all afterward.”
“I know.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a couple pieces of folded paper. “Here’s the legal description of the farm and my investments, which I haven’t really looked at. They were Twillie’s, to be honest. Oliver can have whatever she had in there.”
I accepted the papers, which looked like they’d been kept in a barn. A piece of hay dropped onto my desk. “Thanks.”
“Yep. The second paper has all of my personal information. I’m gonna need those back from you.” He stood. “How much does a lawyer cost, anyway?”
Thank goodness Clark and I had come up with hourly prices. “Simple estate planning is three hundred dollars an hour,” I said. “However, you get the friend and family discount, so it’s a hundred an hour.”
“That’s a lot,” McLerrison said.
Actually, it was really low for the area, but I also liked him. “Okay. How about fifty an hour?” Clark was going to kill me.
McLerrison waved me off. “No. Stick to your guns, girly. Even if it is highway robbery.” He turned and sauntered back down the hallway.
I could barely sit still with my excitement. I had a client—a real one. Hopefully the old farm was worth something so Oliver could have a good start in life, but even if not, it was amazing that McLerrison wanted to leave him property. Also, I really hoped McLerrison stayed with real horses and didn’t have to ride the one into the sky for a long time. He seemed like a great man. I gingerly unfolded the papers so I could start research.
My phone buzzed. “Hi, Oliver,” I said, booting up my trusty laptop.
“Hi, Ms. Albertini. I have a client here for you and I’ll bring her right back.” Oliver sounded breathless.
“Okay.” I still needed to remind him to just call me by my first name. I set the papers aside and met them at the door, surprised once again. “Kelsey.” It took me a minute to regain my composure. “Thanks, Oliver.”
“Sure.” He lingered a moment, his gaze filled with Kelsey Walker. In her early twenties, she was very pretty with green eyes and dirty blonde hair, and she had a figure that filled out any clothing very nicely.
I gently shut the door and drew her inside. “How are you?”
She strode on pink flats to my guest chair to sit. The shoes looked perfect with her light blue skirt and flowered top. “Not good. I’m in trouble.”
I walked around my desk and retook my seat, studying the woman. She was only four or five years younger than me, but I felt much older. The previous month, her sister had pled guilty to murdering Kelsey’s ex-boyfriend and was already serving a prison sentence. The ex also had dated my sister Tessa a couple of years ago. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Her hands trembled. “The prosecuting attorney is charging me as an accomplice to Danny’s murder as well as an accomplice for all of Krissy’s crimes. I don’t even understand all of them.”
I sat back, stunned. Krissy had run a family funeral home where she’d trafficked in guns and accessories, in addition to having killed Danny. While Kelsey had worked at the funeral home, she hadn’t been involved in any of it. “That’s crazy.”
Tears filled Kelsey’s eyes. “I know,” she whispered. “But I did work with Krissy with the secretarial type work, and she did kill my ex. The prosecuting attorney believes there’s enough evidence to charge me as an accessory, and I’m afraid I’m gonna go to jail. I didn’t do anything, Anna. I had no idea that Krissy was doing anything with guns. I swear.”
“Okay. Let’s take a deep breath.” I needed to get some facial tissues for my office next time I went shopping. “Have you been arrested?”
She wiped her eyes off. “Yes. I met with a detective and told him everything last week, and he arrested me right there. I had something called an initial appearance, and some court lawyer showed up and requested a preliminary hearing. I fired him because he didn’t seem to know what he was doing. My boyfriend posted bond and I have that preliminary hearing next Monday. I need you to be my lawyer there.”
I perked up. “Is Grant Pierce the detective?”
“No. The guy’s name was Detective Wilson. He read me those rights you see on television, but since I didn’t do anything wrong, I didn’t ask for a lawyer, and then all of a sudden he was arresting me.” She bit the nail