Page 164 of A Dead End Wedding

As we straightened up in the lobby, I looked at her and smiled. "Guess it was a great day to hire you. Thank you for all of your help."

She made a face at me. "Great foryou, maybe. I got assaulted my first day on the job. I might have to file for worker's comp."

I groaned. "Fine, as long as I don't have to fill out the paperwork."

She stretched and glanced at her watch. "It's nearly three. I'm going to call it a day, unless you need something else. I'm not officially even working here yet."

"Sure, and thank you again."

She stopped at the door and turned back. "Be sure to call and let me know about Daisy, okay?"

"I will."

I locked the door, figuring any potential walk-ins could ring the buzzer. I'd had enough of uninvited guests for the day, anyway. Then I trudged back to my office and put my head down on my arms, just for a minute.

There's nothing like looking death in the face to wear a girl out.

When the buzzer rang about half an hour later, I found Mr. Ellison and Mrs. Zivkovich at the door. I let them in, and she hugged me and burst into tears.

"The police called me and let me know we're safe," she said. "My daughter and my grandbaby don't have to worry about that awful man any more. They said your testimony should put him away for a long time."

"Oh, don't worry," I said grimly. "I'm going to testify."

Mr. Ellison sidled up to me and gave me a very brief hug, too. "I'm glad you're okay. Heard how that rat bast—thugattacked you girls. I shoulda been here to protect you," he said gruffly.

I smiled down at him. "Thank you, but it was good that you were there to protect Mrs. Zivkovich and her family. You are a very good man, Mr. Ellison. I'm lucky to know you."

He grinned and puffed out his chest. "I know. You might see a lot less of me around here, though. I'm courting Isabelle now."

She smiled and took his arm, brushing at the tears on her cheeks. "Isn't Henry just the dearest man?"

Then her smile faded. "The police said they'll do their best, but that it's unlikely that I'll ever see my money again, though. Most of my money is in CDs, but that was my emergency fund." She grimaced. "I only wish I'd never let him have access to my bank accounts. I'll really miss that seventeen thousand dollars."

I grinned. "That's not exactly a problem."

Striding over to my file cabinet, I pulled open the middle drawer and pulled out an ugly green duffel bag. Then I plopped it up on the desk and opened the zipper. "Sixteen thousand, eighthundred twelve dollars. I guess he spent a couple hundred, but – hey! – it's better than nothing."

The look on her face was almost worth what I'd gone through with Croc. She promptly burst into tears again. "Oh, December, I – you – how?"

"We asked nicely," I said, glad that Gina had remembered to wipe her fingerprints off of Croc's keys before she'd returned them to his pocket. (Plus, I was a little worried about how good Gina was at stuff like fighting, tying people up, and breaking into cars, but I could worry about my new employee later.)

After many, many hugs and thank-you's and offers of homemade pie later, I finally persuaded Mr. Ellison to take Mrs. Zivkovich home. I thought about getting something to eat, but I was too worried about Daisy to be hungry. I tried to focus on preparing for my settlement meeting, but my gaze kept straying to the phone. Finally, it rang, and I snatched it up. "Max?"

"No, it's Jake. You called me?"

"Oh, it's you," I said, sighing.

"Wow. Most women don't sigh with disappointment when I call."

"I think we've already established that I'm not most women," I said. Then I briefly told him about the day.

"He attacked you with a baseball bat?" he said, his voice sharp and deadly. "Are you hurt?"

"Well, he never had time to hit me with it. Really, I got off the easiest. After he kicked Daisy, and knocked Max and Gina to the ground?—"

"Gina?"

"Oh. Right. I hired her. So after?—"

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