A Strange REQUEST

Lisa thought she’d laid the past to rest, but Terry had known there was unfinished business

- Margaret Skipworth

You’re not suggesting I should go?’ Lisa pointed to the letter on the table.

Her friend, Rebecca, ran her fingers round the rim of her wine glass.

‘It’s up to you,’ she said eventually. ‘But the letter’s clear enough. Terry has left you something in his will and he requested you go to his house to collect whatever it is. If I were you, I’d want to know what it was.’

‘It’s a long drive to Terry’s house, over 300 miles,’ Lisa pointed out. ‘I’m very sorry to hear about his death. He was a really nice guy. But we weren’t related, or even close friends.’ She took a sip of red wine. ‘Apart from Christmas cards, we haven’t spoken for nearly 20 years. I can’t imagine why he wanted to leave me anything.’

‘He might have left you a load of money and two villas in France.’

Lisa rolled her eyes. ‘Terry was a community bus driver before he retired, not a multimillionaire.’ Remembering that he had a good sense of humour, she smiled. ‘It’s more likely he’s left me a family of gnomes.’

Rebecca chuckled. ‘Not much use when you live in a flat.’

Lisa took another sip of wine and reread the letter from Terry’s brother, Kevin, who was acting as executor.

‘I wonder why Terry stipulated in his will that I have to go to his house?’ she mused. ‘Kevin could have rung me up or emailed and told me what Terry had left me, couldn’t he?’

‘I suppose people do sometimes make strange requests in their wills,’ Rebecca replied. After a pause, she asked, ‘Has Terry got any other relatives apart from his brother?’