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“Mom, stay out of this,” Erin barked.
“Erin, no one is accusing your husband of anything. Russell wants to find out why no one delivered the goods he’d paid for. Do you know anything about Ben’s business?”
“No, but—”
“That’s what I thought. So don’t worry about a thing.”
She backed up to stare at him. “Why are you bringing him here?”
“I want him to see for himself that you had no idea about any of Ben’s business deals.”
“You should have explained it to him, Tim.” Her hands fisted on her hips, and she glared at him. “Are you my friend when it suits you and my enemy’s lawyer when it’s more profitable?”
An icy stab sliced his gut. “How can you say that?” Exasperated, he threw his arms up. “You know you’re all very dear to me.”
Blinking several times, she averted her gaze. “Please leave, Tim. I’m too upset to discuss this now.”
“Erin, are you crazy?” Teresa interjected. “Tim hasn’t stopped helping us.”
“Mom, I said stay out of it.”
“I know you’re upset now.” He tried a conciliatory tone. “Call me when you recover your calm. But I insist you shouldn’t worry about Russell’s visit. It will clear the air.” He walked to the living room. “Brianna, we’re going now. You all have exams tomorrow. You should go to bed early to be able to focus on your tests.”
Erin let him go without any protest. He hoped she would come to her senses and agree to receive his client.
Around nine that night, Teresa called him. “Erin left for the hospital an hour ago. She refused to talk to me about your client’s visit. Is this something serious that may affect us?”
“No, Teresa. Obviously, Erin has no idea about her husband’s deals. No one can incriminate her, or touch her money.”
“Oh my God, did Ben do something illegal?”
“I have no idea. I never met him. My client claims that Ben owes him a delivery.”
“Maybe he died before he could deliver…whatever it was?”
“Most probably. But his company,Global Items,has no record of any business with Mr. Malcolm. So Malcolm wants to know who the source was and how to contact them to get his stuff.”
“I never heard Erin talk about Ben’s work. She probably doesn’t know anything. Poor thing, she’s always so busy with her own job and her kids.”
“That’s why I want her to meet Malcolm. Spending an hour in your house will convince him to look elsewhere, and he won’t bother her after that, instead of him dragging her to court to have her questioned.”
“No court, please, Tim. I’ll try to convince her. Don’t resent her. She wasn’t herself today.”
“I’d never resent her. As I said before, you’re all very dear to me.”
“Tim, I’ll make lasagna with spinach, and paella with shrimp, fish, and crab as the second dish.”
“Perfect. I’ll order the ingredients to be delivered to you.”
“You’ll have a fantastic dinner for your client.”
He chuckled. “That’s the way to do it. A bit of diplomacy never hurts.”
For the next few days, Tim avoided the Perkins’s household. Several times he reached for his phone to call Erin but abstained, afraid to start a useless discussion that could degenerate badly.
On Monday, Brianna announced with a radiant smile, “Daddy, Debbie and me, we both got 100 in math.”
“Excellent. I’m proud of you.” He gave her a big hug.
