A Deal to Die For (20 page)

“Well, that’s just Sam doing his job,” Maggie said. “You know, as the new sheriff,
I’m sure he’s trying to get to know everyone again. We’re trying to be friends. That’s
all.”

Doc nodded his head. “It can’t be a bad thing to be friends with the local sheriff.”

He pushed himself upright and away from the window and crossed the room to where he’d
left his jacket on the chair. While he buttoned up, Maggie pushed aside any talk about
Sam Collins and focused instead on what Doc had told her.

“Maggie, I know it goes without saying that what we’ve talked about is in confidence,”
he said.

“Of course, Doc,” she said. “I won’t say a word.”

“Thanks. And thank you for letting me unburden myself to you. I’ve been carrying that
around for a long time.” He gave her a small, sad smile.

“Anytime,” she said.

She gave him a quick hug and, when she stepped back, his pale blue gaze met hers and
he put a hand on her shoulder.

“Maggie, can I give you a bit of advice from an old man who’s made a mess of things?”

She nodded.

“Don’t let your head try to tell your heart what to do,” he said. “The heart won’t
listen.”

He finished fastening the top button on his overcoat and headed out the door with
a wave. She waved back and watched as he disappeared down the sidewalk, growing smaller
with each step.

“Aunt Maggie, where did Doc go?” Josh asked.

He came across the room clutching a train in his fist, and Maggie scooped him up and
hugged him close.

“I think he went home, buddy,” she said.

“Snack time?” he asked with big eyes.

She was so lucky to have him and his mom in her life. She couldn’t imagine not seeing
Josh’s blond head, twinkling blue eyes and chubby cheeks every day. She knew that
when Sandy’s husband returned home from the Middle East they would move into their
own home and she was fine with that. She was just really grateful that she got to
be a part of their lives now, when they needed her, which was the point of being a
family after all.

She glanced around the shop. It was time for Josh’s afternoon nap, and Sandy would
be home to watch him now. She gathered his trains and buttoned him into his coat.
Together they locked up the shop and walked home. Maggie memorized the feeling of
his little hand in hers, knowing that he would soon be too big to hold hands, and
she would miss it.

They had just gotten home, where Sandy was waiting to give her boy a snack and put
him down for his nap, when Joanne Claramotta roared into the driveway.

Maggie hurried to the door to meet her. Joanne hopped out of her car looking flushed,
and not from the chill in the November air.

“Maggie, I need Max. He’s not answering his phone. Is he working today? Would he be
delivering pizza? How can I get ahold of him?”

“What? Why?” Maggie asked.

“Summer Phillips and Courtney Madison were just in the deli,” Joanne said. “I overheard
them say that they had thrown Bianca out of her house. They were celebrating.”

“What?” Maggie asked.

“That’s all I know,” Joanne said. “I slipped out of the deli before they saw me. I
tried A Slice of Heaven, but Mrs. Bellini said it’s Max’s day off. I tried his apartment,
but he’s not there either.”

“I bet he’s at the library, which is probably why he has his phone off,” Maggie said.
Max spent all of his days off at the library, partly for the books and partly because
he still carried a torch for Claire.

“I’ll call Claire.”

“Good, and we should get over to the Madison estate before Summer and Courtney get
back there,” Joanne said. “I’m worried about Bianca.”

Maggie called Claire. Yes, Max was at the library. Upon hearing Joanne’s report, Max
said he’d meet them there.

Joanne drove. It took them only minutes to get to the Madison estate. When they pulled
up, Maggie was stunned to see Bianca sitting on a suitcase outside the enormous house,
looking forlorn.

Joanne parked, and they both climbed out.

“Bianca, what are you doing out here?” Maggie asked.

“I…well, Courtney had the locks changed in the middle
of the night last night,” she said. “And then, this morning, she told me I had to
go.”

“Where’s Molly?” Maggie asked.

“Wednesday is her day off,” Bianca said.

