Sticks & Stones (A Hollis Morgan Mystery) (18 page)

“Well, you already know everything about me.”

“I know what the State of California says, but I don’t know you.”

“Typical dysfunctional childhood.” She picked at the remnants of her salad. “My dream is to pass the bar and become a probate attorney.”

“Why that area of the law?”

“It’s narrow, it’s interesting, and it’s rewarding,” she said. “It’s clear and straightforward.”

“It’s mostly paperwork.”

Hollis smiled, “Yeah, I know.”

He nodded. “What about your family
—any brothers, sisters?”

“One each. What about you?”

“Only child. I was adopted.”

“I wanted to be adopted,” she said wistfully.

He looked at her curiously.

She shook her head. “Just kidding
. That slipped out. Ignore me.”

They chatted companionably through the rest of dinner. Hollis found herself not wanting dessert to arrive
to mark the end of a great evening.

John leaned back in his chair. “Hey, I’m going up the coast next Friday to pick up a table for a friend. Would you like to
take a drive with me? We could make a day of it.”

Hollis looked dejected. “I can’t. Cathy’s hearing starts next Friday.”

“Maybe another time,” he said. “Right now I have Thursdays and Fridays off, but next month I’ll get my weekends back.” He paused. “How’s the case going? Did she have the goods on Fields?”

“We think so. How’s Cavanaugh doing? I haven’t heard from him lately. Does he have any clues to Cathy’s killer?”

“Nah, but he’s on it. No detective wants to have a double murder on his plate. He’s doing his job.”

“Mark and I have been coming up with some curious material
, but without Cathy here to tell us what it all means, we can’t tell if there is anything we should run with. It’s pretty maddening.”

John picked up his cup of coffee. “You haven’t had any other burglaries or intrusions
, have you?”

“No, and remember
: whoever it was knew it was my place.”

“Yeah, that’s the part that worries me.”

“But evidently Cavanaugh still doesn’t think it’s Fields.”

“You’ve got to admit, Fields wouldn’t be that stupid. Besides, he’s taking his side to court. There’s no one else.”

“What about the boyfriend?”

John
eyes narrowed. “What boyfriend?”

“A Michael Carver,” she said. “I was in Cathy’s apartment day before yesterday when he entered with a key.”

“You tell Cavanaugh?”

Hollis looked contrite. “No, I honestly didn’t think to, until now. I guess I really should. Carver said he was out of town
; maybe he went to see the police on his own.”

He looked at her skeptically. “Remember to call Cavanaugh tomorrow. You don’t want to be seen as concealing information.”

She rose. “I’m not concealing information. Anyway, Cavanaugh doesn’t really think it was Fields. Why should I do his job for him? My job is to clear her name. She at least deserves that.”

John lowered his voice. “Did you learn anything from this boyfriend?”

Hollis took the hint and lowered her voice, too. “He didn’t know she was dead. He’d gone camping with some friends a few weeks ago. He’s been seeing Cathy for a couple of months before that. Which I should say is about her maximum term for a boyfriend. He did have a copy of her article, not the one we are defending but an earlier draft. That’s all I know.”

“Well, from what I can tell,” he said
, reaching for her hand, “I would definitely want you for my friend.”

Hollis looked into his smil
ing face and felt warmth in her cheeks. “Thank you.”

“What say we go listen to some music at Cleo’s?”

“You might be a night owl, but I’m not.” She smiled. “I’m beat. I’ll have to take a rain check if you’re giving them out.”

“For you, there’s an unlimited supply,” he murmured.

They were both silent for a moment. Then he leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.

And Hollis kissed him back.

H
ollis sat in the lobby of the senior facility waiting for Kelly to emerge from her grandfather’s room. She was frustrated at having to wait the additional week, but with the work needed for Cathy’s research, the time had passed quickly. Fortunately Kelly was true to her word.

Since it was Social Wednesday, it took a little longer for visitors to check in and get past the front desk. They agreed that Kelly had a better chance of convincing Eric Ferris to speak to Hollis if she went to him first by herself.

