The Next Wife

by Kaira Rouda

  “Yes, that’s true.”

  I take a breath and calm myself. “This is all John’s fault. He is the one who fell in love with the woman who killed him. And now she’s after my company, too. I read will forgery is hard to prove and is more common that you’d think.”

  All it took was a simple search. According to Google, the people who commit fraud in these situations are the executor, relatives (second wife), or attorneys (Tish’s guy looks shady). Abrupt changes to the will are a red flag (what about a completely new one?) and forgery of a will is notoriously hard to prove in court. Great.

  Bob clears his throat. “Don’t worry. I have a team of attorneys at the firm on this. Tish’s attorney has given us notice of administration. We’re preparing the objection now.”

  “What about that attorney? Do you think he was in Telluride the night John died? Did he help with the murder?” I wonder. But of course, we have no way to prove his involvement.

  Bob drops into the chair across from me. “I don’t know, I really don’t. I wouldn’t put anything past him. He’s a piece of work. Owns a small practice in eastern Kentucky. They seem to go way back.”

  “He is her uncle, at least that’s what the receptionist told me when I called today,” I say.

  “Kate, let me handle this,” Bob says.

  “You should focus on proving John’s signature is a fake. Get legal to compel a search of the notary’s ledger. Someone pretended to be John,” I say. “I have hundreds of contracts, and the real will to prove it.”

  “I have hired experts, we’re on all of this.”

  Good.

  “I think Mr. Price printed the will off the internet of all things,” Bob says. “We’ll outsmart them, don’t worry.”

  I smile. Of this, I’m certain. “I realize she’s street smart. But she’s not business smart. She won’t get away with this.”

  Bob wipes his face with his hand. “Ashlyn has the best case to challenge her legally. She’s a direct heir who should have received something in the will but didn’t.”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

  “We’ll file a civil action lawsuit with the probate court in Ashlyn’s name. Ohio law considers her a ‘qualified person.’” Bob pauses at the front door. “I’m not against trying to prove that young woman murdered John. But the first step is the filing. I’ll need Ashlyn’s signature on this lawsuit, as soon as possible.”

  “Have a courier bring over the paperwork when it’s ready. She’ll sign tonight when she gets home. She must be fed up with Tish, too. She sees what we see.” I wonder, though, if she’ll see Tish as a murderer? Because I do. And she is.

  The timing of events makes everything clear.

  Bob is on his phone, pacing again. He hangs up and says, “The papers will be delivered within the hour.”

  I walk to the kitchen, Bob follows behind. What Tish has done is stunning. I pull out a barstool and sit at the kitchen counter. How can someone murder another person? What kind of monster kills her husband for monetary rewards? Couldn’t Tish just ask for a divorce? She must have been filled with hate. I can appreciate that kind of anger. I swallow as my imagination jumps to our condo in Telluride, to the deck where he texted me a photo of the drink. He had no idea what she had planned for him, that she would kill him that night. He knew the drink tasted funny, but he drank it anyway. To escape.

  Oh, John. What a mess you made, and what a horrible way to die.

  Bob looks at me, catches me wiping the tear from my eye. “Are you all right?”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t see what Tish was capable of before now. John reached out to me his last night on earth, frightened, and alone, and dying. My god.”

  But I did know one thing for sure—he was finished with Tish. But she got to him first. I shake my head and try to absorb the reality of what has happened. And the fact we won’t be able to prove any of this without a body or without her confession.

  “I’ll be fine, we all will be fine, once we invalidate the will. I can’t wait to file that lawsuit.”

  “We just need Ashlyn,” Bob says.

  I check my watch and as if on cue, my daughter calls me. Thank goodness.

  “Hey, honey, I need you home,” I say.

  “Mom, listen, I’ve been in an accident. I’m fine. Just some bruises and a maybe-broken arm.”

  It takes me a moment to process what she’s said. “Oh my god. What happened? Where are you?” Nothing can happen to my girl. She’s my life.

