Bruce placed her against the wall, where they were less likely to be jostled about, and leaned down into her ear. “Loud, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” she yelled back.

  Bruce and Elizabeth had led their small procession into the throng. Once the couple stopped, Elizabeth realized they’d been separated along the way. Busy scanning the room for her friends, Elizabeth noticed they’d been blocked by a few of their fellow employees. They were chatting when the squeal of a microphone was heard across the room.

  “May I have your attention please?”

  Whistles and catcalls were the reply.

  “Now, now. This is a party for my dear brother, George, and his fiancée, Tina Winterbottom. Feel free to enjoy the music, the food, and the company! No work. For tonight we party!”

  Henry jumped down off the stage, grabbed the nearest girl and started dancing. Elizabeth turned to look at Bruce and was surprised to see that his brow was knitted.

  “Bruce, is something wrong?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Do you need something?”

  “No. Well, I do need a quiet place to think, but that’s not going to happen any time soon. Do you think Mr. Hampton and his wife had anything to do with this party?”

  “I don’t think so. This doesn’t exactly look like Janice’s style.”

  “That’s what I thought. How long have Tina and George been engaged?”

  “Hmm, not long. Right before I came down to your office to start working, Charles and Janice were going to have a talk with George about the girl he was dating. Then next thing I knew, he was engaged.”

  “Did you know she was related to the Winterbottom’s?”

  “No. I didn’t know anything about her. All I knew was that her name was Tina. George told me that when he came to invite us to the engagement party.”

  Bruce’s expression changed, he said, “Why don’t we go and find your friends. Maybe we should take a seat before they’re all gone.”

  Elizabeth followed him through the thick crowd. LuLu and Todd were on the dance floor while Lisa and Wesley guarded a table with six chairs.

  “Would you care to join us?” Wesley asked.

  “I thought you would never ask.”

  “Where did you two disappear to?” Lisa questioned.

  “We went to get some punch. I thought you were following us the whole time. With the lights and all the noise, it’s impossible to know what’s going on in here. Did either of you see Mr. or Mrs. Hampton anywhere?”

  “No. That’s what we stopped for. Jasper from accounting told us he heard they refused to come.”

  “Now why would they do that? That doesn’t sound like them,” said Elizabeth.

  “Jasper said they had a big blow up in the office about this Tina girl. George went behind their back and got engaged anyway. Let’s just say they are none too happy about it. There are rumors Charles is going to fire George from the firm. Maybe even write him out of the will.”

  “Lisa, that’s not true. They would never do that.”

  “I don’t know. Jasper said Mr. Hampton was really mad. Said he told Nancy to leave and not come back until he called her on the phone. Some people on the floor below claim to have heard the two of them yelling at one another.”

  Elizabeth didn’t know what to say. She remembered the conversation almost two weeks before when Janice and Charles were going to talk to George about his new girl. Janice hadn’t seemed very happy with George’s choice, but to fire him seemed a little extreme. Perhaps Elizabeth didn’t know all the details. That evening Mr. Hampton had an appointment with the Winterbottom Corporation. Which happened after the lunch with George. Elizabeth didn’t remember anything unusual transpiring that day.

  “Would you like to dance?” Bruce leaned in close.

  “Sure.”

  The music slowed down. The men on the dance floor grabbed the women and enfolded them in their arms. Hundreds of warm bodies swayed together. Bruce held her aloof at first. Only as the sound changed did he pull Elizabeth into his arms and hold her closer, his chin resting on top of her head. His hand lying on her waist sent tiny electric pulses down her legs. If they continued like this, she wouldn’t be able to stand.

  Before Elizabeth could speak, Bruce tipped her head back. He lowered his head and brushed her lips with his. Her heart beat with the rhythm of the flicking lights in the ballroom. Her legs weakened from his touch. When he pulled away, she stumbled. He righted her; recognition of the havoc he’d wreaked shone brightly in his eyes.

