Water's Edge Read Online Free Page B

Savannah?”
    “A photo shoot. There’s no need for me to be there, but Magellan wants to make sure the photographer knows how to focus the camera.” Clarice touched Tom’s hand. “We could have a lot of fun.”
    “No, I’m going to use this time to close out my father’s practice in Bethel.”
    “And you’re leaving tomorrow?”
    “The sooner I start, the sooner I’ll finish.” Tom paused. “And I need to get out of the city for a few days to clear my head.”
    “How long will you be gone?”
    “A couple of weeks at the most. Then I can dive into the job market.”
    Tom told her about Mark’s conversation with Nate Becker.
    “See, I told you,” Clarice said and nodded when he finished. “There will be a bidding war for your services. But it will be lonely without you.”
    “You could stay here and take care of Whiskers and Rover. They’re great company.”
    Clarice pulled back. “Whiskers is fine, but I’m not babysitting that dog by myself. Can’t he go with you?”
    Rover, who was lying at Tom’s feet, looked up and gave a moan that started as a deep rumble and ended as a high-pitched whine.
    “See, that’s all he does when you’re gone,” Clarice said. “Just hearing about you leaving sends him into the pits. When you were in Miami taking depositions last month, he moped around the house the whole time and slobbered twice as much as usual. I couldn’t go barefoot and almost slipped and fell in a nasty wet spot he left in the kitchen.”
    “Okay, okay. I’ll take Rover. I just hope Uncle Elias likes him more than you do.”
    Clarice stood and stretched. “Hanging out with your uncle and the dog should be interesting. My mother isn’t the only one with issues. Your relatives have their share too.”
    “You only met Elias once.”
    “Which was enough. I’m glad you’re not like him ,” Clarice said with emphasis. “While you’re there you can collect the inheritance coming from your father. That should tide you over, and if you need help spending any of it, I’m available.”
    Tom swallowed. He’d kept information about his father’s affairs private.
    “There isn’t much in his estate,” he said.
    “You’re kidding. He was a lawyer for over thirty years.”
    “Who didn’t make a lot of money and did a bad job managing what he earned. I had to put the funeral bill on a credit card. After he sold the house and moved in with Elias, he gave most of his money away.”
    “Gave it away?”
    “He supported a bunch of religious causes, and there’s no shortage of them holding out their hands. The worst part is he didn’t keep back enough from the sale of the house to pay the federal tax due on his gain. I don’t know what he was thinking. Anyway, he worked out a payment plan with the IRS but was only partway through it when he died. There are thousands still owing. Also, he hadn’t paid any estimated tax on the income he earned at the law firm for the current fiscal year. I haven’t run all the numbers, but after the government is paid, there may not be enough left to justify probating the will.”
    “That’s wrong,” Clarice responded emphatically. “Your father should have thought about you first when it came to his money. This makes me madder than you losing your job. At least McGraw was your boss, not your dad.”
    “It hurt,” Tom admitted. “But then I haven’t paid a lot of attention to him for the past few years.”
    “Which is no reason to leave a mess for you to clean up.” Clarice waved her finger in the air. “If your father was such a godly man, he would have paid the government its due and left something for you to enjoy, not given his money away to strangers. I can’t imagine my parents doing that to me. Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
    “I was embarrassed,” Tom replied with a shrug.
    “Yeah, I can see why.” Clarice stepped back. “I’d better get going.”
    “And you’ll pick up Whiskers tomorrow?”
    “After the meeting with