Strange Relations
by Audrey Greathouse
hi, is this deborah valencia howard?
yeah, this is debbie. do i know u?
no, but i think you knew my grandfather, robert patrickson
the name doesn't sound familiar...if u want to give me a call we can talk
sorry, I can't talk now, my entire family is in the room screaming at each other
omg why?
because my dead grandfather just left his entire estate to you
...what
they're trying to figure out how to void the will and who REALLY deserves grandfather's money
why did u look me up online?
my family is all greedy idiots. if you actually have claim to the limping, old fart's estate, you should know
but i've never heard of robert patrickson :/
he couldn't have just MADE UP the name “deborah valencia howard” for his will
i think there's more in the will than they're telling me...
haven't you seen it?
no, this is a “grownup matter” only they get to scream about it
:/ i'm sorry your family is having such a hard time
forget about it. i think we should meet up. where are you?
cody's coffee, downtown
downtown where?
oh, sorry. sacramento
ok, so your at least in the same city as grandpa. r u free now?
my shift ends in half an hour
perfect. i just mapped it. i can get from the office to cody's in 30 minutes if I hurry
u don't have to hurry
i will if I steal the will
OMG! why would u do that?!
because i'll never get to read it if i don't, and neither will you
i don't know about this, veronica...
don't worry about my family. that's my problem. meet me in 30 at cody's?
OK. good luck
...
i've got it! :D
oh, those old coots didn't see THAT coming! XD
they didn't stop u?
they were too stunned to try!
...but yes, they're chasing me now
oh my gosh! what happens when they catch u?
IF they catch me... but they won't. the only one under 200 pounds is old aunt priscilla
and she doesn't like to exert herself. she's got a skin issue. it makes her break out :P
i've been texting everyone in my family. no one has ever heard of your grandfather
do you have any siblings?
just my 2 brothers, from dad's 2nd marriage
aha! and what about your moms family?
pretty small. she was an only child, & grandpa dave passed away 6 years ago
so you'd be old dave's last living decedent. was he from the sacramento?
oh shit
what's wrong?
they've got uncle gerald's car
did they see u?
no, i don't think so...i ducked into a nail salon as soon as i saw them
so they're just combing the streets looking for u?
i don't know...they couldn't have seen me go this way
they just turned down kepler avenue! its like they know where i was heading!
how could they know?
oh boy
what's the matter?
i just got an email “sign in from unknown device on your account”
what does that mean? o_O
my mom's got parental monitoring controls on this phone!
UGH she doesn't trust me AT ALL
ok. new plan: u need to get away from cody's
what? why?
your off your shift, right? my family's monitoring my phone messaging history. they're heading for you
why me? u make it seem like i should be scared :(
if you knew my family, you would be. trust me, u don't want to meet them, debbie X_X
go somewhere else. don't tell me where. i'll figure out a solution and meet you soon
uh, ok. i'm kind of freaked out though...
debbie? where are you going? its veronica. this is a safe #
i'm heading toward saint joseph's cemetery, where my grandpa's buried. will that work?
OK, i'll meet you there
what just happened?
i borrowed a phone from a women at the salon. i'm on my way to the place you mentioned ;)
in the meantime, lets try to figure out if there's any connection between our grandpas
my grandpa didn't move to sacramento until after he got done fighting in korea
where was your grandfather then?
Ummm...he was in the military, back int the 50s. i don't know if he fought in the korean war...
the timing is right
its possible. sorry its taking me so long to get to you. if i use GPS, my family will to track it. 5 more minutes
...r u with the lady from the nail salon?
no...why do you ask?
...i just got another text from her # it wants to know if i'm at the place yet
oh CRAP!
uncle gerald must have back-tracked & found the nail salon i hid in D:
if they found the woman and asked about me...ugh. she must have shown them her phone.
so they know i'm here? O_O
at this point yes. i'm going to run. i can be at the gate in 2 minutes, a lot faster than they'll be able to drive from the nail salon
but they'll find us!
correction: they'll find me once your gone with the will
we won't have much time i'm afraid...you want to tell me about this hunch you have with the korean war now?
ok. yeah
grandpa dave had this story about a grenade attack during operation ripper
i guess a soldier threw a grenade, but everyone was able to scramble away quickly, except for this one guy who was shot
my grandfather said he dragged him away as fast as he could and then shielded him
He didn't know the soldier's name, and grandpa ended up getting taken POW while the medics got the guy out
...had he been shot in the left leg?
not sure which leg, but yeah. shot in the leg
my grandfather always walked with a limp. he needed a cane
i think your grandpa saved his life...& i think, somehow, he found u
if I were him, i'd leave my money to dave's granddaughter instead of my rotten, gold-digging family...
i think i see u!
i'm at the front gate
i see you waving!
then come over here & get the will. i'm tired XD
it'll be your turn to run after this...but get it to a lawyer and it won't matter how tired you are
you'll never have to work another shift at cody's coffee again :)
App