Free Coming Home (The Santa Monica Trilogy Book 2) by Jill Blake

duty, alerting Harry’s mother to the issue. What Barbara chose to do with that information was no longer Grace’s concern.
    But a tiny niggle of worry persisted, even as Grace tried to concentrate on finishing her charts and returning calls from patients. When she finally shut down her computer for the evening and headed home, she couldn’t help but wonder what was so important that Harry felt compelled to violate the court’s no-contact order.
    It wasn’t until the following morning that she found out.

CHAPTER NINE
     
    The phone rang just as Grace was pulling on her running shoes.
    There was low murmur of voices from the dining room, and then the housekeeper appeared, holding out a cordless handset. “It’s for you. A reporter.”
    Grace straightened up, a sick feeling at the pit of her stomach. She’d had her fill of reporters back in New York. When the financial scandal first broke, she could hardly move without having a microphone or camera shoved in her face. The fact that she’d gone from a lavish lifestyle in the Blackwell family fold to subletting a studio apartment in the West Village made for a great human interest story—or so she was told by every bottom-feeding journalist who approached her for an interview. She didn’t care. As far as she was concerned, her private business wasn’t for public consumption. In moving to L.A., she thought she would escape not only Harry, but also the harsh scrutiny of the press.
    It did not bode well that some reporter had gone to the trouble of tracking her down to Santa Monica and somehow ferreting out her grandmother’s unlisted number.
    “Please,” she whispered to the housekeeper. “Tell them I’m not here. Take a message.”
    She listened as Maria followed her instructions and hung up.
    “Your grandma, she wants to talk to you.”
    Before Grace had the chance to respond, the phone in Maria’s hand rang again. “King residence....Sorry, Miss Grace is not here. Who is calling, please?”
    Grace took the opportunity to escape into the dining room.
    Her grandmother looked up from the paper. “There you are, Grace. Pull up a chair. Maria will bring you some coffee. Where did she go?”
    “She’s on the phone. You wanted to see me?”
    “Sit down. I hate it when you hover over me.”
    Grace sank into a nearby chair. “How are you feeling?”
    “Same as yesterday, and the day before, and every day since I broke my hip. Lousy.”
    “I’m sorry. Are you taking your pain medication?”
    “Yes, but it makes me feel dopey. And the constipation—” She broke off. “Never mind, that’s not what I wanted to discuss. Did you see the news today?”
    “No. Why?”
    “Here.” She slid a section of the Saturday morning paper toward Grace. “Top of page three.”
    Grace sucked in a sharp breath at the headline.
     
    Son of disgraced financier William Blackwell dies in apparent suicide
     
    May 17 | By Claudia Hopper, Los Angeles Times
     
    New York — Harry Blackwell, former chief compliance officer of the now defunct Blackwell Securities LLC, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on Friday night in an apparent suicide.
     
    Harry Blackwell’s mother, Barbara Blackwell, reportedly found his body around 8 p.m. Friday. According to Deputy Police Commissioner John Brown, Barbara Blackwell went to her son’s apartment after receiving an alarming message from Harry’s ex-wife, Grace King. The couple divorced six months ago, shortly before Harry Blackwell’s father, William Blackwell, was arrested in what has been described as the biggest Ponzi scheme since Bernard Madoff. The senior Blackwell is currently at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, awaiting sentencing.
     
    Last week, Oscar Chaiken, the court-appointed trustee tasked with recovering money for victims of the Ponzi scheme, filed lawsuits against members of the Blackwell family. The suit alleges that Harry Blackwell, 32, used proceeds from the investment scam to fund, among other things, the