Read Online Janet McNulty - Mellow Summers 07 - Two Ghosts Haunt a Grove by Janet McNulty - Free Book Online Page A

Naturally there wasn’t one in the office.’
    Knowing I couldn’t just run off with these, I peeked out the office door again. No one was there, but a copy machine was. Stealthily, I slipped out of the office and crept to the copy machine.
    “Please work,” I said to myself as I lifted the lid. I pressed the green button and the thing hummed to life; too loud for my taste. Someone was definitely going to hear me. I quickly scanned the second document. Once the machine had finished, I grabbed the papers and ran back into Kyle’s office, shutting the door behind me. I ran to his desk and put the originals back into the drawer just as I had found them.
    “No, don’t bother calling the police,” said Kyle from the hallway.
    With only moments to spare, I folded the copied documents and shoved them in my back pants pocket. The handle to the door turned. Racing to one of the chairs in the office, I sat down just as Kyle walked in.
    “Is everything okay?” I asked, trying to control my breathing.
    “Yes,” sighed Kyle, “a bunch of bikers mistook this place for some kind of bar. How I’ll never know, but they were drunker than a bunch of sailors.”
    I pretended to be genuinely concerned and interested.
    “I’m afraid, I’ll have to cut our meeting short, Mel,” said Kyle.
    “No problem,” I stood up tucking the files deeper into my pocket.
    He walked me to the door and saw me to the elevator. “I do hope you understand,” he said.
    “It’s perfectly all right. Some other time.”
    “Yes, well, good day.”
    The elevator doors closed. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. When the elevator dinged and I was let out, I rushed past the front desk and straight outside and to my car. The engine started immediately. Quickly, I put it in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. The moment I turned toward the freeway, I saw Tiny and his gang in one of the “park and rides”: a small parking area where people who carpool can park their cars. Knowing they expected me to meet with them, I pulled in.
    “So,” said Tiny, “how’d it go?”
    “I might have found something.” I handed him the two wills.
    “Sombrero,” said Tiny giving the man the documents, “This needs your expertise.”
    Sombrero took the two wills and studied them. I hoped he understood the legal speak within them because I certainly didn’t. I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited. Could it get any hotter out? I felt like I was melting.
    “These are very interesting,” said Sombrero.
    “What are they?” I asked.
    “They’re wills, but two different versions,” said Sombrero. He showed me one of the copied wills, “This one is dated two years ago and is fairly standard. But this other one is an updated version and has a very distinct change.”
    “Like what?”
    “The first will makes no mention of the Joseph Bourtonson property. But the updated one does. The thing is, it split the property between Kyle and Stacy Kellmore.”
    “What?’ I said, in disbelief. “Kyle insisted that he rightfully inherited everything.”
    “He did because this will was never signed. But it is dated on the day he died.”
    I snatched the will. I thought it was dated a week before, but on closer inspection I found that Sombrero was right. I had misread one of the numbers. Dated the day he died. That is really odd.
    “You know what this means,” I said, “Philip Kellmore was murdered.”
    I scanned the faces around me. The entire gang felt and thought what I did. Somehow, Kyle managed to keep his father from signing the will and the guy died.
    I had to see Detective Shorts. “Thanks guys,” I said, “I need to go.”
    I got in my car and left waving one last farewell. The trip to the police station was short and easy to get to since I used the freeway. I parked on the side of the road and jumped out of my car, barely unbuckling my seatbelt. Without wasting more time, I ran to the doors and burst inside heading straight for Detective Shorts’