Chapter 8: More Talking and Going Home

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"You two knew my parents?" she asked as the thought struck her.

"Yes, your father and I were friends in high school and continued to be close friends until…the accident," Arnold answered, his eyes were wistful as if he were remembering something but his voice was sad.

"What were they like?" Her curiosity getting the best of her but the couple seemed unabashed by the question.

"Your dad was a great man," Arnold said grinning. "He was respectful and loyal. He was more of the strong and silent type; he was the thinker. Now, your mom was the complete opposite in everyway. She was loud and bubbly, but somehow they completed each other and fit perfectly. They balanced each other out."

"Where are they buried?" July asked quietly, her breath hitching in her throat.

"They are buried together in a cemetery not too far from here. Shayfield Cemetery," Arnold replied looking down at his hands, which rested on the desk.

"We'll take you there once you get settled in; it's not a trip to do alone at first," Charlotte commented with a sad smile. July bobbed her head in agreement, her mind beginning to wonder again.

"Did they ever catch who killed them?" she finally asked, her voice cooler than before.

A small fire of anger was sitting in her stomach. Anger at the person who had robbed her of her real parents; anger at the world for taking them away from her.

What did I ever do so wrong to deserve this?

July quickly stopped wallowing in her own sorrow before she started to cry. She could feel the sting of tears threatening to come forth and she wasn't one to cry in front of people she didn't know.

"No," Arnold confessed. "We paid for a private investigation but no evidence was found to confirm any suspect."

Remember the objects she carried in her hands, July dropped the keys onto his desk, the jingle of the keys hitting each other and the desk seemed to echo in the now quiet room.

"So…you are going to explain everything to me about the will and these set of keys," she incited, also unfolding the will and setting it on his desk.

"Ah, yes back to formal business. Your parents left you everything they own: house, cars, money, possessions, some investments. Financially, you will be secure. We knew your eighteenth birthday was approaching so we took the liberty of having the house aired out and cleaned. We also had all the utilities turned on, the phone, electricity, and all the works. We didn't think you would mind," he said, hesitating, "unless you are thinking about selling the house." As the last words came out of his mouth July felt a cold chill go through her body at the thought of selling the house.

July shook her head in negative. "No, I am going to keep it. I'm going to be sticking around for a while, maybe get a job, go to college, I don't really know yet. Thank you though for having everything fixed, I appreciate it."

"If you would like you could follow us to your parents house and we can discuss everything there," Arnold suggest, getting some folders out of his desk drawer.

"Yes, that would be nice."

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A half an hour later, July was parked next to Arnold in the front of a two-car garage that was attached to a two-story house in Echo Park, or so Arnold has told her. The house was a light green with white trim. It was neither larger nor smaller than the other houses on the street. What made it different was the wrap around porch on the first floor and the extra large garage. It looked nice for not being lived in for ten years. The windows were clean and the grass was cut.

"Well here we are," Arnold said.

July took the keys out of her pocket and looked at them. She had no clue which one was which.

"So, which one is the right key?" she asked, biting her lip.

"May me see those please?"

July handed the keys to Arnold, watched as he examined each one before picking the one that had a green plastic around the top part of the key, and inserted it into the doorknob. With a flick of his wrists he unlocked the door and opened it. By this time her stomach was in knots. She was excited, nervous, and scared all at the same time. Arnold opened the door more and gestured for her to enter.

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tbc…