Free Lottery by Kimberly Shursen Page A

clients?” Ling asked, her eyebrows knitting together.
    “All the paperwork is in order. Now we need a full-time employee,” Caleb said caressing her cheek. “You need to get the adoption agency up and running.”
    “You’re sure?” She gazed into his eyes. “That you want to go through with this?”
    “One hundred percent.”
    “I love you,” she whispered and unlocked the door.
    “I love you, too,” Caleb said, turned and started to walk down the street.
    “That bitch McKenzie has got to go,” Caleb heard, and his heart sped up. “Excess baggage, O’Toole,” Weber told him.

    It was ten-thirty and, except for a couple who were sitting side-by-side on a bench, Huntington Park was desolate. Caleb glanced at his watch. He’d been waiting for McKenzie for almost thirty minutes.
    Across the street was the stately Grace Cathedral. The tall windows in the towers were reverently lit up, illuminating the intricate stained glass. God, he hoped McKenzie would agree to his plan. The last thing Caleb wanted was trouble.
    Anxious, he searched for her. Maybe McKenzie decided to go to the police … no … she needed her drugs more than notoriety. Maybe she’d died from an overdose. He sat down on the ledgethat surrounded the Fountain of the Tortoises. The massive fountain in the middle of the park displayed slender bronze male figures, their delicately molded bare feet touching the lifelike dolphins that spewed water onto large conch shells. The constant monotonous trickle of water added to his anxiety. He took another quick look around. Where the hell was she?
    “O’Toole.” He heard and turned abruptly.
    “Damn, you scared me,” Caleb said to McKenzie.
    “Didn’t think I’d be here?” Her mouth parted, revealing a dark, rotted front tooth. Swathed in a long black rain coat that dwarfed her petite frame, the split-ends of her hair stuck out from underneath the same paisley scarf she’d worn last week. Even though it was dark, sunglasses covered her eyes. “Let’s go for a walk.”
    “Listen,” Caleb started, before they’d reached the edge of the park. “I’m not going to give you what you want.”
    She stopped walking. “Really?” McKenzie asked flippantly. “Then we have nothing to talk about.” She turned on her heels and started to hurry away.
    “Wait.” Caleb caught up to her, grabbed her arm, and whirled her around. “I’m willing to help you, just not support your addiction.”
    “Cut the crap.” She jerked her arm out of his grip. “I don’t need your fucking pity. When I tell the cops, you’ll be feeling sorry for yourself.”
    “If I give you money, you’ll end up smoking it or shooting it into your veins. I’ll put you through treatment, set you up in an apartment—”
    “Leave me the hell alone. You’re going down.” She twirled around quickly, almost losing her balance.
    McKenzie was high. How the hell could he reason with a crack head? “Just listen to what I have to say.” Caleb pleaded, sprinting after her. “I want to help.”
    “Fuck you,” she shouted, racing down the street, her hands pushed into the pockets of the black coat.
    Christ, she was going to turn him in. Heart pounding in his temples, Caleb started to follow her. Would she tell the police that he had had an altercation with Weber? Or that Caleb had killed him for the lottery ticket? That wasn’t going to happen. He wouldn’t let it happen. If Caleb gave her what she wanted, however, he’d be opening Pandora’s Box, and McKenzie would never leave him alone.
    Head down, he stayed almost half a block behind her. No longer hearing the sirens or the streetcars, Caleb’s focus was on her. Somehow, he had to make her listen.
    Staying in the shadows, he watched her turn east on Taylor. Quickening his step, Caleb didn’t want to lose sight of her. What if she was going to the police station? No … the station wasn’t in this direction. She’d probably go back to her apartment—or wherever the