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sister, is on the line for you.”
            Will looked over to the phone. After a slight pause he asked, “Pardon me, but who did you say it is?”
            “Elyssa Barnett. She is Janet Blakely’s sister.”
            He noticed an increase in the pulsing of his heart and wondered of its root. “Do you know what she wants?” He unwittingly winced when his voice produced a most annoying and uncharacteristic crack.
            Without giving any indication that she noticed, Mrs. Reed answered, “She received the letter I wrote for you and is responding, Sir.”
            “And what did we say in that letter?”
            “You had mentioned that we needed to do something about the Blakelys’ personal things. I wrote to her that we would be willing to ship them to her or, if she preferred, we would fly her down to Guatemala so she could go through the items herself at a suitable time and per her convenience.”
            “Hmmm. And, uh, you said it is her sister, Elyssa?”
            “Yes, Sir. The one that was closest to Janet and is handling her affairs. The one who gave her eulogy at the funeral.”
            Will pursed his lips together, disturbed by the tension he felt just in anticipation of speaking to her. “Mrs. Reed, would you please apologize to her and tell her I’m busy. Just find out what her wishes are and tell her we’ll be more than happy to accommodate them. Would you do that for me?”
            “Certainly, Mr. Denton.”
            Mrs. Reed hung up from him and picked up the blinking light. Will looked at the speakerphone in silence. He planted his elbows firmly on his desk and brought one hand up to his face, clasping it over his mouth as he eyed the light on the phone line. He knew he was taking the easy way out, but at the moment, he did not feel like dealing with an emotional woman who harbored anger and resentment toward him. Particularly Elyssa Barnett.
            Will kept his eye on the telephone and watched until he saw that the light had gone out. He buzzed Mrs. Reed back.
            “Yes, Mr. Denton?”
            “Did Miss Barnett say what she wanted to do?”
            “Yes, Sir. She told me that she had previously purchased an airline ticket a few weeks before Chad and Janet’s deaths that she had planned to use for a visit. She said she would fly out there on her own, using that ticket.”
            “Did you tell her we will do everything we can to accommodate her down there?”
            “Yes, Sir. I also told her to send us the amount of the ticket and we would reimburse her for it, although she really did not wish to accept any compensation from us.”
            “See how much a ticket costs and reimburse her anyway.”
            “Yes, Sir.”
            “Thank you, Mrs. Reed.”
            Will hung up the phone, but quickly called Mrs. Reed back.
            “Yes, Mr. Denton?”
            “You might want to send her a letter with some advice on what she will need to take down there and what she might expect. Tell her we will have someone pick her up and take her wherever she needs to go and that we will make reservations for her at the hotel if she would rather stay there.”
            “Yes, Mr. Denton. Is there anything else?”
            “No, I don’t think so.”
            “Thank you, Mr. Denton,” Mrs. Reed replied with a curious tilt of her head. He was behaving in a most uncharacteristic way. He was usually so businesslike and precise, getting everything he wanted in one phone call. She looked at the phone and pondered to herself, This is really interesting, indeed!             Will stood up and