“Which Courtney undoubtedly knew,” Maggie said to Joanne, who nodded.

“Oh yeah, because Molly never would have let this happen,” Joanne agreed.

“So, why didn’t you call one of us?” Maggie asked.

Bianca held up her phone. It had been shattered. She looked like she was on the brink
of tears, and Maggie didn’t have the heart to be annoyed with her.

“Did Courtney do that?” she asked.

“No, Summer Phillips did.” Bianca sniffed. “She said it was an accident, but it happened
right after I called for a cab. I think she did it on purpose.”

“Bianca, you’re not leaving your home,” Maggie said. “And that’s final.”

A banana yellow sports car raced up the driveway. There was only one person in town
who drove such an obnoxious car. Summer.

She and Courtney were laughing as they climbed out of the low riding vehicle. They
looked like two Hollywood celebutants in micromini skirts, spiky leather boots and
cropped fur coats.

“Still here?” Courtney asked as she walked around Bianca. “I swear, you’re like a
barnacle. What’s it going to take to scrape you off?”

“Given that this is her home, I don’t really see why you think you can make her leave
it,” Maggie said.

“Oh no, this isn’t her home anymore,” Courtney said with a toss of her luscious brunette
curls. “It’s mine, all mine.”

“Are you insane?” Joanne asked, clearly out of patience.

A sound in the driveway alerted them to another arrival. It was Max, driving his rusted-out
car. It didn’t roll so much as it lurched up the driveway, making an ominous knocking
noise as it came.

The women all stood transfixed at the sight before them. Maggie cringed. If Max was
going to be their go-to legal adviser, they really needed to give him an overhaul.
When the car finally stopped with a sound that resembled a death rattle, Max climbed
out of the car through the passenger door.

“My door doesn’t open,” he said when he noticed they were all watching him.

Courtney and Summer doubled over with laughter. Not the hearty belly-laugh kind, but
the screechy, mean-girl mocking sort that managed to make a person feel small even
when they knew that the person doing the laughing shouldn’t have that kind of power
over them.

To Maggie’s surprise, Max lifted an eyebrow at the two women, looked them up and down
and said, “Isn’t it a bit early in the day for you two to be trolling for customers?
You know, if you’re going to work a corner, you’d have better luck on the corner of
Main and Fifth.”

Summer gasped and Courtney glowered. Maggie and Joanne exchanged grins. Bianca looked
at Max as if he was a demigod, and Maggie realized Bianca was only a few years older
than Max and had lived a much more sheltered life. Maggie couldn’t imagine what Bianca
thought of Max, but judging by the worshipful look on her face, it was all good.

“Oh, look, the baby shark has grown some teeth,” Courtney said in a sing-song voice.

She walked forward, making her hips gyrate in a way that Maggie was sure would throw
her back out. She circled Max and looked at him from under her eyelashes.

“You can’t win this one, little boy,” she said. “Why don’t you go home and play with
your LEGOs?”

Max gave her a slow smile. He pulled out his phone and pressed a button.

Maggie watched him. Despite the death trap he had arrived in, Max looked almost presentable.
The acne that had dogged him for years was clearing up. His hair, which was usually
in greasy strands hanging down over his face, was tied back at the nape of his neck.

Maggie realized this was the first time she’d ever really seen Max’s face, and he
was quite handsome, with thick, dark eyebrows that arched over sharp hazel eyes, a
straight nose and a jaw that looked strong enough to take a punch.

He held the phone to his ear, and after a moment’s pause he said, “Good afternoon,
Judge Harding. Maxwell Button here. Very good, sir, and yourself?”

There was another pause, and Maggie saw Courtney and Summer exchange a worried look.

“Sorry to trouble you, but I have a question about that estate I was talking to you
about the other day,” he said. “Yes, well it seems there’s been a bit of a scuffle
at the home of my client, where the proponent who is contesting and has put forth
an action to set aside the existing will has locked my client out of her home and
is demanding that she vacate the premises.”

