The Nesting Dolls Read Online Free Page A

Theo clung to Delia in a way that was both passionate and strangely youthful. The situation was awkward, but Delia handled it with grace. “I’ll have to send Chanel No. 5 a thank-you note,” she said. She turnedto her husband. “Noah, why don’t you pour the Brokaws a drink, so we can all celebrate their arrival in Regina.”
    Zack shot his partner an approving look. “I wish we could join you, but Joanne and I will have to take a rain check. We need to get the girls to their Christmas concert.”
    Myra’s eyes widened in recognition. “You’re Joanne Kilbourn,” she said.
    “I am,” I said. “And I was looking forward to talking to you and Justice Brokaw, but we’re already late.”
    “I understand,” Myra said. She stepped closer to me and lowered her voice. “We’ve made an unfortunate first impression, but I would like to talk to you about our project. It has merit and I believe it’s still feasible. May I call you?”
    My heart sank. Theo was clearly no longer ready for prime time. “Of course,” I said. “You have my number.”
    Theo Brokaw had been watching his wife and me with interest. “We live over a store,” he said brightly.
    Myra’s voice was gentle. “It’s one of the new condos in Scarth Street Mall. We wrote Ms. Kilbourn about it, Theo.”
    “Well, whatever you call it, it’s still rooms over a store,” Theo said. “And it’s handy for me because it’s close to the courthouse.” He gave Zack a conspiratorial wink. “You know how important that is.”
    “I do,” Zack said. “Have a pleasant evening.” He opened the door and wheeled out into the wild weather.
    With Noah’s help we made it to our car, but the weather was growing increasingly ugly. It is a truth universally acknowledged that the first snowfall means that everybody in town forgets how to drive. When the first snowfall is a blizzard, the potential for skids, fishtails, and rear-end collisions rises exponentially. Our trip to the school was a white-knuckler. Zack was driving. Steering the car through the drifts on Leopold Crescent demanded strength and attention, and we didn’t exchange a word until we hit Albert Street.City crews were on the job there; Zack’s shoulders relaxed and he shot me a quick glance. “Wouldn’t want to do that every day,” he said.
    I reached over and rubbed the back of his neck. “Better?”
    “Thanks. What do you think is going on with Theo Brokaw?”
    “Whatever it is,” I said, “it explains his sudden retirement from the bench.”
    “He’s not exactly
compos mentis,”
Zack agreed.
    “Yet the e-mail exchanges we had were perfectly lucid,” I said. “Myra must take care of their correspondence.”
    “Promise me something,” Zack said.
    “What?”
    “If I ever get like Theo, tip me into the nearest snowbank.”
    By the time we pulled up in front of the school, we were late. Gracie and Taylor were sanguine but Isobel, whose standards for herself were high, bolted from our vehicle before Zack had come to a full stop.
    The parking lots at Luther were chaos. Everybody was in a hurry, but nobody was getting anywhere. Seemingly every parking space but the one with the handicapped sign was taken. We had a disabled persons’ ID parking card, but unless a client’s needs were urgent, Zack never used it. My husband and I glanced at the seductive space and then at one another. Handbells were waiting to be rung. I rummaged through the glove compartment, found the card, and propped it on the dashboard. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
    Gracie and Taylor dashed through the snow towards the gym, and Zack and I followed behind. It was tough sledding, but we made it. As we stood inside, brushing off the snow and checking out seating possibilities, a good-looking boy with blond dreadlocks and a tentative smile approached us.His manner was breezily confident, but his voice was uncertain. “Hey Zack. How’s it going?”
    “No complaints,” Zack said. He gestured