Hide and Snoop (The Odelia Grey Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF Page B

I’ve heard it might be between me and Mark.”
    Kelsey swallowed hard. “Hope in accounting was told last night, right before she left for the day.”
    I thought about Hope Spellman, the small birdlike woman who only worked three days a week. She was pushing seventy and had been with Woobie even longer than I had.
    “Other than that,” Kelsey continued, sniffing back tears, “I haven’t heard anything else. It wouldn’t surprise me, though. It’s the end of a pay period. Today and tomorrow would be the logical days to lower the boom.”
    I dug into my pocket and checked my smartphone for my firm e-mail account. Nothing. No summons to meet Carl or Tina Swanson, our office manager. No e-mail goodbyes to the firm as a whole from anyone.
    “They’d be fools to let you go, Odelia, especially for Mark. He’s such an—” she clipped the end of the sentence short when her eyes settled on Lily.
    I leaned in close to Kelsey and whispered, “They became fools when they merged with these sharks.”
    After several more hugs with Kelsey, Lily and I started back to my office to collect my purse and be on our way to Zee’s house. We were barely out of the library when Lily emitted a string of high-pitched giggles and shot down the hallway like a runaway pony. I trotted after her, my two-hundred-pound bulk jiggling in every way imaginable, while attorneys and secretaries pointed and laughed. Glad I could provide some entertainment. Maybe the firm will consider keeping me on as court jester when they decide they no longer need my paralegal skills.
    We were almost to my office door when my smartphone sounded another familiar ring. I punched the answer button and snapped, “What do you want? I’m busy.”
    “Uh-huh. That’s not what I hear.”
    “Are you spying on me, Steele?”
    “Not at all. I had a beer with Greg a few days ago. He told me you haven’t been very busy at the firm.”
    “I obviously need to talk to my husband about his choice of friends.” On Tuesday, Greg came home and said he’d had a beer with a buddy after work. He never said which friend, and I didn’t ask. Greg often met friends after work. Usually it was one of his basketball teammates or a client, so I never inquired and he never offered.
    It’s not like I haven’t seen Mike Steele since his departure from Woobie. He’s been a guest at our home for a couple of parties and barbeques since then, and he showed up to support Greg during a recent basketball tournament. I just didn’t realize he and Greg had remained so friendly on their own. My nose twitched at the thought. I had concerns about my husband and my former boss being close pals. One, it felt like I was outnumbered. Two, Steele has a lot of bad habits I don’t want rubbing off on Greg.
    “I’m on a special project right now.” As I said the words, I watched Lily dance and spin to a tune only she could hear. Either she wasn’t sick at all or she was delirious with fever.
    “You too busy to have lunch with me today?”
    Lunch. Steele had had a beer with Greg and now was asking me to lunch. Greg probably told him how unhappy I was becoming in my job. He was probably going to make me an offer again. This time I’d be sorely tempted to make the jump.
    “Did Greg put you up to this?”
    “No, he did not.” There was a slight pause. “My lunch plans canceled, and I thought why not ask my former paralegal to join me. Is that a crime?”
    “Depends on your motive.”
    Lily was showing signs of winding down. “Look, Steele, I really have to go.”
    “Have lunch with me today, Grey. You know you want to.” I could hear his cheesy grin.
    “I already have plans today, Steele. With a very important client, a young up-and-comer.”
    “Jesus, Grey, I can smell that lie through the phone. You must be slipping.”
    I sighed as I brushed Lily’s fine hair out of her face with my free hand and noted how dirty her face and hands were. Most of the crud she must have picked up playing in