"Miss Harmon?" Edward was stunned, he was so busy during this time that he didn't have time to go to Kentucky.

And at this time it is officially the day of Beth Harmon going to Mexico to play, and Irma, as the head of logistics, must be very busy, and he doesn't want to bother.

The voice on the other end of the phone was low and indescribable.

"What's the matter?"

"I, I'm in Mexico City...... Hmmm"

"Oh? Is the game over? ”

"Irma, Irma......" Beth couldn't speak completely

"What's wrong with Irma!" There was a hint of foreboding in his mind.

"She died last night......"

"God, what do you say!!" He yelled at the other end of the phone.

How can it be!

Although Irma was dependent on alcohol and in average health, his sudden death was still unacceptable to him.

"Yes, just now, when I was playing Petrosyan. He said he would come to see me play, but he never showed up, and after the game, I went back to my room and found that she was ......"

"Oh my God......" Edward felt the world spin.

He couldn't believe it was real, wishing it was a dream.

The original empathetic and charming Irma is gone?

And died in a foreign land.

"OK, listen, I'm friends with Irma, so if you need any help, please just say it."

"No, I don't need help, actually, I just called my father, Mr. Wheatley, who is far away in Denver, and he said that everything has nothing to do with him, so I just hung up and came to you."

"Apparently you are much better than Mr. Wheatley."

"What are you going to do with Irma's funeral? What do I need to do? If you have enough money, give me the account number, and I'll send it over."

"No thanks, I have money, her funeral, I entrusted the hotel where I lived to deal with it. I called you because, because ......"

Eventually, her voice began to crumble

"I'm so bad, I'm really bad!"

"Beth, listen...... I can understand and feel your grief, but you don't have much time to be sad right now, and the most important thing is to bring Irma back to Kentucky. ”

"Yes, I know, the hotel will take care of it."

"And then, you're not done, and Mr. Wheatley is still theoretically Irma's husband, your father, and he still has a large share of the family."

"So," he emphasized, "you book the nearest plane ticket and get back immediately, and I'll come to Lexington to take care of the rest." Listen, good boy, you have to be strong......"

"I know...... I knew that "the voice on the other end of the phone seemed to be better" but I was really sad, I lost to Petrosyan, I lost without any ability to resist. He's been crushing me from start to finish, you know, it's ...... from the start."

Edward was silent and listened.

"In the end, I was forced to throw in the towel and I went back to my room, and at that point I just wanted to hear Irma's lazy voice to comfort me, then drink a martini with her, and squeeze into a bed to sleep."

"You know? Do you understand? But when I got back to my room, it was pitch black, I turned on the light, and Irma was lying upright on the bed in formal attire, no more heat. ”

"You understand, you understand? If it weren't for this damn game, he wouldn't have died, he wouldn't have died! ”

"She might feel bad, and then I can immediately call the hotel doctor and call an ambulance to take her to the best hospital, and she's going to survive, she's going to survive."

"I need Irma, I need a mother, I need an agent, I'm an orphan, my biological father doesn't recognize me, my biological mother, driving a car and trying to pull me to kill suicide with her, my adoptive father fled to Denver, I only have one relative, Irma, but why, why, this only one relative, will leave me like this, why!" ”

There was despair and helplessness in her voice, and Edward could feel that something in her heart had been completely broken, and at this moment, the beautiful girl who was originally full of mechanical energy was no longer a chess machine, but an ordinary person, a lonely little girl.

"Beth......" He tried to make his voice as gentle as he could, but found it futile, and he could hear the hoarse and rusty voice himself.

Edward was very sad inside, and if he could, he would have thrown off the earpiece right now, hid in the study, drank a few glasses, and then fell asleep groggily.

Maybe waking up tomorrow and seeing the new sun will make you feel better.

Irma, this woman, herself and her are both familiar and strange.

I remember her lingering and gentleness, but I don't know much about her background.

Originally, I thought that these would gradually become familiar with each other in the future interactions at home, but now it seems that it is completely impossible.

