Malpractice Makes Perfect

Chapter 13

          "Hey Jen, it's Evie. Can you patch me through to J.P.?"

          Her voice lost its clinical distance and slipped into a more familiar tone. "Sure thing, Evie."

          On hold I bobbed my head to Hall and Oates for thirty seconds until J.P. picked up.

          His honeyed voice melted through the line as smooth as butter. So different from Ric's which tended to boom like a canon. "What can I do for you, Evie?"

          "I want to know why Robert Davis had me investigated."

          A sly smile was in his voice when he said, "Evie, you know I can't breach client confidentiality."

          "And what about professional courtesy? If someone came to me to investigate you, I'd tell you."

          He laughed. "No, you wouldn't."

          I sighed. "Okay, no—but if you came to me, I'd at least give you something."

          He went quiet for a moment. Probably thinking of what, if anything, he could say to the person who'd shadowed him for three months. "Alright Evie, how about this? Sometimes when you set off a bomb you hit more than the person you originally targeted."

          I'd forgotten how prone he was to useless metaphors. The man was a great P.I. but he wasn't a fan of being brash or straightforward if it didn't benefit him; the key way our techniques differed.

          "Then why set off the bomb?"

          "To be thorough."

          I'm not asking the right question. I thought for a second. "Who's the bomb for?"

          "I can't tell you that." Ah ha.

          "How many people got hit in the blast?"

          "Everyone at the repass."

          "Interesting." So Robert wasn't as smart as he seemed. "Thanks J.P. Very helpful."

          "Just pay it forward when the time comes." J.P. Wolff hung up without a goodbye, as was his way.

          So, Robert did a background check on everyone at the repass? I was just collateral damage. Then what was he really looking for? And who was he looking into? It likely wasn't me or Alice or that random dude I was discussing apple tarts with. The most obvious answer was someone in the family. But then Margie was there as well...

          Robert was up to some shit. What, I didn't know.

          I dialed Alexis on the landline and put her on speaker. She picked up on the third ring. "Hello," her voice was small; like she'd deflated some since we last spoke.

          "Alexis, it's Evie."

          "Hey! Have you found out anything?"

          "I'm making progress." Well, sort of. I knew Robert and probably Malik were making moves. If I had to guess I'd say this was about the will. "You still have that copy of the will I found, right?"

          "Yeah, of course."

          "Could you send me a copy, please?"

          "Yeah."

          After we hung up, I went back to work going over the budget when I got the email. Alexis had scanned every page of the will in a ten-page document. I opened it and skimmed over it while I sipped at a cup of chamomile.