Heaven Is High by Kate Wilhelm Read Free Book Online

willing to show it.”
    â€œWilling? Try delighted. I’ve been coming across some pretty incredible cross-examinations, and decided to give a whole chapter to some so rotten you have to question motivation of the defense, or in some cases the prosecution. Although generally you know damn well what’s driving that side. The scoreboard.”
    She laughed with him, and for the next hour read his manuscript and made comments. Then, laughing harder, she put a page down and said, “Dad, he’ll sue you! You can’t get away with saying things like that.”
    â€œVerbatim quotes from the court transcript,” Frank said complacently. “I hardly even mention what an ass he is, what he missed. A passing reference is all. I consulted an expert on libel.”
    â€œWho?”
    â€œMe.”
    She stood. “With that I need some air. I’ll take a walk, inspect Nell’s walnut trees, maybe drop in on Tawna to admire her newest jewelry creations. Do you mind?” Tawna taught French at the university, and she made fantastic jewelry, her true love.
    â€œTake a walk, Bobby. I have things to do in the kitchen. Have a good walk. Tell Tawna and James hello for me. I hardly ever see them.”
    She picked up her jacket and left, then stopped at her car to get her briefcase. It was a short walk through the woods to Nell Kendrick’s property with a grove of black walnut trees that would be ready to harvest in a year or two. The valuable wood would make Nell a rather wealthy young woman. Adjacent to the maturing trees younger trees were growing sturdily, another harvest in twenty years coming along. Seedling trees would not be ready, Nell had told Barbara, for about seventy years. A long time between edible nut in the ground and a harvestable tree.
    It was wondrously peaceful under the massive walnut trees. Little undergrowth succeeded in the deep shade, and with the toxic substance the roots exuded. It was squirrel heaven, and jays scolded raucously at her presence. When she neared the big house, both Martin and James emerged from the barn to greet her. James was a veterinarian and usually had a sick animal or two housed in his barn. His greeting was warm and friendly, the greeting of an old friend rather than a simple acquaintance. She was glad that Martin appeared to be more relaxed than he had been in Eugene. His welcoming smile revealed what seemed to be an awful lot of very white teeth.
    â€œYou didn’t tell us we’d be housed in a little paradise,” he said. “This is great.”
    â€œCome on in,” James said, heading for the house. “I think Tawna is using Binnie as a model for earrings or something. What’s with women and jewelry? I don’t get it.”
    â€œWhat’s holed up in the barn?” Barbara asked. “A sick goat or pig or something. And you think jewelry is hard to get. Hah!”
    Inside, Tawna and Binnie indeed had been trying on jewelry. A table was covered with it. Tawna’s welcome was as warm as James’s had been, and Binnie smiled shyly at her.
    â€œShe’s so tiny,” Tawna said, indicating Binnie. “Most of my earrings are ridiculous on anyone so small and delicate.”
    She was neither. Both she and James had struck Barbara as tall, handsomely built athletic types when she met them. They had shrunk down a bit next to Martin, but everyone in the room dwarfed Binnie.
    â€œWell, you didn’t come to buy jewelry, so to the study with you three,” Tawna said. “Barbara, James and I are plotting on how to keep them here forever. He’s a genius in the kitchen and her pastries are downright sinful. I never want them to go away, although I could start waddling.”
    She led the way to a study as she spoke, glanced around, and added, “Do you want something to drink while you talk? Wine, beer, coffee…?”
    â€œNot for me,” Barbara said, and both Binnie and Martin shook