The Witness

by Terry Lynn Thomas

  “You were very loved, Ebby. Your mother had her rough moments, but at other times she loved you,” Elodie said.

  “I know,” Ebby said. “But there’s something in my brain that’s coming to the surface. I can feel it. It’s dangerous. I can’t sit by and not try to figure it out.”

  “You need to go back to the doctor,” Elodie said. “We can find you a good psychiatrist—”

  “No,” Ebby said. “No doctors. No more tests. No more therapy. No more – and I mean this with all my heart – no more psychiatric interventions. I need some facts. I need the truth. Elodie, I love you, really I do. But I think you’re keeping something from me about that night – you and Aunt Fiona both. I want to know what.”

  “That’s nonsense. No one’s keeping anything from you. The only thing I’ve ever wanted to do is protect you.” Elodie’s expression softened. She reached out and touched Ebby’s face. “You’re a grown man, Ebby. You own a successful restaurant and you are doing well in life. You suffered a tragedy as a child. You lost your mother. It’s a heartbreaking truth. Maybe you’re just going through a rough patch. But you have to agree that you were doing much better when you were under the care of a psychiatrist.”

  “The drugs they gave me were nothing short of poison,” Ebby said.

  “Then what about regular talk therapy? Just to get you through this rough patch.”

  “No. This is more than a rough patch. My memory is coming back. I need to let that happen. And before you interrupt, I want to find out what happened that night on my own. I don’t want to be told the story, secondhand, by family members.” Ebby rubbed his eyes, thinking of the question that threatened to drive him to madness: Did he murder his own mother? Did he stab her? “Tell me, Elodie, what should I do? Because if I don’t do something, I swear, I’ll go mad.”

  “Very well,” Elodie said. “I’ve got an idea.”

  Chapter 1

  Olivia

  Friday, January 2

  I’m in love with Brian Vickery. Olivia pulled her coat tighter against the winter wind as she walked down Magnolia Avenue in the direction of her office. I’m in love with Brian Vickery, and he’s renting an office from me. Olivia reached her office, surprised to find the door unlocked and the lights on. I’m in love with Brian Vickery, and he’s dating someone else. She stood outside for a moment, as the sobering reality of the situation pulled at her heart. Eventually this pain would pass. Wouldn’t it? Because the entire scenario could be reduced to three bullet points: Brian and Olivia had slept together. Olivia had pulled away. Brian had moved on. Done. End of story. Now it was down to Olivia to act like all was just hunky-dory as Brian signed the lease that would essentially force them to share an office for the foreseeable future.

  Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the January chill, plastered a smile on her face and headed toward the halo of light that spilled out of Brian’s office and into the hallway.

  “Hey, Brian—” She stopped in her tracks, astonished to see Leanne Stoddard, Brian’s new girlfriend, hunched over Brian’s desk, her back to Olivia, as she snapped pictures of documents with her cell phone. “Leanne? Can I help you?”

  At the sound of Olivia’s voice, Leanne turned around, eyes wide, as she stuffed the documents back in the drawer and closed it. “Olivia? What are you doing here?” Leanne placed her palm flat on her heart. “You scared me to death.”

  “I own the building.” Olivia narrowed her eyes, suspicious now of Leanne’s reasons for being here. “Why are you going through Brian’s papers?”

  “I know how this must look. But I wasn’t going through his papers.”

  Liar. Olivia didn’t say the word out loud.

  “Really. I wasn’t snooping. Trust me. I wanted to get a look at Brian’s calendar. I thought it would be easier to just take a photo rather than writing down all the days he was free. I was hoping to surprise him with a getaway weekend or a concert, but he’s so busy all the time working.”

  Olivia had learned long ago never to trust anyone who used the words trust me. “How did you get in here?”

  “Oh, Brian gave me a key. I’m here to pick up his laptop. It’s running slow, and I offered to fix it for him. Please don’t tell him you caught me here. I wanted to surprise him.” Brian’s laptop case sat on the corner of his desk. Leanne picked it up, sliding the strap over her shoulder. “I actually wanted to speak to you anyway. I was hoping we could have coffee or lunch one day. Brian considers you a close friend, and I’d like to get to know you better.”

