Free Alma's Will by Anel Viz Page B

he fell silent.
    "If you'll excuse us a few minutes, I'd like to have a word with my client," Worthy said.
    She knew what those few words would be: "I asked you specifically if your mother might have had any reason for leaving the house to a gay organization. Why didn't you tell me?" She had a feeling he wasn't going to go easy on her, either.

    * * * *

    Magda Caille was relieved that Alma Enslik's son had understood her gesture and cut himself short when he was about to turn on his sister. She had only met him an hour before in the hotel coffee shop, so she was unable to predict how Cameron would react in what had to be a stressful situation, nor had there been time to talk to him about how much information they could safely reveal.
    Jay had opted to stay home, which was probably a good idea because the business of the house upset him deeply. It hadn't taken her long to discover that beneath the relaxed, outgoing, almost bubbly exterior of that slender, blond young man who seemed so full of love for his partner, there lurked a frightened little boy who might easily fall to pieces. It was better to give him the responsibility of setting up the safe home and let Baron handle the legal challenge. For all that the dark-skinned, broad-shouldered, solidly built man who towered over them all came across as serious and soft spoken, he was unflappable and the kind who likes to get down to business.
    When Magda entered the coffee shop, she saw two men sitting at a table whom she suspected were the ones she was supposed to meet, but Baron hadn't arrived yet. When he got there, the two men stood up to greet him and he led them over to her booth.
    "I thought you might be them," she said, "but I couldn't be sure."
    "Yes," Baron confirmed, "Cameron and Edward Blacknoll."
    "Married?" Magda asked, a broad smile on her face.
    They answered in unison. "Two weeks ago."
    She shook hands with them and they got into their seats while Baron continued his explanation. "Ed's a volunteer at the safe home in Boston my partner once lived in. When Jay contacted Marc—he's the director—about an organization to give the house to, one thing led to another, and… Well, I think you need to hear what Cameron here has to say."
    "I'm listening."
    She heard the man out and could see by the look on all three faces that they anticipated her reaction would be one of jubilation. Instead, she cautiously asked, "Can you prove who you are?"
    Cameron hesitated. "There's my passport and my driver's license, but I went by a lot of other names during the years I was living on the streets, and I was arrested under some of them. Would Livvie's lawyer be able to dig up my past? It could hurt me professionally."
    "Not legally if it's been sealed."
    "Everything I did before I turned eighteen has been. I don't have a record. "
    "Then there's nothing to worry about. Chris Worthy's not about to break the law."
    "Do you think Livvie would think twice about going after me if she finds out?"
    "Chris won't tell her. He has her number, and if she went public with it, it could cost him his license. But we shouldn't have to go that route. You must've been able to get hold of a birth certificate if you have a passport."
    Cameron shook his head. "I used some documents the judge issued when he ordered my record sealed. There's a birth certificate at the hospital where I was born, but I wouldn't know how to go about proving its mine."
    "Is there a death certificate?" Magda asked.
    "No way."
    "Then if you're absolutely certain you're her son, there's always DNA."
    "I'd have thought Cameron's existence made this an open and shut case," Baron said.
    "Probably, and we had everything going for us before this came to light." Magda glanced around the coffee shop, put a finger to her lips, and spoke in an undertone. "Strategy time."
    Cameron, Ed, and Baron leaned toward her, hanging on her every word. "What interests me," she explained, "is that it gives us a new tactic to pursue, if it comes to