Maids of Misfortune by M. Louisa Locke Read Free Book Online

it was clear to me his family came first. I take it the will has been read already."
    He answered, "The will itself will be read formally tomorrow after the funeral. That is one of the reasons why I had to see Sibyl tonight. Apart from our suspicions, we needed to contact her, or you, before that time."
    "Oh, must I attend? I couldn't go as Sibyl, and I really would prefer to keep the connection between Sibyl and my real identity as separate as possible."
    "Well, you could come to the law office later and fill out the necessary papers. Perhaps it would be better that way. Actually, you were right; the amount of money willed to you is very small. The codicil was rather odd. He left you ten dollars and two hundred and fifty shares of some mining stock. However, you may not see any of either, since we haven't found any sign of the stock certificates. If some other assets don't show up, after the primary legacies are distributed, there simply may not be even ten dollars left."
    Annie interrupted. "Did you say ten dollars? And was the mining stock for the Last Hope Arizona Silver Mine?"
    Startled, he nodded yes, and she went on. "Oh, isn't that just like Mr. Voss. Some months ago, after looking long and hard at the prospectus, I advised him to buy stock in that mine. I wanted him to buy the miner's survey reports. They cost ten dollars, and he grumbled on forever about the expense. Said that as a clairvoyant I shouldn't need surveys. I finally bought the surveys myself. Don't you see, he was paying me back?"
    "I'll say he paid you back, since he left you the mine shares as well. Do you know what they are worth now?"
    "The mining ventures in Arizona have been very risky, some very good strikes and as many worthless," Annie replied. "The biggest problem seems to be early strikes petering out, so that the value of the stock rises sharply at first, then declines. But this one seemed like it could be the exception. We argued over whether he should sell after three months, when the price rose enough to let him recoup his investment, or whether he should hold on to it. I said he should hold on. He thought he shouldn't. So far I have been right. The price for that stock is now selling for around five dollars a share."
    He whistled. "That is a hefty legacy! He must have valued your advice."
    Annie noted the tone of amazement. "Well, I think he was also teasing me a bit. Think about it. Assume that he was not planning on dying and when he made out the will he expected to live a good many more years. And I am convinced he had every intention of doing so. If I were right about holding on to the stock, by the time he died, I would certainly have benefited. But so would he, by receiving substantial dividends all those years. However, if I were wrong about the stock, by the time he died my inheritance would probably be worthless, just like my advice!"
    She thought for a minute about Matthew Voss. She could see him in this very room, the firelight glinting off the glasses he was forever polishing while he talked. He would laugh dryly at her spirited defense of some investment scheme or another. He was one of the few clients who had seemed willing to treat her palmistry and star charts as the amusing contrivances they were. As they had plotted and planned for his financial recovery, she had been reminded of the games of speculation she had played with her father when she was growing up. She could just imagine Matthew chuckling to himself during one of their consultations, thinking of the codicil and how surprised she would be by it someday. He had liked secrets; in that way he could be almost childlike. Just the way he had been in that last cryptic note, canceling his Friday appointment because he had some secret plans to work out.
    "Don't you see? He would never have left me that stock in his will if he needed the money. He would have left it to his wife so she could sell it. And if he committed suicide for some other reason, then where are the