The oversized envelope that held the old Christmas cards slipped as Reid carried the two file boxes up the steps to Emilie’s front door. He adjusted his hold to get the Italian takeout back in the center of the top box. He lightly tapped the door with his foot as he tried to keep the envelope from sliding off. A moment later she opened the door, and he stood dumbfounded. Her hair was down and it waved around her shoulders. Her face looked bare of all makeup except maybe a little lipstick. And she wore a skirt with a sparkly T-shirt. Over all, the effect was that he was expected but not prepared for. That he was seeing an unvarnished version of Emilie Wesley, and he liked what he saw. She’d been so flashy in court and the times he’d seen her during the workday that this was unanticipated.
“Come in.” She smiled at him, then scooped the envelope and takeout from the top of his pile. “You can set those on the coffee table.”
He stepped inside and eased them onto the white fabric surface. “Do you want to eat first or start on the boxes?”
“Let’s eat while it’s warm. It smells great. What did you get?” “
“Lasagna, chicken alfredo, a carbonara, with salad and bread-sticks. There should be a couple slices of cheesecake for dessert.”
“That sounds perfect, and like you expect someone to join us.”
“Just wasn’t sure what you’d prefer.” He noted the soft strains of instrumental music playing, the backdrop adding a note of peace to the home.
Emilie set the over-the-top bag on the counter, then stepped into the kitchen. “Would you like some iced tea?”
“Is it sweet?”
“Of course. This is the South, you know.”
“I’ll try some then.” There was no way he was going to tell her he preferred his tea the way God made it—without all the sugar. But as long as a spoon wouldn’t stand in it, he could drink it.
“I thought we’d eat on the patio if it’s all right with you.”
They carried everything out through sliding glass doors and set the food on a small glass-topped table. It looked delicate enough to tip if he placed an elbow on it. “Sounds good. We can enjoy some sunlight before getting to work.”
Her grin warmed him more than the sun’s rays. “When the humidity isn’t 100 percent I like to sit outside a bit in the evenings. Otherwise it’s easy to spend my waking hours in front of a computer.”
The conversation flowed between them as they enjoyed the food. He noted that she sampled each dish but loaded up on the salad. Next time he’d grab an assortment of salads and pastries from Panera. They returned to the galley kitchen for the cheesecake and coffee.
As they waited for the coffee to steep in a French press, Emilie studied him. “How do you want to approach this?”
“Each of us could take a box.”
“True.” She pushed down the plunger in the press, then poured them each a mug. After she’d doctored hers with a cinnamon creamer, she carried her mug and plate of cheesecake into the living area. “There isn’t a lot of extra space, but I think it will work if we flip through the files while they’re in the boxes.”
“Sure.” He took a bite and enjoyed the creamy cheesecake perfection. “The boxes aren’t overloaded, so it shouldn’t take all night.”
“It’s all right if it does.” Emilie sipped her coffee and sighed. “I love tea, but coffee is what’s called for with dessert.” After she’d eaten half her slice, she set the plate on the counter behind her and then turned to the box nearest her. She yanked off the lid and glanced through the files. “She didn’t label these?”
“Not that I could tell. We may not find anything worthwhile in here.”
“Or we could find the perfect item. Hayden would say this is document review and a rite of passage for attorneys.”
The front door opened and her roommate appeared.
Emilie gestured toward Reid. “Hayden, this is Reid Billings. Reid, this is my roommate, Hayden McCarthy.”
“Nice to meet you, Reid.” She studied him, and he hoped she liked whatever it was she saw. “I’m going to head upstairs as soon as I grab a drink.”
“There’s no need to run away. We’ll stay quiet.” He gave her his most charming smile.
She returned it, then gave Emilie her attention. “If I can do anything, just holler.”
Once Hayden had climbed upstairs, Emilie tugged a stack of files into her lap. “I think this is a case where we’ll know what we’re looking for when we see it. Try to go through the files carefully, but don’t get bogged down in those that don’t have anything related to her marriage or don’t look helpful in some way.”
Reid pulled a small stack of files from his box and opened the first one. A collection of receipts. He flipped through the first few but couldn’t note any sort of pattern to them. Something to look through more closely at another time. The next file had a collection of programs from various events. Why had Kaylene thought these were worth taking to him for safekeeping?
He tugged out the next group. The first folder had nothing helpful, but the next held a stack of loose-leaf notebook paper covered in Kaylene’s handwriting; he saw a date at the top of the first page. He quickly scanned the first page, and his breath caught.
“This is a journai of sorts.”
Emilie glanced up from her box. “What do you mean?”
He handed her the paper. “Have a look.”
A small V appeared across the top of her nose as she read. “It’s a record of threats he made.”
He flipped through the pages in his hand. “It covers a six-month period. There must be twenty entries.”
“I wonder if she did this at Shannon’s request. Our case workers tell clients to start a contemporaneous journal of violence or verbal threats to help build a foundation for a protective order. She never called to say she wanted these boxes back?”
“No.” If only she had.
“This can be helpful, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to get it admitted as evidence. We might be able to since she’s dead and can’t testify for herself. We’ll just need to establish that this is her handwriting.”
“I have the Christmas cards and the letter I showed you before.”
“Great. Set that file to the side so I can find it again easily.” She offered the page back to him. “I was beginning to think we wouldn’t find anything helpful.”
“I’d had the same thought.” He studied the pile of useless files. “What if all of those were a cover for the important items like this journal?”
“It’s possible. Let’s see what else we can find.”
Soon it was nine o’clock and he hadn’t found anything else that at a quick glance appeared helpful. He was opening the last file when Emilie pumped her fist. “What did you find?”
“There’s something in this padded envelope.” She eased open the flap and turned the envelope upside down over her open palm. Several small, clear items fell out, one landing in her hand and the others bouncing onto the padded coffee table and on the floor. “What on earth?”
“Is that . . .”
“A diamond.” She looked at him, wonder in her eyes. “This must be a couple carats.” She clamped her hand around it and dropped to her knees. “We have to find the others.”
He snagged the one from the coffee table, then joined her searching the floor. “Where would she get diamonds?”
“Found it.” Emilie sat and held up another diamond. “She needed money to escape.”
“So she what? Took the diamonds out of her wedding ring? Robert would have noticed.”
“Not if she replaced them with fakes.”
“I don’t have her ring, so we can’t check.”
“But we can make sure these are real. If so, we now know what she planned to use as restarting money.” Emilie shook her head as she stared at the glittering diamonds. “A stone like these can be worth $10,000 or more, depending on the cut and color.”
She slid the diamonds back into the envelope, then handed it to Reid. He shook his head. “I can’t believe she found a way to do this.”
“She was determined.”
“I wish I’d been around to help.”
“But you are now when Kinley needs you.” She started piling files back in the boxes. “Leave these here and I’ll go through them again later. I have a feeling we found the reasons Kaylene left them with you. You provided a safe place for her journal and her escape money. You were exactly what she needed to make her plan work.”
“Now I just need to be that for Kinley.”
“We’re well on our way.”
As he looked at her, Reid hoped she was right. Instead, he felt time expiring, and with it his opportunity to keep Kinley safe.