Page 43 of Elliot

“Well, he told me about the times he was treated well. I asked him why that was important to him. He said he left me alone to work, which was hard for him. That was a sacrifice he made, and when his employers noticed when he did well and rewarded him—with money, a letter, or even a pat on the back—it made the sacrifice a little less painful. I remembered that.”

He narrowed his eyes. “And yet you said money makes you happy.”

She lifted her head. “It does.”

Realization dawned on him. “Because you can afford to do things for the people who work for you.”

She smiled at him. “I’m not a saint. I use my money for myself, too—this apartment, for example.”

“Which you bought from a foreclosure and saved a million dollars on,” he reminded her.

She made a face at him. “Well, really, who can resist a bargain?”

He laughed at her, and she broke out in a grin. He realized that not only was he attracted to the beautiful woman sexually, but he liked her. Straight-outenjoyedspending time with her. Who she was and what she did mattered. That was a revelation.

They visited over dinner, and when they were done, she drew a deep breath. “Okay, so I need to find out if I have clothes to wear tomorrow.”

“Then let’s do it.” Elliot walked with her to her bedroom and opened the door. She moved through the room.

“Did you notice …” She turned and looked around her room.

“What?” Concern punched him in the gut. What had they missed?

“All these clothes are my work clothes … business suits, skirts, shirts, my shoes.” She picked up a pair that had one heel snapped off. She walked to the closet and opened the door wider. Her gowns were untouched. She made her way over to her dresser set and opened the bottom drawers. “None of the clothes I wear for special events or here at home were touched.” She frowned and looked at him. “That’s weird, isn’t it?”

He nodded and pulled his phone out, texting Ross about her observation: “It’s something that can be added to the evidence they found.”

“What was that? The evidence?” she asked as she rummaged around in her dresser.

“A couple hairs, a small drop of blood, and a couple of smeared prints. Not much,” Elliot admitted.

“Hmm …” Maya made a noise of acknowledgment as she started to stack clothes on top of the dresser. “I can wear casual clothes tomorrow. The office isn’t open for business, but I hate to set that example.” She lifted two pairs of jeans from the dresser. “Casual Saturdays. Is that a thing?”

He chuckled. “It is now. I’ll go to the kitchen and get some garbage bags.” She nodded and kept going through her things. He grabbed the entire box of bags and headed back to the room, where he found Maya kneeling on the floor.

“No, no, no … where is it?”

“What are you looking for?” Elliot was beside her in a second.

“My jewelry box. I kept it here.” The drawer she pointed to was empty, and she leaned forward on her hands and knees, looking through the shreds of clothing. “Oh, thank God.” She grabbed a small white box and opened it.

Elliot looked over her shoulder at the small trinkets inside. He kneeled on the floor with her. “What’s that?”

“A medal I received for a perfect 4.0 year my junior year in high school. My dad was so proud of me.” She put the medalon the top of the box. “This is my mom and dad.” She opened a small gold locket, and Elliot saw pictures of smiling twenty-somethings.

“They look happy.” He sat down beside her.

“They were. So happy. Love like they had was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.” She turned to look at him. “Mom told me she fell in love with Dad within a week of meeting him.” Maya smiled down at the locket. “Daddy said he did the same, but he didn’t want to scare Momma away, so they took the meandering road to marriage. It took them six months.” She laughed and closed the locket. “This is Mom’s wedding ring. Dad refused to pawn it when things got tough. This is the pearl bracelet her mother gave her on the day she was married.” Maya smiled at the small strand of pearls and the small, ruby-studded band.

“What’s that?” He motioned to a yellowing envelope at the bottom of the box.

Maya sighed. “This is a letter I wrote myself right after my dad died. The counselor I saw after he passed suggested it.” Taking it out of the box, she opened it and read it aloud to him.

Dear Maya,

You can and will get through this horrible period in your life. When you look back, someday you will only remember the good that came to you through your parents. Life is hard for everyone, but the people dedicated to making the world a better place and achieving their full potential are the ones who will succeed. I’m not going to lie to you, life will knock you down, but if you don’t get back up, you will never find the success you so desperately want. Don’t back down, but never lose your humanity. The world needs people who respect other people, and those people will need true leaders. Make Mom and Dad proud. I know you can do it.

The future you.

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