Free Forgotten Place by LS Sygnet Page A

looking."
    "That's what I thought.  Sit," he
ordered with a point to a chair when the doorbell chimed. 
"I'll show the rest of this motley crew in.  I want to see a
full plate when I come back, and we're not leaving until you eat
every last bite."
    The thought of more than pickles, which made
my gut feel stretched to the limit already, presented reason enough
for more panic.  Oh that life could be filled with such
trivial problems.  Ned, Devlin and Shelly strolled into the
kitchen.  Ned's shock had worn off after our first encounter,
and Devlin had no idea what bad really meant. 
    Shelly's jaw dropped.  "Helen..."
    "Don't start.  I've had enough lectures
for one day about letting myself go.  It's one of the
unfortunate side effects of living from pain pill to pain
pill.  Can we please eat and get this conversation
started?  I'd like to snooze before my high abates."
    Little nervous wings flapped in the middle
of starving Africa when I saw Shelly.  It had less to do with
worry that she wouldn't have anything Kosher for dinner and more to
do with who else might join the party.  (As it turned out, the
ribs were beef.) But nobody objected to my suggestion, and soon
enough, we were all eating and chatting about what everyone had
learned about Journey Ireland. 
    Point of clarification – they chowed
heartily.  I nibbled and rearranged until Crevan's stern and
pointed stare resulted in the urge to simply sit on my hands.
    "Start eating, Helen.  I wasn't
joking."
    I cleaned half a rib while
Ned told me that James Linder owned an insurance agency.  "His
secretary said he called at about nine this morning and said he was
feeling a bit under the weather.  I had to turn on the charm
to get the translation of that into the language of reality. 
Apparently under the weather is code for I
drank eight quarts of Jose Cuervo last night and need to sleep it
off. "
    "He's a drunk?  Helen, do you think
that could be why Journey dumped the guy?"  Devlin asked.
    "According to Vanessa the office girl," Ned
said, "Jim told anyone and everyone who would listen that he broke
it off with Journey.  And I quote – he needed someone with a
higher level of maturity.  She was fun enough for the midlife
crisis, but he snapped out of it."
    "So Vanessa isn't a member of the Journey
Ireland fan club," I glanced at Devlin and read his opinion without
words.
    "I still say he's a pig, and sleeping off
his drunken binge is hardly an alibi.  He called in after the
attack happened.  God only knows where he was before it. 
He could be the perp."
    "Are you gonna talk to Linder in the
morning, Ned?" I asked.
    "I'm planning to try.  His girl Vanessa
was cagey about when and if he'd be back in the office.  I got
the impression this wasn't the first time she covered for the bad
boss.  Why do you ask?  Want to tag along?"
    Shelly cleared her throat.  "Gentlemen,
Helen is still off the rotation.  Until she's cleared by
medical, there's no way she's coming back yet."
    I agreed, at least in part.  "There are
a couple of things I'd suggest you do," Devlin and I shared a
tandem review of the conversation with Journey Ireland,
specifically her reluctance to say anything that might incriminate
Linder.  "What you need to do is find a friend who is willing
to be honest about whatever her reasons for dumping this guy. 
His assistant's opinions aside, it's safe to say there's more to
this story than we've gotten from anyone."
    "I think Evans was telling the truth,"
Devlin said.  "The guy was pretty shaken up when he found out
what happened to his old flame today, but it didn't make him waver
on Linder."
    The doorbell rang again.  Crevan jumped
before I could get up.  "You.  Eat.  Right now."
    When he left the kitchen, Shelly shook her
head.  "I told him it was a bad idea to tell Briscoe about
this.  No doubt he took the first flight back into town."
    Ned frowned.  "I thought Crevan was
against the idea."
    "You know how he vacillates,"