A Wrongful Death by Kate Wilhelm Read Free Book Online Page B

of Monday catching up with mail, and on Tuesday morning, as Shelley looked in before leaving for a court appearance, she felt the first twinge of guilt when Shelley said, "I'll go straight over to Martin's after court. If it isn't too late, I'll come back here, but if it's after four or so, I'll just head for home. Try to beat the fog."
    Barbara knew how busy she had been during the weeks that Shelley had been away on her honeymoon, and apparently Shelley was just as busy now, doing double duty at Martin's as in the office.
    She started to say she would take over at Martin's that afternoon, then left the words unspoken. One of the letters she had yet to respond to concerned the job offer at Reed College.
    Seated at her desk with the formal letter before her, she brooded about the offer. She might not be free to go, she thought sourly, and she was not at all certain she even wanted to teach, and doubted that she would be a suitable instructor in the first place. But neither was she eager to resume her own practice. She felt as if she were existing in a state of indefinite limbo, waiting for decisions to come from above. "Later," she muttered, putting the letter aside.
    The next letter concerned new management at her apartment complex and an increase in rent. Three increases in three years, with no end in sight, and no recourse for the tenants. How much was she willing to pay in order to keep a location that was so convenient for her river walks?
    She looked at the door in relief when there was a tap and Maria entered at her invitation. "Mrs. Sarah Kurtz is on the phone," Maria said. "She wants to come in this morning. She said it was about the woman who was attacked, and you'd know what she meant."
    "Tell her sure," Barbara said. "About ten?"
    Sarah Kurtz was accompanied by her son Terry. She introduced herself and him. She was dressed in a long black coat with a velvet collar, and a black velvet hat. Her son helped her off with the coat, then put it on a chair. He took off a black leather jacket and tossed it down, also. He was one of the most handsome men Barbara had ever seen, almost too good looking to be real and not signed up to a movie studio or a model agency. Tall and athletic, a nice tan, deep blue eyes, even the classic cleft chin. Although his mother was also tall, she was forty or even fifty pounds overweight, a fact that a simple gray dress with long sleeves did nothing to disguise. She wore a single strand of pearls, and had small gold studs in her ears. Her hands were shapely with long slender fingers, surprising on such a large woman, and she wore only a single ring with a diamond. What little hair showed from under her hat was blond. Everything about her was discreet and in excellent taste, Barbara thought.
    Terry Kurtz held his mother's chair as she seated herself, then waited by the second client chair until Barbara was seated before he sat down.
    "What can I do for you?" Barbara asked.
    "Ms. Holloway, I want to retain you to handle a very delicate matter for my family" Sarah Kurtz said.
    Barbara shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm not free to represent any new clients at this time. You told my receptionist you wanted to discuss an incident where I happened to be on the scene. I'm sorry she didn't realize you wanted to retain me, or she would have informed you accordingly."
    Sarah's lips tightened slightly and she said, "Am I to assume that Elizabeth has already retained you? That I might represent a conflict of interest?"
    "I'm sorry, Mrs. Kurtz, but I will neither confirm nor deny any assumption you might make. I'm sure your firm already has an abundance of attorneys you are free to consult. Now, if you'll excuse me..."
    "Hold on," Terry Kurtz said. "Look, Ms. Holloway, we're desperate to find Elizabeth and my son. And we don't want any publicity. None. When she gets in touch with you, please tell her I have to know my boy is all right, that he's safe. And tell her I demand the right to see my son. Our divorce