The Return of the Fallen Angels Book Club (A Hollis Morgan Mystery 3) (6 page)

“Shelby’s in LA, so how could I do something like that? That’s not me!” He was shouting, slamming his fists on table. Standing and towering over Hollis, he demanded, “Did she say it was me?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Hollis saw Tiffany take a quick peek inside the conference room window. Hollis motioned with her head that she was fine.

“No, no, she didn’t say it was you.” Hollis deliberately lowered her voice so he’d have to strain to hear her. “Can you think of anyone who would want to … to frighten her?”

Darol sat back down.

“You mean
my
kids? No, no … I don’t know. They’re grown, they’re adults. They travel back and forth between here and LA. Did she say they did it?”

“No, she doesn’t know who’s doing it. That’s why she’s feeling … a little afraid.” Hollis remembered Shelby expressing more anger than fear, but she didn’t want to get another flare-up out of Darol. “But I take you at your word, Mr. Patterson. I’ve been retained to secure your daughter’s house and to liquidate the asset. I appreciate your situation but your mother’s trust is valid.”

“ ‘Liquidate the asset.’ You mean sell it, right? Did she tell you that we live there? That’s where we sleep at night. You’re just going to kick us out?” His voice started to rise again.

Hollis rubbed her forehead. “Mr. Patterson, there is no need—”

He stood up and went to the door. “It’s not going to happen.” He pointed his finger at her. “You hear me? It’s not going to happen.”

He left, slamming the door behind him.

Hollis looked up at the ceiling.

And this is my first case.

F
or the first time since Hollis could remember, the Fallen Angels all arrived to a meeting early. Triple D’s conference room was certainly more comfortable than the library and everyone acted curious about where she worked. Placing a bottle of water at each seat, Hollis closed the curtains that opened onto the firm’s lobby. She had deliberately chosen six o’clock as the meeting time so that most of the attorneys and staff would be gone.

As she looked around the quiet room, she couldn’t help but reflect that two weeks ago Jeffrey had been alive. Miller was finishing his first origami crane and Richard, deep in thought, twisted his bottled water on its coaster. With heads down, Gene and Rena were both clicking through their smartphones.

Hollis cleared her throat. “Why don’t we go ahead and get started.” She glanced at her notepad. “Brian Wallace wants us to help him check out his stepmother’s activities leading up to Jeffrey’s death.”

Richard passed his hand over his bald spot. “He didn’t say
us
, he asked you and Gene.”

“No, he mentioned all of us,” Hollis insisted. “He knows we come as a package. Besides, I couldn’t do it without you guys. I don’t have your skills, Richard, for evaluating numbers, or Miller’s research resources, or Rena’s network of contacts.”

Miller doodled on a pad of paper and looked thoughtful. “The police won’t want us interfering in their investigation. I’d like to do something to help find Jeffrey’s killer. Since it’s too late for that, all I can do is help his son. I can live with that.”

“Me too,” Rena said. “Jeffrey played by the book. He put us all back on track. He shouldn’t have died the way he did.”

Gene cleared his throat. “When you think about it, working with Brian keeps us low profile. We can work behind the scenes, helping him, while we find out what we can about what happened to Jeffrey.”

“Yeah, good point.” Richard sat up. “It’s probably best if you two are his main contacts, though. He doesn’t have to meet with all of us.”

“Don’t worry, Richard.” Hollis leaned in. “You’ve made it clear you want to stay below the radar.”

Richard opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. He could see the looks the other Fallen Angels were giving him. He splayed his hand across his chest. “Don’t get me wrong. I want to help, but I would rather not be out front on this. My wife—”

“Oh good grief, not her again,” Rena said and took a swallow of water.

Miller demanded. “Who
is
your wife, anyway? Does she work for the president or something? What’s her name?”

Richard turned red. “That’s none of—”

“Come on, people, let’s stay focused,” Hollis intervened. “It sounds like we all want to do this thing with Brian. Is everyone in?”

Their eyes met expectantly, and everyone agreed.

Gene said, “Did you say he was willing to pay?”

“He’s going to pay my firm a small retainer for my services as a co-executor. Actually the estate pays me, not him. As a group, I don’t think taking money is a good idea.” Hollis scribbled on her pad. “I would rather not be obligated to him for looking into the trust. Besides, we’re doing this for Jeffrey.”

