Alturas, California is where the call came in from her brother.
He told her he had been designated as executor for their father’s estate. Settlement would take some time.
Her father had left a sealed envelope with his attorney, to be delivered to her as soon as possible upon his death.
She asked her brother to FedEx it to her at the Niles Hotel in Alturas, California. The letter arrived the following afternoon.
“This key opens a safe deposit box at the Bank of America on Ventura Boulevard in Tarzana. You’ll learn more when you open the box. For now, let me say that I never did a good job letting you know how much I loved you. I always suspected your mother saw more of me in you than she cared for and because of this, maybe she pushed me away from you. But that’s no excuse.
“I always felt closer to you than anyone else and loved you in ways even I don’t understand, which probably made it tough for me to express things.
“You and I play it close to the vest. I suppose that’s fine. For better or worse, we’re cut from the same cloth. But eventually we realize this throttle on our emotions no longer feels like it does much good. Maybe we want to protect ourselves and figure this is the way to go.
“As I’m sure you know, kowtowing doesn’t let you live your life. Maybe you’re already doing something about it. I didn’t, not until it was too late. So go to Tarzana and you’ll find something I think you’ll like. Don’t worry about the legal stuff. The lawyers set things up so there’s no way anybody can take this from you.”
She left her room at the Niles Hotel in Alturas, California and headed out for a hike in the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge.