No one spoke while Max listened and made several
uh-huh
s.

“Six to eight months, you say?” Max asked. “Yes, that’s about what I figured. Thanks
for your time, sir. Yes, we will have to meet up for a round of golf before winter
hits.”

Max switched off his phone.

“What are you playing at?” Summer snapped.

“Oh, that was my mentor, Judge Harding,” he said. “He
did several years in probate court. Haven’t you heard of him? He’s very well connected
in the county.”

Courtney and Summer exchanged nervous glances.

“It’s going to be six to eight months before you have a hearing, so basically, he
said you need to calm down,” Max said. “You have no right to kick my client out of
her home, and if you pull a stunt like this again, it will be very damaging to your
case.”

He held out his hand.

Courtney looked like she wanted to spit, but instead she dug through her tiny clutch
purse and slapped a key into his palm. Hard.

“And one for Molly, too,” Maggie said.

“There’s one in the kitchen for her,” Courtney snapped. With a huff, she turned on
her heel, nodded good-bye to Summer and strode to the house. She unlocked the door
with her own key and stomped inside, slamming the door behind her.

Max walked over to Bianca, who was still sitting on her suitcase, looking as if she
wasn’t sure what was happening. He held out his hand to her and helped her to her
feet.

“Come on, Bianca,” he said. His voice was gentle, as if he was coaxing a treed kitten
to safety. “Let’s get you back inside.”

He handed her the key, picked up her suitcase in one hand and took her elbow in the
other, and led her up the steps into the house.

“Is that…?” Joanne’s voice trailed off, but Maggie knew what she had been about to
say.

“Yes, our boy Max is growing up,” she said.

“You think you’re so smart,” Summer hissed at Maggie. “But Courtney is going to eat
your precious little Bianca for breakfast.”

“So, she
is
a cannibal,” Maggie said. “I’m not surprised.”

Joanne snickered while Summer slammed into her car and roared down the driveway, spewing
gravel in her wake.

Max rejoined them in front of the house.

Maggie wanted to compliment his appearance, but she didn’t want to embarrass him,
so she praised his quick thinking instead.

“Nice work, calling the judge like that,” she said. “Since when is Judge Harding on
your speed dial?”

Max grinned and held up his phone. He flicked through the screens until he got to
his last call. He pressed the screen and held the phone up to Maggie’s ear. In seconds,
she heard an automated voice reading off the court’s hours.

“Maxwell Button, when did you get to be so sneaky?” she asked.

Joanne listened, too, and then giggled. “That was brilliant! I never would have guessed.”

“Thankfully, neither did they,” Max said. He sagged against his car and Maggie saw
the nervous teenager she knew and loved peek out of his grown-up exterior. “I don’t
want to be paranoid, but there is something about this that doesn’t add up.”

“What do you mean?” Maggie asked.

“I think Courtney is up to something,” he said. “Overturning a will is pretty impossible,
and she’s trying to set aside Vera’s. She’s holding something back, something she
thinks will seal the deal.”

“Like what?” Maggie asked.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“But why would she hold back if she knew it would give her the Madison estate?”

“She’s probably waiting until we go to trial,” Max said. “If we have six to eight
months to go, she’s not going to want
to give me a heads-up. She’s going to want to blindside me with it.”

“Then why throw Bianca out?” Maggie said.

“She might be afraid that living in close proximity will tip Bianca off to whatever
she’s doing,” he said. “Of course, this is all speculation.”

“No, I think you’re right,” Maggie said. “Courtney Madison has an agenda, and I think
we need to figure out what it is.”

The three of them were silent when one of the squad cars from the sheriff’s department
rolled up the drive and parked beside them.

Sam Collins stepped out of his car, and he did not look happy.

“Would anyone care to explain to me why Courtney Madison just called the station to
complain about three trespassers?” he asked.