She
held her breath when she saw Kelly walking quickly toward her.

“After some arm twisting
, he agreed to see you, but he’s not happy about it. He says he’s only doing it for me.” Kelly stood by the hallway entrance waiting for Hollis to gather her things.

“I won’t be long with him.” Hollis walked behind her.

They turned onto a long corridor. About halfway to the end, Kelly stopped and pointed to the room. Hollis entered first.

“Mr. Ferris, I’m sorry about the
 … my last visit.”

Eric Ferris was dressed in slacks, shirt
, and a sweater. He sat propped up on several pillows in a large lounger. Off to the side was a standing tray containing a small blue plastic pitcher of water and plastic cups. Hollis took a chair near the stand. Kelly sat opposite her, next to her grandfather, holding his hand.

Ferris growled
, “My granddaughter insisted that I meet with you. I’m listening.”

“This is the letter I wanted to give you from Margaret Koch. We found it among her belongings. She died in June.”

Hollis held out the yellowed envelope, but Eric didn’t reach for it. After a moment, when it was clear he had no intention of taking it, she put it back in her purse.

A
small smile came to his lips. “Well, the bitch is finally dead.”

Hollis wasn’t surprised by the words
so much as his vehemence. “The letter is addressed to you, but it was returned to sender. We only opened it to see if could affect her estate.” She paused. “I … we wanted to make sure you—”

“She have any kids?”

“No, in her letter she—”

“I’m not reading any damn letter from her.” He struggled to sit taller in the lounger, making it clear to Kelly
, who now stood, that he didn’t want assistance. He pulled the tray to him and shakily poured himself some water.

“Maybe I should go,” Hollis said.

“No, you’re going to hear this. I don’t want you hounding me again.” He stared out the window. “She thought she could buy me, the slut.” He slammed the top of the chair arms with his fists. “We might as well have killed Charles. ’Cept he did it to himself.”

Hollis looked over
at Kelly, who seemed mesmerized.

Hollis frowned. “I
 … I don’t understand. George Ferris killed himself?”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He turned to Kelly.

“Granddad, why?”

Eric’s withered face turned away, but not before Hollis saw his eyes fill with tears.
“I thought she did it. I could’ve sworn I saw her push him. All those years in jail ….”

Hollis stood next to him. “But how did you—”

“I found his note when I got out of prison.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “He couldn’t handle being a cripple and being betrayed by his brother with the love of his life.”

Hollis was silent.

“So you see, young woman, take yourself and that letter, mind your own business, and leave me alone. There is nothing she could say that I would want to hear.” His reddened eyes seemed to look through her.

Hollis picked up the letter and rose. “I’m so sorry. I
 … I thought if you read her letter to you and … you would know how Margaret felt … from her point of view …. I didn’t mean to upset you.

“Upset me?” He leaned closer and Hollis took a step backward. “She died last June, I
 … I died fifty years ago.”

Hollis nodded and stood to leave the room with tears forming in her own eyes. She looked back and saw Kelly holding her grandfather in her arms.

Kelly looked up at her. She mouthed that she would see her tomorrow. Hollis closed the door as Ferris’ body seemed to collapse on itself and he broke into shaking sobs.

Still rattled after the visit with Eric Ferris, Hollis drove on autopilot to Mark’s office. As they prepped for the
Transformation
meeting, he must have sensed not to engage her in conversation, other than giving her a quick overview of how they would proceed. Now they waited for Carl Devi and his legal team to appear. It was the last strategy meeting before the initial hearing. She tried to concentrate on the task at hand, putting the morning with Eric Ferris out of her mind.

Mark reshuffled papers and lined up his pens beside his legal pad.

“You ready?”

Hollis shrugged.
“Yeah, I’m fine. We’ve got evidence that Fields’ centers were poorly run and that fact alone raises concern over the use of donations and contributions. There is no dispute; Cathy’s allegations were grounded in fact.”

Mark rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, but we don’t have indisputable proof of mishandl
ed funding.”

