Power of Attorney Read Online Free PDF Page B

collecting his jacket from the seat. “Just let him calm down, and we’ll see what we can’t figure out. I’ll call you later when he’s calmer. Maybe we can see if there’s any better records back at the house. There has to be a reasonable explanation of how he ended up with shrapnel in his chest.”
    Nikki forced herself to nod, then smile. Some part of her brain pointed out that the disjointedness of those movements revealed them as lies. “Thanks, Mark,” she said, forcing her smile to be more natural.
    He nodded and hurried after his father.
    She waited until he was out of ear shot. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this much mystery and I don’t like Brett and Mark poking around.”
    “What do you want to do?” asked Ellen. Nikki took a deep breath, trying to decide just how angry she wanted to make the Merrivel’s. She let out the air slowly. They were going to be annoyed no matter who started going through their past. If she was going to do it, she might as well go all the way.
    “Jane, get back to the office. Start going through Mr. Merrivel’s financials. Brett said he never worked for a company longer than a year during that time period — that sounds…” She hesitated. “It sounds suspicious. Also, Oysterville is a ghost town in Washington. I don’t think Mr. M would be selling much or sending many postcards from there, even in the ‘70’s.”
    “Oh sure,” said Jane, when Jenny looked impressed. “She gets to know about Oysterville, but I know Nephrology, and it’s weird?”
    “That’s because Nikki knows how to make it sound casual,” said Jenny.
    “But, guys,” said Nikki, ignoring the color commentary, “let’s keep this within the team, yes?”
    “You got it,” said Jane, reaching for her things.
    “Jenny, can you and Ellen head over to the law firm and take a look around his office?”
    “Looking for anything in particular?” asked Jenny, hitching her purse onto her shoulder.
    Nikki shook her head. “No.”  “Just look for things that don’t fit and anything from that time period. I know he has a safe in his office; he uses it for items he wants to protect in case of a home burglary or fire. Start there. The combination is probably Katie’s birthday.”
    “Seriously?” demanded Jane. “Didn’t he hear my lecture on password and combination protection?”
    Nikki gave her a look.
    “Right, focusing. What are you going to do?”
    “I’m going to go to the source. I’m going to talk to Mr. M.”
     
     

L.A.
    Nikki leaned her forehead against the steering wheel of her car. It was raining again. The moisture always seemed to bring out the faintest scent of the car’s original owner; it smelled like cigarettes and J’Adore.
    “This job makes you old, Val,” said Nikki to the empty car.
    Which was a silly thing to do. Val was dead. And even if she hadn’t been, her response surely would have been to say something withering.
    Stop being a whiner, Nancy Drew.
    And then she would have blown smoke through her nose or something equally draconian. Because, if Val had been anything, it was tough.
    “No second thoughts, huh, Val? Always moving forward like a shark?” Nikki sighed and sat up, fluffing her hair in the mirror and checking her forehead for a steering wheel imprint. “Only problem is that none of us can swim fast enough to leave the past behind.”
    Her phone rang, and Nikki jumped, even as her hand reached to answer it.
    “Lanier, go,” she said.
    “Hello Miss Lanier, this is Marisa from Support Services. We’ve gotten a request from the German branch. An…” Nikki could practically hear Marisa scrolling down the screen. “Astriz Liebenz has just arrived on a cargo ship and is requesting a gun, a new phone, and that you should ‘get your sweet ass’ down to the docks ASAP.” Marisa sounded scandalized.
    Nikki laughed. “Tell her she can’t have my ass. Deborah and Taylor have wrapped up, haven’t they?”
    There was a pause. “Yes, I