In the end, confiding in Jill was easier than she’d imagined it would be. Future boss or not, Jill was her friend first and foremost, and more than once, she gripped Maria’s hand, clearly concerned. When Maria assured her that it wouldn’t affect her ability to help with the start-up, Jill merely shook her head.
“Right now, you have more important things to worry about,” she said. “Leslie and I can handle whatever we still have left. You need to do whatever and take whatever time you need, so that you can find a way to put this behind you for good. It’s not as though we’re going to have clients lining up in the first couple of months anyway.”
“It better not take that long. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it. I had a panic attack this morning.”
Jill was quiet for a moment. “I’ll help you any way I can. Just tell me what you need.”
Leaving Jill’s office, Maria realized again that lower salary or not, leaving to work with Jill not only had been the best option available, but already seemed to be the best career choice she’d made to that point in her life.
What it didn’t do, however, was help the rest of the morning pass more quickly. Nor did her workload; wondering what Margolis was going to say made it difficult to concentrate, which only prevented her from gaining traction on her research for the hospital suit. With her frustration beginning to rise, she set her work aside and texted Colin.
Yes, he texted back, he’d meet her at the station at a quarter past noon.
She peeked at the clock.
Then back at the claim, knowing she needed to review it closely.
Two hours until she met with Margolis.
Time inched by.
When she pulled into the lot, Colin was waiting outside the station, wearing sunglasses, shorts, and a T-shirt. She waved as she got out of her car, hoping it would hide how nervous she was but suspecting that Colin would know anyway.
He gave her a quick kiss before pulling open the door for her. Maria felt a sense of déjà vu as she glanced around. Unlike their first visit, however, Margolis didn’t keep them waiting long. They’d barely taken their seats before she saw him striding toward them from the rear of the building. Again, he was holding a file, and he used it to motion them forward.
“Come on,” he said. “We’ll talk where we did before.”
Maria smoothed her skirt as she stood and walked beside Colin, past the others working at their desks, past the group of people collected around the coffeemaker.
Margolis opened the door and pointed to the same chairs they’d used before. She and Colin took their seats as Margolis moved to the far side of the table.
“Should I be worried?” Maria blurted out.
“No. Long story short, I don’t think Lester’s going to be a problem.”
“What does that mean?” she pressed.
Margolis tapped his pen against the folder before flicking a thumb at Colin. “It seems you’re still spending time with this particular problem child. And I don’t know why you keep insisting he come with you when we discuss your case. There’s no reason for him to be here.”
“I want him here,” she said. “And yes, we’re still spending time together. Happily, I might add.”
“Why?”
“I like his body and he’s fantastic in bed,” she answered, knowing it wasn’t any of his business and not bothering to hide her sarcasm.
Margolis smirked, but there was no humor behind it. “Before we begin, let me set the ground rules. For starters, the fact that you’re here at all is simply because I told you I’d look into your allegations, and because I told you I’d be in contact. Because your tires were slashed in addition to possible stalking violations, this is a potential criminal investigation, and in such an instance, ongoing investigations are generally not discussed. Still, because there’s also the potential for a civil no-contact order – the Fifty-C – I’m choosing to meet with you and keep you as informed as I think appropriate. Also, keep in mind that because Lester Manning has not been served a Fifty-C, he has – like everyone else – certain and expected rights to privacy. In other words, I’ll tell you what I think is important, but I won’t necessarily tell you everything I know. I also want to add that most of what I’ve done has been via the telephone. I’ve had to rely on a detective friend of mine in Charlotte for a few things, and frankly, I’m not sure how much more I’m going to be able to ask of him. He’s already gone out of his way, and like me, he’s got cases that are higher priority. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” he said. “First I’ll walk you through the approach I took, then a bit of what I learned.” Opening the folder, he pulled out his notes. “My first step was to familiarize myself with all the background information, so I perused the relevant police files. That included everything having to do with the first assault on Cassie Manning, the arrest and conviction of Gerald Laws, court documents, and finally, information regarding the murder of Cassie Manning. After that, I reviewed your first stalking report – the one you made after you received the notes in Charlotte – and I spoke to the officer in charge of that particular case. It wasn’t until late Tuesday evening that I felt like I had a pretty good grasp of everything.
“Now, with regard to Lester Manning, I’m comfortable telling you what you could probably learn on your own with a simple public records search.” He glanced down again. “He’s twenty-five years old and unmarried. High school graduate. He doesn’t own any real property and there are no cars registered in his name. He lists his phone number and address as the same as his father’s. With that said, I’m not sure how much time he actually spends there.”