The Fallen Angels Book Club (28 page)

I rushed out and knocked on Avery's door. “Can I interrupt you for a few minutes?”

“Sure, you're just the person I wanted to see. Have a seat.” He pushed aside some paperwork to make a six-inch space on the top of his desk for my notebook.

“Your friend Lily is driving me crazy. She's got this notion her property is worth millions. I've spoken with her niece. She seems intelligent and understands what needs to be done. This pro bono matter is taking many more hours than you led me to believe it would.”

I felt chastised. “Sorry. I thought I had everything ready to go for her to sign.”

“You did. She changed her mind. A friend at the center told her she should have a detailed inventory to back up the appraisal. I told her a detailed inventory is expensive and is only needed for large estates. Your summary listing of items would be more than adequate.”

“She didn't buy it?”

Avery pursed his lips. “No, she didn't buy it.”

“Let me do a detailed inventory. My hours are the least costly.”

He paused.

“Okay, that could work. Try to get it done by the end of the week. I've driven by the house. It's nice, but it's not the Getty estate.” He reached into his top drawer. “Here are the keys.”

“I'll take care of it as soon as I can.”

“Fine. Now, what did you want to see me about?”

I swallowed, debating whether I should go for broke and totally piss him off or cut my losses and leave.

“Ah, I just wanted to see the appraisals for the Riddick matter. I didn't get a chance to read the full reports.”

Avery stared at me. “It's not necessary. The matter is on its way to being closed. No thanks to Mark, we were able to wrap everything up quickly. I got your note that we're getting an expedited hearing. As always, your work is top grade. Have I told you how much I appreciate you?”

The compliment seemed a bit overdone, but I smiled. “Why, thank you for the kind words. I try hard.”

“It shows.” He lowered his voice. “Now, if you work your magic with Lily, I have a new client I'm tempted to let you work alone. I'd like to see you stretch your talents and manage a case. Think you might be interested?”

“Of course I'd be interested.”

“Good. I'm off to San Diego for a couple of days. Let's wrap this thing up with Lily and we'll be able to move on to better opportunities.” He looked down at his watch. “I'm meeting with Ed and Phil in a few minutes. Leave a message on my phone if you get into a bind. I can always get one of the associates to help you.”

In the hallway, I shot my fist into the air as a silent cheer.
Yes!
Handling a client's case by myself, even with Avery's oversight, was a treasured perk and would give me solid experience.

But I was a little disappointed to think he believed I could be so easily distracted that I didn't notice he'd waved me off the Riddick appraisals. I might be wasting my time, and even risking my job, but I had to satisfy my curiosity.

I hadn't started out intending to search Avery's office, but by the end of the day, I decided I would.

I went home to have dinner and returned to the firm at eight-thirty. Even so, one of the associates was still in her office. She was typing away on the computer and didn't even raise her head when I passed by. I closed Avery's door behind me. My heart beat like it was coming out of my chest. My mouth was dry, but I plunged ahead.

From the rows of stacked case files, it was clear that Avery had started to organize his papers. Usually twice a year, when he was no longer able to stand the clutter, he cleared his desk. This was not a good sign. There was a chance he'd removed the Riddick file. After a few minutes, I found the court papers Mark and I had prepared—along with the tax documents, bank records, and to my relief, the appraisal reports. I stooped to lower the bulky material onto the floor.

“What are you doing here, Hollis?” Avery's voice held none of the warmth it had earlier. In fact its coldness chilled me.

Thinking fast was one of my strongest skills, but I was pretty sure that this time Avery wouldn't find it an asset. I straightened up, letting my discomfort show.

“Hi, boss. I know what you're thinking, but you know me. I got something in my head and can't let it go. I just wanted to go over the Riddick appraisals. There was—”

“What did you think you were going to find?” He moved toward me but stopped to look at the top of his desk.

I tried to take the offensive. “Uh, I wanted to comp—, I mean,
review
the two appraisals. This is a crazy market and I wanted to see what they used for market determination.”

“Why?” His green eyes bored into mine.

I frowned. “One of the Internet sites showed a much lower value. I usually don't give online values any credence, but it was so much … lower.” The lie fell easily from my lips. This was not the time to practice telling the truth.

Avery just stood there, looking at me. Then, from his bookcase, he picked up the folder he must have come back for.

“Get out of my office.”

I moved away from the box and picked up my purse. “I was wrong. I'm sorry.”

“I'm sorry, too.”

I
n the morning, I tried to reach Mark. He wasn't picking up his phone. We had talked about meeting at Lily's house so we could go to lunch after I finished with the inventory. I went into the office, grabbed a couple of pens, and signed out. I didn't want to run into Avery. I needed time to think about the implications of the appraisals on the Riddick estate and what I was going to do about it.

Inside the stuffy old house, my blouse was already sticking to my back as the day started to heat up. It was hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago I had been freezing in my overcoat. Weather was never boring in the Bay Area.

For the fifth time in five minutes, I looked at my cellphone for the correct time. Where was Mark? I counted on him checking his messages. We needed to talk about the Bethel appraisal, which lay in the trunk of my car.

The house was dark and quiet. I felt too much like an intruder. I pulled back the living room drapes. The light burst in. The room was lovely. I couldn't quite imagine the cantankerous Lily I knew living in such a serene abode.

