Shirley lay gasping for breath at the feet of the Detectives, no one knew what to do to assist her. Miss Brown called the Kingston Public Hospital and asked them to send an ambulance quickly but Shirley died before the ambulance arrived. The Ambulance Driver said there were shots being fired near the gates of the hospital, plus there was a skirmish amongst warring factions in the surrounding area, and that caused the delay in their arrival. They collected Shirley's body to take it to the hospital so that it could be pronounced dead by a Doctor. We were to
learn later that Shirley had suffered a massive stroke, which, if she had survived, would have meant her living the rest of her life in a vegetative state. When all the excitement was over and everyone had calmed down Barrister Foreman brought me up to speed about the forged will. It seems as if Shirley had found a copy of Reverend Julian’s will and, realizing that he had changed it from his previous one, decided to alter it not knowing that he had given his Executor the official copy. The Executor of the will was off the island when the Reverend died and he had just returned. It was just by sheer coincidence that Barrister Foreman, who had gone to the National Land Agency early in the morning to pick up a land title for a client, overheard him talking with someone about the Reverend. Barrister Foreman introduced himself and when they got to talking he learned about the will. He was shocked to hear the gentleman say he had been trying to get in touch with me from his return but my phone just rang and went to voicemail. I didn’t say a word. I did see an unfamiliar number but with the level of scamming taking place I had ignored it. Anyway, he showed the gentleman proof that I was his client and with the Registrar attesting to his character, and with the Policeman on duty witnessing a statement that he was handing over the will to Barrister Foreman, the gentleman gave the will to him. Barrister Foreman said his phone ran out of data and there was no way to contact me before I reached the Agency but he could not wait to present his proof that Shirley was up to no good! Reading the will again gave me goose bumps. Reverend Julian had left the bulk of his estate to me! The house in Russell Heights was to be sold and the money put in a trust fund for his Godson Conroy who would gain access to this trust fund when he was eighteen years old. No wonder Shirley wanted him and was willing to risk a prison sentence! The seven children were left a million dollar each. The Reverend had a Guest House in Runaway Bay in St. Ann, which was now mine! The shocker was that the only thing left in the will for Shirley was one dollar ($1.00)! I asked Barrister Foreman about it. He said that based on what the Executor told him, the Reverend and his wife were not on good terms for years. They pretended that all was well when they were in the public but their private life was disastrous. Reverend Julian loved his job as a Social Worker but his wife hated the long hours that he worked and the women whose cases were assigned to him. “But why me?” I asked. Barrister Foreman said the Executor told him that Reverend Julian was very close to my Grandmother Charmaine and at one time he had encouraged her to participate in a pyramid scheme. She lost all her money and he had promised her, on her deathbed, that he would get back the money and give it to me. I opened my mouth in surprise. Barrister Foreman handed me another document. It was the title for my house in Eltham Park! He said my father had sold the house to the Reverend when he was in dire need of money. “What! I thought I had the title!” I exclaimed. “No, you have a dummy title, the Reverend gave the Executor instructions that he was to present this to you after he died.” said Barrister Foreman. “Your name is on it now, which was why he was at the National Land Agency because the Reverend had the property transferred in your name and he was collecting the title. “I still don’t understand why he only left a dollar for Shirley.” I said to him. “So that the will could not be contested by her. Maybe that’s the reason why she forged the will. She probably thought that the Executor was not coming back to Jamaica and she would have gotten away with it. When she saw that I had the original will she knew that the game was up. Maybe the shock of it all was what caused the stroke.” said Barrister Foreman. I sighed heavily. He hugged me and said I was not to blame myself and he would deal with all the legal wrangling. Miss Brown, who had been sitting at her desk all this time, told me that she would be sending me a letter which would state that I was the legal guardian of Conroy. She also gave me a copy of the DNA result. I thanked her, told the children that they would hear from Barrister Foreman and left the office. Cassie’s Grandmother was waiting for me by the car. She looked at me quizzically. I reassured her that I would get in touch with her shortly and she smiled. I gave her money to take a taxi home and she gave Conroy a kiss on his cheek and walked off. Ricky laughed and said that she wasn’t going to take a taxi because she was headed in the direction of the Bus Terminal. She had obviously told Maud what had happened to Shirley and Maud was crying. I was thankful that I had left Conroy in the car because it would have been too much for him if he had seen what was happening to Shirley before she died. Ricky was happy to hear that the DNA results proved him right that Reverend Julian was not the father of any of the children. I told them about the will and they could not believe it! Especially when they heard what Shirley did! When we reached home Ricky asked me what I was going to do next? I shrugged my shoulders and said I didn’t know, God would have to decide for me and I would let him know as soon as I got God’s decision. He laughed as he drove off.
That was two years ago. I am now the proud Owner/Manager of Chez Cecelia’s Restaurant and Guest Home in Runaway Bay, St. Ann! Right on the beach! Catering for families who wanted to have the experience of a home setting while vacationing on the north coast. Maud is my Head Chef and her husband is my Head of Security. Matron did not want me to leave the hospital and she cried when I handed her my resignation letter. God knows that it has always been my dream to own a small hotel. I never thought it would happen because I was getting on in age but when God says He will give you the desires of your heart He means it! My Mother, may she rest in peace, always said that it was never too late for a shower of rain and right now it is pouring! Hallelujah! Conroy has adjusted to his surroundings so well! He loves the beach and spends most of the time there. Cassie’s Grandmother, whom Conroy calls Nanna, is also living with us and she looks after him during the days. Barrister Foreman took care of everything as he had promised. He said the will did not stipulate when to sell the house in Russell Heights so I should let it stay until Conroy is of age and let him decide if he wanted it sold. He said it was prime property and would never depreciate in value. In the meantime it would be rented and all monies collected would be deposited in the trust fund for Conroy. The seven children received their one million dollar each and they were all happy. Barrister Foreman had also taken care of the funeral arrangements for Shirley. He made sure that she was buried beside her husband. He said when they were alive they were a couple so they should be a couple in death. I sold the house in Eltham Park to Ricky and he promised to take good care of Rex and Brutus. I did not want to leave my dogs but they were too huge to be around the guests. So far everything has been going great. Chez Cecelia's Restaurant and Guest Home was featured in the local newspapers and I have many repeat guests. Looking out contentedly from my balcony at the beautiful Caribbean Sea I pray to God that there would be no ‘migrants’ coming by boat this way anytime in the near future because there was no way I could ever secure this border!
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