Evidence of Life - By Barbara Taylor Sissel Page 0,31

had first appeared on her doorstep with their huge, heartrending story, they hadn’t wanted anything more than a referral to an attorney who would be willing to take on a corporate giant like Helix Belle on a contingency basis. By then, their son Casey’s medical difficulties had sapped most of their financial resources, and they, along with the rest of the affected families, had been turned away by a number of other law firms. Nick had been their last resort. Abby would never forget how stunned she was, as astonished as Wendy and Doug, as Joe himself, when Nick had offered his services and those of his firm. Somebody needs to show these guys they can’t hurt little kids and walk away, Nick had said. Somebody needs to hold their feet to the fire. He had paced and raised his voice. Abby had been a bit embarrassed by his fervor. She had wondered where it came from.

Wendy had cried, she’d been so relieved to have Nick’s legal counsel; Doug had been almost incoherent in his gratitude. But Abby had been disturbed. “Can you really afford to represent them?” she had asked Nick later. “You’re always telling me cases like this can take years. You could lose everything.”

Jesus Christ, Abby, does it always have to be about the money? Nick’s reply skittered down the corridor of Abby’s memory. She watched him, in her mind’s eye, as he dropped to the edge of the sofa. “Maybe I can make a difference,” she remembered him saying. “Do something good for once for people who can really use my help.”

That poor family; their poor kid…

Abby had felt awful for the Rileys, too, but she remembered wanting to ask Nick: What about your own family? What about your kids? We can’t afford your altruism. But in the end, she had walked away, expecting Nick to sort it out. She’d had plenty of her own issues, like a household to run on a shoestring and doses of altruism. They’d weathered the argument or whatever it had been. At least she’d thought they had, but maybe not. Nothing had ever felt quite right since that Sunday afternoon, had it?

She looked at Joe now. “I didn’t want Nick to take on that case either.”

“Well, no, but it’s got nothing to do with his disappearance.”

“Something happened.”

“Abby—”

“You don’t have to protect me, Joe.”

“I have no idea what you’re—”

“Nick told me about a client he had recently, a woman who accused him of not handling her interests properly in a real estate case. He said she made threats. What do you know about that?”

Joe sat back. “Nick doesn’t handle cases involving real estate, not as a rule. What are you getting at now?”

Joe’s annoyance was mixed with bewilderment that seemed genuine. Still, Abby pursued it. “Maybe there was other client trouble. Or maybe something was going on internally here. Dennis asked me whether I thought someone might have been following Nick. He didn’t mention the possibility to you?”

“No, because there is nothing. No conspiracy, no—”

“But suppose there was? And it’s somehow related to Nick’s and Lindsey’s disappearance?” Abby said disappearance because she didn’t want to say kidnapping, even though she could not get the word, or its possible ramification, out of her mind.

Joe opened his mouth and then closed it, making a flat, disapproving line. He was through talking.

And that was fine, Abby thought. At least he wouldn’t toss the idea of holding a memorial service at her. Her visit had accomplished that much. She drew her purse over her shoulder, keeping Joe’s gaze as she stood up. “Even Sheriff Henderson asked me to go over certain details with him several times because he said sometimes we will remember something new that can be helpful.”

“If I were to remember anything, Abby, of course, I would let the authorities know.”

Abby thanked him. Joe said he’d walk her out, that he had to be in court, but she said, no, she was going to the ladies’ room. She couldn’t stand another moment in his company.

* * *

Abby was grateful to find the restroom deserted. Bending over the basin, she washed her hands and patted her cheeks with her damp palms in an effort to cool down, to calm herself, and when she thought she had given Joe enough time to leave the building, she went to Nick’s office. The door was open, but she stopped short of crossing the threshold, for a moment convinced she had made a mistake. It was so neat.