Been there. “You’ve given me enough to start.” After she texted Fiona and suggested new representation, she’d consider telling Conrad everything she’d learned today, then speak with Lucy Chang and make an appointment with Devin Hagger. Initial consultations were usually free, right?
The nurse dug inside her purse with a shaky hand, withdrew her phone, and requested Jane’s contact information. Seconds after she offered it, a text came in. “This is my number. Call any time. I’ll answer any questions you have.”
“Thank you.”
“Will you keep me updated?” Desperation tinged the woman’s voice now, causing Jane’s suspicions to war with her sympathies. “Please?”
“I will.” But only as much as she felt comfortable sharing.
Emma set her pet on the floor and stood. They said their goodbyes, leaving Jane alone with Rolex, who slinked out from under the table to sniff every surface the corgi had dared to touch, often pawing the floor with curiosity. Or disgust. No, definitely curiosity, maybe.
“My first official case,” she told him with a grin. Then she texted Fiona about Hagger, and the grandmother responded right away, telling her she’d already fired Hagger and hired new representation. Thank goodness! Now, to call Conrad and tell him the good news or not?
No need to deliberate further. Not. Not yet, anyway. Better to follow her leads first. After a shower and very late morning rounds, she would visit the bank. She’d share what she learned when Conrad stopped by later.
Oh my.Conrad. Stopping by. Later. Jane licked her lips. Perhaps… maybe… possibly…she should cook up a nice dinner for him. Or them. Whatever. Their first date could take place here, where she was most comfortable. Because, now that she considered it, dating him maybe wasn’t so terrible of an idea. Emma was all kinds of right. No one with a brain would open up to a city boy. For reasons. Good ones! Not Jane, that was for sure. And Conrad absolutely, positively was a city boy.
The special agent lived an hour away in downtown Atlanta. In a fancy condo with no personality that didn’t fit him in the slightest. As if Jane couldeverfall in love with such a man. Like him, yes. But not love. Which meant he wouldn’t activate the Ladling curse, turning a talking tree’s prediction that she would forever bear the name “Miss Regret Cursed the Fourth” into a reality—long story. Short version: Her heart remained safe.
Conrad wouldn’t devastate Rolex by bailing when the little darling needed him most. And no, she wasn’t acting like the romance novel heroines she loved to read about, giving herself an excuse to keep seeing the guy who would later turn out to be the love of her life. That wassonot what was happening here.
Her heart thudded. But, um, was she truly considering taking the next step with Conrad?
Her phone rang, and she leaped on the distraction at warp speed. Spotting the number displayed on the screen, Jane gaped. Someone from the Bank of Aurelian Hills. Seriously? The very place Lucy Chang worked.
Uh, what if Lucy was the one on the other end of the line?
Frowning, Jane tapped the button and pressed the phone to her ear. “Yes, um, hello? This is me. I mean, this is Jane. Jane Ladling. I’m she.”
“Hi, Jane. You might not remember me, but I’m Lucy Chang. A loan officer at the Bank of Aurelian Hills.”
Okay, what the heck was even going on right now? Jane thought of a person and boom, they reached out?Henry Cavill, Henry Cavill, Henry Cavill. “Yes, I remember you. You worked at my event last night.”
“Yes, that’s me.” Lucy gave a nervous laugh. “I would love to meet with you here at the bank. Today. If it’s not too much trouble. I’m willing to work around your schedule.”
She wanted to shout, “Yes!” but the oddity of the situation left her speechless. A murder investigation had never gone so seamlessly, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.
Lucy lowered her volume, whispering, “Please visit me. There’s something you need to know about the murder.”
CHAPTERFOUR
“Victory doesn’t fall on you like ripe cherries from a tree. You fight to make it happen.”
Lucas “Trick” Robichaud
Jane smoothed the lines of her dress. A cascading floral fit-and-flare with interlocking sections of black and teal. When satisfied with that, she adjusted the hat pinned to her crown. The little beauty possessed sprigs of both blue and green flowers to match. All right. Nothing out of place. With a large purse dangling from her shoulder, she soared into the ornate lobby of the premier bank for Aurelian Hills.
A bell tinkled as she went from bright daylight and cold to subdued lighting and warmth. Up ahead, an electronic banner flashed the wordsServing Your Needs Since 1832.The only nod to the twenty-first century. Other than the state-of-the-art security, of course, hidden throughout for discretion.
No expense had been spared on the marble flooring and pillars, or the golden lions that guarded the vault. Even the bars between tellers and customers were said to be encrusted with flakes of gold. Sadly, such rumors had only led to the real life hotsy-totsy robberies of decades past.
Jane ignored the vibrating cell in a purse pocket and strolled deeper inside the building. No doubt it was Ashley Katz from the Headliner again; over the last hour, the woman had called repeatedly, not taking the hint when Jane failed to answer, too busy for an interview right now.
At a reception desk littered with tiny pumpkins sat an older security guard with the thickest mustache in history. Per Lucy’s instructions, Jane stopped there to sign in.
Perhaps a wee bit too loudly, she proclaimed, “I’m here because I have an appointment with Ms. Chang. For a loan. Well, a potential loan.” Because she refused to lie, she would, in fact, be filling out the paperwork for said loan. If, by some miracle she got it, she’d either turn it down or use it to purchase cameras for the Valley of Dolls.
The guard frowned at her but also waved to a waiting area with uncomfortable looking chairs. “Have a seat. I’m sure she’ll be with you shortly.”