Irreparable Harm (A Legal Thriller)
Page 58
Chapter 43
Jerry paced around Laura’s enormous gleaming kitchen, fuming. Bringing Vivian and those two idiotic goons into Laura’s home would sully it. He had intended to draw a line between his old life and his new life with her and not let his business bleed into their relationship. It was not off to a good start.
He’d been about to leave to meet Gregor and Anton at the bistro when Vivian had called from the federal courthouse. He couldn’t follow everything she was saying in an angry whisper, but he’d gathered they’d suffered some sort of legal setback that had pissed her off. She had insisted she had to see him right away and asked him to stay put.
The legal end of the plan was Vivian’s responsibility. So any problems were her problems, not his. All the same, he didn’t want there to be any hiccups when they were this close, so he’d decided to wait for her.
That left him no option but to call Gregor and tell him to bring the files to Laura’s house.
As he waited for his unwelcome guests to arrive, Jerry tugged at his hair with both hands, thinking. Laura was out running errands. When she finished, they planned to have a quick lunch together at the house, then she would leave again for a meeting with her priest to go over Noah’s funeral service.
He looked at the time display on the control panel of Laura’s complicated espresso machine, just above the tangle of nozzles and wands that made him long for Folgers. It was 10:02.
He’d just have to get rid of everyone before Laura returned.
He heard the purr of a car engine and the crackle of crushed stones as a vehicle made its way up the driveway. He looked out the window over the kitchen door, expecting to see Gregor’s Camry. Instead, Vivian pulled up in her maroon SUV. She had someone in the passenger seat.