“Thanks.” Grateful to get the weight off my leg, I sat down. “But how did you find out?”
“I heard a news report on the radio when I drove in this morning,” Zach replied, “but we got the important details from our own Miss Vicky.”
“I thought they should know,” Vicky said, sitting perpendicular to Bentley, ramrod straight with her hands clasped on the table. “I hope you don’t mind.”
I shook my head. “No, not at all.”
As Franklin returned to his chair, he asked, “Lila, do you know what prompted that young man to murder those two women? I can’t imagine.”
As succinctly as possible, I summarized the connections between Tilly, Melissa, and Justyn.
“Well,” Vicky said, “his actions are quite a commentary on the societal issues of drugs and unwed mothers and the foster care system.”
“Some young people make mistakes that can end up having a dramatic impact on others. They don’t mean to be hurtful; they’re just immature and foolish.” Flora lowered herself to her seat. “I can’t help but think that Justyn Kershaw might not have turned into such a rotten apple if he hadn’t had such a rough start to his life. Such a sad and lonely childhood.”
“He was a boy who grew into a man who made bad choices,” Jude noted. “One can choose to have their past dictate their future or leave it behind to set a new course for their life. Justyn used his past as an excuse to do wrong.”
“He’s not the only bad guy Lila helped bring down.” Zach clicked his pen several times. “She got that dope-dealing hippie tossed into the slammer, too. Our Lila’s a force to be reckoned with.”
Bentley cleared her throat. “We are all grateful that Lila’s involvement contributed to making our small part of the world safer, but perhaps we could get the meeting started?”
We shuffled our chairs to get comfortable and directed our attention to Bentley, who removed her glasses and began. “I called this meeting because I wanted to commend you all on a very favorable few weeks. First on the agenda, I would like to applaud Vicky, who, although she has only been with us a short time, has been running this office with extreme efficiency and flawless professionalism. I can’t imagine how we managed without her.”
Vicky’s cheeks turned a dark shade of pink, and she blinked behind her glasses as we all clapped our agreement. “Thank you,” she said. “I’m only doing my job, and this is a lovely place to work.” She cast me a sidelong glance. “There’s never a dull moment.”
Bentley held up her hand. “And we cannot underestimate the success of our first book festival. Not only did our agency benefit from the exposure; I believe we signed three new authors as a direct result of the event. To show my appreciation for your hard—”
A knock on the open door interrupted Bentley. Big Ed walked in carrying a tray containing a mound of sandwiches. “Where should I put this, Ms. Burlington-Duke?” he asked, glancing around the room, obviously eager to divest himself of his burden. He must have struggled to bring it up the stairs.
Bentley waved her arm in the direction of the credenza against the wall. “Put it there, thank you.”
I was so busy watching Ed that I had failed to notice Nell enter the room. She was right behind him, encumbered by a large cake box on which was stacked packages of plates, napkins, and cutlery. Ed put the tray down and turned to remove the items from the top of the cake box. Shoulder to shoulder they arranged the lunch buffet and unveiled the cake, a beautifully decorated confection in the shape of a large open book. When they were satisfied with the presentation, their eyes met. It was more than a look of congratulations at a job well done. I could almost see a spark travel between them, and in that moment I knew for certain that Big Ed had finally found the courage to ask Nell out.
“Will there be anything else?” Ed asked when he pulled his gaze away from Nell.
“No, thank you,” Bentley said. “It looks wonderful. Now,” she continued once Big Ed and Nell had departed, “as I was saying, to show my appreciation for all your hard work, I am treating you to lunch today.”
“Woo hoo!” Zach blurted out. “I’m starving.” He pushed himself out of his seat.
“Before we dig into the food let’s get through the agenda.” Bentley directed a steely look at Zach that caused him to sit back down. She continued by confirming recent signings and sales. Each of us shared our client news, and Vicky explained her new system of tracking statistics for the agency.
“That about covers all the business items,” Bentley concluded. “Any other concerns or announcements?” She regarded us. We all shook our heads. “Jude and Lila, don’t forget about finding a ghostwriter for Marlette Robbins’s sequel. I know you’ve been busy, but the publisher is getting impatient, so I’d like you to get on that right away.”