Catalyst (21 page)

"I don't know."

"Well, we can't forget about it. Nikki was attacked
and under considerable duress. We thought Patrick McQuilkin was
responsible but now have our doubts. If it wasn't him, then it was
someone else."

"Okay," Lem said, "but keep it discreet and don't run
up big expenses. It's too late for Nikki now."

"Lawyers are always discreet, Sweetheart."

She leaned back in her chair, sipped the coffee and
gazed around the huge ranch-style kitchen. Courtney's squeal of
delight filtered down the stairwell and Lem lapsed into silence. It
was good to have the funeral behind them.

****

Cameron Lowe was like the private detectives often
portrayed in cheap paperbacks. His clothes were casual as was his
body language when he sat down.

"Two nights before her death," he began in a slow
voice, "Nikki Erksberg was attacked at two in the morning in one of
the less desirable parts of town. She was found distressed and
wandering, then taken to an emergency clinic for treatment. The
medical report states there was sperm on her body and clothes. The
police wanted to investigate the incident as a possible rape but
she refused to file a complaint. At the time of this attack Patrick
McQuilkin was in New York. I can find no evidence that any of his
associates or employees were involved. He is a ruthless businessman
but never steps over the line."

"Have you anything else?" Renee asked.

"Yes," Cameron said and turned a page of his report.
"Nikki was a patient in the Bayview Sanatorium for patients with
emotional problems but discharged herself before her six-week
treatment was finished. That was awhile back." He grimaced. "The
clinic is tight-lipped about her stay and refuses to release
information. I do know she left with one of the male patients, a
Templeton James Sanders. The police are looking for Sanders for a
series con jobs involving women but he has disappeared. It is
believed he preyed on women at this clinic by posing as a rich
businessman recovering from a breakdown. The local authority is
investigating the sanatorium for a list of improprieties stretching
back several years and their license may be suspended."

Renee screwed up her nose but made no comment as she
read the three pages Cameron handed to her. "It all fits in. Have
you anything about the necklace, Cameron?"

"McQuilkin told only part of the story. It was indeed
a family heirloom as he said but it's worth over quarter a million
dollars. His insurance won't pay out since they are querying
whether it was a gift or loaned to Nikki. I guess with her death,
it will be impossible to prove either way."

"Thank you. As usual, you've been thorough."

"Yes," Cameron replied and grinned. "I've billed the
firm and an itemized invoice is enclosed. There's the usual company
discount, of course."

"So there should be, after all the work we send your
way," Renee answered with a smile.

After he left, Renee reread the report, jotted down
several side notes and rang Lem's office.

"It sounds as if Nikki was making up the part about
Patrick," Lem said after Renee read him the relevant sections from
the report. "It sounds typical. Patrick McQuilkin became a
convenient scapegoat to play to my sympathy. If she'd only been
honest I could have helped her."

"Possibly but I doubt it. "

****

It was after five-thirty and Renee had slipped her
coat on when Annette walked in with a mysterious expression.

"We need to have an extraordinary board meeting," she
said.

"When?" Renee grumbled. This was the last thing she
wanted at the moment.

"Now will do," Annette responded. "We only need to
approve a small item. I'd do it but as majority proxy shareholder
you have the right to veto my recommendation."

"Go on." Renee sighed. She took off her coat again
and sat down.

"There is a buyer for William Junior's shares. He
wants to buy the total twenty percent and has offered the current
share price. William has accepted but needs the board's approval
and that is you."

"Is it another law firm?"

"Nope," Annette replied. "A retired farmer."

"What?"

"Yes, a guy called Jack Bonnett. Ever heard of
him?"

"Dad...but how can he?"

"It seems he sold the farm to a neighbor."

"Oh, my God, the old devil. He never said a
word."

"So I guess we become Usborne, Bonnett and Bonnett
now," Annette said with a chuckle.

"So this can be an official board meeting?"

"It can."

"I would, therefore, like to abstain from casting a
vote."

Annette frowned. "You can't do that, Renee."

"Oh, I can. I have a conflict of interest."

