5

As they pulled into a small parking lot, he got out of his car. He had spent the entire amount of time driving, thinking about what he had to do. He kept going back to the contract they had drafted when they were seventeen, though. He smiled to himself. Sara had grown into a wonderful woman. Doing this wasn’t for her to get anything from it. He was doing his so he could have her in his life again. It had been a few months since he had even looked at a woman and even longer since he had one in his life. Sara was different, though. She had been a somewhat family member though he never saw her as a cousin. His father had liked the girl she was. She showed everyone how to get through a tough situation with dignity and grace. He had to think that was why she had waited till his father’s death to go back. She didn’t want to upset the man.

That spoke volumes about her character. It also showed she wasn’t someone to mess with. Sara was now an adult, and she would use everything in her power to fight her aunt for what had been rightfully hers. Though she seemed less interested in the money or anything that was attached. She was hell-bent on revenge, though.

He was as well. He knew they could work together well. They had for the two years her aunt and his father were married. He never understood why his father had chosen that woman over any of the others he could have had. It was something that would remain a mystery for the rest of his days because the only person who could really answer that was now gone.  

Garett had tried to talk to his father over the years, but it was a subject that was always passed over. He didn’t want to try and force the issue, though. It was never something he wanted to push through. It might have answered some of those questions that lingered. He watched Sara as she got out of her car.

She was nothing like her aunt. She had always been kind even when no one had extended her any kindness in return. She had a way with the animals on the farm as well. He never understood the reason why the farm had meant anything to the woman who never worked on it. It had seemed it was something that was left to her by someone. She never really said who or why, though. The woman seemed to thrive on never working a day in her life.

“So I guess I should ask you what is your endgame in this?” Garret asked as he nodded to the woman in the front of the building, who looked up and was surprised to see him leading the smaller woman to the back and his office.

“I don’t know.” She replied. “I mean, I want to be open that I have no real expectation in this. I also want to say, Gar, I don’t want this to take up all your work either.”

“So kind of you.” He laughed. “Sweetheart, I have the week off, so this will fill in the gaps of time I don’t want to think about.”

Just then, one of the partners of the small firm walked in and looked at him. “What are you doing here? I thought today was your father's wake?”

“it was. However, some information came out, and My stepmother might have used funds from an estate wrongly. This is her niece, and I thought I could look up some things and do the research for a case for her.” Garret said.

“So she is your cousin?” The older man asked.

“No,” Garret said. “Step cousin is a stretch. She is a friend, regardless of anything else.”

“Don’t overwork yourself. I know you said that you and your father weren't close, but still, things like this take time to get over. He seemed fine a month ago.” The man said as he nodded and walked out.

“He seemed fine a month ago?” Sara asked.

“He did,” Garret said as he looked at her. “I didn’t see him all that much, but we ran into each other at one of the stores nearby, and he looked fine. I was shocked when she called me and told me he basically dropped dead. I am waiting on the autopsy report that I requested on behalf of the family to which she tried to block.”

“She tried to block the autopsy?” Sara said with widened eyes, “You think she killed him.”

“Not in the way you might think,” Garret said. “He was in good health when I saw him. Looked normal and everything when he was brought to the hospital. He was nearly a shell of the man I saw not more than six weeks prior. I think she had a hand in his death, and I am not the only one either.”

“The police?” Sara asked.

“Are looking into it quietly.” He said as he focused on the computer. “The first thing we need to do is pull up the will, and the attached estate to see what was really in there. Then we can make a plan of attack. Which you will outline for me.”

“What do you mean exactly?” Sara asked as she looked him over as he sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers.

“You call all the shots here. So we will pull up the information so you can at least get an idea of what should have been turned over to you and when. Then we will contact the board of trustees to see what is left of the estate. If there is a major difference, we will have to discuss what you want to do.” Garret said as he looked at her sitting there. “We will figure everything out together at each step. I will only act in your interest and how you direct me too.”

“Is this a conflict of interest for you, though?” Sara asked.

“Not in any way, I see it. I won’t deny I hate her. I also won’t deny I believe she killed my father somehow. However, she did this well before I knew her. The best part is there is no time limit for this that we know of. It would be ten years from the age of adulthood in most cases, but if your parents said eighteen or twenty-one or even twenty-five, there is nothing stopping you from going forward with this. As it has not been ten years yet.” Garret said, “The only conflict would be with you because I think you should go for everything hard, but I will defer to your wishes.”

“And if I told you to do what you wished. We both might be able to feel better about the situation if I let you handle it.” Sara said.

“However you are my pro bono case for the year. There will be no real charge unless you win. Look, Sara, I do want to go for her before the cops get a hold of her, but we won’t rush this either. Let’s see what is in front of us before we start making decisions.” Garret said as he leaned forward and began typing into the computer.