  As the music dwindled to nothing and the beat of another fast song reverberated through the air, Bruce placed a hand on the small of her back and led her to their table. His eyes never left her face. Elizabeth was glad for the rainbow of lights in the room, making it possible to hide her blush. When they reached the table, LuLu was in full animated mode.

  “You will never guess what they are saying.”

  “What who is saying?” asked Elizabeth, as she sat in the chair Bruce offered.

  “Oh, you know. They are saying that Mr. and Mrs. Hampton didn’t want George to marry Tina, but he wouldn’t listen. That kind of thing.”

  “Who is saying that?”

  “Why, everyone is saying that. It’s all over the powder room. Isn’t it, Lisa?”

  Lisa, who was normally the chatty, gossipy one, was oddly silent. Since her mother’s departure, she’d been more solemn and reserved. “That was what they said.”

  “Oh, Lisa! Come on. You are a much better gossiper than I ever thought about being. Tell them everything we heard.”

  “You’re doing a fine job, LuLu. Wesley, can we dance?”

  “Sure thing, sweetheart.” Wesley shot Elizabeth a helpless look. She knew he was worried about Lisa. She was worried about her as well.

  “I guess it’s up to you, LuLu. We’re listening,” said Bruce.

  “Well, you see we walked into the powder room, and first there was this big hush like they didn’t know if it was okay to talk in front of us. Then when Lisa went to touch up her lipstick, one of the girls started gushing with all these tales. She said Tina was really excited about catching George. They’d met on a cruise, and she’d been dating him off and on for several months. Then there was something about Tina being really mad because she was getting introduced to George’s family. Well anyway, I think George introduced them last week, and when he did, he proposed. Tina thought it was the most romantic thing in the whole world. She stood up in the fancy French restaurant and kissed George speechless. Well, Mr. and Mrs. Hampton were furious. They waited until they were leaving the restaurant and away from Tina before telling George in no uncertain terms he couldn’t marry Tina. They said she was a tramp.”

  “How did these girls know all of this if Mr. and Mrs. Hampton left with George?”

  “I’m getting to that. Tina’s friend Sunny followed them.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Winterbottom, Tina’s parents, paid her to.”

  “That seems odd.”

  “Yeah, I know. It gets better. Sunny follows them, you see, and she hears them call Tina a tramp. Then they say she is only after George’s money. Well, George gets real mad and tells them it is nothing of the sort. That he is trying to save the firm.”

  “Save the firm? That doesn’t make any sense,” said Elizabeth.

  “I know, I know. Sunny kept listening though. Boy, I wish Lisa would have told this. She does so much better with conspiracies than me.”

  Todd patted her hand. “You’re doing just fine. Go on, baby.”

  LuLu giggled and batted her eyelashes. Elizabeth’s patience waned. She wanted to know the rest of the story. LuLu seemed to remember she wasn’t alone and started talking again.

  “Well, like I was saying, Sunny kept listening. George was going on and on about how they should be glad he was willing to sacrifice his happiness to keep the firm intact. Mr. and Mrs. Hampton weren’t saying anything. Sunny never did completely understand what George was talking about. She’s a little ditzy, you know. So Sunny runs back and tells all this stuff to Tina. Even though the parents hired her. Crazy, right?

  “Anyway do you know what Tina did? Well, do you? Of course, you don’t know. I thought she would have run and told her parents. Or run and questioned George about what he said. But she didn’t do anything. She told Sunny to forget everything she’d heard and just let it go. She told Sunny since she was engaged, nothing could spoil her mood. Sunny obviously didn’t forget. She told everyone. That’s why we’re all talking about it now.”

  Bruce fingered the napkin ring on the table. Over and over it rolled around his hand. Elizabeth placed her hand over top of his, and he smiled at her. She noticed something behind those blue eyes. She wondered what this had to do with the case he was working on. He’d made an assumption that the Winterbottom Corporation and Hampton law firm where somehow intertwined. Possibly he had just found another piece of the puzzle.

