Free After Hours by Rochelle Alers Page A

the minutes, a smile parting her lips. The bird reappeared with what looked like a small rabbit in its talons. She wasn’t a serious bird-watcher, but she recognized the bird as a hawk.
    She loved the four-bedroom, four-bath house as much for its spaciousness as for the surrounding countryside. The million-dollar, forty-six-hundred-square-foot Colonial with an inground pool set on three acres of landscaped property with a nearby stream was surrounded by a wooded area that sloped down into a picturesque valley. She and Ronald lived far enough from their closest neighbor to walk around naked without anyone seeing them. Walking around without their clothes on was something they did often.
    Reaching for her sunglasses off the table next to the chaise, Karla settled back on the cushions and closed her eyes. The cool breeze feathering over her body countered the strong rays of the sun. Ronald hadn’t decided what he wanted to do later that evening, but if it were up to her, she would spend it at home.
    She felt as if she’d just dozed off when she heard the chiming of the doorbell. Sitting up, she glanced at her watch. It was five-thirty. She’d been asleep for hours. Swinging her legs over the side of the chaise, she went inside.
    She pushed a button on a closed-circuit screen built into a wall in the kitchen to see the face of a man dressed in a FedEx uniform. A slight frown furrowed her forehead. She wasn’t expecting a delivery, so it had to be something for Ronald. Pressing another button, she activated a speaker device on the intercom. “May I help you?”
    â€œFedEx, Mrs. King. I have a delivery for you from R. Weichert.”
    A wide grin split her face. “Please hold on and I’ll be right with you.”
    He’d come through for her. Her former law professor, Judge Weichert, had expedited Adina Jenkins’s name change. Opening a drawer under the countertop, she picked up a five-dollar bill from her household petty cash and made her way to the front door.
    She signed for the envelope, gave the messenger a tip, closing the door before he could thank her. Sitting on a needlepoint-covered chair in the expansive entryway, Karla ripped open the envelope and examined the contents. She smiled. Rhys had given her three official copies of the birth certificate. It was apparent he was looking for something special from her, and she would give it to him.
    Going into the space she’d set up as a home office, she picked up her cell phone and dialed the number to Adina—no, she thought, Dina Gordon’s cell. The call was answered on the second ring.
    â€œHello.”
    Karla smiled when hearing the tentative greeting. “Dina Gordon, this is Karla King.” She heard a soft gasp through the earpiece. “I need you to meet me in my office Tuesday morning. I have several documents to give you.”
    â€œWhat time Tuesday morning, Mrs. King?”
    â€œIs ten too early?”
    â€œNo. Ten is fine. I don’t know how to thank you, Mrs. King.”
    Leaning a hip against one of two rosewood-topped facing desks, Karla stared at the modular wall suite in a soft vanilla-bean color with shelves of books and photographs displayed behind glass doors.
    â€œNow, you know, you’ve already thanked me, Ms. Gordon. I hadn’t called you because I wanted to wait to see if my friend would come through for you. If he hadn’t, then I would’ve returned your property to you.”
    â€œWas it enough, Mrs. King?”
    â€œYes. It was enough. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you Tuesday at ten.”
    â€œThank you again.”
    â€œYou’re quite welcome.” A warm glow eddied through Karla when she ended the call. Ten thousand dollars was spare change to a woman living with the fear that each day might be her last.
    Pressing a number on speed dial, she waited for Rhys to answer his cell. She wasn’t disappointed when she heard his resonant greeting.