The bright colors of the Spanish tiles encircling the fireplace shone even in the half light and the overhead chandelier was a graceful, open-framed sphere with six globes of clear glass that seemed to float from the tray ceiling. Lily must have hated having to leave it all behind for the starkness of the senior center. No wonder she was so grumpy.

I tiptoed across the thick carpet to the adjacent dining area. A massive rectangular table with eight chairs was covered with ghostly white sheets, but I could make out the heavy ornate mahogany legs underneath. At the rear of the room, I was drawn to the floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows. Pictured in the Craftsman-era style windows were rolling hills that gently sheltered a valley flowing with a wide pathway of what appeared to be vibrant yellow daffodils. A young woman stood off to the side in the foreground and pointed to the real side yard that bordered the house with lush green hosta plants. These were the windows Lily wanted to preserve.

“Peaceful, isn't it?” Avery said from the entry.

He startled me, but I didn't turn around. “Very.”

“I looked on the board and saw that you were signed out to come here.” He walked over to stand next to me, looking at the windows.

He wore a cotton sports jacket and a T-shirt over jeans. Our eyes met. Under other circumstances, one of us might have suggested we check out the master bedroom. I had the feeling we'd never know what we could have been.

“I thought you were going to San Diego. Avery, I'm sorry about last—”

“Not important.” He held up his hand. “My meeting was rescheduled until tomorrow. I'll leave later tonight.” He reached into the small plastic grocery bag he carried. “I brought you some cold water. It's warm outside and real stuffy in here.”

Just holding the chilled bottle was relief to my sweating hands.

“Thanks. You always think of everything.” The coolness was heaven as it went down.

He opened a bottle and took a long chug. “Do you know why I came all the way out here?”

I took a breath. “I guess you didn't trust me to itemize Lily's belongings.”

“No, that's not true. You're a professional. Better than some of our associates.” He walked around the room and opened one of the many cabinet doors that encircled the dining area. “I just thought that, considering Mrs. Wilson's propensity for paranoia, it'd be better if two of us did this.”

It was a lie and I was anxious to know why.

He turned on the light, and the rest of the dark corners disappeared.

I thought about that a moment. “Lily can be a real handful. She's gotten more distrustful over the years, always thinking people are stealing from her. Still, even paranoids have enemies.”

He smiled and took a small notebook from his inside pocket. “Okay, let's get started. I need to be able to verify the condition of the furniture and the personal contents. Have you been upstairs yet?”

I shook my head. The heat was really starting to get to me. I felt a little lightheaded. For now, I hoped Mark would see Avery's car outside and keep going. I fingered the cellphone in my pocket and turned off the ringer.

Avery stepped back and motioned for me to go in front of him into the butler's pantry. Floor to ceiling glass cabinets lined the walls of the small room. He started counting the crystal wineglasses on one side as I worked on the other.

“Hollis, you know I think a lot of you.”

I stopped and looked over at him. He was going through the lower cabinet and handling the figurines. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, there has always been this thing—a tension—between us. You can't tell me you haven't felt it.”

“It's one of the reasons I never wanted to be alone with you.”

“We're alone now.”

I sighed. “Yes, we are. I've tried hard not to get in a situation like we're in.” We wrote down the tallies on our inventory sheets and moved into the main dining room.

“You should have tried harder.” His voice had an edge.

I took a quick look at him, but his back was to me as he counted serving dishes. I couldn't see his eyes.

“Hey, have you read
The Long Pause
?”

“What?” His question caught me off guard. I took another swallow of water to hide my growing wariness.

“The book,
The Long Pause
. Have you read it yet?”

“Yes ... well, no … it's a … or at least it
was
the next book for my book club. I only started to get into it.” I don't know why I lied. I'd finished the book just before Rory was killed. “I … I didn't know you liked fiction.” I took slow, deep breaths.

Avery opened a corner hutch and started counting vases. “I guess I was reminded of
The Long Pause
because it takes place in a house like this.”

“I thought it took place in Austria.”

“I wasn't referring to the location. I meant the house was empty.” He smiled and put his bottle to his lips.

I gave a nervous laugh. “When do you have time to read?”

He stopped to open the buffet cabinet door but didn't look up. “Actually, I was inspired by you. I've sort of followed what your group was reading.”

I hoped the shock his words sent through me didn't register on my face. The phrase “bells went off in my head” was never more true. I opened the china cabinet's massive glass doors and, without looking at him, pretended to concentrate on counting plates. “Really? Why didn't you tell me? Did you ever borrow books out of my office?”

“Why, yes. I tried to return them quickly so you wouldn't miss them.”

“You did well. I didn't know they were gone except for …” I couldn't say the title. I couldn't say anything; the pieces were falling too quickly into place.

Avery stared at me. “Were you going to say, except for the plot copied by Rory Norris' murderer?”

“I was going to say
World at Midnight
.” I feigned a puzzled look. “Did you know Rory Norris?”

He looked away. Then he chuckled. I tried to take another deep breath but I only succeeded in shallow gulps. I was feeling faint from the heat. I steadied my hand by gripping my clipboard.

He motioned for me to follow him into the kitchen. “How long do you think we can keep this tap dance going?”

“Avery, you're starting to creep me out. I don't know what you're talking about. Speak English.” I struggled to keep my voice light. The cabinets I opened revealed a modest assortment of pots, pans and serving dishes. I checked the number on my list.

Avery opened a small door that apparently led to the laundry area.