  In the spirit of getting along, Olivia forced a smile and said, “I’d like that very much.”

  “Good,” Leanne said, smiling back. “Let me know a day that works. Gotta run. Have a good one.”

  “Can you lock the door, please?”

  “No problem,” Leanne said.

  Once Olivia heard the door shut and the key turn in the lock, she stepped into Brian’s office. She didn’t believe for one minute that Leanne was looking through Brian’s calendar.

  Olivia had never liked Leanne, hadn’t trusted her from the minute Brian had introduced them. Olivia had assumed her dislike stemmed from jealousy because if she were completely honest, she wanted Brian for herself. They’d met after Olivia had been arrested for the murder of her husband’s mistress, and her attorney had hired Brian to prove her innocence. They had struck up a friendship. When the real murderer had burned Brian’s house down in a feeble attempt to destroy evidence, Olivia had gladly invited Brian to stay with her until he found a more permanent place to live. She had been surprised at how well the two of them got along, how easy it was to be together and share the simple day-to-day moments that constitute the bulk of a relationship. But they had moved too fast and everything had fallen apart.

  Leanne’s sudden appearance in Brian’s life had taken Olivia totally by surprise. With nothing else to do, Olivia had stepped away, knowing the best course of action was to give him room to navigate this new relationship without interference from her.

  There was a part of Olivia – the seasoned litigation attorney who trusted her finely tuned intuition – that wanted to run a simple background check on Brian’s new girlfriend, if for no other reason than to lessen her anxiety. She’d only been around Leanne twice, but each time they’d been together, Olivia had felt like Leanne had an agenda, as though she were hiding something. Olivia hadn’t yet acted on her suspicions because it wasn’t her place and Brian would not be happy if he found out. She wondered if she should do a little digging into Leanne Stoddard’s background. No one would need to know. If she found evidence that Leanne wasn’t what she seemed, she would tell Brian. He might get mad at her for meddling in his affairs, but Olivia didn’t care. She was sure Brian would do the same thing if the tables were turned.

  ***

  An hour later, Olivia sipped her coffee and stared out the café window at the Golden Gate Bridge, and the shimmering San Francisco Bay. Across from her, Lauren Ridley added a generous dollop of cream and sugar to her coffee.

  “So what don’t you like about this woman, other than the fact that she’s got her claws into Brian Vickery?”

  “I can’t put my finger on it. At the risk of sounding more than a little ridiculous, when Brian’s around her, it’s like she’s the predator and he’s the prey.” Olivia waited for Lauren to smile and tease. But she didn’t.

  Instead, she put her coffee cup on the aqua blue Formica table and said, “Go on.”

  “When she came to the office that first time, I got the distinct impression that she was casing the joint. And she’s hiding something. I swear, I can smell it.” Olivia picked at the flimsy paper napkin on her lap. “When I got to the office this morning, she was already there, going through Brian’s desk. She swore up and down that she was taking a photo of Brian’s calendar, so she could take him away for the weekend.”

  “Ouch,” Lauren said. “Do you think they’re sleeping together?”

  “I don’t know. Probably. Am I just
being jealous? Remember, I’m the woman who couldn’t even see my own husband’s infidelity. Maybe I’m totally wrong about all of this.”

  “Stop it, Liv. Just because you didn’t see Richard for the jackass he was, doesn’t mean you’re wrong about this Leanne creature. You’re not the first person who couldn’t see their own issues.”

  “If you saw them together, you’d see what I mean. It’s like Brian shrinks when he’s around her. He literally looks shrunken and weak, like he’s ripe to be taken advantage of. When Brian was working my case, he was focused, had a purpose. Game on, if you get my meaning.”

  “What’s different now? You’ve said he has more work than he knows what to do with.”

