Page 91 of Justice Delayed

“Gilmore.” Brogan answered with his standard greeting.

The caller whispered something he couldn’t decipher. “I didn’t catch that.”

“It’s Dan.” The man cleared his throat. “Dan Stabe.”

Brogan straightened in his chair. “Mr. Stabe, what can I do for you?”

“I think someone’s following me.” The lawyer spoke an undertone.

Brogan depressed the record button, then pressed the device back to his ear. “Where are you?” He tugged his notebook out from underneath a file and picked up a pen.

“I should have known this was a trap.”

“Mr. Stabe—”

“Listen carefully. I don’t have much time. I left a package for you at the front desk of my law office. You must leave immediately to get it. Do you understand? Time is of the essence. If they figure out I’ve called you…”

“Mr. Stabe.”

Although Stabe’s s voice trailed off, fear behind the attorney’s words motivated Brogan to get moving.

“I’m heading there now. Tell me, what was a trap?”

“Tell Melender I’m sorry. I’m a weak man.”

“Mr. Stabe, I want to know where you are.” Brogan halted. He pressed the phone more firmly against his ear. “Hello?” Awareness set in at the sound of silence. The call ended. He stopped the recording while contemplating what to do next.

“Was that Dan Stabe?”

Brogan whipped toward the woman’s voice. Melender stood on the landing of the stairs, her phone and earbuds in her hand.

“Yeah, he called me.” Given Melender’s casual attire of denim shorts, t-shirt, and sneakers, his first thought was to ask why she was awake. “Don’t you have to work tonight?”

“My question first. Why is Stabe calling you?” Melender took the last step and stood inches from Brogan. She’d removed the bandage on her face. The stitches now rested in a purplish bruise that covered the right cheek.

“Brogan, will you please answer me?”

The sharpness of her tone yanked him back. “Stabe said he thought someone was following him. He also said he’d left a package for me at his law office. That’s where I was headed when the call abruptly ended. My turn. Aren’t you working tonight?”

“Yes, but I couldn’t sleep, so I’m up earlier. I’m coming with you to pick up the package.” Melender’s statement startled him given her declaration last night of wanting to let sleeping dogs lie.

He hesitated, then pulled open the front door and held it for her to proceed. “After you.”

“Thank you.”

Brogan didn’t attempt conversation on the drive to the attorney’s office. Instead, he vacillated between wanting to convince her that finding the truth about Jesse still mattered and telling her how beautiful she looked, which could make him appear unprofessional under the circumstances.

Melender huddled against the passenger car door. Although her stillness concerned him, he wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject. During the fifteen-minute drive to Stabe’s office, she kept her head turned toward the side window but clearly wasn’t taking in the scenery. Something had made her skittish, something beyond the recording yesterday.

He pulled into the parking lot of Davis, Ramsey, and Stevens, and slipped into a visitor’s spot near the front entrance. “I’m not sure what’s going on. You stay put. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

Melender nodded but didn’t turn toward him.

Brogan jogged to the office building. Once inside, he punched the elevator number and took the car to the eleventh floor. The receptionist looked up when he approached her desk. “Good morning.”

“Hello.”

The receptionist looked past him, then back to him. Maybe checking to see if Seth had accompanied him? Brogan smiled. “Brogan Gilmore. Dan Stabe left a package for me.” He refrained from tapping his fingers on the raised glass countertop that encircled the area as she clicked a few keys.

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