  “I’m at Lane Avenue shopping center,” Ashlyn says. I can hear her crying. “My car is totaled. Chief Briggs is driving me home. Be there in a few.”

  “Wait, what happened?” I ask, but she’s hung up. My head spins, and my heart beats so fast I can feel it lifting into my throat, choking me. I touch my chest with my hand and tell myself to calm down. Life can change in an instant, and does, all the time. I say a little prayer, thanking god that she isn’t more injured.

  “What is happening?” Bob asks.

  “She’s been in an accident. Sounds like she’s going to be OK. I have no idea what happened,” I say as we both hurry to the front door. “She totaled her first car, texting while driving. If she’s done it again, I’m going to kill her.”

  CHAPTER 44

  ASHLYN

  I’ve never been in the back of a police car. That’s all I can think when Chief Briggs helps me into the back seat. That, and my arm hurts. My whole body hurts but especially my left elbow.

  “All set back there?” he asks as we pull away.

  “I sort of feel like a criminal,” I say. “But yes, all set.”

  I want to ask Seth to come over, but I need to figure this out first and make sure the coast is clear. I don’t want to draw attention to him, point Tish in his direction, although I’m afraid I already have by going to his house. I pull out Dad’s phone and open Find My Friends. Tish is at home. I let out a sigh of relief.

  “You were lucky no one was out and about in the parking lot,” Chief Briggs says. “And you missed that utility pole.”

  “I didn’t have time to think of all of that. I just couldn’t keep going down Lane Avenue and plow through that intersection. Nothing on my car worked. Not the brakes, not the steering,” I say, and the tears spill out.

  “Oh, we know something happened,” he says as we pull into my driveway. “The detectives are on it.”

  My mom runs out the front door followed by Bob. Chief Briggs opens the door, and Mom gives me a big hug before I warn her not to.

  “Ouch, stop, Mom,” I say. “My arm.”

  “What happened, Chief?” Mom asks. Her hand rests on my shoulder. I lean against her and feel safe. For a minute.

  “We should go inside,” I say, looking around.

  We make it to the front door and Chief Briggs says, “It could have been much worse. Looks like the entire electrical system short-circuited somehow. We have investigators on it. They’ll work with BMW.”

  My mom locks eyes with me. I nod.

  “I think it was her,” I say.

  Chief Briggs says, “Do you want to tell me what’s going on here?”

  Bob clears his throat. “There’s been some strife since John Nelson’s sudden death. A bit of a power struggle between the first and second Mrs. Nelson. I’m sure it’s totally unrelated to what happened to Ashlyn’s vehicle. We’ll circle back with you in the morning, Chief, if that’s OK?”

  My mom puts a fake smile on her face. “Yes, good idea. Ashlyn’s been through a lot tonight. We’ll let her rest and talk in the morning?”

  “We’ve had her car towed to the dealership. They’ll give me an official diagnostic report of what happened to the car as soon as possible. You’ll all be OK tonight?” Chief Briggs looks at me and then at my mom. “We could have a squad car add extra surveillance.”

  “Oh, thank you, but we’ll be fine. Why don’t you call me when you have the report from the dealership and we’ll go from there? You have my number.” Mom
opens the door. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

  “No problem. You should get that arm checked out, Ashlyn,” he says. “Talk tomorrow.”

  My mom shuts the door and locks it. The look on her face tells me she’s as scared as I am. But there’s something else. Rage. I can feel it pouring out of her, I can see it in her eyes. I guess I can feel that anger as well.

  How dare Tish do this to all of us?

  Mom yells, “Get that paperwork here, Bob. Now!”

  What is she talking about? “Mom, calm down. We don’t know for sure if she had anything to do with my car. What paperwork are you talking about?” I realize how upset my mom is because she never yells. This is not just about my accident. Maybe Mom knows even more than I do about what Tish has done? I saw her eyes when she almost ran me over. I know what she’s capable of. She’s evil. “Mom, what’s happening?”

  “She’s gone too far,” Mom says, her fists clenched at her sides.

