The Fallen Angels Book Club

by R. Franklin James

  Mark started to interrupt.

  “No. Enough said.” Avery placed our work on top of legal file folders. “The administrative work that was done was done well. Unfortunately, not all work was completed. I’ll take it from here. Both of you wrap up your Riddick files and submit your hours. We’ll get together tomorrow and see where we are with our other cases.”

  Mark passed me in the lobby and headed for his office. The slam of his door could be heard around the corner. I quickly went through my Riddick files and completed the summary billable hours sheet. I ignored the hushed murmurs of staff, who had clearly picked up on the loud voices. After an hour or so, I went by Mark’s office. He was gone. Needing to focus on routine work, I made up files and records for two new clients. After a while, one of the administrative clerks came to my office and asked in a whispered voice, “What’s going on?”

  “If anyone asks, tell them you don’t know.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  When I left for the day, Avery was behind closed doors in a management committee meeting. I was more than ready to go home and have a soothing cup of tea.

  There was one message on the answering machine. It was Clay.

  “Hollis, good work on your personal statement. We’re all ready for the hearing.” My lawyer paused. “Uh … have the murders been resolved? Give me a call when you get this message.”

  Without any real news, I was glad I hadn’t been there to take his call. I’d wait a while before contacting him.

  I needed something mindless to do. I reorganized my kitchen cabinets. I approached my task as if it was the only one left to do on earth. With Spanish guitar music in the background, I tried not to think about my plight. I finished too soon.

  I didn’t have Mark’s home or cell numbers. Rena had given me hers, but it probably wasn’t a good time to test my hunch she and Mark would be together. I fixed myself another cup of white tea and sat outside on my patio. The sun had set, and the sky was a steely gray-blue. My neighbor had planted a fragrant clematis vine that had wrapped itself over the fence that separated our units. I inhaled the subtle fragrance, trying to fight off the self-pity. I had bet the rest of my life on getting a pardon. The thought of it slipping away gave birth to an ache I could only locate in my heart.

  The police assumed the killer had to be someone from the club. I agreed with them. Except, what if the killer had nothing to do with the club? On the other hand, who else besides club members would know which books we’d selected? There was the off chance spouses or friends could follow our reading habits, but I put that thought aside. I had to start somewhere. I didn’t have any answers except the circular one—suppose the killer was from the club. I went back into the kitchen, emptied my mug and poured myself a glass of wine. In my bedroom, I tried to read a novel that wasn’t from the club, but I couldn’t concentrate. Something told me there was something I was missing, something that didn’t make sense. Maybe I was too close to see the pieces that didn’t fit.

  Maybe it was time to let the killer find me.

  The next morning there was a note on my office door telling me to see Avery at nine. Since I’d turned in my Riddick files, I was curious about the reason for the meeting. With an hour to go, I took advantage of the spare time and read over my court statement; it put me in a calmer mood. A few minutes before nine, I went to see Mark but he was checked out.

  Avery waved me into his office. “Come on in. Shut the door. I don’t want us to be disturbed.”

  I sat down with pad and pen in hand. “Ready.”

  Avery folded his hands on his desk. “The firm has let Mark go.” He paused. “With our billable hours down, we can’t afford to carry any dead weight.”

  I frowned. “That’s not fair. He’s a good attorney. I know his ideas about the Riddick matter bugged you, but at least he took initiative and thought on his own.”

  “He forgot to employ the most basic of legal premises—validating the information you’re given. Make no assumptions. Erroneous thinking is lazy thinking. It can be costly thinking.”

  “It was you, his supervisor, who gave him those assumptions.”

  Avery shook his head. “I wanted to see how he’d perform. He didn’t. I’m not going to argue the point with you. Besides, he hasn’t brought in any new clients.”

  “Have any of the other new associates? Our team’s billable hours are doing fine, especially with the new clients you signed up this month.” I knew I was pushing my luck, but I was puzzled by Avery’s attitude. “I’d like to see the comparative hours report.”

