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out of a Houston high school since Okafor.''
      ''Who's Okafor?''
      ''Never mind. You say, Knight hired you because he's adopted?''
      ''Yes. His adoptive parents encouraged him to look for his birth family. Will was abandoned on Verna Mae's doorstep as an infant, something Will has known since he was old enough to understand. Appar ently abandoned babies draw a little press coverage, so Verna Mae's name was in the news. Anyway, Will says he's ready to put some closure on his past.''
      Jeff grinned. '' Closure on his past? Those were a nineteen-year-old kid's words?''
      I smiled. ''Okay. It's a direct quote from Kate's psych evaluation.'' My twin sister, Kate, is a psychologist and does workups on all my clients. Adoption reunions can be emotional, and I don't proceed unless I feel reasonably sure the client is mentally prepared.
      ''Sounded like Kate's lingo,'' Jeff said. ''What's the kid's story?''
      ''Will is biracial,'' I answered. ''Raised by white middle-class parents. He's thought of himself as white his whole life. Then he goes to UT, and things changed. The team and his new friends consider him black. He wants to understand that better. He's okay with it, but it really got him thinking. Smart, insightful kid, if you haven't guessed.''
      ''Hope he doesn't get all stupid when he lands his hundred-million-dollar NBA contract. Sometimes green is the only color that matters with these young superstars.''
      ''You're being judgmental. Will is not your typical, cocky jock. He seems pretty damn normal to me— and to Kate.''
      ''He is an amazing athlete, which means reporters are gonna be on this case like fleas if they find out he's even remotely involved.''
      ''They won't hear it from me,'' I said.
      ''Someone in the Department's always taking a leak in the general direction of the press, but let's hope we can keep Will's name out of this. You both went to Olsen's house. When was that again?'' He poised his pen for my answer.
      ''Two days ago. Then she calls me tonight. Says she needs to talk to me. I figured her more as the HighTea-at-the-Warwick-Hotel type than a coffeehouse patron.''
      ''Why couldn't she talk to you over the phone?'' he asked.
      ''Believe me, I asked that question. She said she was in a rush, but would stop here on her way back to Bottlebrush. Said she had more to tell me about Will.''
      ''That was all?'' Jeff asked.
      I closed my eyes, thought hard about every word Verna Mae and I had exchanged earlier. ''That's all I remember, Jeff. Sounds to me like she was here in Houston, but that she didn't come to town just to chat with me.''
      ''Maybe. Or she could have been passing through. Anything unusual about the tone of her voice? Was she nervous? Upset?''
      ''She seemed the same as when we met in person— someone whose roof wasn't nailed on tight.''
      He looked up from the notebook, his blue eyes narrow. ''Explain.''
      ''First off, the woman was as happy as a hog in a peach orchard when I brought Will to meet her. She may have been surprised to hear from us, but she was prepared. Verna Mae knew everything about Will, had followed his every move since the day he was left on her porch.''
      ''How did that happen? Adoption files in this state are welded shut,'' Jeff said.
      ''With the cases I've worked so far, don't you think I know that? First thing I did after talking with Verna Mae was track down the caseworker who picked up baby Will from the local police. She owns a private nanny service now. I'm meeting with her Monday, and sure hope she can shed some light on how Verna Mae learned so much about my client.''
      ''Could the Olsen woman have contacted Will Knight tonight? If she was as obsessed as you say, maybe she came to town to meet with him.''
      ''Will would have called me, especially after how strange she seemed the other day,'' I said. ''She made us both feel about as comfortable as Baptists in Las Vegas. No, I'm thinking Verna