In Your Arms

“Thank you for waiting for me, Mr. Douglas. Did you find out something for me?”

“As a matter of fact, Mrs. Haggler, I have some very good news for you. Your late husband does have an estate to settle and at this point, and mind you I’ve only made some preliminary inquiries; but I estimate your husband’s estate to be worth over a million dollars.”

“Whaaaat? You’re kidding, right? That’s not possible. Richard didn’t have that kind of money. Where’d he get it?”

“I don’t know at this time, but we’ll find out.” It was obvious to Marcus that Yvonne was taken completely by surprise by the revelation that she might be rich. “Do you know if your husband had a Will?”

“Don’t think so.” Yvonne said as her smile widened.

“Have you gone through his things?”

“No, I haven’t. I just didn’t have the heart to. It just didn’t seem right to start going through his stuff until he was resting peacefully. So I was kinda waiting to settle this business first, and then I would go through his things.”

“Do you know where your late husband worked, what he did for a living?”

“He worked as a property manager for Imperial Properties.”

“That makes sense, he owns quite a bit of property. He might even own the company. Mrs. Haggler, what I want you to do is go home, and go through your husband’s things. See if you can find a will or any other legal documents. Have you been to his office to clean out his desk? Or had any contact with them at all?”

“No.” Yvonne said with a shy-type of smile. “I never even called them to say he was dead. They didn’t call trying to find out why he didn’t come to work. I just figured they didn’t care.”

Marcus smiled and let out a little laugh. “Call me in the morning and we’ll make arrangements to go to Imperial Properties. But I don’t want you to go there by yourself.”

Yvonne went home and spent the rest of the night going through Richard’s things. By 2:00 am she had looked at every piece of paper, in every file in Richard’s office, but didn’t find the will. However, if there was any doubt in her mind that Richard was much more financially well-off than she was led to believe, none remained now.

Yvonne found bank and dividend statements, and she knew she was going to be rich. Yvonne left the office and headed for the closet in their bedroom. She stopped in front of the bed, realizing that this was the first time she had been in there since she found Richard dead of a heart attack.

Suddenly she felt tired. She’d gotten up early and had been on her feet all day running the register. Yvonne took a deep breath and resumed her search. Still nothing.

“Where else?”

She wandered around the house, searching, and by four o’clock, she was exhausted. She sat down in the living room and looked at their picture on the wall by the front door. That’s when she saw it.

“The hall closet.”

In a box on the shelf, Yvonne found a small metal box packed under a pile of old newspapers.

The metal box was locked, and for the next half an hour she tried to pick the lock with a hairpin. Finally, she went out to the garage and returned with a sledgehammer. The box surrendered its contents after her third swing.

Yvonne picked up the papers and went through them. She found an envelope marked Last Will and Testament. She stood there awhile looking at the envelope, but she was afraid to open it. She put the envelope down on the coffee table, layed down on the couch, and went to sleep.

Once Marcus reviewed the will, the rest was simple. In addition to the insurance policies, the trust fund and the property, as expected, Richard was majority owner of Imperial Properties and held stock in several companies. There was a provision in his will that in the event of his death, his partners would arrange financing to buyout his share of the company, and the proceeds from that sale be given to his chosen heir, Yvonne Haggler.

When it was all said and done Richard’s estate was worth $2.2 million. Yvonne had Marcus liquidate his entire holding. Marcus was able to convince her to keep the stocks and make some investments that would provide her with an income from dividends.

After all the transactions were completed, Yvonne moved to Los Angeles. Marcus received a letter five years ago from a lawyer named Tom Mack, informing him that he had been retained to handle her financial interests and that Marcus’ services were no longer required. Marcus never saw or heard from her again.

Until now.

Marcus moved closer to her as Yvonne read the label on the box of hair coloring she was holding. There was a certain sophistication about her now. She was no longer the innocent young girl he had turned into a millionaire.

“Yvonne? Yvonne Haggler?” he asked.

She jumped when he spoke, and she started to back away from him. Yvonne stopped and looked at Marcus, and then she smiled.

“Marcus Douglas. How have you been?”

“I’m doing okay.” Marcus replied, knowing he was lying. Other than seeing her, he felt terrible. “How about you? You look great.”