Adverse Possession (The Anna Albertini Files #3) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,31

starting at nine, when the office opens. How about seven? I’ll bring lattes.”

“Sounds good. I’ll take a Chai latte with almond milk.” I settled my laptop bag more securely over my shoulder. “I’ll let Pauley and Oliver know to be here at 8:30 so they can catch the end of the meeting, and we can give them directions for the week. They’re both doing a great job.”

“Agreed,” Clark said, happily turning back to his numbers.

“Oh. Also, I have a meeting in the morning at the prosecuting attorney’s office at nine to go over Kelsey Walker’s case. We just set it up an hour ago. But I’ll get right back to help you with a crowd if we get another one.” I hoped we did, and I wasn’t going to feel guilty about a bar fight that got us there. Life was weird. “Have a good night, Clark.” I turned and headed toward the door to reception, where I found Oliver typing furiously into his computer. “It’s quitting time, bud,” I said.

He looked up, his cheeks a cherry red. “I know. I was just finishing filling in your calendar for tomorrow and next week. We had twice as many calls for appointments as we did walk-ins. It’s crazy.”

I smiled at him and shook my head. It was crazy. “See you tomorrow at 8:30? You and Pauley can catch the end of our firm meeting.”

“Sure. I’ll put it on our calendars right now. Pauley checks his constantly.” Oliver turned back to the computer.

“We’re lucky to have you two,” I said.

He blushed an even brighter red, which I wouldn’t have thought possible. “Night.”

“Night.” I opened the door and strode down the quiet hallway and steps, where I found Kelsey Walker sitting on the floor by the back door. I paused. “Kelsey?

She looked up, her face pale. “Hi.”

“What’s going on?” I looked around.

So did she. “I don’t know. When I left your office, I was going to work at the flower shop, and they called and told me not to come. They found out about the charges against me and fired me. I only had that job for a week and I liked it.” She looked so lost and lonely on the floor. “So I just sat down. There’s nowhere for me to go. My folks sold the funeral home, my sisters all live out of town, and Krissy is in prison. So I just decided to sit.”

The poor woman had sat by the back door all day?

I set down my bag and plopped onto the floor. “Sometimes just sitting is a good thing.” What could I do to help her? Life really wasn’t being fair to her, not that I had many answers right now.

“What am I going to do?” she asked, plucking a string on her skirt.

The late afternoon sun beamed in through the windows, showing dust mites in the air. A sense of peace wandered through the quiet hallway, and the genuine and older wooden floor was warm. I took a deep breath and pushed my stress away so I could help her. She really needed help. “First thing you do is get up. Then go home and have a healthy dinner and then a decent sleep. After that, we’ll figure out your case, and then you can get another job. How strapped are you for cash?” I didn’t have any to share, but maybe I could find her a job if it was an emergency. Somebody in the family had to need something.

She finally smiled. “I have a good savings account, so there’s that. I’ve always been a bit of a miser with money, so I’m financially okay for a little while.” She bit her lip. “I can’t go to the Caribbean or anything, but I’m not starving.”

I nudged her arm. “See? That’s a bright side. We’ll learn more about your case during the preliminary hearing, and then we can come up with a game plan. Once we have a plan in place, you’ll feel better. It’s just this sucky state of limbo that causes so much stress.”

“Totally agree,” she said.

Yeah. It was the same place I was in with being a suspect in Sasha’s murder. Kelsey and I had more in common than I liked, and so far, the legal system wasn’t being fair to us. But I had to believe that it would all work out the way it should in the end. “I know how you feel, and everything is going to be all right.” I couldn’t