row within the next eleven months. If they are outside of the estate borders for more than twenty-four hours, then the fourteen-day timetable starts all over.”
“And they’ve all agreed to come?”
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean ‘not exactly’? I thought they all had to do it or the deal was off.”
“Thus far, I’ve been able to locate only one of the sisters, but she’s agreed to the terms despite the fact that it could all come to nothing if her sisters aren’t located.”
Carter frowned. “Why doesn’t she know where her sisters are?”
“Because that evil man sent those girls away after their mother died.” Carter’s mother broke into the conversation.
Carter stared. His mother was not one to throw around words like evil in a cavalier manner.
“Don’t give me that look,” she said. “That greedy no-count married their mother for her money and he killed her by breaking her heart. Her body wasn’t even cold before he shipped those girls off to anyone who would take them.”
A flash of anger rushed through Carter. “But no one would take all three?”
William shook his head, his expression sad. “If Ophelia had taken the proper steps before she died, things could have turned out differently for the girls. But as it stood, Trenton Purcell had legal control over her assets until his death. The life estate she created right after they married was still in effect.”
“The girls weren’t his,” Carter’s mother said, “so he felt they weren’t his responsibility.”
Carter shook his head. “In the interest of manners, I’m not going to say it,” he said to his mother, “but you know what I’m thinking.”
His mother nodded. “On this, we’re in complete agreement.”
“Okay,” Carter said, “so when you locate the other two sisters, you’ll get them to coordinate a date?”
“Actually, the girls don’t have to occupy the property at the same time. As they are adults with lives already in place, they will start occupation at a time that’s convenient for them. Assuming, of course, that abandoning your life and moving to the swamp for two weeks is ever convenient.”
Carter felt some of the wind come out of his sails. “You mean I might have to do this three times?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Carter looked over at the expectant expression on his mother’s face. Even though every fiber of his body screamed at him to sprint away from this convoluted family mess, the reality was his mother rarely asked him for anything, and doing this would make her happy.
“Fine. Has the located sister set a date yet?”
“She’s the oldest and, as a matter of fact, was available to come immediately.”
“Not much of a life if she can drop everything in a matter of days,” Carter mumbled.
His mother swatted him with her napkin.
“She’s not wanted for anything, is she?” Carter asked.
“Carter!” His mother stared at him in dismay.
William chuckled. “Nothing of the sort. She’d just resigned her position as an attorney and wants to use the time to contemplate the direction she wishes to take her career.”
“An attorney. Great.”
“Oh, she’s quite good. Went to work for one of the best firms in Baton Rouge after graduating top of her class at Boston College.”
“A lawyer and a Yankee—the hits just keep on coming.”
His mother sighed. “Alaina was probably seven years old before she was shipped off to a distant cousin in New England. I expect she hasn’t forgotten everything about Southern living or she wouldn’t have moved back after getting her education. It’s not like she has other family here.”
“She’s about the same age as me, right?” Carter asked. “How come I don’t remember her?”
“Ophelia didn’t allow her to attend school with other kids. She claimed homeschooling was the best education, but I often wondered if that was Trenton’s idea and not hers. She was a social woman before Trenton came along. But after their marriage, you almost never saw her out in Calais.”
Carter frowned. The entire situation stank to high heaven. “What I don’t get is, how come none of them came back before now?”
William shrugged. “I can’t answer for the girls. I’m sure they all had their reasons, but I am certain none of them knew about the stipulations in their mother’s will. This inheritance is completely unexpected, so I would hazard a guess that they felt they had no reason to return.”
“So all I have to do is check in every day and make sure they’re still on the estate, right?”
“That’s it. I’ll leave the scheduling to you, but I’ve made Alaina aware that she needs to work around your job.”
“And she had no problem with that?”
“She’s an attorney. She has a lot of respect for law enforcement.”
“Then she’s not like the attorneys I’ve known—present company excluded, of course.”
“I appreciate your handling this for me.” William rose from the table, wisely deciding not to overstay his welcome. Carter’s mother followed him to the front door where he gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Call me if you need anything,” William said.
“Of course,” his mother said. “And don’t worry, I’ll see that Carter doesn’t scare the woman away from her inheritance.”
His mother closed the door, then came back into the kitchen and sat down again, frowning.
“I don’t like it,” Carter said.
“I don’t either, but not for the same reasons.”
“What about it bothers you?”
She gazed out the back window and shook her head. “I can’t put my finger on it. I never liked Trenton Purcell. I always got a bad feeling in his presence. After he and Ophelia married, they pretty much disappeared from society, and I don’t think he left the house even once after Ophelia’s death. He didn’t even attend her funeral.”
“Sounds like a stellar guy.”
His mother nodded. “No one liked him, but until then, we had nothing concrete to point at and say, ‘He’s completely wrong.’”
“But?” Carter was certain she hadn’t finished her thoughts on Purcell, and he knew his mother well enough to know that her “feelings” about things were not something