  “The work he has now isn’t personal for him. It’s professional – corporate background checks and things like that. His heart’s not in it. And, despite Leanne Stoddard, he’s still mourning his wife in a big way.” Olivia sipped her coffee. “There’s a particular type of woman who is attracted to men like Brian – widowers, who are coming to grips with their grief. Some men – in my opinion – just want to be married. I think the pain of their loss softens them, if that makes sense. This type of woman wants to provide emotional rescue and save the man in need.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Other than people should save themselves, nothing at all. There’s also a sub-genre – for lack of a better word – in this group, the type of woman who likes to swoop in and exploit. I’m pretty sure Brian got a sizeable property insurance payout from his house fire.”

  “Are you saying you think this woman is after Brian for his money?”

  Olivia didn’t give voice to her thoughts. “I’m saying I don’t like her. And I’m saying – despite my utter lack of judgment as far as Richard was concerned – in this situation I trust my intuition.”

  “Brian Vickery is a retired cop. He’s seen the dark side of humanity. There’s not a gullible bone in that man’s body. The question here, my friend, is why won’t you admit you want Brian for yourself?”

  The waitress approached with two plates piled high with food. “Salmon omelets, extra avocado and extra potatoes.” She set the plates on the table. “I’ll circle back with coffee shortly, ladies. Flag me down if you need anything else.”

  After the waitress was out of earshot, Olivia leaned forward and said in a low voice so no one could hear, “All right, I admit it. I’m fond of Brian. But he is not over his wife. And I don’t want to get involved with someone who isn’t capable of reciprocal feelings. I already had a long-term loveless marriage. If I get involved with Brian, it will be when he is good and ready.”

  “Right. You see what you did there?”

  “What are you talking about?” Olivia shook the ketchup bottle and doused her potatoes.

  “You’re making these judgments and decisions about a relationship without consulting the other party. You should express this to Brian, not to me. It’s obvious you’re missing him. Why haven’t you talked to him? Don’t you think you should tell him why you pulled away after your illicit physical … whatever it was? At some point, you’re going to have to talk to him, if for no other reason than to clear the air so you can move on. He’s renting an office from you, Liv. You’re going to be around him. You need to deal with this.”

  “I know. I know. I need to talk to him. I’ve tried, really I have. Just the other day we were in the office together, unpacking his work stuff. Every time I opened my mouth to broach the subject, the words wouldn’t come.”

  They ate in silence for a moment before Lauren said, “When the time is right to talk to him, you’ll find the words. Meanwhile, what are you going to do about the new girlfriend?”

  “I don’t know,” Olivia said. “Maybe a little background investigation wouldn’t go amiss, given what I saw this morning.”

  “Agreed. But you need to be careful if you go down that road,” Lauren said. “I’m sure Brian wouldn’t appreciate knowing you’re investigating his girlfriend behind his back. And now that you’re sharing office space, the relationship is professional and personal.”

  Olivia waited while the waitress refilled her coffee. When she was gone, Olivia said, “My life mantra right now is ‘Proceed with caution’. When the time is right, I’ll talk to him. But a quiet little background check wouldn’t be harmful. Would it? Leanne’s a nurse. I could start by looking up her record at the California nursing board. They have a website. No harm there, right?”

  “Just be careful,” Lauren agreed. “On to a new subject. What’s the latest on the job front? Last time we talked you were going to start looking for some pro bono work?”

  “I’ve gone on two interviews at family law firms in the city. Both times I got into the managing attorney’s office, and all he wanted to do was grill me about the situation with Richard and the events of last October. One of the firms didn’t want me at all. They wanted me to persuade Richard to come to work for them.”

  “That’s awful. I’m sorry, Liv. Have faith. You’ll find something,” Lauren said.

  Olivia finished the last of her breakfast and pushed her plate away. “From the Olympian vantage point of hindsight, I realize that I shouldn’t have been so quick to get rid of my practice.”

  “But you didn’t have a choice, did you? And you could go back to practicing if you wanted to. Can’t you just take a case or two, get your feet wet slowly?” Lauren arranged her knife and fork on the right-hand side of her plate and pushed it away. “Take your time and ask the universe what you’re supposed to do with your life. I swear, if you ask the question and open your mind, the answer will reveal itself.”

