Primitive Secrets Read Online Free Page B

malassada or two to soothe her battered soul. She wished she’d never looked in the mirror this morning.
    When Edwin Wang knocked on her door and it swung open, his jaw dropped. “Oh!”
    â€œDon’t worry, I look worse than I feel. Luckily, I don’t have to see anyone today. Thought I’d go through Hamasaki’s office like you suggested.”
    â€œGood idea. Glad to hear you’re not hurt too badly.” Wang took off his glasses and wiped them, probably to avoid looking at her face. “Did you bring in those papers we talked about?”
    â€œI forgot! I’m sorry.”
    A little tic twitched under Wang’s right eye. “Please have them tomorrow.” He smoothed the front of his perfectly tailored Hong Kong suit and marched out the door.
    Storm wilted in her chair and shook her head at her forgetfulness. She’d had a tough week, but it was time to stop letting it affect her work. She drained her coffee cup and was bracing herself to head down the hall to Hamasaki’s office when Meredith Wo, the youngest of the partners, popped her head around the corner. Her eyes opened wide.
    â€œWow! What happened to you?” Meredith exclaimed.
    â€œI got mugged in the parking lot,” Storm said. “You picked a good week to be gone. When did you get back?”
    â€œLast night. I’m lagged.” Meredith’s perfectly lined almond eyes became somber for a moment. “I’m going to miss Hamasaki. Geez, I couldn’t believe it when Lorraine called me in Sydney.”
    Storm didn’t feel up to commenting on Meredith’s important travels for the firm. “Yeah. We just have to live every day with gusto.”
    Meredith raised a curved eyebrow. “Maybe you should take it easy on the gusto for a few days. Hey, have you found Hamasaki’s briefcase yet? You know if there were any cases in there for me?”
    â€œNo, but he would have given any medical cases to you,” Storm said. All the malpractice cases in the firm went to Meredith. Hamasaki hated them. He always said he couldn’t tell the good guys from the bad and that everybody except the insurance companies and the lawyers lost. He preferred finding shelters for people’s money by discovering loopholes in tax and estate laws. The IRS was a worthy opponent and his clients were mostly happy, healthy, and wealthy.
    â€œKeep looking, okay?” Meredith tried to hide a glance at her watch. She squared her thin shoulders and strode from the room.
    â€œRight.” Storm stared at the doorway for a minute, then drew a deep breath and stood. She headed down the corridor to Hamasaki’s office.
    She forced herself to turn the doorknob and push open the door. Just inside, she stopped and let her eyes rove over the room. The police, who had come when she called the ambulance, had moved some things around, but the office looked essentially the same. She felt her neck relax. The worst was over. The room brought good memories instead of the bad one she’d feared. It felt different, though. Deserted. The mug he’d gripped was tipped over on the desktop. A pen lay in a dried stain that spread across the blotter.
    Storm walked over to the desk and picked up the mug. He had a set of four in brightly painted ceramic from a trip to Tuscany. She wouldn’t mind having those; they brought back happy memories. They’d shared his favorite teas together on many a late afternoon.
    She wandered over to the glass-fronted antique bookcase that glinted in the sunlight streaming through the picture window. He treasured his old books, for their contents more than the fact that many of them were valuable first editions. She’d love to have some of his Mark Twain and Ogden Nash volumes, the ones they’d chuckled over together. Tears blurred her vision and she reached out for the back of a nearby chair. She needed more time. It would be better to look through the office