Page 10 of Hell Hath No Fury

“You talk like it’s a done deal,” Matthias said to Jones. “It’s not. Not without Emma’s signature.”

“Correct.” Jones kept his gaze on her. “What do you say? Let’s walk over to my truck and take care of that little detail now. Patrick here happens to be a notary.”

“There’s no way?—”

Matthias cut her off by closing his fingers around one of her clenched fists. “I think you should take a look at the papers. You don’t have to sign them right now.”

Her eyes came up to meet his, her expression stunned and fierce.

He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “I want you to make sure it’s really Nell’s signature.”

The lines on her face softened in understanding. She turned to Jones. “Okay. Let me read this agreement, so I can make an informed decision.”

Jones beamed. “That’s my girl.”

Matthias longed to shake this guy’s hand again, and this time, he wouldn’t hold back.

* * *

Sonny opened the passenger door of his oversized pickup. “Have a seat,” he told Emma.

She glanced at Matthias, who wore an expression which telegraphed he was five seconds away from breaking Sonny in half. “I’m fine out here,” she said.

Sonny shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He reached inside, sifted through a box of papers on the floor, and pulled out several pages, which he attached to an aluminum clipboard and handed to her, along with a pen he whipped from his shirt pocket.

Emma ignored the pen. She flipped to the last page. Nell’s signature was a weird combination of blocky letters and feminine flourishes on the capital N and A. It was unique and definitely her hand. Wednesday’s date filled the line nextto it. Below was the signature of a witness, Tina Neidermeyer.

Another line had Emma’s name printed beneath it. She flipped back to the beginning.

“You’re gonna read the whole thing?” Sonny sounded exasperated.

“I don’t sign legal documents without at least reading them. In this case, I may want an attorney to go over it, too.”

“That’s hardly necessary. It’s boilerplate.”

He was right about one thing. An attorney wouldn’t be needed. She had no intention of signing.

She meticulously read each section, each clause. Under different circumstances, it looked like an exceptionally good deal. All cash. Three quarters of a million dollars.

Emma could feel both Sonny and Matthias watching her as she continued to scrutinize the pages. In her peripheral vision, she noticed Sonny fold his arms across his chest.

“To be honest, I respect a woman who pays attention to the details. You’re smart to go over this agreement. Not that you’ll find anything out of order, but that sister of yours sure couldn’t be bothered.”

Sonny’s tone stopped Emma on page three.

“I mean, good God, she’s a mess, isn’t she?” Sonny looked at Matthias, searching for confirmation. Matthias, Emma noted, didn’t react to his words. Sonny returned his attention to Emma. “What’s she on, anyway? The girl is clearly spaced out of her mind.”

Emma refused to meet his eyes as her hands clutched the clipboard tighter. She didn’t know exactly what Nell was on these days, but she wasn’t going to share anything about Nell’s life with Sonny Jones.

“It must be awful for you,” he continued. “Having a druggie for a sister. You really ought to lock her up for her own good.”

The thoughts reeling through Emma’s brain settled into stillness. She yanked the sales agreement free of the clipboard, which she held out to him. “You made me realize something.”

He seemed puzzled as he took the board. “What?”

“If Nell was as impaired as you claim when she signed this…” Emma fluttered the papers at him. “… then her signature on these documents is invalid. Legally.”

Sonny’s face flushed. “Now, just wait a minute.”