  LuLu slowed down to catch her breath and started once again. “This whole party was Tina’s idea. She’s a little on the young side, you know. They say she is just twenty-one. Someone said she has liked George for a long time and the cruise was just a way to convince him that he liked her in return. They say she’s blackmailing him into marriage. Can you believe that? What could Tina possibly have on George? He’s as squeaky clean as they come. I mean he’s a big flirt. No doubt about it. Other than that I’ve never heard a bad thing about him. But these ladies in the powder room, they all seem to think Tina made this party wild to keep his parents from coming. The really odd thing is George let her. I know people used to say he was a party animal. Still I’ve never heard of him attending anything like this. Have you?”

  “No,” Elizabeth admitted.

  “Do you think there’s something to these rumors? Do you think Tina has some kind of hold over him?”

  Elizabeth didn’t know what to say. Anything was possible, of that she was certain. “LuLu, perhaps we should let the rumors play themselves out. We don’t need to get wrapped up in this gossip. It wouldn’t be good for our Christian witness. And it won’t be good for our jobs.”

  “Well said,” Todd responded. “Let’s make a toast. To less gossip and more fun.”

  Everyone at the table lifted their flutes. The click of the glasses hitting one another was followed by the guzzling down of a clear decaffeinated beverage. They were the only group in attendance that hadn’t accepted the wine that was offered.

  As Elizabeth sipped at her drink, Bruce twirled his glass in his fingers. The group of four had stopped trying to be heard over the crowd.

  On the dance floor, Lisa and Wesley kept time with the music. A smile spread across Lisa’s face at something Wesley said. Elizabeth was pleased to see her friend’s mood improve.

  While Elizabeth continued to watch the couple, Wesley dipped his hand into his pocket. When it reappeared it held a phone. A frown replaced Wesley’s happy expression.

  Lisa walked back to the table as Wesley left to answer his call.

  “Who was that?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Who knows? Wesley just said it was important, and he needed to take the call.”

  ****

  “I told you I was out. What do you want?”

  “Wesley,” came the voice over the line. “Do you see what happened to your friend? This time it was her hair; next time it will be her neck. Don’t you understand? You are as involved in this as I am. And make no mistake. If I go down, you’re going with me.”

  The line on the other end went dead. Wesley leaned his head against the wall. What had he gotten himself into? And how was he going to get out of it without placing anyone he cared about in more danger?

  Chapter Twenty

  Sipping his drink after the toast, Bruce realized this would be a night to remember. Not only had he held Elizabeth in his arms for the second time in the space of a week, but he’d also managed to connect a few things in the Tillman case. It appeared things weren’t as they seemed in the Hampton firm.

  They stayed an hour longer, before the heavy beat of the music and the noise of the crowd began to overwhelm them. Bruce and Elizabeth found the happy couple—George and Tina— shaking hands with their leaving guests. Elizabeth, Bruce, and the others went to say their good-byes.

  “Leaving so soon?” said Tina, the woman with the silken tongue. The lanky blond was lying against George like he was a sofa. Her over-tanned skin resembled leather in the spotlight; her narrow eyes caked with purple eye shadow was in sharp contrast to the yellow strapless mini-dress she wore.

  George pushed Tina to more of an upright standing position, a grimace covered his face. “Dear, you’re hurting my back.”

  “Sorry, my love,” Tina said with a hint of sarcasm. “I didn’t realize you were so old. At this rate, how are you expecting to hold up for the wedding night?”

  Bruce wasn’t sure if George’s flush radiated from embarrassment or anger. Bruce was ready for an all-out spat between the two. George gained control and his mask of cordiality slipped back in place before he spoke. “Elizabeth, you look positively ravishing this evening. Maybe I made a mistake.”

  George’s shifting of gears, left a sudden look of confusion on Elizabeth face as she inquired, “Mistake?”

  “Oh yes, my dear. I should never have given you over so quick to Mr. Malone. You would have made a dashing addition to the décor of my lobby.”

  Bruce balled his fist.

  “What I mean is, perhaps I should have retained you as my own secretary. I doubt that my new wife—” the word was spoken with disdain “—would have cared overly much.”