  Avery stiffened. “This is a personnel matter. The committee has made its decision. Since when did you become a Mark fan, anyway? It’s not like you to defend an associate.”

  I had to think about that a moment. “Mark’s okay. He helped a friend of mine. I just hate to see anybody get a bum deal.”

  “I appreciate that.” Avery flashed one of his winning smiles. “I always knew you weren’t as tough as you pretend to be.”

  I didn’t smile back. I looked at his expensive haircut and how well his Brooks Brothers suit fit his broad shoulders. He’d be Item Number One on any single girl’s wish list. Not mine.

  I shook my head. “Oh, but I am.”

  The rest of the day went downhill from there. I asked the receptionist to let me know if Mark came into the office, but he didn’t. I hated to resort to illegal invasion of privacy, but these were extenuating circumstances. The personnel office emptied during lunch and it was easy to lift the emergency contact list kept in a folder on top of a file shelf labeled: “Confidential Emergency Numbers.” Our manager must be a believer in hiding in plain sight.

  I called Mark twice but got no answer. He could be reading the caller ID and not answering since the call was from the office. I’d left my cellphone at home and didn’t feel like using the public phone in the building lobby.

  Finally, mid-afternoon, I tried to reach him twice more. No answer. I walked over to a public phone next to Kinko’s and punched in Rena’s number.

  I got her machine.

  “Rena, this is Hollis. I’m just checking in to see how you’re doing. Let me know if you’re interested in going out for a drink on Friday.” I left my number and hung up.

  I didn’t know how much, if anything, Mark would confide in Rena, and I certainly didn’t want to be the one to cloud their couple bliss with questions. I felt sure she’d tell Mark and he’d know I was looking for him. In the meantime, while I waited to hear, I wanted to find out answers to a couple of questions that bothered me.

  I waited until I heard the last partner turn off the main lights and leave the building. Security would be coming around in a couple of hours to check on our offices. My heart thumped in my chest as I walked briskly down the darkened hallway to the other side of the building. It was as if I were on a spy mission. I was.

  I knew Avery’s office as well as I knew my own. I turned the light on. Like many lawyers, he was disorderly but disorderly in an organized fashion. The stacks of client files that tilted unsteadily on his desk and side credenzas were still in alphabetical order. I ignored them and went to his deposition briefcase sitting on the floor behind a box of files destined for storage. The briefcase held no discoveries.

  Avery’s work habits included keeping the most current matters closest to his phone. There was a good-sized stack of files to the left of his computer monitor. I went through them hurriedly but couldn’t find what I was looking for. A corner of a piece of paper stuck out from under his calendar desk pad. I lifted the pad. Several papers were scattered about. Two were receipts from his car dealer for service on his Jaguar. I glanced at the amounts. They rivaled my condo payment.

  A billing report from Accounting for the previous month had several red check marks next to the amounts. The remaining pages contained a listing of Internet searches for boat sales. I looked back at the billing report. Only the management committee got to see how well the partners did. Support staff got an annual bonus
and a great lunch, but the partners got the real payoff. According to the report, Avery was doing quite well. His clients brought in more money than any of the other attorneys’.

  I glanced down the list. My eyes went to the retainers and fees paid. Unlike some clients, probate client fees were a percentage of the estate. I took pride in noticing Mark and I were working on a couple of the most profitable matters in the firm. I looked for one name, Riddick.

  Imelda Riddick’s estate was valued at five million dollars with twenty percent of the gross estate plus direct costs coming to Triple D. I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d filed the appraiser’s numbers with the court and was glad to see the estate value listed matched the average of the value amount in the appraiser’s report. Everything was as it should be. Even so, I was unwilling to face my doubts, or even think about the implications. Avery had never given me any reason to question his integrity before, but lately he hadn’t been acting like himself. I was more than glad to see I had hit a dead end. I put everything back the way I found it, closed the door behind me and went home.

