The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (36 page)

“
Is anyone there
?”
Probably j
ust
a wrong number.
She
‘
d just made it
back
to the tub when the phone rang again. Once more she traipsed d
own the hall
, but again no one answered. Okay, this was getting a little creepy.

Grace glanced at the clock. It was already almost ten-thirty, and she hated to wake Matt over something
as stupid as a prank phone call. A
nd
why call the police?
What could they do about it?
What if it was
just
Elena’s strange way of keeping tabs on her?

She returned the pho
ne to the receiver,
shiver
ing
from cold in the drafty old hous
e. By the time she made it
to the bathroom, the water had already lost its warmth, so she drained the tub and put on her flannel pajamas.
An
idea filtered through her brain
before she crawled into bed
. The phon
e calls and the misplaced chair might
have a
simple explanation, but they
also might not. Without Papa here, it wa
s better to be safe than sorry.

Grace
slipped on her house shoes
and
shuffl
ed to the kitchen, digging in the junk drawer until she found what she wanted. She opted not to put on her coat
, but left the front door open while she hurriedly did what she’d never done before in all the years she’d lived in Mille
r’s Creek—
padlocked the gate.

Restlessness plagued her sleep
, her mind preoccupied with the events of the day. She’d just drifted off when the
ringing
phone broke the silence. Grace bounced to a sitting position
,
her heart pounding. The phone continued to ring, but she refused to answer. Instead she plopped back down in the bed and covered her head with the spare pillow.
The ringing eventually
stopped.

Early the next morning, a
squeaky
noise at the window near her bed
awakened her
. Grace forced her eyes open to peer at the clock.
Only five.
The sound resumed.
Still half asleep, she threw off the covers
and
padd
ed
over
to pe
ek between the blinds.
On a
hasty
impulse, she yanked on the cords
and pulled
the blinds up in one
swift
move. T
here was n
o one there,
but
what she saw sen
t fear coursing through her vein
s.

While she slept, s
omeone
had drawn a face in the condensation. The
crooked
mouth drooped downward, and where the eyes
were
drawn, water had pooled and now made
a slow crawl down the face,
like
ice-
cold
tears.

Grace jumped back
and released the cord, the blinds
crash
ing to closed position
.
F
urther sleep
no longer an op
tion,
she fixed a large pot of coffee and tried to gather her thoughts for the upcoming meeting with Elena.
She left the house thirty minutes earlier than usual, all for the
purpose
of
arriving early
to talk to her b
oss
. But as she hurried to the gate to unlock it,
her mouth gaped open
.

During the night, someone had yanked several pickets off the front fence
,
and the mailbox had been ripped from its post. Who
would do something like this, a
nd why?
H
er min
d instantly flew to Elena. Would she
really stoop to
scare
tactics?

Grace cleaned
up the mess the best s
he could, deciding to call Ernie a
fter work
. A
t least
he could
offer her advice as to what she should do.
Soon
she was on her
way to Morganville, and arrived in plenty of time
. Her backbone and her resolve
solidified
as she entered and peered toward Elena’s office where a shaft of light shone from the cracked door
. G
ood, she
was here
. Grace
deposited
her things on
the
desk, then
proceeded
to Elena’s office and rapped on the door.

“Come in.”

Sh
e
prayed as she turned
the knob.
God, give me
strength to say what needs to be said. Hel
p me to speak the truth in love. Give me a discerning spirit.

Elena
perched
behind her giant desk with pen in hand,
on
ce more the picture of business
woman perfection,
but she
glanc
ed up
with a frown when Grace entered
. “You’re here early.”

“Yes,
I need
to speak with you. Is now a good time?”

“Actually I was just on my way to Harry’s office. Why don’t you join me?”
She
made her way to the door.

So it was starting already. Grace followed her down the hallway to the attorney’s office, certain Elena was about to let her have it.

Some of the anger had dissipated from Harry Bridges’ face since Friday, but he still looked unhappy. He
did shake both their
hands before he motioned for them to sit.

Elena, very much in control,
gazed directly at
him.
“Harry, I want to apologize for what happened on Friday, but I can assure you it was a rookie mistake.”

Grace’s mouth fell open, and she struggled to find words.

The petite attorney
continued. “Grace did some research for me and gave it to me on Friday. I assumed she’d already sha
red it with the defense,
or I would have never used it.”

He considered her words for a
prolonged
silence. “So what do you
think
I should do, Elena? This left the district attorney’s office with a huge black eye and made you look thoroughly incompetent.” He shifted his gaze to Grace for a moment,
then
looked at
Elena.

