The Legacy: A Kimberly & Sykes Mystery Novel Read Free

fine way to come back in to my life dad! Thanks for nothing! ….
    Right, pack up and leave, just like that? What were you thinking!”
    Lauren couldn’t just up and leave. She had clients who depended upon her. Choosing to quit her job of her own choice was one thing, it was quite another to lose that job by running away from something out of her control. Hell, she didn’t even have a place to run to.
    Edvard Munch’s painting, ‘The Scream’ revolved inside Lauren’s mind. Her own silent scream rocked her to her core. Lauren was beside herself as she walked back and forth across the room trying to clear the noise in her head so that she could think clearly. Finally, she collapsed on the sofa and lost herself in a troubled sleep.
    ******
    Wrenched from sleep, Lauren sat bolt upright but couldn’t remember the bad dream. Fully awake, she lay back on the cushion and thought about her father. He may not have been the best on the planet but she knew he wouldn’t have stolen anything from Adam Smith. From what he said in his note, there was a lot more going on than what Smith implied.
    Lauren didn’t want to meet with Adam Smith, but she did want to know why her father killed himself. Her mind made up, she got up from the sofa and went to sleep in her bed. She would meet Adam Smith, and she needed to be fresh and ready.

Chapter 2
     
    The birdsong woke Lauren at 5:00am the next morning. She lay for a few minutes embracing the warm feelings that resonated through her body before she slowly got out of bed. It was going to be a long day and Lauren was anxious to find the woman who cast her father’s machine parts. She slipped on her slippers and robe and put the kettle on to boil while she took a shower. It was long, and hot. The water brought comfort and Lauren longed to stay under its embrace. Remembering the kettle, she turned off the water and climbed out of the steamy enclosure.
    The decision to go to work or stay at home had sorted itself out. Standing in the kitchen with her mug of coffee in hand Lauren looked down to see that she had subconsciously dressed in sweat pants and long sleeved t-shirt; her house clothes. She would take the day off and spend some time after her meeting with Smith to have a last look at her files before her court appearance the following day.
    It wasn’t yet 6:0am and far too early to call Beth, her best friend and colleague. Lauren had few friends outside of work and to all intents and purposes, she was a loner. She hadn’t meant to be. She was a social butterfly until she was dumped by the love of her life ten years earlier. Back then, her close friends kept trying to set her up on blind dates and took every opportunity to tell her the best cure for a broken heart was to start dating again.
    At the time, Lauren was in too much grief to think about dating and socializing. It was easier not to see her friends than deal with their attempts to find her a hot date. After a while, they stopped trying and she found her solitary routines suited her.
    Lauren actually liked being single and doing what she wanted, when she wanted. Her social life these days consisted of an infrequent drink with Beth and her other colleagues after work and dinner or a movie with Beth every few weeks. Lauren didn’t talk about her private life, such as it was, and Beth seemed content to talk about Ministry of Social Welfare policies and practises and the effect of budget cuts on their individual client loads. Lauren’s lips stretched in a smile when she remembered Adam Smith told her not to tell anyone about his phone call. Other than Beth, she didn’t have anyone to tell.
    Lauren could call Beth, but, as she had not talked to Beth about her relationship with her father, she would have to provide too much history to bring her up-to-date. She didn’t want to delve into that past today, it was too raw.
    Lauren had to focus on finding the cast woman. If all went well, she could give Adam Smith the information he