One We Love, The by Donna White Glaser Read Free Book Online Page B

and
said, “No, I certainly don’t know where Regina’s calendar is. Astrid? Do you?”
    Astrid shook her head, looking as if she wanted the floor to
swallow her up.
    “I’ve already asked Astrid. She couldn’t tell me anything,
either.” I tossed a bone to the woman, not wanting her to get in trouble for
talking with me. I really wanted that calendar, though. For one thing, all I
had to go on regarding Regina’s client list was Clotilde’s word, and I
certainly didn’t trust her. No one had mentioned this Karissa, and her name
wasn’t on the client list that I still clutched in my sweaty hand. There was no
way she would be included on the closed file list if she hadn’t left the
shelter until the day after Regina died. In fact, it was entirely possible that
Karissa, having been at the shelter that night, would have information about
the incident.
     I needed to find her.
    I looked up to find Clotilde staring at me. I shuddered,
hoping she couldn’t follow my thoughts.
    It depended, however, on just how much she had overheard.

 
     
     
    CHAPTER TEN
     
     
     
    A s soon as I got
back to the clinic I confirmed that Karissa and her children weren’t on the
roster of clients that the shelter had provided me. The question, of course, was
why not? I checked the stash of files that Regina had appropriated and
established Karissa whoever wasn’t included there either.
    I really needed Regina’s calendar, which I hoped would
contain the facts about Regina’s clients. It would help if I knew whether she
carried a hard copy, such as a day planner, or kept track by computer. A closer
search of her office didn’t turn anything up, but I hadn’t really expected it
to. I’d gone through her papers very carefully and had been working in her
office almost daily since accepting the executor’s responsibilities.
    But I hadn’t been to her house. A sudden fear that Clotilde
or Lachlyn had already gone through Regina’s home made my stomach cramp. There
were so many knots to unravel that I was certainly overlooking some obvious
ones. I searched through the paperwork until I found Emma’s phone number, then
held my breath through several rings, trying to improvise a coherent message in
case her voice mail picked up.
     My luck was in. Emma answered and agreed to meet me at
Regina’s after she got off work Friday afternoon. I didn’t have any clients scheduled
after three that day so that worked well for me. She asked if I’d mind picking
up a box of Regina’s personal things from the shelter if she called them to
give permission.
    No. No, I didn’t mind at all.  
      Thursday morning unfolded into one of those crisp autumn
days that made me wish I could get out to the woods. Since I wasn’t seeing
clients today, I decided to go casual and wear my denim jacket and the
Timberlands I’d gotten on sale last spring at Gander Mountain. At least I could
look hiker-esque.
    I’d tried calling Lachlyn after my AA meeting the night
before but only managed to get her voice mail. I told it that I’d be stopping
by this morning to pick up Regina’s personal items and hoped I could get some
time with the files. I sounded so submissive I almost puked.
    Even if Lachlyn wasn’t available, I planned to confront Clotilde
about Karissa’s missing files. I’d gone back and forth trying to decide if
she’d overheard Astrid. Eventually I decided it didn’t matter either way. If
she hadn’t heard us, it was only a matter of time until Astrid filled her in. If
she had, she and Lachlyn would probably amp up the resistance to my presence.
Either way, I was going to need Karissa’s file and contact information. Better
yet, I was legally entitled to it.
    Before heading over to the shelter, I met with Bob to give
him an update and ask if he knew anything about Regina’s shelter calendar.
    He denied knowing anything—which explained a lot—and gave me
an impatient, finger-rolling gesture telling me to get on with it. I