  Bruce noticed he wasn’t the only one upset by George’s statement, when a hiss escaped Tina’s lips. She replied, “Oh, Georgie poo. You give me no credit at all. I would have been insanely jealous with that creation in front of you all day.” A yellow fingernail tapped at her lip, “Then again, she is rather old. We all know how you like them young.”

  George cringed. This was obviously not a love match.

  “Hmm, thanks for inviting us, Mr. Hampton. However, I’m afraid we really must be going,” said Elizabeth.

  “Yes, of course. Drive safe,” George offered in parting. His eyes narrowed as he stared at his fiancée, and Bruce ushered Elizabeth past the couple.

  They waited outside the door for the valet to retrieve their vehicle and for Lisa, Wesley, LuLu, and Todd to join them.

  “That was awkward,” commented Lisa, as she came through the revolving door.

  “I’ve never seen a stranger couple,” said Wesley.

  Bruce couldn’t have agreed more. A need to get home and review those case files surged through him. “Elizabeth, here’s the car. It was nice meeting you guys,” he said, he raised his hand in farewell.

  Elizabeth said her good-byes. When they got in the car, his mind ran rampant with ideas. “Do you think this wedding has anything to do with the Winterbottom Corporation’s lawsuits?”

  “I don’t think so. Why do you ask that?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I can’t seem to make any sense out of it. Maybe you’ll see something I don’t. Listen I’m a criminal lawyer, okay. I’m really good at what I do. I know, it sounds a little egotistical, but it was no surprise to me that the Hampton law firm wanted someone like me on their team. When I arrived at the firm and the only case of significance that George Hampton handed me was the Tillman case, I have to admit I was a bit surprised.

  “That was it. No criminal cases. No high profile crime boss, just this wrongful death suit. Do you think it’s possible George is being blackmailed into marrying Tina to save the firm? Like those women talked about in the restroom. Maybe the Hampton law firm did something unethical to help Winterbottom con the plaintiffs out of their money. And now he wants someone to catch him?”

  “You can’t believe that? I mean, I don’t think anyone in the firm would have helped the Winterbottom Corporation do something illegal.”

  “I didn’t say illegal. I said they did something unethical. Perhaps they didn’t falsify records, but they covered up the employees’ underlying problems with the way they defended their case. Like the guy that died in the car wreck. He had late-stage cancer. The doctor had just given him a few months to live. He was on his way home to tell his wife there was nothing more that could be done for him, or so the doctor thought. Then next thing you know he’s at the bottom of a canyon, his truck crushed to pieces.”

  “Maybe he killed himself because he was going to die anyway.”

  “Maybe. I’m not sure, though. What I do know is when his wife tried to sue the Winterbottom Corporation for his death, the Hampton lawyers on the case argued he died from a car crash. The judge accepted it and didn’t allow the other side to delve any further.”

  “I see what you mean. They neglected to mention the fact he had cancer, and it would’ve killed him.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What about the wife’s lawyer? How come he didn’t say anything about the cancer?”

  “Oh, he tried. All through the trial transcripts, he tried to tell them. One of the Hampton lawyers on the case was able to get the reports of cancer thrown out as inadmissible. He claimed there was no proof the cancer came from the man’s employment at the Winterbottom Corporation. His records proved the man smoked earlier in his life.”

  “I hesitate to ask, but who was lead counsel on that case?”

  “None other than George Hampton.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  When they arrived back at the townhouse, they stood in front of Elizabeth’s door. She didn’t want the evening to end. Elizabeth fingered Bruce’s collar, her eyes focused on his top button. She said, “Would you like to come in for a little while?”

  “Yes.”

  A smile played across her lips. There had been no hesitation in his answer. Just a simple yes. She turned to the door and opened it, going in first. The lights came on with the flick of a switch, and Elizabeth directed Bruce to have a seat. She went to the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee. Bringing back two mugs, she handed one to Bruce and took the other for herself.