  The next day, I hadn’t been in my office long when my cellphone vibrated.

  “Hollis, I got your message.” Rena’s voice sounded tentative.

  I held the phone to my ear as I closed my office door. “I’m looking for Mark. Do you know where he is?”

  She paused. “He’s right here. Hold on.”

  There was an even longer pause.

  “Hollis, don’t worry about me. I’m okay.”

  I reacted to his use of the word “worry,” and then I realized I had been. “Good. Just taking off like that wasn’t very professional.”

  “Don’t go there.” Mark’s voice turned cold.

  “Okay I won’t. So, what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going on an interview tomorrow morning.”

  I couldn’t hide my surprise. “Tomorrow? How did you get an appointment so fast?”

  “In fact I have three interviews. One tomorrow and two next week.” He paused again. “Maybe I’m not the loser Avery thinks I am.”

  “Mark—”

  “Like I said, let’s not go there. Well, I’ve got to get going. I’ll stay in touch.”

  “Promise?”

  He hesitated. “Yeah, I promise. Wish me luck.”

  “You don’t need luck. You’ll do fine.”

  We said our goodbyes. I wanted to sound encouraging, but I had my doubts. I wondered if he counted on Triple D to give him a reference.

  The administrative clerks took no time in packing up Mark’s office. I was going to offer to do it, but Avery had finished the final touches on Lily’s trust documents and wanted me to proof them. Writing off my hours so he could work on paying clients made more sense. Avery also asked that I go over the documents with Lily so when she met with him, her questions would be relevant and not take up so much of his time. As I put all the papers into my carrying case, I questioned why Avery chose probate law as his specialty. His brilliant legal mind was made for litigation. The empathy needed to deal with families who are coping after a death was not his forte.

  I left the office right after lunch to visit the senior center. Lily was tired and cranky. She used a hearing aid, and I knew that if she’d had a bad day, she deliberately pretended deafness. After an hour of my repeated explanations, we hadn’t made much progress.

  “Lily, you don’t have to list of all your belongings in your will. Your estate isn’t that big.”

  “What? What did you say? My estate isn’t big?” She fiddled with the papers. “I have a beautiful house and priceless furnishings. Your fancy law firm—”

  “Lily, you’re not paying for any of this. Our work is pro bono. It’s free. Your house is your biggest asset. Your furnishings and housewares will be itemized and appraised. I’m only saying that things like your souvenir spoon collection and the back issues of Life Magazine will be distributed by your niece. We don’t have to go into that level of detail.”

  “Who will she give them to?” Lily’s hand shook. “My niece … my niece, who hasn’t come to see me in a year. She doesn’t know what I want. I have to put everything in writing. I’m not stupid. If it’s not in writing, anything can happen. No one cares about old people like me. My—”

  Marla put her hand on Lily’s shoulder. I hadn’t noticed she’d come into the room.

  “Lily, you’re working yourself up.” Marla sat down next to her. “I’ve met your niece, Gloria. She’s a nice young lady. Now, sweetie, you know she was just here a couple of months ago. She truly reminds me a lot of you.”

  “It seems like a year.” Lily’s hand patted Marla’s. “You’re right. She is like me.” She laid her head on Marla’s shoulder. “I just hate being treated like I’m old.”

  Marla nodded. “Let Hollis do her job and finish. I want to take you out to the garden. We’ve got a new gardener. He’ll be here in a short while to bring us new cuttings. Now, Hollis, what is it you need Lily to do?”

  I took a breath and gave Marla an appreciative smile. “Lily, why don’t you tell me all those items you want to go to someone special and I’ll make a new list. It’ll take a little longer but I think you’ll be happier. I’m going out to your house to take the inventory. We’ll just amend your will to show the additional items.” I knew I’d be the one drawing up a new will. If I returned with these documents one more time, Avery would send me out right after Mark.

