not wanting me to feel badly that she got to come see the project I had worked on for years.
But then another thread came loose when Andi said my mother’s name was Marie Louise—she’d sounded so certain. And the second time, I couldn’t just cut the thread and move on. I’d pulled, and now it felt like I was waiting for my entire world to unravel.
After I’d checked into my hotel, I’d gone to the gym to work off some of my unsettled energy and then showered. Now I was sitting at the bar of the restaurant. My phone finally rang just as I got my burger.
“Hey, Dan.”
“Hey, Ford.”
“Did you find anything?”
“I checked all the expense reports we had, and we have no record of your mom ever taking a trip to Chicago. Their assistant made all their reservations and did their expense reports for the company—not likely she’d miss something, but I suppose it’s possible.”
My chest started to hurt, and I rubbed at it. “Any chance you remember if we had hired an interior designer in Chicago? I’m up here looking at the building we used to own—it came back on the market.”
Dan had been with the company as long as I’d been alive and remembered everything.
“Your dad was pretty good about not spending on projects before the official construction began. You never know when you might get problems from the building department that change all your plans.”
I nodded. That was definitely true. I was just about to let him off the phone. Maybe Andi was wrong about everything with my dad, and I was pulling at a thread that just needed to be snipped. It honestly seemed ridiculous to think what I’d been thinking.
I laughed. “You’re right, Dan. Thanks a lot.”
“No problem. If you’re considering buying the building back, you might want to check in with your dad’s lawyer up there. I remember there was a zoning issue she’d worked on for him before the purchase—not sure if the current owner changed zoning back. But that’s something to look into if you decide to go forward.”
I nodded. This is why my parents paid Dan more than the average accounting manager—his mind was a steel trap.
“Thanks, Dan. Any chance you remember the attorney’s name?”
“Landsford, I think. Let me look it up in the computer. We would have cut her a check, and she’ll be in our vendor list. Hang on a second.”
My shoulders relaxed, and I reached down for the burger in front of me. Suddenly, my appetite had returned. Dan came back on the line just as I bit into it.
“Yeah, it was Landsford. Marie Louise Landsford, Esquire, is who we made the check out to.”
Marie Louise.
I almost choked on my burger.
“You want me to email you her contact information?” he asked.
I managed to force down the mouthful of food, yet it still felt like I had a lump in my throat after I swallowed. “Yeah. That would be helpful. Thanks, Dan.”
***
I didn’t tend to be a nervous person.
The last time I’d felt this way was when I stood in front of the judge and told him I wanted legal custody of my fourteen-year-old sister. I wasn’t nervous that I was making the wrong decision—I was nervous that he’d say I wasn’t qualified or that my sister would be better off in foster care or with my aunt in Ohio.
But as I sat in my car, parked on Superior Street in front of the storefront law office of Marie Louise Landsford, Esquire, my palms were sweaty and my stomach was tied in a knot. It felt as though I could bend over and toss my breakfast, only I hadn’t had anything to eat since the one bite of burger last night. My eyes also itched, though that could be from lack of sleep and not nerves. I could feel my heartbeat all over—ricocheting against my chest, swooshing through my ears, even in my throat.
My phone buzzed in my pocket—a text from Valentina. I’d exchanged a few messages with her last night, but didn’t mention anything about my father or what was going on. I couldn’t even admit it to myself, much less say the words out loud to someone else. I also hadn’t mentioned I’d blown off the appointment I was supposed to have with the engineer this morning. The only thing she knew was that I’d pushed back my flight to meet with an attorney about zoning. Which was sort of true, I guess. At least that