Tuesday, May 10
“Eden?” Sarah Fontaine rested a thin hand on
Eden’s elbow, just as she reached for the bag left on the end of the counter at
Book & Mug by the delivery girl from Celestial Dragon.
“Hi, Miss Sarah.” Eden smiled despite the
sudden electric zing of apprehension that shot through her at the elderly
woman’s composed, delicately regal expression and posture. “Something I can do
for you?”
“Could we talk? Privately?” Sarah looked
around the coffee shop, four-fifths empty just before the afternoon rush began.
“Sure.” She took a firm grip on the handles
of the bag and gestured with a tilt of her head for Sarah to follow her to the
brass cage elevator around the corner from the front counter.
The metal gate rattled open, Eden gestured
for Sarah to step in first, and in moments they were riding up to the second-floor
office. She didn’t try to disguise the searching look she gave the woman.
Something was gnawing at her. Sarah hadn’t so much recovered from the loss of
her husband, Albert, as she had simply carried on. Eden wondered now if that
resilience and serenity she envied in Sarah was more mask and determination
than reality.
“What can I do for you?” Eden led her guest
over to the seat next to her workstation.
“I’m not as sure as I would like to be, of
the answer you’ll give me …” Sarah settled into the swivel chair and rested her
tapestry handbag on her lap. “Conrad has been meeting with you quite often,
over the last few weeks. I hope – please tell me it has to do with business and
not personal reasons?”
“Uh … it’s entirely personal for Conrad, but not for me. And that’s about all I feel comfortable telling you. I’m sorry,” Eden hurried on. Something skipped in her chest when Sarah closed her eyes. She reached to lightly grasp the elderly woman’s wrist and was relieved when Sarah opened her eyes and smiled.
“I won’t press you. I hoped he had hired you to do some investigative work for him, and not … well …” She shrugged. “Honestly, I was worried he had given up waiting for Becca to come back to town.”
“Me and Conrad? No.” She tried not to laugh, sensing it would insult the woman. After all, Conrad was really the only grandson she had. He had confided in Eden about the reconciliation efforts of one of his Fontaine cousins, but until that actually happened, Conrad was pretty much all she had. One daughter was dead, the other lived in Montana, and whatever had caused her sons to turn their backs on her and Albert so many years ago, it couldn’t be gotten over and healed in a matter of a few days.
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