Chapter 6-1
361 Words
Chapter 6
Tuesday, Chel was scheduled to come over after she got out of school. Before she arrived, I was able to check office emails, and talk to Lou Ann. She rescheduled a client meeting with a new client who wanted to hire me about a charge he picked up after local Mulberry police caught him smoking m*******a in a park. Also, Jessica, Anton’s widow, called and left a message. Most of what Lou Ann had for me could wait a day or two. Most of what she had were messages wishing me well, some from other attorneys, and some from former and current clients.
By three, Noah and Chel came in. Noah dropped off the mail and headed on out to go play softball with some friends. My daughter had her book bag full of homework, but she wanted to know if I could help her with her lines for the Thanksgiving play. After helping her with her math homework, we went over her lines.
She was a natural.
Elena called to tell me she was a few minutes away. I toasted some Pop-Tarts while she packed her stuff in her book bag.
“Dad—why do you think you got shot?”
“Not sure. Maybe the guy was after Anton. You remember him, right?”
She shook her head. “No, but Mom said you used to work together. Is being a lawyer a dangerous job?”
“Uh, no. Being a cop, a fireman, those jobs are more dangerous.”
“So why do you think someone wanted to kill him?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart.” I leaned over, kissed her forehead, and whispered, “Don’t know.”
I heard the knock on the door, and Chel grabbed her bag. I heard Elena call out for her behind the door. Before she twisted the doorknob, she had one last question. “How do you know it was a guy who shot him?”
I laughed. “Now, you’re thinking like a lawyer or a cop. That’s enough of the questions for now. Your mom wants to go home.”
I opened the door, and there stood Elena, jingling her keys. I hugged our daughter and watched them both leave.
Elena’s dad was military and she grew up around guns. Thinking about my precocious daughter just said, she was right: a man or woman could have been the killer.
- Writer
