Irrevocable Trust (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller Book 6) by Melissa F. Miller

you know, networking. Your office has sent us some work. I thought, perhaps you wanted to build camaraderie. ”
    “ Really? I left Prescott before you joined the firm. You assumed I just wanted to have a collegial coffee break with a total stranger? It didn ’ t occur to you —” she lowered her voice to a hiss —“ that it might have something to do with the fact that you drafted a trust naming me as trustee for six minors and never bothered to ask me if I wanted to serve? ”
    The color drained from his face. He picked up his cup and took a long drink, obviously buying time.
    “ Not really, to be honest. I couldn ’ t very well tell you Ms. Bennett had appointed you. It ’ s not my place to second guess a client ’ s decision in that regard. I did tell her to make sure you would agree to serve because it ’ s quite a time-consuming position, or it can be. ”
    “ And what did she say to that? ”
    He cleared his throat. “ You know I can ’ t tell you the substance of my conversations with my client. Clearly, she ’ s gotten around to asking you post hoc and you aren ’ t interested in serving. I don ’ t see why you have to make such a production, frankly. All she needs to do is name another —”
    “ Allison Bennett is dead. ”
    Marsh flinched. “ Oh. I ’ m sorry. ”
    She just looked at him.
    He examined the inside of his mug for a moment then he looked up.
    “ I don ’ t know the nature of your relationship with Ms. Bennett. She did state that you were not a relative. You can always refuse to serve. ”
    She blinked. It was becoming abundantly clear that Marsh had no clue who his client was. Marsh, for all his impeccable manners and good breeding, was just a faceless, interchangeable cog in the Prescott & Talbott machine. He wasn ’ t equipped to deal with the rough edges of his clients ’ lives.
    She took another drink of her fragrant, fresh-roasted coffee while she considered how to break the news to him.
    “ Hypothetically, what happens if I were to decline the appointment? ” she asked in a measured tone.
    “ That ’ s easy. The probate court appoints someone else to act in your stead. Probably a relative. ”
    “ Marsh, the only living relative those kids have is their father. ”
    He shook his head. “ I ’ m afraid you ’ re mistaken. Allison said their father wasn ’ t in the picture. I asked if they were divorced and she said no. Obviously, he predeceased her. ”
    “ No, you ’ re mistaken. Allison Bennett was living under an assumed name. The father of her six minor children is very much alive. In fact, I ’ m fairly certain he ’ s the one who killed her. ”
    She ’ d always thought ‘ his eyes bulged out ’ was just an expression, but Marsh ’ s looked like they really were going to pop right out of his head.
    “ What?! ”
    “ Allison Bennett, formerly known as Anna Bricker, was the estranged wife of Jeffrey Bricker and the star witness for the prosecution at his trial for murder and conspiracy to commit murder. She entered into the witness protection program with her kids, and they all got new identities. But, it appears that Bricker found them. ”
    Marsh ’ s chest heaved.
    She leaned back in her chair just in case he was about to vomit.
    “ Bricker? The escaped felon? ”
    “ That ’ s the one. ”
    “ I can ’ t … Were they divorced? ” His cadence changed from blindsided to intrigued almost instantly.
    “ Pardon? ”
    “ Did Anna Bricker divorce her husband before she became Allison Bennett? ”
    “ I don ’ t know. I doubt it. Everything happened really fast. Why? ”
    His gray pallor faded, replaced by an excited flush, and he leaned forward.
    “ Because if she didn ’ t, you just landed smack in the middle of a major case of first impression. This is the stuff of law review articles. Imagine the complexity, Sasha. Did his rights to inherit terminate automatically when she took on a new identity? If not, what effect does Allison Bennett