Chapter 6 - The Price of a Family
The pawnshop was thirty miles from the lake, on a street lined with empty storefronts. I took Leona because I couldn't trust myself to stay calm.
A man named Russell worked behind the counter. When I showed him the photograph, he frowned. "Can't discuss another customer's business."
"That pendant belonged to my mother. Someone sent me this picture."
"Then speak to the police." He leaned closer. "And don't go accusing people in my store."
I left my number and a copy of a photograph showing Mom wearing the pendant at my high school recital. Outside, I called June. She told me not to try to recover evidence myself. She would help me report the suspected theft.
Back at her office, I learned why someone might want me silent. Hart Marine Supply had missed two loan payments. Dad had borrowed against equipment after a disastrous spring. The business hadn't turned a profit in eighteen months.
"Briar Landing offered him a deposit," June said. "They want the lakeshore for a private road into a planned vacation development."
"The house is worth that much?"
"The land is. Your mother knew it. That's why she set up the trust."
I stared at the paper. Dad had laughed at my last suggestion that we repair the broken kitchen steps because he said money was tight. All that time, he'd been trying to turn Mom's place into a rescue boat for his failing business.
When I returned to Leona's, my phone filled with messages from relatives. Clara had posted a picture of her bandaged forehead, claiming I'd thrown her off the porch over an inheritance. People who hadn't called me in years were now telling me to apologize.
I drafted a furious response and deleted it. June's advice kept returning: Let the evidence speak in the right place.
May you like
Then a new message arrived from my father.
Meet me alone at the public dock. No lawyers. No Leona. We need to talk about what your mother really left you.