But he had to be strong, because the girl in Mexico City needed comfort and encouragement more than she did.

"Beth, Beth, listen, call the hotel front desk right now, ask them to change you to a small single room, and order a few tequilas, you need to sleep now! Or you can simply ask the doctor to prescribe you some sedatives! You spend this day as soon as possible, wait until you return home, just wait for you to return home, I will be by your side! ”

"Tomorrow, tomorrow I will be waiting for you at your doorstep......" he said

"Oh, thank you, I really can't resist it alone now, really...... You might be better. I asked the doctor to prescribe sleeping pills for me, and now I'm going to sleep, hopefully we'll see each other tomorrow. ”

"OK good night, I'll be waiting for you."

……

Hanging up the phone, Edward sat down on the couch, still a little unable to accept the facts.

That's how Irma died......

I didn't even see the last of them.

This poor woman, abandoned by her husband, but she lived a strong life, and saw that her life was getting better day by day, but she ......

He immediately called the travel agency, booked a ticket to Lexington tomorrow, and said hello to Chris, asking him to ask Lustberg for leave on his behalf.

Through the phone line, Edward could see the suspicious expression of the big black man: "Which girl are you going to accompany you?" Otherwise, how could I not even attend Miss Rushberg's class......"

"Okay, okay, it's complicated, I'll talk to you when I come back! Miss Ruthberg, you cover up for me, and you say you don't know what she asks......"

"Looks like I guessed right...... I have to warn you......"

"Please, I love you......" Edward quickly hung up the phone.

I set an alarm clock, drank a glass of vodka, and fell asleep.

……

At noon the next day, Beth Harmon returned to the door of the house in a black outfit and took a taxi, and Edward, who was sitting on the steps, hurriedly went up to help her.

She looked very weak, and when she entered the room, she sat on the sofa in a daze and did not speak.

Edward sat across from her and didn't know how to comfort her, which wasn't what he was good at.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Beth Harmon finally stood up.

Probably sitting for a long time, she was shaking, and Edward hurriedly hugged her.

The other party did not refuse, and leaned on his chest like this.

Edward didn't continue to act, he didn't want to take advantage of others, and he should comfort her at this time.

And just like that, another long time passed.

The person in his arms said quietly: "Thank you, I feel much better." ”

"Nothing"

"At least, leaning on you makes me feel like I'm not alone in this world."

"I suggest eating," he said, "and you should eat more, it will help you fight your grief." ”

"You're right......"

"Let's go to town for dinner, I'll call a taxi." Edward said as he carefully examined the girl in his arms.

Compared to the last time we met, she was in a very bad condition, her face was pale, her lips lacked blood, her delicate skin had become dry and rough, and her big eyes were no longer as full of agility as before.

The fawn-like eyes were gone.

But fortunately, it is slowly recovering now, at least the eyes are no longer as dazed as before.

It looks like the worst is over.

"Thank you," Beth Harmon seemed to know what he was thinking.

"I'm well aware of my own situation, now I feel better and will get better and better, Irma keeps saying that I don't have enough feelings and want to be a robot. But she envied me for that, because it saved me from a lot of unnecessary emotions, such as sadness, anger, ......"

"That's great...... Edward let go of her and grabbed the phone, intending to order a takeout.

There was a knock on the door.

“？”

“？”

Both were stunned.

Who's coming back at this time?

Edward put down the receiver and Beth Harmon opened the door.

Outside the door stood two men, both dressed in formal attire, one in his mid-40s and well-maintained, the other in his 60s.

Edward's brow furrowed.

He didn't know either of them.

But professional habits told him that the older one should be a lawyer, and each other in this business could even smell each other's bodies.

It's definitely not a good thing to have a lawyer at this time, hehe, let's say, who will bring a lawyer to the door at this time?

It won't be Judge Bruin and Dr. Morpheus.

And the news of Irma's death probably didn't spread locally.

Reminiscent of yesterday's conversation between the two on the phone.

Therefore, the most reasonable inference should be......

There's definitely something wrong with this guy appearing at the moment.