  Lily gave Marla a smug look. “Let’s see. Did I mention my souvenir spoon collection?”

  Marla’s wisdom wasn’t lost on me. When I let Lily speak her piece, there wasn’t much to put on a new list. After a little more than an hour, we were finished. I promised Lily I’d return with the new papers for her final signature.

  Marla walked beside me to the front door. “Thank you for being patient with her.”

  “Your intervention helped. Thank you for reminding me about why I come here.”

  “How’s the other thing going? I mailed my letter like I said I would. I made sure it said what you needed.”

  Not quite knowing how to respond, I looked away and then back. “Too bad you can’t fix everything.”

  The third time had to be the charm. If I was going to do this thing, I wanted to know one way or another if Lily was in danger. I needed unequivocal proof Joseph or someone else was deliberately trying to harm her. I knew from my previous visits that center work schedules were posted in the staff break room. I knew, too, that Joseph was scheduled to work a night shift tonight. If I were going to play pharmacist, I’d do it when the least amount of staff was present and the residents were asleep.

  Dinner was still being served when I gave a nod to the receptionist, who was on the phone, and walked down the hall. I turned to see if she was paying any attention to me. She wasn’t. I quickly tapped numbers onto the keypad and got a beep. Marjorie’s office was as I left it. The sun had started to set and the soft orange glow made the room appear ethereal. In the pass-through closet, I slid down the wall and sat on the floor to wait. I closed the closet door on Marjorie’s side.

  I checked the time on my cellphone. Dinner had to be over and Joseph, as one of the two nurses on duty, would soon be finishing rounds.

  The keypad beeped and the lab door opened. Someone entered and turned on the lights. Joseph had a white paper bag with him. I cursed inwardly because by sitting on the floor I’d lost my sight advantage. I edged my way up. I wanted to see what was in the bag. I wasn’t disappointed. He reached in, pulled out several prescription bottles, and arranged them in a straight row. Then he went to a side cabinet and brought out three large bottles of pills. He dumped pills from one bottle into the pill sorting machine. It whirred for five seconds, filling three of the little tube-like containers. He poured them into three of the brown prescription bottles.

  I cracked open the door a couple of inches. Joseph didn’t seem to notice. He was intent on hurriedly redistributing pills to three sets of four bottles.

  I slippe
d out my cellphone and took a photo, making sure the flash was off.

  From the larger bottle he counted out another set of pills and, without hesitation, put them in a plastic bag that went into his inside pocket.

  I caught him in living color. I didn’t think I’d made any noise but for some reason he froze and looked around. I backed away from the door frame.

  He took a couple of steps out of my vision range. The door clicked open; then it closed again.

  I moved back to see through the closet doorway. Checking his watch, he went back to the table to finish. I didn’t want to push my luck by taking any more pictures. I prayed the two would suffice. I breathed in and out as silently as I could, but it was several more minutes before he started to pack things up. He picked up the bag, looked around and put it back down. He looked as if he was missing something. He paused for a long moment, opened the door and left.

  I licked my lips. I quickly took another picture of the table setup. I thought of venturing closer, but it was too risky. Standing, I leaned against the closet wall, keeping to the shadows. I knew Joseph would come back to pick up the bag.

  I almost toppled over when the door to the pass-through on Marjorie’s office side pulled open.

  I screamed in surprise.

  “This time you’re not going to talk your way out.” Joseph towered over me, his fists balled tightly.

  “What are you doing?” Going on the offensive was my best bet.

  Joseph didn’t answer. Instead, he put one hand over my mouth and the other gripped me by the elbow. He all but shoved me into the lab room. I twisted against the foul smell on his hand. He didn’t release his hold.

  “I assume you saw everything you shouldn’t have. Now you leave me very few options.”

  I winced and tried to pull away. I could only manage to muffle, “It’s over, Joseph. Whatever your game is, it’s over.”