Free Sticks & Stones (A Hollis Morgan Mystery) by R. Franklin James Page B

She didn’t fool them.
    Hollis stopped in the middle of the room and looked at the windows.
    Tossing two floor pillows onto the bed, she crossed over to the larger of two window sills. When Cathy had her condo renovated she got her contractor to install a safe in her window sill. She once said that her contractor was the only real significant man her life. They had all laughed. She acknowledged that it wasn’t a real safe, but it would hold valuables, personal documents, and her working papers. Hollis had never seen it open, but Cathy said it turned out to be a great idea. It was only an inch or two wider than the other sill. There was no way the police, let alone robbers, would know of its existence.
    Too bad Cathy didn’t tell her friends how to get inside.
    Hollis banged on the end of the sill with her fist, but nothing happened. She went to the other window and did the same. Nothing. Cathy loved puzzles. She and Hollis would send each other encrypted emails—they both loved a Sudoku challenge.
    She would have hid her Fields of Giving working papers.
    Hollis tapped all along the edge of the window sill with increasing force. She slid her fingers underneath the wooden ledge, seeking a button or lever.
    “Think , Hollis, think.”
    Then turning back to the sill she put her hands on either side and lifted. The resulting pop almost threw her off balance.
    “Yes!”
    Digging into the narrow, plastic-lined space, she pulled out a passport, a large white envelope, and finally a manila folder containing another oversized envelope marked “pending.”
    Hollis placed everything in piles on the bed. The white envelope contained Cathy’s will, her birth certificate, and an insurance policy. Inside also was a tiny jewelry case with diamond stud earrings. She would take these items to Evelyn Briscoe.
    In the folder was a bundle of notes and newspaper clippings about what appeared to be the topic of Cathy’s next story. Her heart sank.
    N o references to Fields. She would go through the clippings and notes later. Hollis gave a disappointed sigh. She was stacking the papers together when a picture fell out of an envelope. It was Cathy with a middle aged woman who looked as if she had seen some hard times. Hollis flipped it over. The words surprised her: “You saw me for who I could be and not what others said I was. You said it wasn’t a big deal for you because you could, but it was everything to me. You gave us our lives back. Thank you, Gloria.”
    Cathy never mentioned helping anyone. Hollis dabbed at the moisture in her eyes and placed the picture in the stack to go to Evelyn. Mrs. Briscoe might find some solace in seeing this side of her daughter.
    She tucked the papers into her briefcase and replaced the sill. For the next couple of hours she packed and bagged what she could and labeled contents on a sheet of paper that she taped to the sides of the boxes.
    With a last glance around the room , she slowly closed the door behind her.
     
    Despite the cold foggy morning, Cathy’s funeral was well attended. Hollis hated this societal tradition, but she felt obligated to go. She gave an acknowledging nod to Mark, who appeared to have come with others from his office. Thankfully, it was over quickly. Cathy’s friends gathered only for a moment after the service, knowing that Cathy would be the first one to tell them to get the hell out of there.
    Even so, Hollis was running late for her meeting with the detective, Brad Pierson, who had conducted the Triple D search for the Koch heirs. Through the Hayward hills, she drove just under the speed limit to negotiate the winding curves of Mission Boulevard. Hayward was a primarily middle to working class city in the East Bay Area with some of the best views of San Francisco. Another time she would have pulled over to take in the scenic vista, but today she was eager to talk to the man who might give her more background for the letters. There was something about the letters that drew