‘Of course. I’ll be there directly.’
He stood up and looked around. He was dressed in scrubs so he’d need to change into his uniform.
He stuck his head around the door of Blake’s office. ‘Blake, I’ve been told to go to the General’s office.’
Blake looked up. It was obvious he was trying not to grimace. ‘Any idea what about?’
Avery shook his head. ‘Not a clue.’
Except for the fact I’ve been seeing his daughter ever since I got here.
Everyone knew. They didn’t even try to hide it. Katsuko had stayed over at his house on more than one occasion. The last month had been a steep learning curve. He’d learned how to make her the coffee she liked. He’d learned not to wash her delicate underwear with his uniforms. He’d learned that she mumbled in her sleep. But most of all he’d learned just how much he enjoyed being around her. She was feisty. She was smart. And loved to laugh. And sometimes she was vulnerable.
If he was working a shift and she wasn’t on duty he’d started to look at the clock and count the minutes until he could see her again. Part of him wanted to tread warily—he’d never really been like this before. But the other part of him just wanted to enjoy it.
‘Better hurry along, then,’ quipped Blake. ‘I’ll cover your patients.’
It only took five minutes to change, then another ten to walk across the base to the General’s office. He was a grown man having an adult relationship with a grown woman. So why did he feel like a teenage boy?
He’d never actually met the General. Katsuko had made a few vague noises about them meeting at some point but it hadn’t been an issue he’d laboured. He just hadn’t expected to get called to the General’s office.
There was no way he was going to act nervous. He pushed his shoulders back and held his head high as he entered.
The General’s secretary looked up and smiled. ‘Captain Flynn? Good. I have something for you.’
She stood up and walked to a table behind her and picked up a large envelope.
Avery glanced at the General’s door. It was closed. No sounds. Maybe he wasn’t even in?
The secretary held out a log book for him to sign. She handed the envelope over with a rueful look. ‘It seems like this has taken a while to get to you. It seems to have been halfway around the world.’
She wasn’t kidding. His name and rank, along with various base addresses, had been crossed out and rewritten on the front of the ragged envelope.
He looked at the return address. An attorney firm in New York. He’d never heard of them. There was an uneasy pang in his stomach. Was he being sued for something? Doctors did get sued for malpractice, but he’d never had any complaints raised.
He held up the envelope. ‘Is this it?’
The secretary smiled and nodded. ‘That’s it, Captain.’ She sat back down in her chair and carried on working.
Part of him was relieved. The General didn’t want to see him at all. It was nothing to do with the General.
He walked outside and tore open the envelope, pulling out the papers inside.
As executors of the estate of the late Stuart Elijah Flynn, we are acting on behalf of our client, previously undeclared dependant Mary Elizabeth Flynn...
Who?
It was like a blast from the past. No one brought up Uncle Stuey’s name any more—only him. His eyes scanned the rest of the letter. There. A date of birth. A daughter? Uncle Stuey had had a daughter? Since when?
He kept reading. According to this letter—which had taken nearly a year to reach him—Uncle Stuey had fathered a child twenty years ago in Brazil. It appeared that the daughter had only found out who her father was when her mother had become unwell and had since put in a claim on the estate.
What estate?
There was also a request for a DNA sample from himself to assist verification of the familial links.
He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe a single word of it. The one person in his family he’d actually respected. The one person he’d actually looked up to had refused to acknowledge the birth of his daughter.
He could feel fury build inside him as he stalked back towards the ER.
‘Avery! Avery! What are you doing? I thought you were on duty?’
Katsuko came running up behind him, her hair pulled back from her face and her swimming bag on her shoulder.
‘I am.’ He kept walking.
‘Hey,’ she said, tugging at his arm. ‘What’s wrong?’
He paused and thrust the letter towards her. ‘It seems that Uncle Stuey had a daughter he’d never acknowledged. She’s put a claim on his estate.’
‘What?’ Katsuko looked horrified. She started to scan the letter but couldn’t stop the barrage of questions. ‘How do you know he never acknowledged her?’
‘Well, I’ve never actually heard of her.’
Katsuko screwed up her face. ‘When was she born? Twenty years ago? How long is it since your uncle died?’
Avery stopped walking. ‘Just short of twenty years ago.’
‘Then did he even know about her?’
Avery took a breath. That hadn’t even occurred to him—probably because he hadn’t been thinking straight.
‘Brazil? Was that one of the places your uncle visited? And how do you even know she’s your uncle’s daughter?’ Her voice climbed in pitch and she stopped walking. ‘They want you to do a DNA test?’
She shook her head. ‘Avery, this is crazy.’
He pulled his hat off his head. ‘I know. I can’t believe it. Uncle Stuey was the one person I thought had got life right.’
Katsuko wrinkled her nose. ‘Even though he “acquired” artefacts he probably shouldn’t have?’
It was a valid question. And one that he’d spent most of his life ignoring. He waved his hand. ‘I’ve never really looked into all that. I was young at the time. And my father has never wanted to discuss the details of what Uncle Stuart really did. I only have what I can remember.’
‘Then let me ask the key question.’
‘What’s that?’
‘The estate. This is all about inheritance. Did your uncle leave you anything and if he did, is there anything left?’
The realisation hit Avery like a bolt of lightning. Money. Of course. These were attorneys. This was actually about money.
He let out a laugh. ‘After all these years
someone wants money from Uncle Stuart? Well, it’s long gone. He left me some money to help pay for college and medical school. All I’ve got left now is his fedora.’ He shook his head. ‘And I’m not handing that over to anyone.’
‘I don’t get it. Isn’t she far too late anyway? Doesn’t the statute of limitations apply?’
Avery pointed to the bottom paragraph of the letter. ‘I have no idea. They’re talking about a discovery rule and something about probate. It doesn’t matter anyway. There’s nothing to claim.’
Katsuko reached over and put her hand on his arm. ‘Then why are you getting so worked up over this?’
The tension that had been building inside him bubbled over. ‘Because of that!’ He pointed at the letter. ‘The implication in it. It destroys the memory of the man that I knew. The only good memories I have of my family are the ones of Uncle Stuart. He was my one hope that I wouldn’t grow up to be like my father or my mother. You know that old nature versus nurture debate?’
She nodded.
‘Well, I don’t win on any count. Uncle Stuart was the last chance that the family genes might actually be okay.’
Katsuko took a deep breath and looked away. He hadn’t meant to shout but he hated everything about this. He hated to be blindsided and this had been totally unexpected. No one had ever mentioned that Uncle Stuey had had any love interests. Avery couldn’t ever remember his uncle talking about a girlfriend or anything like it. Everything had always been about the excitement of his job.
He frowned. But why would a grown man talk about adult relationships with a nine-year-old?
‘You know what?’
Katsuko’s words snapped him away from his thoughts.
Her brown eyes were flashing. She looked mad. ‘I get it that you’re annoyed about someone slighting your uncle. And I know that lots of families have issues. But you still have your parents—both of them. You still have a family that you could choose to fit into if you want to.’
Were those words supposed to make him feel guilty?
‘And you have the General. And your grandmother. But you don’t want to visit her, do you?’