"Okay. I contacted the minority shareholders and have
their proxy votes." She reached in her satchel and brought out a
wad of papers. "William is entitled to one last vote and his proxy
is added to my twenty percent and the minority shareholders. It
comes to, now let me see…" She licked a finger, thumbed through the
papers, grabbed a pencil and jotted the numbers on a sheet of
paper. "You abstained, three voted against and forty-two voted for
accepting Mr. Bonnett's offer. I declare the said gentleman the
owner of twenty percent of our company."

"I'm going to have to speak to my father. He loved
the farm. It wasn't necessary to do this."

"Can I bring up one more item before we close the
meeting?" Annette asked without even a glint of a smile.

"What now?" Renee glowered.

"I want to table the motion that we employ another
lawyer to replace William Junior."

"Okay," Renee replied. "I second the motion and vote
in favor but have a funny feeling I've been conned into all
this."

"It's all legal." Annette laughed for the first time.
"Jack gave me special orders to say nothing."

"And you don't mind?"

"Not at all. Jack stated he'd be a sleeping
partner."

"But to sell the farm," Renee repeated. "The old
sod."

****

Three weeks later a fresh-faced but highly qualified
young woman joined the firm of Usborne and Bonnett. Like Renee a
few years earlier, Suzanne Norwood's enthusiasm was infectious but
unlike Renee's arrival, the new girl's youthful vigor was
encouraged and accepted.

In many ways, though physically different, Suzanne
reminded Renee of herself. The chubby brunette was quiet but
confident. She was popular with the office staff and the firm, now
entirely female, moved forward without traditional hierarchy. Even
Annette, after a few gentle reminders, realized Suzanne did not
need to be treated like an office girl.

Renee's concern about the farm weren't realized when
she found Jack had retained the house and two home fields. The
major change was for Diane, who moved out of her home to live with
Jack. Phil and his family shifted into her house and he became
manager of his mother's property.

Back in Seattle, Courtney, Linda and Ken took over
the top floor of the house but Courtney spent more time downstairs
than up and much to Lem's annoyance, the quad speakers ended up in
the lounge.

"Courtney doesn't want you to feel left out,
Sweetheart." Renee chuckled after the final wiring was completed
and the teenagers disappeared upstairs to get some CDs.

"Thanks," Lem muttered. "Music seems to be the one
thing that doesn't transcend the generations. In my day…"

"If you loop me in with the Beatles and Elvis, I'll
scream," Renee retorted.

Lem broke into a grin. "I'm not that old." He lunged
at her.

Renee anticipated his move, ducked beneath his arm
and ran, laughing, up the stairs with Lem in hot pursuit.

****

CHAPTER
19

The late season snow hit Seattle with vengeance but
Lem and the three teenagers managed to make it to the farm before
the valley road was closed. Courtney, Ken and Linda, who had joined
them for the weekend, reveled in the winter activities. By
midmorning a massive snowman sat on the front lawn and the trio had
departed with three toboggans to slide down a hill at the back of
Diane's property.

The trudge up the slope was difficult but the
resulting drop looked exhilarating.

"It's steep," Linda said doubtfully as she gazed at
Phil's farmhouse below.

Even Ken seemed reluctant to try the slope. "Perhaps
we should try the other side first." He nodded to a gentle section
on the other side.

"Well, I'm going here," Courtney announced. "Back
home in the east we did this every year."

She lay on the toboggan with her arms and legs
overlapping and pushed off. For a second, the sled hardly moved but
suddenly pivoted down the steep section and Courtney accelerated at
an enormous speed. She screamed in exhilaration as the runners
bounced over the icy surface, hit a small mound and tumbled
sideways into a snowdrift.

Courtney scrambled to her feet, brushed snow off and
waved at the two tiny figures up the hill. "Come on," she
screamed.

Ken's journey followed the tracks left by Courtney's
toboggan and if anything, was faster and more controlled. He tore
by Courtney and bounced another twenty yards, before he, too, lost
control. He went one way, the toboggan the opposite and both ended
in snowdrifts.