“I’m with Hollis on that,” Richard said. “Brian seems like a straight-up guy, but I’m doing this because Jeffrey worked long hours to keep his clients clean. I don’t want that time and money wasted going to someone who doesn’t deserve it.”

They all nodded vigorously.

Hollis stood. “Good. I’ll contact Brian and let him know. I’ll tell him to send me anything he has on his stepmother and everything on the Wallace trust. Here are copies of the preliminary ME report.” She handed out the pages. “When I get his information, I’ll copy it for each of you, too. We should probably still plan on meeting next Thursday at the library.”

“It’s going to be impossible to evaluate the financial distribution if there’s a trust,” Richard said. “It’s blind to the public.”

Gene’s fingers pulled randomly at the hairs in his eyebrow. “True, except I bet ol’ Brian can get his hands on his dad’s previous will and maybe even his tax returns. Don’t worry; there will be something for you to start pulling apart.”

“Good thinking, Gene,” Rena said. “It doesn’t sound like a lot of networking will be needed here, but once I see what’s in the file I can help Gene with the background check on Frances, and maybe on Brian, too.”

“Hey now, that is good thinking.” Hollis smiled. “Okay, let’s wrap this up for now. I’ll tell Brian to send everything he can as soon as he can. Let’s meet on Tuesday and lay out our plan.”

After saying their goodbyes, they all gathered up their things to leave. Gene hung back to walk out with Hollis as she turned off the lights.

“What do you really think about all this?”

Hollis shrugged. “Between a disputed trust and an unsolved murder of one of the beneficiaries, we’re in for a bumpy ride.”

Returning home, Hollis was drained, anxious, and on edge. The message light on her phone blinked. Putting her purse down, she pressed the button.

John’s lighthearted voice greeted her. “Hey, how about a drink tonight? Let me know one way or the other.”

Hollis thought she might be oversensitive, but his cheeriness sounded a little forced. They needed to see each other, but it was too late tonight. She pushed the call-back button.

“Hey, I just got home, so no drink tonight. How about I fix you dinner tomorrow? It’s the start of the weekend and we won’t be in work mode.”

She could hear John’s smile as he said, “I was wondering how you were going to get back in my good graces.”

She laughed, a little uncomfortably. “Do I need to get back into your good graces?”

His tone turned serious. “We need to talk. I know you’re probably wiped out now, but tomorrow, okay?”

She searched for something more to say but all that slipped through was, “Okay.”

She hung up and hugged herself.

Hollis looked critically around her dining room. The table centerpiece was a small vase of flowers and two large lime-colored candles. The setting was colorful, with pastel tangerine plates and pale yellow cloth napkins.

It looked too girly.

She removed the plates and went to the kitchen to swap in her everyday white plates.
Better
.

She was still debating on changing out the candles when she heard a key in the lock. She and John had exchanged keys only a few months ago. She had used his key only once, primarily because her place was cozier. Hollis never minded his access—except for the very first time, when she heard the key in the door and almost broke out in hives. Other than that, she thought she was handling things well. John entered with arms outstretched for a hug. In one hand he held her favorite bottle of Zinfandel from the Brown Estate Vineyards in Napa Valley.

“Thank you.” She smiled. “It will go perfectly with dinner.”

He looked at the table. “Everything looks real nice. I wasn’t expecting the royal treatment.” John took off his jacket and hung it up in the guest closet.

Hollis raised her lips for his light kiss.

“What royal treatment? I eat like this every night.”

“You mean this isn’t going all out for your man?” He eyes gazed into hers.

“You’re so funny.” Hollis laughed longer than the comment warranted and looked away. She motioned for him to take a seat at the table. “Do you know if they’ve found out anything more about Jeffrey’s murder?”

John’s jaw tensed. “What are you doing?”

“I was curious.” She reached for the bottle of wine and began to open it. “And I’m getting ready to pour you a glass of really good vintage wine that my lover brought me tonight.”

He put his hand over hers.

“Sit down. I’ll repeat, what are you doing? I thought we could have one evening when murder, mayhem, nut cases and other assorted personality disorders from our work-a-day world didn’t have to join us for dinner.” John’s gaze held hers.

“Just forget it. It was a simple question.” She looked away. “I’m getting ready to feed you so we can enjoy the rest of the evening on a full stomach.” Hollis slipped her hand out from under his and poured her own glass.

