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Tenaya juggled her morning latte from Café Bellissima and leather briefcase, thumb hovering over her phone as she responded to another text about an upcoming baby shower. Her thick, curly hair stuck to her temples, frizzing in the early morning Los Angeles heat. September often brought the highest temps of the year, and the nerve-wracking Santa Ana winds, intense blows that sparked wildfires and tempers.
None of which did a thing to lighten her mood. She stared down at the text, but the words hadn’t changed. She sighed. How many baby showers was that this year? Last week, it was an invite to a destination wedding. The second in three months. Her law school friends were moving on with their lives while she remained stuck in neutral. No husband. No kids. Not even a steady plus one. Just work.
A city bus pulled up to the curb with a hiss of brakes, disgorging a crowd of office-dwellers into the late summer heat. People swarmed around her, each intent on their own destination. She clutched her latte tighter and let her thumb slide away from the phone’s screen. No need to respond to Jillian’s invitation this second.
Before she could pocket her device, another text popped up. Her assistant, Megan.
WHERE ARE YOU?
The all-caps message made Tenaya’s heart rev. Though on the young side of thirty, Megan wasn’t given to drama. Café Bellissima had been slammed today. Still, Tenaya was only 15 minutes past her usual arrival time at the office. Which was over an hour earlier than most of the other attorneys arrived.
First in, last out.
Some days, she didn’t even see her condo in the daylight. She squeezed into the vast, modern lobby of the high rise, her thumb hovering over the screen again, but she was literally one elevator ride away from seeing Megan in person. She pocketed her phone, practicing her yoga breathing on the way up the 12 floors to the Steadman Hawking offices. By the time she reached her floor, the artificial air had done its job. At least she wasn’t sweating.
She edged her way out of the cramped elevator and curved past the main reception desk. The wide brass facing on the desk reflected her movements back at her as she headed for her small office in the back. Her assistant intercepted her before she made it halfway down the hall.
The pretty redhead pointed back over Tenaya’s shoulder. “Jarrod needs you. Now.”
Tenaya suppressed a sigh. She and Jarrod had been hired the same year, but ever since making senior partner six months ago, Jarrod loved piling extra work on her.
She handed her laptop case to the other woman and hooked a left turn, heading for the smallest of the firm’s corner offices on the other side of the floor. She could decline his summons. Her work calendar was already over-full. If Jarrod intended to palm off another dead-end case, she would push back. There were ten associates far more junior than her. No. The operative word was…no.
She steeled herself as she reached his door—cracked open with two men inside. Both men wore short-sleeved shirts and belted pants. They looked like suburban dads heading out to play golf. Except for the handguns on their hips. And the badges.
Her pulse kicked up a notch. Police.
Jarrod’s thin face was drawn. He waved her in. “Tenaya. Come in. Shut the door.”
The men glanced her way. One flashed a badge. “Detectives Morris and Fuller, Miss Washington. Sorry to intrude on your morning.”
She shook their hands and sank into a chair, fist curled tight around her coffee cup. She eyed Jarrod. Still standing, he avoided her gaze and fiddled with papers on his desk.
Icy sweat broke out on her brow. What could they want with her? They’d know better than to try discussing a client. Attorney-client privilege covered literally everything her clients divulged.
Maybe they were here to offer her information. Most of her clients were women. Virtually all of them were married to wealthy men. And while many were successful in their own right, that didn’t shield them from threats made by furious soon-to-be-ex-husbands.
But then why meet in Jarrod’s office?
She cleared her throat, taking care to modulate her voice, exactly the way she’d handle a new jury. Until she knew what the men wanted, she’d take care not to give anything away. “What brings two of LA’s finest all the way out to the west side of town?”
Fuller leaned forward, forearms braced on his knees. “A body was discovered last night. Lafayette Park across from the building here.” His gravelly voice was all business. “Female victim, late-twenties to early thirties.”
Tenaya’s ribcage cinched tight. A friend? A client? Why tell her?
Jarrod met her gaze this time, but his eyes were bleak. She set her latte aside, trying to prepare herself for whatever awful news was coming.
“There was a note left on the body.” Morris held out an evidence bag. “Addressed to you.”
She squinted at the thick printing.
Hey Baby Doll, the jagged letters began. Long time no see...
The words blurred, a wave of nausea rising in her throat.
It couldn’t be.
