Mac ended the call and blew out a long breath as he stared at the desk. He shook his head after the moment and glanced up at Ellie. She straightened in her seat. “Everything okay?”
“Afraid not,” Mac answered. “I’ve got some… bad news.”
Ellie’s heart sank. There must be a problem with the will. She figured it was too good to be true that her problems would be ended by a miraculous inheritance.
“Gosh, Ellie, I don’t know how to tell you this but…” The man looked ready to cry. Ellie felt sorry for him. He probably didn’t know how to break it to her that she’d not be inheriting anything.
“It’s okay,” Ellie said. She collected the papers and slid them back across the desk to him. “I understand.”
“You do?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said in a soft voice as she collected her purse. “Yeah, I get it. I was surprised when you said Aunt Susie left everything to me. I figured it must be a mistake.”
“Oh, no,” Mac said, waving his hands. “No, it has nothing to do with the inheritance. Well, very little.”
Ellie cocked her head at him. “That was the sheriff on the phone. They just finished your aunt’s autopsy.”
“Oh,” Ellie said, confusion apparent on her face. “Okay?”
“Ellie, your aunt didn’t drown accidentally. She was murdered.”