“The promise of later sounds great, but I would rather you be real with me, now,” he said and took a sip of wine. “Mmm, this
is
good.”

She went into the kitchen, calling out over her shoulder, “I told you it was.” She went over to the counter and started putting away the cookbooks she’d used. “Now, I’ll just—”

“No, wait.” He held up his hand. “Sit down. We’re not eating until we get things straight.”

“Dinner is ready now.” Hollis sat heavily and threw the dishtowel on the table. “What do you want from me?” Then, as if hearing herself, she leaned back in her chair and let her chin drop on her chest. “Look, I don’t know what the matter is. At first I thought it was Jeffrey’s death, but it’s not all about him, it’s … it’s … me.”

“You mean
us
?” John looked at her struggle for words. “You want me to go?”

“No!” she protested. “No, I definitely do not want you to go.”

He got up from the table and took her in his arms. “And I don’t want to go, but we need to clear the air between us.”

She clung to him. “This is where I want to be.”

“Then what’s the problem? I will be here for you, always.”

She pushed him back, and in a shaky voice said, “You’re asking me to take down a wall I put up to keep my feelings safe. Last time I didn’t read the signs. No, ‘sign’ is not a strong enough word; it was a billboard. I let my ex-husband betray everything I held dear. I lost my way.”

He tilted her chin to look into her eyes. “Listen, I love you. I love
us
. We can take it slow. There are other signs, too. But don’t make up stuff to justify pushing me away.”

She grazed his lips with her fingers, then murmured, “I need more time.”

“H
ollis,” Tiffany said over the phone, “Vince is here from the mailroom. He has a package for you.” Her voice did little to hide her curiosity.

Hollis smiled to herself. “It’s okay. Send him back to my office.” She owed her cheerfulness this Monday morning to an enjoyable weekend with John. Once they’d gotten past their rough start, he agreed to give her the space she needed and not push her. She’d relaxed, and now she couldn’t seem to stop smiling.

“Aren’t you going to want me to date-stamp it in?”

“I’ll bring it to you later. It’s not time sensitive,” Hollis said. “Tiffany, just send Vince back to my office.”

A few moments later he stood in her doorway.

Hollis got up and gave him a hug. He stiffened, bent over, and patted her shoulder.

She took a step back. “Vince, you look good.”

He was dressed in a new white T–shirt and his standard gray hoodie with a pair of dark slacks that had a worn sheen. Hollis didn’t care. She looked into his eyes. He was clean, inside and out.

“Hi, Hollis, I wanted you to know I’d started work. I was here last week but I had to go to employee training.”

“That’s great news. Have a seat.”

“I can’t. I gotta get back. The U.S. Mail gets delivered at ten o’clock.”

Hollis smiled to see him taking his job so seriously.

“I came to bring you this package. We’re supposed to hand-deliver packages we’re told to look out for.”

“But I didn’t send a hand deliver notice.”

“I know. When I saw your name on the package, I just wanted to see you and let you know I was here.” Vince added gravely, “Thanks, Hollis, for getting me this job. You won’t be sorry.”

She grinned. “I know.”

Brian had sent her several documents comprising about sixty pages. The before will and the after trust were included, along with several years of tax returns and a home refinance application. Hollis removed the staples and headed to the firm’s high-speed printer.

She was finishing up when one of the new paralegals walked up to use the machine. “I’ll sign out for you. What’s the client code?”

Hollis gave her a smile. “Thank you, but, uh, I used to be a paralegal. I’ll take care of it. This is a new case and I need a new matter number.”

The young woman, who looked like a high school junior, waited patiently. “No problem. By the way, congratulations! I saw in the firm’s weekly report you brought in a new client.” She stacked an inch-high packet into the copier. “I’m taking the bar in four months. The part I dread the most is having to find new clients.”

Hollis wondered when they started letting seventeen-year-olds take the bar. “It’s not so bad; sometimes they seem to fall out of the sky.” She turned to leave. “Good luck with the bar. Let me know if I can be of help.”

She dropped the last packet in the overnight mail to the Fallen Angels; they should each get their copy the next day. She wanted them to have a few days to look over the material before their next meeting.

“Uh, Hollis,” Tiffany said in a hushed tone from the doorway. “Sorry for the interruption.”

“What’s the matter? Come on in.”

