The Return of the Fallen Angels Book Club (A Hollis Morgan Mystery 3)
Page 25
From the way she stiffened, her eyes blinking rapidly, Hollis knew the answer.
Frances looked up at the judge, who glared back at her.
“Yes, yes, all right.” Her shoulders slumped and she held her head in her hands. “It … it just got out of hand. I told them I could handle Todd, but then when it was clear he was going to tell you ….” She started to sob.
Hollis stepped away from the stand and stood next to her own chair.
“Ms. Morgan, it is clear to the court that this is anything but a routine trust.” Judge Messina put on his glasses. “There may be criminal charges involved. Mrs. Wallace will likely need to seek advisement from her own attorney. I will grant a continuance of thirty days. Bailiff?”
As if recovering from the testimony, the bailiff wiped his forehead and announced the next case.
Hollis turned and saw the smiling faces of the Fallen Angels as they waved and moved out into the lobby area. Mark was there too and he gave her shoulder a squeeze as George came around the banister to pat Hollis on the back. A police officer was waiting at the entry doors for Frances to make her way down the aisle. Hollis packed her papers and moved to the side as the next attorney approached the table.
She caught movement in the small balcony over the courtroom doors and looked straight into John’s eyes. He grinned and gave her an acknowledging bow.
Epilogue
Vince was as uncomfortable with attention as Hollis, so they both hated this gathering.
The Fallen Angels had reserved a table for a party of seven at Scott’s Seafood in Jack London Square. The lunchtime crowd has dissipated and the mid-afternoon patrons were few. In the center of the table was a large fern with a balloon that read “Congratulations” and a second balloon painted with a diploma.
Hollis tried to remember the last time she’d owned a plant—a living plant. She’d transitioned to artificial plants when she went back to law school. It seemed more merciful.
“Hollis, why the look? Don’t be mad. We had to do something.” Rena smiled. “You were great. You must be on cloud nine. And you too, Vince. Your GED is a big deal. It took a lot of self-discipline.”
Vince mumbled something under his breath. Hollis patted him on his shoulder.
She whispered to him, “Don’t worry. I still owe you a buffet dinner.”
“Hah, you all don’t know her well, do you?” Stephanie slid another fresh oyster into her mouth with a look of utter contentment. “She’s afraid to be happy.”
Hollis exchanged looks with John and gave a slight shrug.
“You guys know I don’t—”
“Just once,” Gene said. “Ms. Morgan, just once be gracious and accept our kudos and congratulations.” He patted her on the back. “If it makes you feel better, just think that we’re doing it for us, not you.”
“What I want to know is how you knew about the lottery ticket?” Stephanie asked as she broke off a piece from the loaf of warm bread.
Hollis looked at Gene, who gave her an open grin.
“Frances came to my office to sign final forms. While she was trying to snatch the paper from me, her purse fell open. As she scrambled to put things back in her bag I noticed an envelope addressed to the California Lottery, attention Claims Division. And that’s when it hit me. Or, at least it gave me the idea.”
Vince paused from eating his hamburger. “But, Hollis, how did you know she’d hit the jackpot? How did you know the amount?”
“I didn’t. But I knew Gene could find out from his newspaper. We knew someone had won the jackpot, and the lottery posts where the ticket was sold. Gene discovered a large win took place at a Bay Area market not far from Jeffrey’s house. He was able to verify that she’d applied and was in the process of having her claim verified.” Hollis patted Gene on the shoulder. “I could never figure out what the significance was of the three months. But then the pieces fell together. You only have six months to claim a lottery prize. But if she were going to claim this as her separate property, she needed six weeks to establish residency for a Nevada divorce. Francis hadn’t planned on Jeffrey’s death. After Jeffrey was murdered, the clock was ticking on having the trust filed. She didn’t want the ticket proceeds in the trust because then she would have to deal with the Library Foundation and Brian as the executor and he could cause trouble. Her Nevada friends would not tolerate any delays.”
Richard nodded in agreement. “She would cash the ticket as her separate property so it wouldn’t pass on to Todd or Brian. Or perhaps she was worried they’d find out who actually bought the ticket and cause trouble.” He raised his fork in the air. “Say, what happens to the lottery money now?”
Hollis’ jaw tightened. “My initial research showed that there is nothing in the California lottery rules that prevents a convicted felon from playing or collecting lottery winnings.”
“Then she’s still going to get all that money,” Miller grumbled.
A thoughtful quiet settled on the group.
Gene hit the table lightly with his fist. “I’m a firm believer in karma. Frances will get her just due and besides, as a felon, she’s prohibited from participating in the ownership of a casino.”
“Todd, now that’s sad.” Miller pulled out a small square of origami paper.
Hollis said in a quiet voice, “What’s sad is that none of us knew what Jeffrey’s life was really like. He was … he was hurting. But, I guess the part that touches me the most … I lost my hero.” She paused and then continued, “I think Todd was going to blackmail Frances. He wasn’t in the trust, but he’d found out about her winnings.”
“How did he find out?” Miller asked.
Hollis sighed. “I don’t know if we’ll ever know for sure. Maybe he just stumbled on it the same way I did. But in the end he decided to be the man Jeffrey wanted him to be. He might have made the mistake of threatening Frances with telling me. Or maybe she was having him followed and he was seen meeting with me. I think one of her partners hired those two guys I identified to take care of him.”
“So once you filed the papers for the hearing ….” Gene offered.
“So, once I filed the papers, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and my shadows backed off.”
John squeezed her hand under the table.
“You know,” Rena held her fork midair, “I just started reading a book by Jason Rivers. It’s fictionalized non-fiction and it has a blackmail storyline something like we just came through. I guess life imitates art again.”
“What’s the title?” Gene asked. “If you guys want, I can get copies for all the Fallen Angels. We can make it our July selection. Vince, you’re welcome to join us.”
Vince shook his head. “Thanks, but maybe another time. I’m going to be busy going to college.”
Hollis smiled at him, then at John, and then looked around the table at each member in turn.
“Well, here we go again.”
* * *
R. Franklin James grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2013, The Fallen Angels Book Club, the first book in the Hollis Morgan Mystery Series, was released. Her second book in the series, Sticks & Stones, was released in May 2014. James is married with two sons and resides in Northern California.
For more information, go to www.rfranklinjames.com.