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protective of his big sister. She nodded and looked to make sure no one heard him call her Katie. Jake hugged and kissed her on the forehead. Jake had just returned from Afghanistan three weeks earlier. He had been seeing a psychiatrist for post–traumatic stress disorder. Jake felt that he didn’t need to see a psychiatrist, but the service was free and mandatory as instructed by his superiors. He had intended to marry his girlfriend of five years when he returned to the States except she had gotten pregnant by another man while he was gone. Jake went into a rage when he received her letter in the mail the day before he was set to return home. His rampage put him on watch and thus the mandatory appointments with a psychiatrist were required. He insisted he didn’t need it. What man wouldn’t go on a rampage over something like that? But the army had insisted, just in case.
    Katherine was trying to be strong because she knew many business colleagues were in attendance: CEO Joshua Gorman from Eckerson and Bland Investments, COO Mary Aboku from Interspire Inc., and Henry Lloyd from Blackstone Construction, who were responsible for just about all the new construction projects in the Northeast. Katherine wasn’t sure if crying would make her look weak or if not crying would make her look inhumane. She decided to hold her tears. Seeming inhumane was never a bad quality in the business world. Seeming weak was never a good idea. She was extremely sad and wondered how she would ever manage to keep her tears hidden, so she wore a black hat with a veil just in case she lost control of her emotions. She had on a sleek black dress with black leather shoes with silver studs on the heels. She wore a silver brooch on the lapel of her blazer. Her red hair blazed from underneath her black hat.
    Katherine reached the top of the stairs where Alan’s parents stood. She gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and a soft hug. Mrs. Jiang was extremely fond of Katherine. Katherine loved to spoil her mother–in–law with expensive purses, shoes and perfume. She spoiled Mrs. Jiang even more than she did her own mother. Last Mother’s Day, Katherine took her mother and Mrs. Jiang to St. Martin where they stayed at the Sonesta Maho Casino and Resort. They had an all girls weekend on the beach; they explored the fancy boutiques and the cuisine on the French side of the island. Katherine’s mother wept softly and hugged Mr. and Mrs. Jiang. The funeral director came over to the family. She wanted them to process into the sanctuary.
    “Are we ready to pay Alan his final respects?” 
    No one said anything.
    “Whenever you are ready we will be ready. Take your time,” she smiled and backed away.
    Mr. Jiang gave the final nod before they walked in as a family. Suddenly, Katherine was grabbed by the family lawyer Joseph “Terri–bull” Terbull. He was also called THE BULL for short because of his cut throat tactics in the court room and in negotiations. Joseph was heavy set and dark skinned with even darker circles under his eyes. He had a scar from his right eyebrow down to his nose. Some said it was the result of a fight with a client who didn’t pay him. The truth was that he had been in a car accident the night after he passed the bar exam. He and a few buddies went out to drink. His friends, Mitch Loomis and Travis Carry, were also in the car. Mitch was driving on I90 heading back to Framingham. When he got back onto the city streets, he ran a stop light, swerved to miss another car and crashed into a mailbox. They were so afraid when they came to that Joseph followed his first instinct, hopped out of the car, moved Mitch, backed the car up and drove it to his house. He hid the car in his garage and his wife drove them all to the hospital. They told the cops they had been jumped when coming out of a bar and left it at that. 
    “Dennis Matthew’s parents want to know what we plan to do to investigate further,” Mitch informed her at every