Hollis didn’t try to hide her concern.

“We need to face facts too,” Mark said. “You should try sitting down with
Transformation’
s legal team to defend Cathy’s words.” He took off his glasses. “I think
Transformation
wants to settle.”

Before Hollis could respond, Devi and his three attorneys entered. Introductions cycled around.

“Well, good morning, Hollis, we haven’t seen you for a while, but I understand you’ve been working diligently behind the scenes.”

“Very diligently. We’ll be ready for the hearing.”

“Then you must have learned something new that Mark hasn’t shared with us,” Devi said. “What is it?”

Mark interjected, “Let’s go over our case
. I think you’ll see we have a good position.”

Devi reached into the briefing folder Mark had passed him. “Good, but not strong?”

Mark didn’t answer. Instead he began his oral argument.

Hollis looked around the room and noticed that Mark had the attention of everyone except Carl Devi. Devi was staring at her. When their eyes met, he looked away.

Twenty minutes later, Mark stopped speaking and asked for questions.

At the very least the attorneys looked skeptical.

The youngest one, an Asian woman, spoke first. “Mr. Haddan, I grant that you have framed a very difficult case in the most defensive manner possible. You’ve done a lot of work.”

“But?”

The attorney sitting next to Devi adjusted his green plaid tie and said, “But, where are the facts that support Briscoe’s statements? She accuses him of laundering donations for his own use. Show me a fact, not a clue, not a contention, but a cold fact that says Dorian Fields defrauded contributors.”

Mark tossed his pen onto the table.

“I could bullshit you, but this is as close as we could get.”

“I thought so,” Devi said. “Let’s put an end to this.” He turned to the attorney at the end of the table. “Float a settlement number and—”

“Wait,” Hollis interrupted. “Okay, maybe we can’t nail him on laundering, but there is still a lot of dirt that Cathy dug up. We can still use it. Doctored annual reports, misleading non-profit organizations and inflated expenses all add up, if not to something illegal then something that flies in the face of full disclosure and ethical behavior. You could counter his philanthropy and good intentions with loose business practices.”

“She’s got a point, Carl,” green tie said. “Maybe we can still get some traction in a settlement. We’ll agree to pull the story
, but we’ll get one of the stringers to recast the article with the facts we do have. We don’t have to let Field’s attorney’s know. That’s another story altogether. We can build off Briscoe’s findings. It will be even bigger. Can’t you see the marketing angle?”

Hollis couldn’t read what Devi was thinking
in his dark brown eyes.

He replied, “Just brilliant.”
The look he gave her was still unreadable.

After taking the next ten minutes to finalize a negotiating posture they wanted Mark and Hollis to pursue, Devi and friends left.

Mark packed up his papers. “You gave us enough space to breathe another day.”

Hollis hurried to load her briefcase. “I was grasping. I’ve been trying to step back and look at Cathy’s papers from all angles. Besides
, with my back to the wall, it’s amazing how creative I can get.”

“I’ll drink to that. Want to join me?”

“No thanks. I want to pick up those pictures from Joe, the photographer. We may not need them but he went to a lot of effort to make me copies.”

Hollis finished putting papers in her briefcase. She felt on edge but couldn’t exactly pinpoint the cause. Cathy’s findings, the nonprofits and the meeting with Devi
 …. Things just didn’t feel right.

“Hollis, for God’s sake
, can’t you ever let go and have fun?”

She looked affronted. “I do have fun. I had a date last Saturday.”

“With a guy?”

She put her hands on her hips. “Yeah, with a guy.”

“That’s great news. Now I can get Rena off my back. She’s been at me to introduce you to a nice guy.”

“Tell her thank you, but I found my own guy.”

“Really?” Mark finished packing. “Do I know him?”

Hollis steeled herself. “It’s John Faber.”

Mark sat back down. “Detective John Faber? John Faber who almost sent you back to prison? That John Faber?”

“Very funny. He’s actually kind of nice.” Hollis turned away from Mark’s astonished
look. “Come on, let’s go home. We made it through this wretched day.”