“So we’ll go with the interrogation, then.” Muriel had on her courtroom smile, which was making Shelby nervous.
“Can’t a girl be just curious?”
“Most women are, Agent Daniels, but then again most of them don’t have the ability to arrest you if their curiosity hits a nerve.” With one more gulp, Muriel drained the cup. “What was the question again?”
“I forget.”
“Somehow that seems highly unlikely to me.” The smile got wider. “My cousin Derby is my only active client, yes, but I take care of the business as well as her. She’s two years older than me, but I hear tell I’m better in bed.”
“I doubt it.” It slipped out before Shelby could censor it.
“See there, we’ve come to our first nerve, and unfortunately it’s a strike against me. Derby has always had a little better luck with the pretty ones. Must be that gangster thing. Attorneys are more of an acquired taste.”
Shelby laughed at Muriel’s easy charm. “More like a pain in the ass. I spend my life trying to catch criminals, and people like you spend it trying to let them loose. And I thought I told you to call me Shelby.”
“Since your next question was most probably if I’ve ever been involved in the family business, I thought I should address you accordingly. I wouldn’t want it said in court I was disrespectful.” Muriel pointed to Shelby’s cup. “Another?”
“Just hanging around your family is death wish enough, thank you. Can I ask just one more question? I promise it has nothing to do with business.”
“My phone number?”
Shelby shook her head and laughed again. “Maybe later, much later. What I want to know is Emma’s story. I wasn’t on Kyle’s detail when Cain went up north, and she was history before I came to the city.”
“I’m sure it’s in Derby’s file. Why not just read about it?”
“Because I want to hear it from you. Why’d she leave?”
There was no harm in telling the story, but Muriel was so good at her job because she was suspicious of everything. The world didn’t revolve around money. It revolved around information. Something said innocently now could later be the final nail in the Casey family coffin, and she wasn’t about to be the one to bury Cain.
“The truth is, this is Derby’s story to tell, Shelby.”
“This is off the record, Muriel. I came today because I owe Cain something. I’m sure I’ll get my transfer now, and I didn’t want to leave without knowing. Maybe there’s something I can do to make her feel better. You know, pay her back in some way.”
The confession sounded sincere enough to Muriel. “It doesn’t change the fact that it’s Cain you need to ask. Cain’s not just my client, Shelby, she’s my family. A cousin who’s gone through more than her share of tragedy, all the while knowing she was being watched like a butterfly pinned to a board. The truth is, she trusts me more than most, and she hasn’t told me everything about Emma.”
“I can respect that.”
“Thank you,” said Muriel. She watched Emma rush by the cafeteria headed toward the front entrance, followed closely by Merrick. “Would you excuse me a moment. Better yet, why not go back up and visit Cain while I tend to something. I promise I won’t be long.”
“Trying to ditch me?”
“Of course not, Shelby. Call it comparison shopping. I’m sure you’ll go for the younger model, given a chance.”
“I’ll wait for you upstairs. Don’t stand me up.”
“And let my cousin win out? Never.”
Emma was racing down the sidewalk with a nervous Merrick chasing her down. The family counselor took off in a slow jog, calling out to Merrick so she wouldn’t be shot as she got closer.
“Emma, stop or I swear I’ll put you over my knee when I catch up to you.” Muriel gripped Emma’s elbow anything but gently when she did catch her and dragged her back into the hospital and the most secluded place she could think of, the chapel. “Jesus Christ, did you learn nothing from what happened to Hayden?”
“She hates me, Muriel. I lost Hayden and kept Hannah from her, and now she hates me.”
With two fingers under Emma’s chin, Muriel forced her to look up. “I’d have guessed with all the time you spent up on that farm, you’d have spent some of it thinking.”
“What do you mean?” Emma asked in a defeated tone.
“It’s simple, Emma. You ran before, and what did it get you? Did you find happiness in anything but Hannah all those years you were gone?”
“No.”
“Did you find the woman your mother wants you to be?” Muriel persisted.
“I can’t be that person. Even if I could, she said I can’t go back there.”
“You don’t have to go back, Emma, but you’ve got to stop running away. Derby Cain understands one thing, and that’s strength. Show some and start running
“She doesn’t want me, Muriel. The sooner I come to grips with that, the sooner I can decide what I’m going to do with the rest of my life.”
“One more talk with her is all I’m asking, only this time go in there and act like you belong at her side. You