Courtney was about to slide over when she glanced up
to see Linda sliding down the icy surface in a perfect maneuver to
scream past them all to a ladylike stop well beyond Ken.

The three met, laughing and headed back up the
hill.

"I'll outdistance you this time." Courtney bragged
and launched herself into a power dive. The toboggan shot down the
well-marked track in a hum of metal against ice. She hit the same
mound as the first time, toppled and crashed ten yards short of
Linda's distance.

For two hours they tobogganed and had the inevitable
snowball fights before another black cloud appeared, the heavens
opened and a fresh batch of snow came tumbling down. The trio
staggered, exhausted but happy, across the road and into Jack's
cellar.

"My God," Courtney gasped as she peeled off a layer
of wet clothes and held her frozen hands in front of the furnace
door. "I reckon I've bruised every bone in my body."

"Then have a spa," Renee cut in.

"All of us?" Linda replied and glanced at a drenched
Ken, whose cold cheeks reddened slightly.

"You two go," he muttered as if he'd realized for the
first time he was a different gender from his friends.

"There's no need," Renee said. "I've got some old
bathing suits upstairs the girls can fit into and I'm sure we can
find something for you, Ken."

The tiny room was constructed like a log cabin with
exposed beams and wooden decking around a four-leaf clover shaped
spa. Renee had anticipated their arrival, for the covers had been
removed and steam rose from the hot bubbling water. Heat from the
adjacent furnace made the enclosure akin to a sauna and for the
weary, cold teenagers, this was frosting on chocolate cake.

Renee returned a few moments later with towels and
suits. "They may be old fashioned but who's to see. Dad even built
a changing room for girls and boys at the back. When I was a
teenager my friends and I spent hours here." She grinned. "I reckon
it was the attraction rather than me."

****

"This is the life." Courtney sighed a few moments
later as she leaned back in her corner and allowed the bubbles to
flow around her body.

"It is," Linda replied. "Fancy, it's snowing outside
and in here we could be in Hawaii." She flicked water at Ken, who
leaned back and shut his eyes. "What are you dreaming about?"

Ken opened his eyes and smiled at the girls. "How
great everyone is."

"Thanks, Ken," Courtney said with a laugh. "You
aren't too bad either." She studied her friend and saw that he
wasn't speaking in jest. "Oh Ken," she continued in a hushed voice.
"Have you had a bad time?"

Ken glanced up and nodded. "Pretty tough."

"Me too," Linda added in a serious voice. "I hated
everyone before I enrolled at Northside College but they helped me
so much. Now, I'm here with you two."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Courtney asked. "I
ran away, you know." She glanced at the others and began to talk.
The words flowed about her life, how Renee and Lem helped her and
her gradual recovery. "I think of Renee, Lem and Jack as my real
family now."

"You can't pick your own family, can you?" Ken said
softly.

"No," Linda agreed. Her eyes were wide and her chin
trembled slightly. "When it came to the crunch, instead of helping,
my parents kicked me out."

"Why?" Courtney gasped.

"I got pregnant and my parents wouldn't allow me to
have an abortion." The girl's voice quivered but she kept talking.
"They're religious and oppose abortions. 'You got yourself in this
trouble, girl,' my father said. 'It is God's will that you bring
your child into this world.' The bastard."

"But you had one," Courtney said.

"Yes." Linda brushed a wet hand over her face and
sighed. "I was determined not to have my life ruined and approached
a school nurse for help. She referred me to a clinic and in the
end, a judge made me a state ward and signed the papers allowing it
to go through."

"No regrets?" Ken asked.

"No," Linda replied and bit her lip. "It may sound
callous, my parents called me a murderer but I made my decision and
stuck to it."

"What'd your parents do then?" Courtney said.

"They disowned and won't speak with me." Linda's
voice broke but she swallowed and looked at her friends. "I dropped
out of school and was an emotional wreck for a while. The state
agency I was assigned to got me into Northside. I'm really only a
junior but as you know they start only with seniors. I will repeat
it next year if I don't graduate."