Edward decided to take the initiative, at least to tell the other party that he wasn't to be messed with.

Beth Harmon, on the other hand, froze, staring at the door and not speaking or moving.

"Mr. Wheatley?" Edward walked over from behind and gently removed her hand from the door.

"I'm Wheatley, and this is my lawyer, Mr. Johnson." Mr. Wheatley walked in without seeing him.

Mr. Johnson, apparently smelling the young colleague too, smiled kindly at him, took off his coat and scarf, hung it on the coat rack, and sat down beside Mr. Wheatley.

"You ......" Beth Harmon was confused.

"I ...... We," Mr. Wheatley clearly hadn't figured out how to speak.

This gave Edward a chance.

He took Beth Harmon's hand, cold hand, and led her to the side of the single sofa, and whispered, "Sit down, I've got everything." ”

"Call me Edward, I'm Miss Beth Harmon's lawyer." He nodded at Johnson, who gave him a polite smile, but also with an embarrassed expression.

This confirmed his suspicion that the person who came was not good.

Sure enough, Mr. Wheatley glanced at Johnson, who reluctantly said, "My client and I mourn the death of Mrs. Irma Wheatley. ”

Edward was silent, and patted Beth Harmon on the weak shoulder, "Listen to him." ”

"Uh...... Uh" Attorney Johnson's face pulled: "My client asked me to convey to Miss Harmon his confirmation of ownership of this house. ”

"What!?" Beth Harmon was at a loss.

Attorney Johnson repeated.

Seeing that she still didn't understand, Edward had no choice but to explain.

"Irma is dead, and according to the law, this house is considered the inheritance of the joint property of the husband and wife, and it is up to you to ...... Father...... Well," he thought for a moment, "to make a confirmation of ownership between Mr. Wheatley and you." ”

"No," Beth Harmon suddenly exclaimed, "You said on the phone last night that you would not intervene in Irma's funeral, and you would also give up ownership of the house. In fact, you already said that to Irma when you left the family and hid in Denver! ”

"I know...... But Mr. Wheatley looked very embarrassed, but he still said word by word: "Legally I have the right to inherit, and besides, I have been paying the mortgage all these years!" ”

"But you haven't set foot here in six years." Beth Harmon suddenly realized at this moment, and suddenly blushed with anger, "Elma, you're still in the morgue, so you ran here......"

"It's two different things...... Mr. Wheatley defended "we are husband and wife."

Edward found that this guy was much more relaxed than before, and it seemed that he had overestimated this man's moral integrity, and he had thought that he would be ashamed, but now it seemed that as soon as he spoke, the shame seemed to subside automatically.

This made him very envious - it's a pity that this dry salesman is a natural lawyer!

However, intelligence seems to be a little lacking, who would be so anxious to come over and rob the house with a white face?

Is there a bloody mediation program from those TV stations in the previous life!

"Yes, your de jure wife died, and you didn't even look at her before you came here to divide the inheritance. Forget last night's words. The law is such a good thing. And I'm so ashamed of you. Beth Harmon immediately calmed down.

Edward had the feeling that the queen of the chessboard was back.

Sure enough, it was Mr. Wheatley's turn to blush, and even the roots of his ears turned red, and he impatiently pulled the collar of his shirt so that his breathing would be easier.

"Ahem," Attorney Johnson coughed twice, looked at Edward apologetically, and said slowly, "Let's find out the facts, Mr. Wheatley and Mrs. Wheatley's marriage is not over, at least legally. ”

"Secondly, he's been sending money over to pay off the mortgage and some to pay your child support, Miss Harmon. I checked the bank statements, and the money was not much, but from a legal point of view, it proved that he still fulfilled his father's responsibilities, at least he did not abandon the child. ”

"Frankly me, I ...... There's no way around it, I've been failing to invest lately, and I'm in dire need of some money, and I want to sell the house, and of course I'll give you your part, or even ......more," Mr. Wheatley said

"So where do I live? What about my home? I don't have Irma anymore? Are you going to send me back to the orphanage? It's a pity I'm an adult! ”