She grasped for any excuse to refuse.
“But people will know she’s Charlie’s mother, Eddie’s wife. They have the same last name. It’s too dangerous.”
“We thought of that. She’ll use her maiden name. Nancy Duffy. Now, stop complaining. It’s time to bury the hatchet. I want you to shake hands.”
They were upon her. She’d seen Charlie not long before Matthew died. But with Mrs. Wallace it had been decades. She was surprised to see that the years hadn’t changed her much. She was still small and neat, with boring clothes and a put-upon expression. The only difference was that her dishwater hair had gone gray, which suited her. She was born old.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Kathy,” Charlie said, holding out his hand.
She stared at it in disgust for a long moment. Then, under Ray’s watchful eye, she shook it.
Mrs. Wallace didn’t bother offering condolences, which was just as well. If she pretended to be sorry for Sylvia’s loss, Kathryn would have to pretend to believe her. And she couldn’t’ve managed that.
“I look forward to working with you,” Nancy said instead, with a glint of triumph in her mean, colorless eyes.
34
The day before the Pro Bono League reception The call Kathryn had been dreading came at the worst possible moment—during the weekly docket review meeting with Nancy and the law clerks. Kathryn was behind her desk when the intercom buzzed. Nancy got up from the guest chair and came around to answer it so fast that Kathryn had to bat her hand away.
“I’ve got it, thanks. Take a seat,” she said, putting the receiver to her ear.
“Judge, a call from a Mrs. Katz at the doctor’s office,” Kelsey said.
“Put her through. Thanks.”
She covered the receiver with her hand. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to take this.”
“Who is it?” Nancy asked, frowning.
“It’s a private medical matter. Please step out. I’ll let you know when I’m done.”
Nancy couldn’t very well protest in front of the law clerks. But she shot a livid glance over her shoulder as they left, letting Kathryn know that she would pay for this later.
“Hello?”
“Yes, um—this is Dr. Katz’s office calling.”
Her heart plummeted. She’d been expecting her mother’s voice. “Katz”—because of Lucy the cat—was the code name they used for communications that might be intercepted, rather than risking blowing the cover on their new names, Marie and Jenna Allen. But it wasn’t Sylvia on the other end of the line, which meant something terrible had happened.
Kelsey was probably listening in.
“Is there a number where I can call you back?”
“I was told you should call the ER?” the woman said, doubt in her voice.
“The ER” meant the burner phone that Sylvia kept for extreme emergencies.
“Thank you. I’ll call back at the ER within five minutes.”
There were precautions she needed to take in order to speak safely. She locked the front and rear doors of her private office, wedging chairs beneath the doorknobs for extra security since, after all, Nancy had the keys. Reaching into her credenza, she pressed on a panel and released a false bottom, pulling out a burner phone of her own. In her private bathroom, she turned on the tap full force to defeat any bugs they might’ve planted. Then she dialed the burner.
“Hello?”
“Dr. Katz?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess.”
“We can speak freely now. Who am I talking to?”
“I’m Denise Lamb, Marie Allen’s neighbor. Is this her daughter Jenna?”
“Yes. I’m sorry for all the hoops you had to jump through.”
“It’s okay. She explained about your abusive ex, and I know how that goes. I get being careful.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Listen, I’m calling with bad news. Marie went into the hospital, and it’s serious. She left Grace with me. I mean, what a sweet little girl, but I really can’t keep her for more than a night or two.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll come get her. Did they say—？” She drew a ragged breath. “Did they say anything about my mother’s condition? How long?”
“They wouldn’t talk to me because I’m not family. But I don’t think she has long.”
Kathryn pressed her hands to her eyes, fighting the tears.
“I have to take care of a couple of things. I’ll try to get there by tonight. Tomorrow at the latest. I’ll keep you posted.”