  The two women had been friends for decades, so Olivia was well aware of Lauren’s new-age view of the world. Lauren regularly had her tarot read and she was adamant that no contracts be signed during a Mercury retrograde. Olivia had learned to love Lauren for her quirky way of looking at the world and had always humored her. But now, for the first time, Lauren’s words made sense. For it seemed the harder Olivia pushed herself to make some decisions, get a job, just do something, the more elusive the joy of a productive life seemed to be. Maybe Lauren was right. Olivia should step back, clear her head, and see what the universe had in store for her.

  “It’ll be okay, Liv. You’ve got a lot to be grateful for. You’re going to be a grandmother, for crying out loud. How is Denny?”

  “Doing extremely well. She’s still decorating her friend’s bed and breakfast in Tahoe. She loves it there so much, she may just stay. The morning sickness has passed, and it looks like she’ll deliver on June 16th.”

  After they paid their check, the pair headed out of the restaurant for a walk along Bridgeway, the shimmering water of the bay on one side of the street and the shops, with the houses nestled into the hills above them, on the other. Olivia realized that although her life was full of uncertainty and that she had no idea what to do with her time or energy, Lauren was right. She did have a lot to be grateful for.

  Chapter 2

  Olivia

  Saturday, January 3

  When Brian Vickery had offered to rent a portion of Olivia’s office space for his burgeoning private investigation practice, Olivia had jumped at the chance. Maybe, she’d reasoned, being around Brian would inspire her to figure out what she wanted to do with herself professionally. She missed helping the people who came to her with their troubles. Reluctant to admit it, Olivia no longer felt useful. Today she vowed to run the vacuum and feather duster in her office, boot up her computer, and make a list of contacts that might be interested in hiring her for contract work. After that, she would reach out to the Marin County Bar Association and take a few pro bono cases.

  Happy to finally be doing something to move her life forward, Olivia once again stood in the entrance to her office building, noticing for the first time the desiccated leaves that had accumulated around the front door and the smudges on the front window. Distracted with thoughts of how she had let things slip, she almost didn�
�t notice when Edward Engstrom, known to his friends as Ebby, approached her.

  “Olivia?” Ebby Engstrom stood on the sidewalk and stared at Olivia, as if he couldn’t place her.

  “Yes, it’s me, Ebby. I changed my hair.” Olivia had stopped coloring her hair in October; where it had once been shoulder-length and a dark brown shade that came from a bottle, it was now cut short and snow-white.

  Recognition lit Ebby’s face, followed by embarrassment. “I’m sorry. It’s very flattering. Do you have a few minutes to talk to me? Or can I make an appointment to see you?”

  Olivia had known Ebby Engstrom since he was a child. Her mother and Ebby’s aunt Elodie, Ebby’s guardian after his mother died, had been very good friends up until the day Olivia’s mother had passed away. Both women had grown up in Larkspur and had been friends since grade school. Now Ebby was in his mid-forties and looked like the quintessential California surfer, with his shoulder-length blond curls and a perpetual tan. Ebby owned a restaurant, The No Name Diner, which had been a Larkspur institution for over twenty years. He had started working there as a busboy. When the owner wanted to retire, Ebby had taken over. In addition to serving burgers and fries, he had added his own recipes to the menu and surprised everyone when his innovative food was met with critical acclaim.

  Now Ebby looked troubled. His tan had faded; his eyes were bloodshot with dark smudges of exhaustion underneath them.

  “I’m not practicing law anymore, but you’re welcome to come in,” Olivia said. She wriggled the key, finally managing to get the door open.

  “I know. I don’t need a lawyer, just someone I can trust.”

  Once inside, Olivia said, “Let’s sit out here on the couches. I’m switching offices and don’t have a place to sit yet.”

  Soon they were settled across from each other, Ebby fidgeting with the zipper of his coat. Olivia said, “How’s Elodie?”