that would make a difference?”
“Yeah, me, too. Do you think maybe it might have something to do with Aulani filing a lawsuit against the state? Maybe he wants to chop her off at the knees. Hell, Don, I don’t have the faintest idea, and if you want the honest truth, I hope we
Chapter 15
THE AULANI LAW FIRM, NOW KNOWN OFFICIALLY AS AULANI, Brighton, Brighton, and Darrow, resembled a Chinese fire drill gone awry. The four fax machines spit out paper at the speed of light, the three copy machines were hot to the touch, with all the copies being run through the automatic feed, computers clicked and hummed as documents were hammered out almost as fast as the fingers typing them could hit the keys. Cell phones pinged and buzzed, some to snappy tunes that set everyone’s teeth on edge. The firm’s main number was backlogged, with some thirty-seven callers waiting to be heard. Associates, the partners, and the paralegals were shouting to one another as though they were on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade with its open outcry trading system.
Patty Molnar brought her fingers to her lips and whistled the way Jon had taught her years and years ago back at the orphanage. The sound was so shrill that people clapped their hands over their ears. All sound ceased except that of the machines, which continued to work at warp speed. They all stared at Patty to see what this break in work meant. She waved her index finger in a half circle to indicate she wanted the attention of the new investigators she’d hired. “All of you, follow me.”
Inside the conference room, which could comfortably seat twelve, Patty took her seat at the head of the table. She looked around at the people she’d just hired; the three blond bombshells looked just the way she wanted them to look. Blond wigs, false eyelashes, plenty of makeup, glossy lips, sparkling white teeth, curvy where they were supposed to be curvy. The curves were encased in eye-opening spandex. The stiletto heels glistened with rhinestones and shiny sequins. The bombshells stopped just short of looking like ladies of the evening. Patty didn’t think the man who could resist their charms had yet been born. She grinned, and said, “I do like your style, ladies.”
Patty turned her focus to the three male investigators. Studs-although she wouldn’t know a stud if she tripped over him. All were Adonis good-looking. Or as Linda said when her husband was not in earshot, “Those guys are ripped.” All three were tanned and buff, with killer smiles to match their killer bodies. There was nothing shabby about their killer re-sumes either. All six investigators were on summer vacation from their last year at various law schools. A good crew.
“Okay, guys, here’s the deal, so listen up. I’m going to separate you into three teams, boy-girl, boy-girl, boy- girl. I want you to go back to the day Adam William Clements was born and get me everything until the day he died. When I say everything, I mean everything, no matter how insignificant you might think it is. The same thing goes for Audrey Star, Adam’s wife, who inherited the Star fortune. Last but not least, I want the same thing for Ryan Spenser. Work together on his father-the Speaker of the House-the uncle, who is governor of Georgia, and the governor’s wife. And don’t forget Spenser’s mother. Do a good job, and your last year’s tuition will be paid in full by this firm, and you’ll all get nice going-back-to-school bonuses as well. Any questions?”
Adonis number one looked at Patty and smiled. She felt herself melt for a second. “Yes?”
“What if we have to pay sources before they agree to talk?”
“You go with your gut. Don’t be overly generous, but don’t be stingy either. You know what they say, money talks and bullshit walks. They say that a lot around this office. We’ll pay whatever it takes if it’s legit. One last thing, and I’m glad you brought it up.” The last and only question, which told her she had made the right selection.
“Try and rip us off, and we’ll go after you. You won’t be able to hide, so let’s keep this on the up-and-up with meticulous records, names, dates, places, and most important, phone numbers that actually work if we need to make contact again. I want a report on my desk at the end of each business day. Signed by both members of each team. Two sets of eyes see things differently, two minds interpret things differently, so make sure you include everything in your reports. I’m going to leave you all now so you can divide up your work, decide who is qualified to work with which person.”
“Wait, one more question,” Adonis number one said. “Do we have a time frame here?”
“You do. It was up yesterday,” Patty said, closing the door behind her. Damn, those guys were good-looking. And on her very, very, very best day, she couldn’t even come close to looking like the bombshells. On the other hand, she seriously doubted any one of the six had two best friends like Nick and Sophie or a fiance like Jed. Well, no one gets it all, she told herself happily as she made her way back to where the Chinese fire drill was still going on like… a Chinese fire drill.
Patty looked down at the strap watch on her wrist. It was an old-fashioned Timex, the kind they advertised with “They take a lickin’ but keep on tickin’.” Sophie and Nick had watches just like hers. Nick was even wearing his when he played in the tournament. She frowned; whatever it was she’d been trying to remember was still niggling at her. Thinking about the watches brought the elusive thought front and center. What the heck was it? Whatever it was, it still wasn’t ready to pop into her conscious mind.
Patty made her way through the chaos and found a secluded cubicle at the very back of the suite that was next to Kala’s old office. She sat down, took a deep breath, and sent off a text to Nick.
Three hours later, Nick read the message as he waited to get off the plane. He smiled. Patty was so on top of things. Welcome home, indeed. He grinned. It was Patty’s not-so-subtle way of reminding him of the present he was supposed to bring her. It wasn’t the money at all. Patty would be satisfied with a bottle of sand from one of the famous black beaches, which was exactly what he was bringing her.
Nick wished now he had opted to fly home on the private jet that had been offered, but accepting gifts like that didn’t sit well with him. He’d opted for commercial and first-class. His hip ached unbearably from the long flight even though he’d gotten up numerous times to walk up and down the aisle. He didn’t want to take any more Advil- he’d gone through more than enough for one day. According to the pilot, it was raining, and damp weather always added to his discomfort. Then he looked out the window and saw that the jet was parked on the tarmac, not at a gate, which meant they would have to go down the portable stairs and walk across the tarmac in the rain. In an hour, he’d be home and in his hot tub. He held on to that thought as he picked up his gear from the overhead bin and got in line behind two other people. Damn, make that two hours, possibly three.
How could he have forgotten the welcoming committee that would be waiting for him indoors? He made a mental note to call his orthopedic surgeon as soon as he got home to ask him if he could get another shot of that jelly they pumped into his hip joint. He wasn’t hopeful the doctor would agree. It was time for the surgery he’d put off long enough. The main reason he’d put off the surgery was because the doctors-and he had the best of the best-couldn’t guarantee he would be able to play golf the way he had been playing. The most they would say was, he would be able to play golf after a reasonable length of time with therapy, but they didn’t know about the grueling tournament schedule that had gotten him to where he was in the golf world.
A minute later, it was all moot. Nick’s hip locked into place, and he slipped on the slick third step of the portable stairway. He tumbled to the bottom. Never in his life had he felt such incredible pain. It was so bad, he blacked out. When he came to, he was on a gurney and being loaded into an ambulance.
Kala’s entire office saw the accident. Patty was out the door within seconds and got to the hospital just as they were wheeling Nick through the wide double doors of the emergency room. Tears were running down her face as she raced to catch up with the running EMTs. “Nick!”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t forget your present,” he shouted feebly. Then he was gone through another set of double doors.
“Jerk!” Nick was okay; he wasn’t going to die if he could yell at her like that. “Thank you, God, thank you, God!”
Patty sat down on a bench near the door. She’d catch the EMT guys on their way out. She started to cry again. She knew it was Nick’s hip. People didn’t die with broken hips or when they got hip replacements, something Nick had been trying to avoid. Nick was her rock. Actually, he was everyone’s rock. He’d confided in her two years ago
