Sandpiper Way (Cedar Cove #8)(61)

Geoff studied her for several seconds. “Can you tell me why it’s so important?”

Emily wasn’t sure how much she could explain without implicating her husband. “As you’re probably aware, Dave found Martha’s body.”

“Yes, of course.”

“I suppose…I suppose it’s only natural that, since things are missing, suspicion might fall on him.”

Geoff frowned. “Pastor Flemming wouldn’t take anything that wasn’t his.”

Emily loved the way Geoff was so quick to defend her husband. “There’s a problem, however.”

“Yes?”

“Martha gave Dave a gold watch that had belonged to her husband.”

“Okay,” he said tentatively.

“I asked him about it when I found out he’d lost it. The clasp was broken and—”

“He lost the watch?” An alarmed look appeared on his face.

“Oh, don’t worry, it was recovered.”

“Thank goodness. A gold watch is expensive to replace.”

There would be no replacing it on their budget, but Emily didn’t feel it was necessary to explain that. “Thankfully, Judge Griffin found it following a visit Dave made after her surgery.”

“That’s a relief,” Geoff commented.

“Yes, it is.”

“So Dave’s been wearing the watch?”

“Yes, of course. There wasn’t any reason not to, seeing that it was a gift.”

Geoff sat back in his chair. “It gets a bit sticky because of the missing jewelry, though, doesn’t it?”

Geoff understood the situation perfectly. Emily didn’t dare mention the earrings. She’d check into those, too, but so far, she was the only one who knew Dave had them.

“What does Mrs. Evans’s will have to do with all this?” he asked.

“Everything,” she said, leaning toward his desk. “Mrs. Evans told him she’d have the watch included in the will as a gift to my husband. I need to see if it’s there as she intended.”

“Ah.”

“Now you know why I need a copy of the will.”

Geoff tapped his ballpoint pen. “Oh, boy,” he muttered under his breath. “I mentioned that Pastor Dave offered to counsel my fiancé and me, didn’t I?”

“Yes.” Emily nodded.

“As you might’ve guessed, I don’t make a lot of money as a legal assistant.”

Emily wouldn’t know.

“Your husband is such a kind man, he’s giving us the counseling sessions gratis.”

That sounded just like Dave, always willing to help others.

Geoff sighed and glanced around the room, although no one else was present. Lowering his voice, he told her, “If anyone finds out I gave you a copy of that will I could lose my job.”

“I would never ask that of you,” Emily said immediately. “I’d never want you to take that risk.”

Geoff raised his hand, stopping her. “If this clears your husband’s name, then it’ll be worth the risk.”

“You said Mr. Harris is in court right now?”

“Yes.”

“Then it might make more sense for me just to read the will. I’ll make a copy of the pertinent page and if anyone—like Troy Davis—asks him about it, then Dave will have the proof.”

Geoff stood. “That’s an excellent suggestion,” he said, walking toward a tall filing cabinet behind him.

Emily remained standing. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Like I said, the pastor’s doing me a favor, and if I can help him, I’m happy to do it.”

“This will be our little secret,” Emily promised him. “No one ever needs to know. The only other person who’d see it is the sheriff.”

“I have to be able to trust you.” She could hear caution and concern in his voice.

“You have my word I won’t tell anyone.” Emily’s fingers itched to grab the will and start flipping pages.

Geoff located the file and removed it from the cabinet. He took out the stapled will, which he handed to Emily. She sank onto the leather sofa in the waiting area and began to rapidly turn pages. While she might not have a law degree, she realized that anything aside from the standard clauses would be on a separate schedule. Sure enough, she came across those pages toward the end.

She scanned the items listed. Martha had an extensive jewelry collection. Dave had once mentioned that she liked to reminisce about the traveling she and her husband, an executive in a paper products company, had done through the years. He’d delighted in buying her beautiful jewelry, much of it antique, and each ring or pair of earrings had reminded her of a particular place. The schedule included two entire pages of itemized pieces, each with a designation of her chosen recipient.

Emily didn’t see any notation having to do with the gold watch. She read the list a second time, more carefully now.

“Did you find it?” Geoff asked a bit anxiously.

Emily swallowed. “Is there another section of the will not included here?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Would you mind checking the file?” she asked, making an effort to sound positive.

Geoff returned to the filing cabinet. “Oh, wait, there is something else here.”