“Is that another letter from Mr.

Bellamy, honey?” she asked, laying the spoon on a neatly folded paper towel.

“It’s from Spencer and his mother,” I said, dropping my keys on the counter.

We sat down side by side at the little oak kitchen table, and I slid a brass butter knife beneath the top flap of the stiff envelope.

Inside were eighteen printed pages, each stamped in red ink at the top right corner.

The heading on page one said Petition to Invalidate Last Will and Testament of Walter Ashford.