Read Online Seize the Day by Curtis Bunn - Free Book Online Page A

I’m on my way there.”
    â€œReally? Good. That’s a big turnaround from last night.”
    â€œI talked to my nephew and, well, I just need to be there. We’ve got some papers to go through.”
    My instincts told me it was about money. He was coming to D.C. for the money, whatever money Walter had. I wasn’t aware of any, but that didn’t mean anything.
    â€œPapers? You mean insurance?” I asked.
    â€œInsurance, checking account, savings, investments.”
    I shook my head. “So, what time will you be here? I can meet you at the house to let you in.”
    â€œI arrive around eight tonight. Do me a favor? Don’t tell Walter Jr. I’m coming.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause I need to see those papers before him.”
    â€œI really don’t want to be in the middle of whatever you all have going on.”
    â€œYou don’t have to be. Just let me in and you can go on about your business.”
    It was astonishing that it took Walter killing himself to get his brother to visit. Money: the stimulus of the greedy.
    I decided I would tell Walter’s son about his uncle coming to town. Why should Donovan get the money, if there was any to be gotten? But that call to Walter Jr. was equally disturbing.
    â€œMy uncle is a trip. He thinks he should get something before me? I’m his son.”
    â€œWhat about a funeral?”
    â€œWho said he deserves a funeral? He offed himself. I don’t think he wanted a funeral. Who would come anyway? He didn’t have any real friends—except you, I guess.”
    â€œYou really don’t know your father—didn’t know your father. He touched a lot of young people’s lives over the years. Dozens and dozens. Hundreds. He was loved by his students. He taught them and helped lead them on the path to success. That’s a big deal, Walter. You can’t deny that about your father. That would be wrong.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong is that he didn’t do that for me. He was there. I mean, there were a lot of times when he didn’t take his medication. And that’s when he wasn’t a good person to me.”
    â€œWhat did you do to help him? You abandoned him, from what I can tell. His e-mail said you would not return his calls. He raised you. And then you get to a certain point and instead of helping, you abandon him? That’s wrong.”
    â€œEasy for you to say; you weren’t there.”
    â€œWhat I know is that when people you love are in need, you don’t abandon them. Worse, all you—and your uncle—are talking about is his money. I don’t hear any grief in your voice. No plans to remember him for the good man he was when he was healthy. It’s all about money for both of you.”
    I thought I made some inroads with him because he didn’t respond for a few seconds. But then he said, “What time can you meet me at his house?”
    I knew then that I needed to go to Walter’s place and search for paperwork before either of them did. Wasn’t sure what I would find, or what I would do with whatever I found. But I was going to look. Walter deserved that.
    And so I went. Even though it was daytime and the sun was out, entering his house felt like walking into a horror movie. A man, my friend, was found dead here…by me . I could almost hear creepy music as I entered the house. The hardwood floors cracked and the door hinges squealed. My heart pounded as if I were a kid walking into one of those haunted houses.
    Cancer and dying from it was not on my mind. All I could think of was Walter jumping out from behind a wall, walking dead, and scaring the wits out of me. Finally, once I entered the kitchen, I got a grip.
    Come on, man. Stop trippin’.
    I gathered myself, took a deep breath and got it together. And although I was finally poised enough to do what I came to do, I still had mixed feeling about going through Walter’s