Killer Brownies: A Sea Glass Beach Mystery by Amelia Pine

Author:Amelia Pine [Pine, Amelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2024-09-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

“Paige, come here,” Mom whispered to me.

I had already put on my jacket and knit beanie. My pepper spray keychain was at ready, just in case. Now I could venture out to the cold night, back to Lola and my cottage.

“It won’t take long, I promise,” Mom said, low.

She ushered me into her back office in the Seagull Café. It was late. The rest of the Beachside Dining Club had gone home. Several groups of customers sat at booths or at the counter, eating pie and chatting. Only one cook was in the kitchen, working on a crossword puzzle. Soon, the waitresses would be starting their closing duties.

“What is it?”

I ducked into her small office next to the kitchen. A computer, desk, piles of papers. Several photos of me as a child, a photo of her and Rick on the beach. In the corner, the Himalayan rock salt lamp glowed with peaceful peach-colored light.

She closed the door. “There’s something I need to tell you before you hear it from someone else. You might not like what I have to say, but it needs to be said. For the sake of your dining club.”

“Okay,” I said. “Is it about Justin’s death?”

“Maybe,” she said. “Listen. Brooke, my lead waitress, has a sister who’s the paralegal for Justin’s lawyer. This morning, in the lawyer’s office, Brooke’s sister heard Lauren causing quite a stir about the will. Apparently Justin wanted it executed and all the beneficiaries notified within 48 hours of his death. Naturally, this paralegal pressed her ear to the door to hear why Lauren was so upset. Well, Brooke’s sister told Brooke who told another waitress here at the café that Lauren was livid when she read the terms of the will. I just so happened to have overheard the two waitresses chatting about it before the dinner rush.”

“I can see where this is going,” I said. “So, the big question is: who benefits from his death? Justin’s sister, I imagine.”

“That’s what you would think,” Mom said. “But she won’t get as much as you’d expect.”

“Then who gets his money? I’m sure he had millions in his bank account. Justin had several bestselling cookbooks. I’m sure he had tons of sponsors and loads of advertising revenue.”

“According to Brooke, Justin was worth 10 million dollars. Most of the money was set to go to Lauren. That is, until the will was changed last month.”

“Ten million? That’s way, way more than I thought. Why did he change his will?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “As far as I know, Justin was in good health. He wasn’t expecting to pass away. Maybe something happened for him to change his mind about where his money would go.”

“Who gets that huge chunk of change now?”

“Instead of Lauren receiving the majority, Kelsey will get $6.5 million dollars.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Holy cow. Over six million? And they hadn’t been together for that long, either. Who gets the rest?”

“Lauren will get two million. Angel Gonzalez will get $500,000.

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