Page 30

Story: Ferocity

“I think we’re all of the same thinking,” Kenny said, speaking for the first time since they arrived at Dave’s office.

“Can’t prove it,” she replied. “Unless we get a confession out of her. Maisie incriminating herself is slim to none.”

Dave motioned to the conference table where all the documents were laid out exposing Maisie’s schemes and scams. “You sure?”

No, but if she had to guess, her sister would blame her new husband or worse, Scarlett for trying to remove Maisie from the will or whatever ridiculous excuse she could come up with on the fly. Scarlett learned early on, Maisie got what she wanted, when she wanted, and no one crossed her. Scarlett, on the other hand, got shit and shoved into it.

“I can’t comment.” She pulled the banking statements forward. “I still can’t believe I missed all of this.”

“It’s pretty easy to when Maisie’s your conservator,” Kenny quipped.

“Touché.”

Dave glanced at his watch. “It’s time for me to head out. Why don’t you head back to the sanctuary and I’ll let you know something when I can?”

"No." She shook her head. "This is my life. If you're going to talk to the district attorney, I'm going with you. He should have to look me in the face and tell me whether he can or can't do anything with the information we have."

“Well, you heard the lady,” Kenny teased, winking at her. “Take her with you. If you can’t knock any sense into the DA, you know Scarlett can and will.”

Warmth bloomed within her as heat spread across her cheeks. “You’re so bad.”

“I’ve been wondering what you’d look like when you blushed,” Timothy said.

Scarlett blinked surprised by his words. “Oh?”

He nodded. “Yeah. You’re absolutely gorgeous.”

****

An hour later, Dave and Scarlett sat before the district attorney going over all of the information they’d collected. Nervous energy coursed through her. What if all of this was for not? It was only their word against the documents that fooled even the bank. But surely the DA would dig deeper than they had, and would find the truth, right?

Someone, somewhere in her life had to begin to believe her over Maisie. Yes, each of the men who'd spent the better half of the week surprising her and trusting her, were in her corner, however, it wouldn't mean anything if her life wasn't her own.

“Where did you say the phone number for this psychologist lead you?” the District Attorney asked.

“Defunct number,” Dave answered. “The same can be said for the lawyer who put the new will together as well.”

“And the bank accounts?”

“Shills,” Scarlett answered. “Our forensic accountant found the website. It’s a basic blog theme made to appear sophisticated. However, when you delve into the site, it all leads back to the home page and a comment page.”

The DA scrubbed his chin as he picked up the loan application and file from the bank. Benji had been forthcoming, Dave explained, but not without some persuasion. To think, while she did her level best to keep them in the black, her sister had been undermining her. No matter how many times she thought she'd be able to retain her sister's love and approval after so many years, she had to face facts, Maisie hated her for no particular reason, other than, Scarlett had been born.

"Did this Benji Brinks know at any point anything was going on regarding the conservatorship or the changing of the will?"

“He thought it was on the up and up,” Dave said. “I believe him. I think if he’d have thought something was wrong, he’d have called Scarlett.”

“And this Victory Griffen?”

“Not sure. She is on all of the loans since the new will and conservatorship were created. So, either she is an unwitting pawn or she’s working with Maisie.” Dave scrubbed his face. “Marcus. Give it to me straight, what can we do to fix this? Scarlett has never been hospitalized, except for after the lion attack. She’s never been seen by a psychologist. All of the paper trails end in bogus information.”

“Would you be willing to prove it wrong, Miss Leon?” Marcus folded his hands on the desk. “Are you willing to go through the paces, see a psychologist and talk with a doctor?”

Dave opened his mouth to speak, but Scarlett placed her hand on his forearm. “I’ll do it.” She didn’t like it one bit. She shouldn’t have to prove she was innocent. Nonetheless, she’d agree to it. If it meant proving once and for all who her sister was, she'd do whatever it took. "When can we start?"

"Let me call a few people. If we can get the ball running quickly, I'd say as soon as next week. We'll do everything in one go." Marcus picked up a document off the table. "Your sister got married recently. Do you know anything about her husband?"

“Eduardo?” She shook her head. “No. Should I?”