Page 158 of A Dead End Wedding

Addison Langley was meeting with Sarah Greenberg after my hearing. Sarah moved, and I jumped out of the way, fast, and plastered myself against the wall in the slight alcove formed between the counsel room and the courtroom door. The door opened, and they walked out, but they never even looked my way, luckily.

They stopped for a moment by the door, speaking in hushed voices. Langley had Greenberg's arm in what looked like a death grip. "Look, Sarah, this was your responsibility, and you screwed it up. This could be really bad for us."

She yanked her arm away from him. "Shut up, Addison. You haven't been much help on this. You're all about telling me to make sure the message gets across to one stupid Ohio lawyer, but you're not very helpful on the practical side."

They looked down the hall, but still didn't look back toward the courtroom. Sarah spoke up again, barely above a whisper. "Too bad that loaning a judge a yacht for a weekend won't buy you justice in Claymore County like it will in some other places. Bertels turned my 'friendly offer' of the boat down flat."

Langley grabbed her arm again. "You better fix it. Now."

She said nothing, just jerked her arm away and took off down the hall, and then he hurried off in the other direction. I turned and walked back into the courtroom to retrieve my cell phone, mind reeling at what sure as heck sounded like a confession.

Alligator pee or no alligator pee,thisstupid lawyer from Ohio was going to take some bad guys down. Now all I needed was proof.

42

Iwalked in the office, still on my high from court, and screeched to a halt when I saw Gina-the-maniac sitting on our couch holding a sleeping Daisy. As the door swung shut behind me, I shot an accusing glare at Max. "What is she doing here, and why is she holding our puppy?"

Daisy heard my voice, opened one eye and peeked, then squirmed and wiggled until Gina put her down on the floor. Daisy ran to me as fast as her fat little puppy legs could carry her, which (I admit) is rather endearing.

Not that I'm a softie or anything.

Clearly, the dog has good taste, ditching psycho Gina for me. I picked her up, resigning myself to dog hair all over my suit, and petted her. She sneezed in my face, which probably means "I love you" in Dog.

Gina stood up, shoulders hunched. Her hair looked like it hadn't been washed in a few days, and strands of it hung in her face. The oversized t-shirt that hung loosely over raggedly cut-off denim shorts did nothing for her. As I studied her and wondered where the rebellious beauty from the bar had gone, leaving this defeated woman in her place, the worst possible thing happened.

That damn under-the-rib-cage twinge.

I blew out a sigh. "Okay, Gina, what's up? If this is another threat, I'm so not in the mood."

She shook her head, looking at Max almost pleadingly.

Max spoke up. "December, we need to talk. I have a favor to ask."

Oh, crap. Between my twinge and Max's "save the world" mindset, I had the sinking feeling I was getting ready to help Gina.

"What is it?"

Max bit her lip, then smiled at me. "First, the good news. Your furniture is on the way! The driver promises to have it here by the end of the week."

I rolled my eyes. "When his honeymoon is over?"

"Well, probably. And you didn't even notice! But I had the carpet cleaners in here this morning, and the place doesn't stink like alligator pee anymore."

I grinned. "Now, thatisgood news."

"And your toxicologist called, too. He has some very interesting news about the insulin. He didn't want to condescend to speak to a mere assistant, so he's waiting for your call." She held up a sheet of paper. "He's already faxed us his invoice, too."

I walked over to take it, still holding Daisy and keeping my eye on Gina, in case she suddenly attacked us with manicure tools. I scanned the page and tried not to gasp. "Wow, guess I should have been an expert witness. It pays way better than the law."

Max nodded. "Yeah, except you would have had to go to medical school, and you have that little problem with blood."

Gina sat back down on the couch, pulled her knees up to her chest, and put her arms around them. She sat there silently, her eyes fixed on me. It was a little creepy, to be honest. I jerked myhead toward the hallway and asked Max to come fill me in. She followed me, first stopping to tell Gina we'd be right back. Gina nodded, but still said nothing.

As I walked down the hall, I realized I didn't hear Mr. Ellison clomping around or humming. "Where's our other employee, Henry the Alligator Slayer?"

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you that. Mrs. Zivkovich called earlier, and she was really upset. Turns out her son-in-law cleaned out her savings account. Mr. Ellison rushed over to her place after I took the call. She says she's afraid of Nervil. Her daughter and the baby are staying with her; they left him."

Max paused at the doorway to my office, and I glanced back at her. "December, I'm a little worried, too. She says he's after you."

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