She
held his gaze. “I think we should just chalk it up to a rookie mistake and move on from there.” She glanced at Grace. “I’m sure
Grace
has learned her lesso
n
.”

Grace still couldn’t find her voice.

He eventually nodded. “Okay, but the next time something like this happens, you’re both in danger of losing your job
s
.”

Elena stood and reached a hand across the desk. “Thanks, Harry. I can assure you it won’t happen again.”

Before she knew what happened, Grace found herself once more in Elen
a’s office, her thoughts spinn
ing.

The
woman gestured to one of the
comfy
chairs that faced her desk. “
Now what was it you wanted to see me about?
”

A hot spark ignited a fire inside her
.
Elena
had the audacity to ask that question after her cutting remarks yesterday
and the big lie she’d just told
?
Grace somehow mana
ged to control her volume
. “
I’d like to talk to you about
several
things actually.”

“Such as?”
Elena maintained her innocent expression.

Grace’s carefully rehearsed script flew out the window, and she
struggled between letting her have it and holding back
. “Well, first I
want to
say that y
ou’re very good at your
job. I
t’s been a privilege
to work with you.” Grace cringed inwardly. Her attempt to be kind was making her sound like a major wimp.

Elena smiled. “Why, thank you, Grace. I hope you know I feel the same way about you.
In spite of the mix up, I
’m very pleased
with the researc
h you did on the Simmons case. Which reminds me—
I have a list of a few things I could use your help on.” She snagged a legal pad from the left side of her ultra-organized desk
, and ha
nded it to Grace
. “I need this
research done before next Monday
.

Grace skimmed the list. Completing the requests would eat up her
entire holiday
.

“I know i
t’s a lot, but I’ll be spending some much-needed time
with Mama and Jessie. I knew you wouldn’t mind.”

“
I
have plans over the holidays, too.”
Sleep,
and lots of it
.
She gl
anced down
.
It was now or never.
“T
he way
you speak to me is verbally abusive
, a
nd I’ve had all I can take.”

Elena’s mouth
gaped
uncharacteristically, but she snapped it shut, flames in her eyes. “
So you’re quitting on me, is
that what you’ve come to say
? It figures that you’re a spinele
ss quitter. I should’
ve seen it coming.
” Scorn colored her tone
.

Grace
catapulte
d
to her feet
, her temples throbbing
,
thin cracks in her patience
. “You’re wrong. I didn’t come to quit, I came to tell you I won’t put up with your outbursts and your demands on my
free
time any longer.
I’ll continue to do my best at
t
his job, but not at the expens
e of my pe
ace of mind
.
”

The petite attorney
rose
to her feet, both
palms on her desk.
“
That’s not the way it works around here.
As my employee, you’ll put up with whatever I choose to give you.”
Her voice held a chill
.

Grace continued before she lost her nerve.
“While I’m appreciative of not losing my job, you just told Harry Bridges a pack of lies. You gave me that research on the Simmons case last Thursday. I worked on it at home and gave you the information as soon as I got to the courthouse
the next
morning. You didn’t tell me to give it to the defense, nor did I have time to do so.
I think you threw the case on purpose
.
”

Elena
stalked slowly from behind her desk, until she stood
eye-to-eye with Grace.
“
You have
absolutely
no proof
.”

Grace
suddenly came
to her
senses. God hadn’t called her
here to start a fight. “Look, Elena, the last thing I want is to get you in trouble, but I believe
with all my heart that you need professional
help. I know you’re under a lot of stress with your job and family, but
you erupt over the smallest thing. Sometimes I wonder if you even remember all the hurtful thing
s you say.” She released a sigh as she maintained eye contact
.
If only she could voice her objection to the false accusations against Andy, but she couldn’t, at least not without incriminating herself, something she had no doubt Elena would use against her. Better to focus on the Simmons case. “
I don’t know what you’re involved in
with the
mistrial
, but it’s not too late to set it right.
”

Elena
didn’t speak, but relaxed her posture and
glid
ed to the window.
After several long minutes
, she
face
d Grace
. “I apologize for my outburst yesterday on the phone. It was only out of concern for you that I asked you to stay away from Jason and Matt. As fo
r your other allegations, they’
re completely false.” Her face was a blank slate
,
and her
voic
e held neither warmth nor chill. “Please work on that list for today and tomorrow. I don’t expect you to do it over the holidays. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment.”
Without
further comment, Elena gather
ed her purse and
sashayed out the door
.