Free Broken Trust by Shannon Baker Page B

of pig slop to be splashed across the mire of life.’ ” Abigail slipped her notebook from her pocket and jotted in it.
    Petal’s description of Darla didn’t match up with Fay’s opinion of a weird accountant. “How was Mark mean to Darla?”
    Petal hiccupped. “He forced her to make up reports for the board. Like he’s tried to do with you. But you aren’t afraid of him like Darla was, I can tell. She did what he asked but she hated it. She wanted to quit and was going to. And then she died.”
    This sounded fishy. “How do you know Mark wanted me to falsify reports to the board?”
    Petal dropped her head. “I’m sorry, Nora. I miss Darla.”
    “You said that.”
    Abigail flashed her that I-will-paddle-you–if-you-don’t-shape-up expression she’d perfected when Nora was little. “Nora! Quit badgering Petal.”
    Petal set her mug on the coffee table. She stared at the corn plants and maybe through the plate glass door into the darkness. “No, that’s all right. I didn’t mean to spy, really. I used to hang out in Darla’s office. She’s got all those windows and it’s warm. Darla said I could be there anytime I wanted.”
    Nora didn’t mind people in her office , but she’d like to know about it.
    “ When I heard she died , I didn’t know what to do or where to go. So I went to your office while you were in the bathroom. I hid in the coat closet. I heard Mark tell you to make a good report.”
    This girl was a strange ranger. “Why would you hide in the coat closet?”
    Petal curled into an even tighter ball. “I used to hide there from Sylvia.”
    “You hid from your boss in a coat closet?” Nora asked.
    Abigail nodded, making the connection. “Sylvia is your boss. She has a wonderful sense of style and smells so nice.”
    Petal shrank into herself. “Yes. But when she’s mad , she yells at me and throws things. Sometimes I just can’t take it and then I hide in Darla’s office. I mean , your office.”
    Abigail collected her and held her close. “You poor thing. You should tell the Executive Director.”
    Petal sent her dreds in a flurry. “Oh no. I couldn’t tell Mark. Sylvia would fire me.
    Abigail huffed. “It’s not right.”
    Petal peeked out from Abigail’s embrace. “No. It’s okay. Sh e’s under a lot of pressure .”
    Nora felt drained by all the drama.
    Petal jumped up. “I’m sorry. I know you’re tired and you have the board meeting tomorrow. I wanted to come over and warn you.” She faded out.
    Nora bit. “Warn me?”
    “Darla found something in the books. I don’t know what it is , b ut she was really worried about it. Maybe that’s why she died.”
    Nora stood, feeling crowded amid her sparse belongings. “You should probably tell the police.”
    Petal shook her head. “I shouldn’t know about it. If someone killed her because of that and they find out I know, they might kill me too.”
    Kill her? Petal’s imagination might be even more active than Nora’s. “What do you think Darla found?”
    Petal shrugged and clamped her mouth shut. After a moment of silence, she scurried to the door. “I need to get back to the Trust. Sylvia is working late and expects me to be there.”
    Abigail sounded aghast. “It’s nine thirty!”
    Petal pulled her wraps tighter. “She works really hard.”
    Nora and Abigail eased around the coffee table and walked Petal to the door. They watched as she hurried along the balcony and down the stairs, disappearing into the night.
    Nora shut the door and Abigail slid the chain on to lock it. Nora turned to Abigail. “Okay, what’s going on with you and Charlie?”
    “We’ll talk about it later. We need to concentrate on you. What are you going to wear tomorrow?”
    Abigail’s topic-hopping could give anyone whiplash , but Nora had grown up with it. She wouldn’t get any more information from Abigail tonight. They walked back to Nora’s bedroom and stood in front of the closet.
    Nora stared at her clothes.
    Abigail