The Heart of Lies - By Debra Burroughs Page 0,21

at me like that. You know how I feel about this. But, if you must—”

He bolted from his seat before she could finish her sentence and sprinted down the aisle to join his colleagues in line.

“Yay!” Camille’s deep blue eyes lit up, making her spiky red hair appear more vivid. She clapped her hands together exuberantly, obviously approving of their decision to purchase a condo. “We’re going to have so much fun, girls!”

Emily folded her arms and gave Isabel as sideways look, which Isabel mirrored. “Why don’t you go and get a look at those renderings, Camille? You can start planning our first weekend trip.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea, Emily.” Camille shot up out of her chair. “Maggie and Lucas will probably have one, too. Aren’t you girls coming?”

“We’ll be there in a minute,” Emily said. “We have some business to discuss first.”

“All right.” Camille climbed past her friends to get out to the aisle. “But don’t be too long.” She wagged her finger. “I’m just busting to congratulate Maggie.” Camille’s voice trailed off as she walked away.

Once Camille was gone, Emily felt she and Isabel could speak more freely. She looked around to make sure she would not be overheard. “Did you dig anything up with the background check on you know who?”

“Nothing yet. I’ve been buried, working on the Semanski case,” Isabel replied. “It’s going to trial soon.”

“Better do it quick, looks like we’re running out of time.”

“Looks like it.”

“I have to say, I’m surprised you let Alex invest with Lucas before we fully vet him.”

“I didn’t exactly let him. On the way over tonight, we had a doozie of an argument over this thing. I can’t remember the last time we argued like that. For Alex, it’s all about how he’ll look at the office if the other partners have a luxury condo up there and we don’t. You know how competitive those lawyers can be.”

“Let’s hope we’re worrying about nothing.” Emily squeezed Isabel’s hand.

“We’d better go congratulate the happy couple.”

Emily uttered a chorus of, “Excuse me, pardon me, sorry,” as she and Isabel wormed their way through the crowd, pressing through to the front of the line.

“Hey, no cuts,” a thirty-something, professional-looking man at the front of the line hollered. “Wait your turn.”

“Sorry, mister, I’m not here to buy a condo,” Emily apologized, grabbing hold of Isabel’s arm and pulling her around the side of Maggie’s table.

“Hey, y’all,” Maggie exclaimed, jumping up from her seat with open arms, hugging Emily first, then Isabel.

“We just wanted to congratulate you,” Isabel said graciously.

Maggie stuck her hand out, flashing a large single diamond in what looked like a platinum setting.

“That’s gorgeous,” Emily said.

“Yes, Maggie, stunning. You look so happy,” Isabel added.

As Isabel was talking, Emily noticed Sully approach Lucas, who stood from the table and extended his hand. While Maggie and Isabel exchanged a few words, Emily diverted her attention to what Sully might be saying to Lucas. Straining to hear their conversation, she noticed Sully smile and grasp Lucas’s hand with both of his, leaning again in to say something in private.

“This had better pan out or I’m going to be SOL.” She overheard Sully say the words in a low, serious voice, still grasping Lucas’s hand. That was all, no further conversation. Her observation undetected, she watched as the mayor walked away and Lucas plastered another charming smile on his face as he turned to help the next person in line.

That exchange prickled her. Something was not right, and for Maggie’s sake, she was going to find out what.

“We’d better let Maggie get back to work,” Emily said. “We’ll talk tomorrow.” She gave Maggie a quick hug good-bye right after Isabel hugged her, and they turned to leave.

Emily noticed the prospective investor who had scolded them earlier giving her the stink eye. “We’re leaving—she’s all yours,” Emily quipped.

CHAPTER 8

The next morning, Emily woke with a splitting headache. She had endured another night of restless sleep, a jumble of thoughts about Evan, visions of Colin, and dreams about Maggie and Lucas that did not end well. Several times in the night she sat up, spooked and wide awake, checking the clock. Once she even checked for her gun in the nightstand.

She hardly remembered the details of the dreams, just the ominous, unnerving mood they left behind, especially the unsettledness about Maggie and Lucas. She and Isabel had had a bad feeling about Lucas from the start, but what she overheard Maggie’s brother say, continued to prick her like