“Now it’s getting interesting. Tell me about her first.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. Describe her to me.”
“She’s twenty-nine. A year younger than Rene would be. She told me her age when it happened and how life was in the area after.”
“I’m sure not an easy thing for the residents.”
“Not any harder than for us.”
“True. What else?”
“She’s an attorney, has her own practice and a small office. I’m not certain how big her staff is, but I’m guessing just a few. I’m sure she could have gone in a lot of directions, but I get the impression she enjoys being the boss.”
His mother laughed. “With four brothers, I don’t blame her.”
“She’s tough. Smart. Picks up on things fast. I didn’t give her my name, but she knew who I was.”
“Because she looked into you as you had her?”
“Oh yeah. And she let me know she knew who I was without saying it. Almost baiting me to confess.”
“You do the same thing.”
He hadn’t realized that. “I watched her in the courtroom yesterday. I needed to see her in action. She had the jury eating out of her hand. To the point, precise and almost taunting them to agree with her.”
“Did she win?”
“She did. The verdict came back quickly. I’m not used to letting other people in for this, but I don’t think it will hurt. Maybe it’s time for a change. I’m here and she’s willing when she can swing it.”
“You’ve got the time.”
“She lives in the condos that were built where the rundown cabin was. Saw me walking the grounds but didn’t know it was me until last night.”
He liked that she put it together so quickly and that she was aware enough to know what was going on.
Probably something her brothers had drilled into her head to stay alert.
“What’s the next step other than getting the court records?”
“I’ll get them Monday, with any luck. They will call when they’re ready. It will take me time to go through it all and crosscheck everything. Gale wants to go through them and it will help to have an attorney viewing it for things I might miss, but I understand she’s got a job too.”
“What about your job?”
“I’m hoping to start my next series too. I can’t spend every waking moment focused on this. Sometimes when I take a break is when things come to me.”
He had to remind himself that when he put the pressure on his shoulders to do more. It just didn’t always work that way.
Which was why the fifteen-year anniversary was coming up this summer, only four months away, and they still didn’t seem to be any closer than they were before.
“I’m glad to hear that. Anything else on the ankle bracelet?”
“I told Gale about it, and she seemed excited, as if it means something, but I know better than to get my hopes up. She said she can talk to her brother to get me stuff faster than the detective. I declined for now.”
“Why would you do that?”
The confusion in his mother’s voice wasn’t lost on him.
