Angel Condemned Read Online Free PDF Page A

be, and this case gives me the perfect excuse to find out a little more about Mr. Prosper White.”
    “So what are we goin to do now?”
    “At the moment, we’re going to try and make this case go away. It’s a loser, no matter how I look at it.”
    “Good. Where do we start?” EB was dead set on becoming a paralegal after she got her GED through her night school courses, and she was adamant about understanding procedure.
    “You mean if this weren’t a beloved relative with too much money and no sense when it comes to predatory men? We’d file a motion to dismiss and perhaps a counterclaim for damages pursuant to the frivolous nature of the charges. But as you’ve so shrewdly reminded me, we don’t have a clue about White’s antecedents. And it’s better to scope out the swamp before you wade in. I think I’ll go on down to Stubblefield’s office and see if Payton’s in. I need a sense of what this is really about.”
    “Payton the Rat?” said EB. A grin spread over her face. “Last I saw of that boy was his backside when you kicked him out of the office a couple of weeks ago.”
    “Yep. Payton McAllister the Third himself. He’s the attorney of record, according to this thing.” She tucked the summons into her jacket pocket and glanced at her watch. “It’s after two. He should be back from lunch.”
    “And you missed lunch. Now, me, I can afford to.” EB patted one substantial hip. “You? I’m not so sure. Whyn’t you go out and get yourself something real high calorie so those size two pants don’t hang off of you like they do, before you whack Mr. McAllister over the head. I’m going wrap up those lease agreements for the Dwyer account and then get myself on home. I won’t be here when you get back.”
    “You’ll be in tomorrow?” When she’d opened the Bay Street office, Bree had only been able to afford EB part-time. In the past few months—perhaps because of the notoriety surrounding Bree’s involvement in four high-profile murders—her temporal business had begun to pick up a bit. If she could afford the time to spend with her temporal clients, she might be able to start drawing a salary herself. She had a small stipend from a trust fund set up by her mother’s family, but it was just enough to keep her head above water.
    “Yes, ma’am,” EB said in satisfaction. “Got myself two-thirds of a day’s work at least. I might be hitting you up for a raise pretty soon if business keeps coming in.”
    “Why don’t I pick up the tuition for your night school courses?”
    EB shook her head. “We can’t afford that right now,’specially if you won’t get a nickel from your auntie and most ’specially if you keep that Angelus Street office open.” EB’s curiosity about the Angelus office was intense, but so far Bree had managed to keep her curiosity in check without offending her. EB had never been there. It was not a place temporals other than Bree could find. “Besides, I got a grant to go to school. You’d do better to spend that money getting yourself some lunch.”
    “I’ll pick up something after I go downstairs and talk to Payton,” Bree promised. “Maybe I’ll have a nice cold martini, too. I always need a stiff drink after a talk with Payton. I’ve got my cell on, if you need me.”
    She slung her tote and her black wool winter coat over one arm, and let herself out.
    Marbury, Stubblefield was only two floors down, but she decided to take the elevator. Something about the gracious old Bay Street building demanded a certain amount of decorum. She preferred to arrive at the lavish offices below without announcing herself by clattering downstairs.
    She spent the short ride thinking about Prosper White and what, if anything, he might have to hide. His casual erudition was pretentious, and there wasn’t a law against that. His airy dismissal of Alicia Kennedy’s possible complicity in defrauding Allard and Jillian Chambers bordered on the unethical, but it