Rooted in Murder by Emily James

Author:Emily James [James, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781988480374
Publisher: Stronghold Books
Published: 2019-04-06T22:00:00+00:00

11

Tom McClanahan’s hello on the phone the next day sent nervous flutters up from my belly and into my throat, where they tried to choke me. It wasn’t the hello of a person who had good news that the deal was done, and that we needed to have our bank send Mr. Huffman’s lawyer the money.

It was the hello of a man who thought he might be fired. Or sued.

I was used to being around other criminal defense attorneys. The tone in his voice wasn’t one I was used to hearing from another lawyer.

I sat on the floor between Toby and Velma, where they’d dropped after our long walk. Toby’s snoring barely hiccupped at my presence, but Velma moved her head into my lap. I stroked her favorite spot behind her ears. I might need their comfort if whatever Tom had to say was half as bad as it sounded.

At least I could hear him clearly. Mark had the morning off, so we’d gone to replace my phone as soon as we’d woken up. I’d set up my fingerprint ID right away because I hated having to type in my passcode, and Mark helped me transfer everything from my old phone to my new one. It was surprisingly easy to get all my favorite apps switched over. Mark had teased me that we needed to do it right away since one of the apps was Phone Finder, and it was likely the first thing I’d do with a new phone was lose it. Considering I’d wrecked my new car shortly after buying it, I didn’t want to tempt fate by not getting Phone Finder back onto my phone immediately.

“I don’t know how to tell you this,” Tom said. I could imagine him pushing his wire-rimmed glasses higher up on his nose. “I called Mr. Huffman’s lawyer yesterday after you were in to sign the papers, but their office was already closed. I put the signed documents into my filing cabinet and locked it. When I came back this morning, they were gone.”

Papers didn’t spontaneously combust. They also didn’t sprout legs and walk away.

Mr. Huffman hadn’t been right about me not being invested in his deal, but he might have been partly right. Someone didn’t want this sale to happen.

Only two people came to mind—whoever the other buyer was and Ashley. Actually, Ashley had to have been involved either way. The other buyer wouldn’t have been able to break into McClanahan & Associates without leaving some sign of forced entry. Tom hadn’t mentioned signs of a break-in.

Maybe the other buyer paid her to continue delaying our paperwork until they could convince Mr. Huffman to take their offer instead. On Ashley’s side, I could see her accepting money to delay us. All the plastic surgery she’d had must cost more than she could easily cover on her salary, even if she were a legal assistant rather than a secretary. I hadn’t pushed to find out her official designations. I hadn’t cared before.

I didn’t want to believe she hated me enough to do this out of spite alone.

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