’d like.” He gave me a smile revealing two rows of perfectly straight white teeth. Despite my appearance, once he heard the word ‘fee’ he’d become a perfect gentleman, which was fine with me. I could pretend the circumstances were better.
    “That would be great.”
    He led me down the hall to a small office. A large wooden desk dominated the room. The desk was cherry wood, but you could barely see the rich, dark texture due to the number of magnifying glasses, microscopes and other devices arranged upon it. He slid the two papers into a presentation device, and almost immediately, I could see both pieces on a screen at the opposite end of the room. At the magnified size, it was easier to see each curve of every letter. He adjusted the papers until he found a few words that were similar to my aunt’s signature on the will. He took a recording device and started to make comments into it. I understood next to nothing about what he said. I just stared at the two pieces on the screen. To my eyes they didn’t look that much alike, but then again, I wanted this to be so. Hoping and wishing do not make good witnesses in court.
    Once he’d finished talking into the micro-recorder, he pushed the signature of Mr. Boyko under the presenter, replacing my aunt’s handwriting sample. He worked faster on this one, given that he only had two words to compare in this document. He finished and clicked off the recorder.
    Finally, he took a deep breath and looked at me. “In a nutshell, and mind you that this is the quick version, the will was not signed by your aunt and it was not witnessed by Mr. Boyko. At this level of analysis, I can only guarantee that to about a 95% confidence level. I’ll have my report