Page 42 of Lost Lake
El rushed over to him. “You’ve lost all color. Sit down. Now.”
He waved a hand. “Give me a minute, and I’ll be fine.”
She shook her head and took his arm to force him onto a turquoise counter stool. The cold metal chilled his body and helped cool him down, slowing the heat flushing across his face.
El eyed him with practiced discernment. “You stay here. I’ll search.”
“No. Wait. I might find something with meaning for me and not you.” He pushed off the stool. “I’ll start with the desk where I can sit down.”
She watched him for a few moments, then let out a breath. “Don’t move anything. If you find something of interest and you need to move it to get a better look, give me a shout.”
He didn’t wait for additional approval and stepped into the living room, decorated with furniture bought from thrift shops. Kenna had draped blankets and quilts in oranges and yellows over the cushions. The place looked lived-in but homey at the same time.
The small desk was barely wider than the chair he sat in. He opened the single drawer and found only typical desk items like pens, pencils, and a pack of crayons.
He moved to the stack of drawers on wheels sitting next to the desk. The large bottom drawer held file folders, all neatly labeled with printed labels. He quickly ran his fingers over the titles.
“You should come over here,” he called out. “I found bank statements, monthly bills, and her will. Also looks like a child ID packet for Lucy.”
El left the kitchen drawer she was searching to make her way through the room, her phone in hand. “Pictures before we pull anything out.”
He scooted his wheeled chair out of the way.
She squatted to take the pictures. “I’d like to look at the will first. See if anyone stands to gain from her death.”
“It’s not like she had much money.”
“But her death might not be about money. It might be about custody of Lucy’s parentage.”
“I doubt Kenna would spell that out in her will. She didn’t want the father to be part of her life while she was alive. Why would she want him to be involved after she died?”
“You never know.” El drew the folder out and laid it open on the desk. “Not many pages.”
She ran her finger down the document, and he eased as close as he could to read it too.
“She left most everything to you,” El said, then continued her finger down the page. “She leaves several personal items to a Mrs. Irina Zaitsev.”
“Mrs. Z. She’s Kenna’s neighbor across the driveway. They were good friends despite their age difference, and she’s like a grandmother to Lucy.”
“Sounds like you know her. That should help when we interview her.”
Sure it would, but sadly, he had to tell the lovable older woman Kenna had died, and Lucy was missing.
“No mention of a significant other?” he asked, changing the subject.
“None.” She flipped the page, revealing a guardianship clause for Lucy.
“Wow!” El whipped her head around to look at him. “Did you know Kenna wanted you to be Lucy’s guardian if anything happened to her?”
“She talked to me about it. I agreed, too, but I figured it was one of those offhand comments, you know? Not something she would’ve put in an official document.” He swallowed past the hard lump in his throat. “I shouldn’t be surprised. Other than Mrs. Z., there really wasn’t anyone else in Kenna’s life.”
El tapped the document. “She goes on to state that she doesn’t ever want her parents to raise Lucy. You said they kicked her out when she was sixteen. Why?”
“Believe it or not it was because of her faith. She was the strongest woman of faith I’ve ever met. No, thanks to her parents. It started in childhood when a friend took her to church on Sundays. Then in high school, she got really involved. Her parents weren’t believers, and they didn’t want that stuff in their house. Said if she wanted to live under their roof she had to give up this God thing. She couldn’t do that, and they stuck to their guns, telling her to pack her bags and leave.”
“Talk about harsh,” El said. “Is that the last time she saw them?”
He shook his head. “Hoping they’d want to be grandparents, she went back after Lucy was born. But since Kenna wasn’t married and had a child, they shunned her again.”
