How had they made it past the media outside? I had visions of Justin being pinned to the front steps of the chapel while reporters bombarded him with questions. But I realized that, unless they knew who Justin was, they probably would have asked him only general questions. Like why did he have a cat with him?

On a hunch, I went further down the hall to the back of the chapel. There was another short hallway running across the rear of the building, which led to a back door. I opened the door and peeked outside. There were no reporters out here.

I stepped outside on the stoop and looked around. No sign of boy and cat here, but I realized that Justin and Diesel could easily have slipped away without attracting attention. They could have taken a roundabout way to the house without having to cross paths with the media.

I made my way back into the meeting room to report to Miles Burton and the others. As I approached them, Andrea Ferris was speaking.

“. . . shame that after the new book is out next fall, there won’t be any more. Thank goodness Godfrey finished it before he came here.” She tittered. “It’s the best thing he’s done yet, and I predict it will outsell his last two.”

“How tragic,” Julia said. She turned to look at me.

I answered the unspoken question. “No sign of Justin, nor of Diesel. I think they slipped out the back and went home.”

“Diesel? Who is that?” Miles Burton frowned.

“My cat,” I said. “Justin is very attached to him, and I brought him along to the service to help comfort the boy. This has all been a severe shock to him.”

“Naturally,” Burton said, though he eyed me doubtfully. “I would like to speak with the young man sometime today, if possible. My plane leaves Memphis very early tomorrow morning. I have a case coming to trial on Tuesday in LA.”

“I can bring him to your hotel,” Julia said.

“Or you can come back to my house now.” I made the offer with a smile. “There will probably be reporters at the hotel, and if we go out the back way to my house, you can avoid all that.”

“Excellent idea,” Burton said. He turned to Julia. “If that is okay with you, Mrs. Wardlaw.” He looked in Kanesha’s direction. “And you too, Deputy.”

“It’s fine,” Julia said.

“Okay with me,” Kanesha said. “I’m in no hurry to make a statement to the media, and I need to hear what Mr. Burton has to say.”

“In that case,” Burton said, pulling a small notebook from the jacket of suit. He opened it and flipped through a few pages. “If Mr. Harris wouldn’t mind, I’d like to request that a few others be present as well. I might as well address all beneficiaries of Godfrey’s will at one time.”