“I can’t. I’ve to get back to the front desk.” She looked over her shoulder and whispered, “There’s a couple waiting for you in the main conference room. They don’t have an appointment.”

“They must be drop-ins. Why are you whispering?”

“You’re starting to have a lot of drop-ins.” Tiffany spoke in her regular voice but her expression was stern. “I’m sorry; I’m being silly. I know they can’t hear us. But I want to be able to see your meeting from the lobby.”

“Why? What’s wrong? Who are they?”

“They said their names are Joy and Sonny Patterson. I think they’re related to that other guy who came last week.”

“Oh.” Hollis got up grabbed a pad and pen. She steered Tiffany out into the hallway. “If it’s who I think it is, they’re brother and sister, not a couple.”

Glancing into the conference room as she entered the lobby, Hollis could immediately see what had caused Tiffany’s alarm. Shelby’s brother looked like a coiled snake ready to strike. Hollis could even sense his glare from where she was standing. Joy, while less intimidating, wore her attitude of unease in the set of her jaw. They were both wearing jeans and sweatshirts that advertised a 2010 jazz festival. Joy was clearly her father’s daughter—brown-skinned, attractive, tall, with piercing dark eyes. She paced the room. Her brother Sonny, who was slightly taller with acne-scarred cheeks, sat sullenly in a chair.

“Good afternoon,” she said, not moving to offer her hand. “My name is Hollis Morgan. How can I help you?”

The young woman sat down and spoke first. “We’re Shelby’s brother and sister. I’m Joy and this is Sonny. We came to tell you that if Shelby sells our house, she still can live on campus, but if you take our house we won’t have a place to sleep.”

“I know this is unfortunate. I tried to get your dad to understand—”

“No, you don’t understand.” Sonny stopped slouching and sat up straight. “Shelby doesn’t have to go to college now; she can get a job and go to college later. She doesn’t need that house.”

Hollis looked over at him with sympathy, but addressed her comments to Joy, who seemed the calmer of the two. “I’ve been hired to process a valid legal claim. It was your grandmother’s house and she chose to give it to your stepsister. Shelby’s not to blame.”

Sonny jumped up and pointed his finger in Hollis’ face. “Look, we’re not gettin’ out of that house. We can make her and you real sorry if you try to make us.”

Hollis flashed back to her time in prison, where intimidation was an everyday tactic and standing up for yourself was the only survival option.

She spoke between clenched teeth. “Look, you slime bug, get your finger out of my face. You threaten me or my client again, and you’ll find a home all right. You’ll be checking into the rooms in county jail.”

“Sonny, cut it out.” Joy put her hand lightly on his arm. She led him back to the table and they both sat down. “He didn’t mean anything. It’s just that we’re trying to get our own place and—”

“Don’t be telling our business, Joy. She don’t want to hear it,” Sonny said in a much subdued voice. “She just wants her big-time lawyer fees. Let’s go.”

Joy looked at her brother, then Hollis. She sagged in her chair, pressed her fingertips to her forehead and nodded. They both stood, and eyes downcast, shoulders slumped, walked slowly out of the office.

Hollis slipped into a chair and closed her eyes.

Tiffany entered the room. “Are you okay?”

She nodded as a bead of sweat slipped down her back.

The rest of Monday was uncommonly quiet, and Hollis was grateful. The morning had been a little too active. She would leave early, which would give her time to stop off at the store to buy groceries for dinner. But before that, she had a few wrap-up questions that needed answers.

She spoke with one of the other attorneys in the firm who dealt with real estate matters and received confirmation on the legal steps required to file a proper trespassing action.

Next she’d find out the local law enforcement procedures for clearing out the Pattersons. Then she would try one more time to reason with Shelby and her father about reaching an agreement and explain the cost of taking formal legal action.

“Sergeant Grayson, this is Hollis Morgan. I don’t know if you remember me. I used to be a paralegal with Dodson Dodson and Doyle, and you would sometimes give me Sheriff’s Department help.”

“Sure, I remember you, Hollis. What can I do for you?”

“Well, now I’m an attorney, and it looks like I still need help from the sheriff’s office.” Hollis propped the phone against her ear while typing on her laptop. “I’ve got quarreling family members who won’t get off my client’s property. She legally owns it and wants to sell.”

“Let me guess. They currently live there.”

“Right. So I might have to file trespassing charges. Will you help me?”