  CHAPTER 45

  KATE

  “Go sit down in the family room,” I say to Ashlyn. “And I’ll get you some Tylenol.”

  Bob says, “I’m going to give you guys space. I’ll be in the front room, waiting for the courier.”

  I settle Ashlyn on the couch, bring her the medicine and a glass of water. She isn’t shaking anymore, but she looks like she may be in shock.

  “She did this, Mom,” Ashlyn says.

  “How do you know that?” I ask, hoping for proof.

  “She followed me from the office, to Seth’s house,” she says. “She swerved at me, drove straight toward me to scare me. She came really close. I thought that’s all she would do, but I guess not.”

  “It would take a lot of nerve to tamper with your car. On a public street?”

  “I don’t know how, but I know she did.” Ashlyn starts to cry, and my heart breaks.

  I have to tell her the truth, no matter how much I don’t want to. She’ll be traumatized again, but she must know what I’ve realized.

  “I need to share some things with you about the company, and about your dad. They may be hard to hear.” I take a deep breath and exhale, my nerves zinging through me. “I believe Tish had something to do with your father’s death.”

  “I do, too, Mom.” Ashlyn stares at me. I take her hand in mine.

  “Really? You do? Here I thought I was protecting you. I didn’t want to worry you with this, but you are an adult and part of the company now.” I pull out the phone and hand it to her. I watch as she reads the text chain from the night John died, including the photo of the margarita.

  Ashlyn looks at me. “I’ve read these.”

  “What? How?” I feel my face flush. If she’s read these, she’s read everything I wrote, too.

  “I took Dad’s phone,” she says, and breaks into a smile.

  “Well, aren’t you a tricky one. How did you get it?” I ask.

  “I took it out of Tish’s purse during the memorial service,” she says.

  “You’ve had it all this time. Wow.”

  “I had to keep track of her for us, you know,” she says. “And I can with Find My Friends.”

  “That’s brilliant, really,” I say. All this time Ashlyn has been on my side, helping me. Well, actually, she’s been one step ahead of me. I wonder what else she’s done? What else does she know? “Have you found anything else helpful on the phone?”

  “Not too much, I guess. I know from reading his text messages that Dad was drinking to get through the night. He couldn’t wait to get away from Tish, and he told her as much. He should have left that night. He stayed because of loyalty or something.”

  “I’m convinced she put something in your dad’s drink.” I won’t play the voice mail message for her. Not now, maybe not ever. I don’t want her to remember him, his voice, like that.

  Ashlyn slumps back on the couch, exhausted.

  “It’s so scary. I actually can imagine Tish doing that, too,” she says. “You should have seen the crazy look on her face this afternoon.”

  “It is hard to believe, but the truth was right in front of us. She’s a murderer.” The words spill out of my mouth. “I can’t believe I didn’t put it all together sooner. And now, she’s trying to hurt you.”

  “So you believe me?” Ashlyn says.

  “Of course. We need to be more careful, until we get rid of her for good. Bob and I have something we need you to do.”

  “Sure, OK, but why didn’t you tell Chief Briggs all of this? Maybe have him keep an eye on her?”

  “We just really don’t have enough evidence, but I will if we can get more proof. In the meantime, I’m focused on getting Tish out of the company, and on nullifying that new ridiculous will. Bob’s waiting for the papers. Unfortunately, from a legal standpoint, the best person to contest the will is you, honey.”

  “Tish is going to love that. Not. Why me?” Ashlyn asks. I hear the fear in her voice. She sounds exhausted.

  I hold her hand. “Trust me, I’d do it if I could, but you are your father’s only direct descendent. Are you up for it?”

  The doorbell rings before she can answer. I expect it to be the courier, and I hear Bob answer the door. He carries the paperwork into the family room. I grab a pen from my purse and hand it to Ashlyn.

  “Here it is, honey. Take your time, read it over. And then sign if you are comfortable. This is all about your inheritance.”

  She lifts her head and nods.

  “I don’t need to read it,” she says, and signs her name on the last page. “I trust you. And we need to get rid of her before she does something else.”

