Heaven Is High (34 page)

Before going to her car she stopped at a pay phone to call her father, to tell him she was back in town before someone else did.

“Welcome home,” he said. “If you're in the neighborhood, come on by. You have a package here that's driving Patsy crazy with curiosity. It's perishable.”

“What on earth? Sure. I'm on my way. Five minutes.”

It would have been little more than a five-minute walk to the office, but she drove. At that time of day, close to five, there should be easy parking right behind the office building. She was right about that and soon pulled into a slot, got out, and walked into the foyer.

In the outer office the receptionist had her purse out, ready to leave, and she simply waved Barbara on through. “Mr. Holloway said he's expecting you,” she said.

Not only was Frank waiting, but Patsy was there also, pretending she wanted a letter signed or something. She had been with Frank for decades, ever since he had been able to afford a real secretary, and she was determined to remain there as long as he did, although she hinted broadly from time to time that perhaps he should give more thought to his own retirement. She was a tubular woman, an almost perfect cylinder. Her hair had always been jet-black and still was, with never a hint of white or gray root showing.

“Hi, Dad, Patsy,” Barbara said as she entered his office. “You received something for me? That's odd. Where is it?”

“Overnight delivery, special delivery,” Patsy said. She pointed to a box on the big round coffee table and both she and Frank went with Barbara to the table.

He was as curious as Patsy, Barbara knew, and more honest about it. He already had a pocketknife out, ready to cut open the cardboard box. It was long, a foot and a half, and about eight inches deep and that wide. He looked at Barbara inquiringly and she said, “Do it. I can't imagine what it is or why it came here.”

Inside the cardboard box was another lighter, white one, fastened with Scotch tape. Frank cut through that, too, and stood back to let Barbara open it.

She lifted the top, moved cellophane paper aside, and caught her breath. There were two sprays of orchids, one with nearly transparent petals that had red streaks, the other with dark violet verging on purple. A heady perfume wafted from them.

“Oh, my goodness!” Patsy said. “My goodness, they are beautiful!”

Frank stared at them, then at Barbara, and back to the orchids without a word.

Barbara picked up an envelope and removed a card. It was a postcard with a facsimile of a playbill from around the turn of the century advertising the coming attraction of
All's Well That Ends Well
. In very neat lettering at the bottom of the card was the line:
Coming soon to Fargo
. A casual glance would accept it as part of the playbill. She turned the card over. There was no address, no return address, but centered on the bottom was a small drawing of a simple house, such as a child might draw.

“No name or anything?” Patsy asked. “A secret admirer? My goodness!”

Barbara smiled. “No name. Nothing else.” She was aware of Frank's shrewd gaze and said, “A penny postcard. It could be a collector's item.”

“You'd best keep it then,” Frank said. “Want some dinner later on?”

“Rain check? Tomorrow night? I have one more appointment today, and I have to run. Thanks for keeping this for me,” she said, putting the card in her purse. She replaced the top on the box.

“Tomorrow night,” Frank said. “I'll give you a call.”

“Thanks,” she said, and kissed his cheek. Then she kissed Patsy's cheek and hurried out with the box.

“Goodness,” Patsy said. “A secret admirer! How romantic!”

Frank nodded. Secret to them, but not to Barbara. She knew damn well who had sent them and why. And she most likely would never mention the orchids again, he added with some regret. And he'd be damned if he ever would, either.

Barbara had one more call to make and used the pay phone in the lobby to call Bailey. “Hi,” she said when Bailey picked up. “It's over. Done with. All of it. Come by the house tomorrow and we can compare notes and clean up accounts or something. I'll tell all then.”

“Over? Here and down there?”

“Both. I'm going out to tell Binnie and Martin. They shouldn't have to wait a minute longer.”

“This time of day? You know what traffic's going to be like?”

“I'll sail right over the top of it,” she said. “See you whenever you can make it tomorrow. At my house.”

In her car Barbara smiled at the box on the passenger seat. One for her, one for Binnie. She would let Binnie have first choice. She started her car and was ready to sail over the rush-hour traffic.

ALSO BY KATE WILHELM

The Barbara Holloway novels:

Death Qualified

The Best Defense

Malice Prepense

Defense for the Devil

No Defense

Desperate Measures

The Clear amd Convincing Proof

The Unbidden Truth

Sleight of Hand

A Wrongful Death

Cold Case

The Constance and Charlie novels:

The Hamlet Trap

The Dark Door

Smart House

Sweet, Sweet Poison

Seven Kinds of Death

A Flush of Shadows

Justice for Some

The Good Children

The Deepest Water

Skeletons

The Price of Silence

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

HEAVEN IS HIGH
. Copyright © 2011 by Kate Wilhelm. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.minotaurbooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wilhelm, Kate.

Heaven is high : a Barbara Holloway novel / by Kate Wilhelm.—1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-312-65860-1

  1.  Holloway, Barbara (Fictitious character)—Fiction.   2.  Women lawyers—Fiction.   3.  Emigration and immigration—Fiction.   4.  Oregon—Fiction.   I.  Title.

PS3573.I434H43 2011

813'.54—dc22                                                2010039076

First Edition: February 2011

eISBN: 978-1-4299-9324-1

First Minotaur Books eBook Edition: February 2011