She could hear his laugh. “Glad to. What choice do I have? In your other life as a paralegal you helped me out many times. I’m going to email you a checklist of items I’m going to need. There’s no criminal activity going on, is there?”

Hollis paused. “No, none that I know of.”

He quickly went through the process. “Now, try and get the things on the list back to me by the end of the week. I’m going on vacation in a short while and it sounds like it would be better if I could get this wrapped up before then.”

“You got it, and thank you.” Hollis hung up.

She had one more call to make.

“Shelby, can you talk?”

Shelby hesitated. “Sure, Hollis, let me get comfortable. Rena’s at work and the babysitter went to pick up Chris from pre-school. What’s the matter?”

“Your father was here to see me last Thursday. He was understandably upset and he is unwilling to move out. Then today Sonny and Joy came to my office.”

“I don’t care about them. But what did Dad say?” Her voice shook and rose in volume.

Hollis held the phone away from her ear and counted to three. She used the same trick on Shelby as she had on her stepfather and lowered her voice. “Calm down. He talked about his relationship with his mother and gave his side of the story for why she left you the house.”

Shelby sighed. “He just wanted you to feel sorry for him.”

Hollis imagined Shelby’s sullen expression. “I was surprised when I met your stepfather. He seemed totally rehabilitated from any addiction. He was very articulate.”

“Yeah, well, he puts on a good act,” Shelby said sarcastically. “Don’t let him fool you.” Then she changed her tone. “I mean he’s not evil. He’s clean now and he’s my dad. We all just need to get through this. Did you believe him?”

“I don’t have to believe him. You’re my client. But he did say he wasn’t leaving the house. It was the only place he and his kids have to live. Your sib … I mean Sonny and Joy were equally confrontational.”

“They’re not really my brother and sister. I barely know them.” Shelby was breathing heavily, but her voice was calmer. “You see, I knew this was going to happen. So you’re going to have to evict them.”

“Actually, you can’t evict them because there’s no landlord agreement. You can have them removed for trespassing.”

There was a silence.

Shelby finally responded. “Will they go to jail?”

“Not likely, but they could face a fine.”

“Can we put the house on the market now?”

Hollis sighed. “Yes, I suppose. But Shelby, isn’t there someone in your family who could speak with your father? This could get real messy. How would an agent be able to show your house if your father and his family refuse to let anyone in? And I assure you they will.”

“No, no! They are
not
going to hold me hostage. My tuition is due at the end of July. That’s less than two months away. Mrs. Patterson wanted me to go to college and I’m going to go.” Shelby started to cry. “All my life my father tried to convince me how much he loved me and it was all talk. I admit it was uncomfortable to listen to his mother always complaining to me about Dad, but she said she would never let him hurt me. She was there; he wasn’t.”

Hollis could only imagine how that family dynamic played out, but she needed to get Shelby to face reality.

“Shelby, maybe Rena could talk to your dad. Do they get along?”

Hollis heard Shelby sob then sniff loudly. “I don’t know, I guess so. They don’t really know each other that well.”

By now Shelby was almost wailing, which reminded Hollis that she was little more than a teenager. “Shelby, I can’t talk to anyone about your case without your permission. Can I share our conversations with Rena and see if she is willing to get him to understand the circumstances?”

“N-no, not yet, maybe later,” Shelby stammered. “Our family is already divided. I don’t want to have to deal …. No. Wait, I don’t mind you talking with Rena, but let Aunt Denise deal with Dad. She’s his sister. Maybe she can make a difference.”

“All right. Then I’ll get back to you with the information about filing for trespassing and feedback from a real estate agent on the listing. Unless you have somebody you’d like me to use, I’m looking at agents with offices in the neighborhood. A nearby agent would be more likely to know that market. Oh, and text me your Aunt Denise’s cellphone number.”

“Sure, I’ll do that now. And Hollis ….” Shelby paused. “Thank you. I know I might be making things more difficult, but the house is all I’ve got.”

“I’ll be getting back to you.”

George was out of the office when Hollis went to brief him, and she left him a note to contact her when he returned.

After a few calls, she made arrangements to retain a real estate agent, Kevin Gregg. They worked out the details on how he would get the keys to evaluate the house. He wanted to walk through it before recommending a listing price. She warned him about the tenants who might be there, but he said he’d dealt with unhappy tenants before. Relieved, Hollis said she would leave the keys with Tiffany.