  I hand the signed paperwork to Bob and follow him to the front door.

  “I’m filing immediately. Lock the door and turn on the alarm. Call if you need anything. Actually, call Briggs first.”

  I return to my daughter. “Once this lawsuit is filed, Tish will know you are the one challenging the will.”

  Ashlyn wipes under her eyes. “I don’t care about that. I want to know if she killed my dad.”

  “I know. We’ll get to the bottom of all of this. Just remember, you meant the whole world to your dad. He would never cut you out of the will. That’s when I started thinking about the timing of everything. I remembered the texts. Even I didn’t realize how desperate he sounded until I read through them again. Combined with the filing date of the fake will, well, it’s undeniable.”

  Ashlyn’s breath catches in her chest. “I could see it, I mean, I can see it now. Oh my god. She thought Dad was leaving her to come back home. And you and Dad were flirting.”

  “I’m embarrassed you read all of that,” I say and pivot to the task at hand. “We need some sort of concrete evidence against Tish.”

  “I can look around her house. I spent a lot of time over there, remember?” Ashlyn stands up. “I need to move all of my stuff out anyway.”

  “That’s too dangerous. She may have tampered with your car. Once we file the lawsuit, she’ll blame you for everything.”

  “Then I need to go now.” Ashlyn takes a deep breath as tears well up in her eyes. “It’s going to be hard with all of Dad’s things still there. But I need to do it now or who knows what she’ll do to all my high school treasures.”

  “What will you tell her about why you’re just showing up?”

  Ashlyn leans against the counter holding her arm. I think she needs a doctor. “I am telling her I’m moving out. That she and I don’t have a relationship any longer now that Dad is gone. And I’ll look around. I just don’t know what I’ll find, if anything. Or what I’m looking for.”

  I watch as Ashlyn pulls out her phone and texts.

  “Are you texting Tish?”

  “No, I’d rather surprise her. I’m texting Seth. I’ll need a ride.”

  “I don’t think you should involve anybody else, do you?” I say.

  “He’s already involved. I was at his house all afternoon,” she says, blushing.

  “Seth, huh?” I smile. “I like him.
You two are cute together.”

  “We’re just friends, OK?”

  I realize something more is developing. “Sure. Friends,” I say. “I’m going to see if the doctor can make a house call tonight, what do you think?”

  “Bonnie makes house calls? She’s your doctor, right? The naturopath?” she asks. “I remember I liked her.”

  “Well, no, I was going to call an orthopedist. Dr. Bonnie is great for herbs and potions and balancing your chakras. Not sure she can do anything for bones,” I answer, wondering why this sudden interest in a doctor Ashlyn hasn’t seen for years.

  “Dad was taking some sort of pills from her, wasn’t he?” she asks.

  “Oh, right, for stress. You saw that on the texts on his phone,” I say, finally figuring out where she remembered the name. “Bonnie is great. But I’ll call an orthopedist for this.”

  “Doctors can’t really do anything for broken elbows. I googled it. Let’s give it some time,” Ashlyn says. “I feel fine. Just a little sore. Seth will be here in ten minutes.”

  “I’ll follow and park on the street. I’ll be there ready to run inside if anything happens,” I say. “What if she isn’t home?”

  “She’s home,” Ashlyn says holding up John’s phone.

  “Right, I forgot,” I say. My daughter is brilliant.

  “I’ve actually been having some fun with all the apps on Dad’s phone. Did you know I can control the lights, the heat and cooling, the music—all from here, at all times of the day and night. It must be driving her crazy, the loss of control,” Ashlyn says.

  “I can’t even imagine how frustrating that would be. She said she’d been having trouble sleeping. Great job,” I say, pride swelling in my heart. Like mother, like daughter. “Seriously, though, you need to be so very careful over there.”

  “I’ll be fine. Seth will be there. She thinks she’s won. She thinks she scared me away.”

  “But then you show up on her doorstep, and she’ll know the scare tactics didn’t work. She might have murdered your father. I can’t have anything happen to you. You’re my favorite daughter.”