Exposed by Rage Read Online Free PDF Page A

Severenson was tall, lean and made you feel comfortable with a solid, gentle handshake.  He met me in the lobby and walked me to his office, offering me a seat before stepping behind his desk.
    “Thank you for coming so quickly.  I know how much Jillie cared for you and I’m sorry you had to be the one to find her.”  He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. 
    “Your note indicated you wanted to see me as soon as possible.”
    Putting his glasses back on, he gave me a sad smile.  “Jillie left specific directions should anything happen to her.  You were to be contacted and provided with these.”  He handed me a heavy envelope.  “This is the key to her house, the cars, and to the club.”
    I looked at the envelope, then back at the man.
    “Of course there will be an official reading of the will, but she wanted you to have access as soon as possible.”
    “Did she tell you what she thought might happen?  Was she worried she was going to be killed?  Why would she...”
    Severenson shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you the impression...Jillie made these arrangements some time ago.  I don’t think they’re related to what happened to her.”  Pain and sadness flashed across his face. 
    “You were her friend and attorney.”
    He nodded.  “Yes, she was very dear to me.  I wish I had known she was in trouble.  I would have...” he looked as though he was searching for the right word.  “I would have done anything I could to help her.”
    Normally when I am curious, I just blurt out the questions on my mind.  This time, I held back, feeling Harold Severenson was more than just Jillie’s attorney.  The anguish I saw in his eyes told me a story I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear.
    “Sorry, I...I am going to miss her,” he cleared his throat.  “Jillie’s parents disowned her, and she thought of you as her ‘little sister’.  She wanted you to have what belonged to her.”  He smiled. “She thought you were the most wonderful person she’d ever met and wanted you to have the moon.”
    “I loved her.  She was my family.”  I fought back the tears burning the back of my eyes.  “I...did she make arrangements? What she wanted...”
    “Yes, don’t worry about that.  She wanted to be cremated, her ashes scattered.  I will see to everything once the police are ready to release her body.”
    “Thank you.”
    “She wants a wake, a celebration of her life.  If it is alright with you, I think we should have it at VixSin.  You can close the club and I can have my secretary take care of the catering.”
    “Thank you.  I appreciate it.”  Thank you again, Harold Severenson, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I stuffed the envelope into my bag, and prepared to leave.
    “Miss Gibson, one more thing.  I also have a letter for you.  I thought perhaps I should wait until the reading of the will, but then Jillie didn’t specify that, and perhaps this will shed some light on the current situation.”
    I couldn’t control the quiver in my hand as I reached out and took the second envelope.  Was there going to be something in this that would help me find her killer? 
    * * * *
    I made two phone calls as I drove back to the hotel.  The first one was to DeMarco, to get his okay so I could move into the pool house at Jillie’s.  The second was to call Poppy back, ask her to come for an extended stay.  I needed her friendship, but I also needed someone who could look at the books and management of the club, if I was going to be the new owner.  Poppy was addicted to numbers and would be able to tell me everything about the operation before I could finish looking at the check register for this month’s bills.
       After checking out of the hotel, I drove to Randi and Butch’s place in Aubrey. A small town northwest of Dallas.  As much as I wanted to read the letter Jillie had left, I wanted to catch her killer.  I had opened the letter before leaving my