Hen Pecked (Aloha Chicken Mysteries Book 4) by Josi Avari

Author:Josi Avari [Avari, Josi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quill Canyon Press
Published: 2019-04-25T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Saffron sat on the bed watching the slow, deliberate movements of the enormous lionfish. It was nearly two feet long. Each of its spines was easily the length of Saffron’s forearm. Its cinnamon bands were two fingers wide, and the fanlike fins spread wider than two palms.

In the corner of the tank was scrawled, “Lion Fish. DO NOT SELL.” The fish moved with purpose, unlike the smaller, flightier fish Saffron had seen, every ripple of its fins seemed purposeful. It held itself in the center of the tank, and it stared directly out at Saffron in a particularly unnerving way.

She suddenly wanted to leave. Standing, Saffron glanced at the massive oak desk the aquarium was sitting on. Here was something out of the ordinary.

Where everything else in the house was neat and organized, the desk was a catastrophe. There was a deeper organization, Saffron could tell, but the top layer was chaos. A box of fish food was scattered across strewn papers, a drawer was open, a cup was knocked over, an uncapped pen lay askew. Drops of what Saffron assumed was blood-flecked spittle had dried across the papers, probably from Dorah’s last struggling breaths. Cyanide, Bradley had explained when Saffron first told him about the bottle she had found, was a terrible way to die.

Even the desk chair lay on its side. Saffron righted it and sat in it, closer to the glaring lionfish than she was comfortable with but also closer to the curious state of the desk.

What could have left it this way? The first thing that came to Saffron’s mind was a struggle. If Milo and Dorah had fought, then this could be the evidence of that. Saffron looked for something heavy, something Milo might have struck her with. But what she saw was mostly papers. Maybe some of them would indicate where Milo was hiding. Did they own another house somewhere? Was there an itinerary for a boat or a train trip? None of those things seemed to jump out at her. A paper caught her eye, though.

Carefully, she picked up the paper from the top of the stack, brushing off fish food. Saffron began to read.

I, Leon Cole, being of sound mind and body, do hereby bequeath my mortal estate to my biological children upon the following conditions:

-50% to my daughter Dorah if she have no children, natural or adopted.

-50% to my daughter Rachel if she be married by 12:00 pm on the date of her 55th birthday

Should either violate the condition of receipt, the whole of the estate will be disbursed to the remaining biological child. Should the children be deceased, incapacitated or ineligible, the whole of the estate will be disbursed to the Fantail Foundation.

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