I could barely sit still with my excitement. I had a client—a real one. Hopefully the old farm was worth something so Oliver could have a good start in life, but even if not, it was amazing that McLerrison wanted to leave him property. Also, I really hoped McLerrison stayed with real horses and didn’t have to ride the one into the sky for a long time. He seemed like a great man. I gingerly unfolded the papers so I could start research.
My phone buzzed. “Hi, Oliver,” I said, booting up my trusty laptop.
“Hi, Ms. Albertini. I have a client here for you and I’ll bring her right back.” Oliver sounded breathless.
“Okay.” I still needed to remind him to just call me by my first name. I set the papers aside and met them at the door, surprised once again. “Kelsey.” It took me a minute to regain my composure. “Thanks, Oliver.”
“Sure.” He lingered a moment, his gaze filled with Kelsey Walker. In her early twenties, she was very pretty with green eyes and dirty blonde hair, and she had a figure that filled out any clothing very nicely.
I gently shut the door and drew her inside. “How are you?”
She strode on pink flats to my guest chair to sit. The shoes looked perfect with her light blue skirt and flowered top. “Not good. I’m in trouble.”
I walked around my desk and retook my seat, studying the woman. She was only four or five years younger than me, but I felt much older. The previous month, her sister had pled guilty to murdering Kelsey’s ex-boyfriend and was already serving a prison sentence. The ex also had dated my sister Tessa a couple of years ago. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Her hands trembled. “The prosecuting attorney is charging me as an accomplice to Danny’s murder as well as an accomplice for all of Krissy’s crimes. I don’t even understand all of them.”
I sat back, stunned. Krissy had run a family funeral home where she’d trafficked in guns and accessories, in addition to having killed Danny. While Kelsey had worked at the funeral home, she hadn’t been involved in any of it. “That’s crazy.”
Tears filled Kelsey’s eyes. “I know,” she whispered. “But I did work with Krissy with the secretarial type work, and she did kill my ex. The prosecuting attorney believes there’s enough evidence to charge me as an accessory, and I’m afraid I’m gonna go to jail. I didn’t do anything, Anna. I had no idea that Krissy was doing anything with guns. I swear.”
“Okay. Let’s take a deep breath.” I needed to get some facial tissues for my office next time I went shopping. “Have you been arrested?”
She wiped her eyes off. “Yes. I met with a detective and told him everything last week, and he arrested me right there. I had something called an initial appearance, and some court lawyer showed up and requested a preliminary hearing. I fired him because he didn’t seem to know what he was doing. My boyfriend posted bond and I have that preliminary hearing next Monday. I need you to be my lawyer there.”
I perked up. “Is Grant Pierce the detective?”
“No. The guy’s name was Detective Wilson. He read me those rights you see on television, but since I didn’t do anything wrong, I didn’t ask for a lawyer, and then all of a sudden he was arresting me.” She bit the nail on her ring finger. “I just don’t understand this.”
“I know how you feel,” I said, meaning it. “I’m surprised you came to me, considering everything that happened with your sister.” I’d helped put Krissy away and had even trapped her in a coffin until the police had arrived to arrest her.
Pink filtered into Kelsey’s cheeks. “I know, but you were really sweet during all of that. My folks have pretty much disowned both me and Krissy after everything that happened. Even they think I’ve gone bad, Anna.” More tears welled into her eyes.
I reached out and patted her hand, aching for her. The idea of my family ignoring me was painful and hard to even imagine. “I was with you during that whole case, and I believe you.” The woman just couldn’t get a break. “Have you talked to Krissy?”
Kelsey shook her head. “No. I’m still mad at her for getting me involved in that whole gun mess, and I loved Danny. She killed him.” Kelsey’s mascara pooled beneath her eyes in a black gob. “I know he wasn’t the best of guys, and I’m seeing that shrink you recommended, but he didn’t deserve to die.” She dug in her purse for a Kleenex and blew her nose before continuing. “Maybe if Danny and I had gone to counseling together, he would’ve become a better person. He never got that chance.”
I doubted Danny Pucci would’ve ever been better than a slug on concrete, but there was no reason to say so. “I’m glad you’re getting help.” Danny had liked to hit women, and it was good that Kelsey was attending counseling.
She reached in her purse and pulled out a wallet, Chapstick, lipstick, and then lotion to pile on my desk. Sighing, she dug deeper, yanking out a sunglass case and an unopened purple condom. “Geez. This is crazy. I need to get more organized.” Finally, she pulled out a folded check to hand over. “I have some money in savings and hope this is enough to cover a retainer.”
“It is.” I didn’t look at the check. Kelsey needed help and I was going to help her. I kind of felt like we were in this together.
She shoved all of her belongings back into the pink bag. It didn’t look big enough to hold everything, but she made it work. “Thank you. What do we do now?”
I pushed the button on my phone.
“Hello, Ms. Albertini. This is Oliver. How may I help you?” Oliver asked formally.
I sighed. “Oliver, please call the court and get a copy of the case file against Kelsey Walker. You’ll probably need to pick it up, and I’m sure they’ll charge us for copies. See if we can set up an account there to be billed monthly. I think Clark has business credit cards for all of us.” That reminded me that I needed to get mine from him.
“Yes, ma’am,” Oliver said.
I grit my teeth. “Also, let’s order lunch in, and we can have an office meeting.” If he called me ma’am ever again, I was firing him.
“Yes, ma’am,” Oliver said dutifully.
I briefly shut my eyes. Okay. I could make this all work.
