Page 3 of Trusting Laurence
Tahlia watched as Laurence rose gracefully to his feet and held out a chair for her. Galvanized into action, she walked over to where he stood.
“Laurence, it’s good to see you.”
He gifted her with another devastating smile before replying, “It’s good to see you too, Tahlia.”
She took a seat in the proffered chair, smoothing the skirt of her dress over her knees self-consciously. Watching him return to his own seat, her mind scrambled to find something to say. She couldn’t remember a time she’d felt so awkward around him.
After a long, uncomfortable moment of silence, Laurence cleared his throat. “Talk to me.”
She tried hard not to squirm under his gaze as he waited for her to reply. Those eyes of his missed nothing. There was so much she wanted to say to him, but she had no idea where to start. Finally, she replied, “After you left, things got worse. I always thought that he’d kill me one day.” She paused to gather herself. “Eventually, he almost did. My sister found me and called a friend pretty high up in the police department to report it. She went to him to make sure something came of it, since she was done keeping quiet about everything. He made good on his word and, as they say, the rest is history.”
“And after the court case? Where did you disappear to?”
“Once again, I have my sister to thank for that. She knew of a network called Friends of Patty that help women like me to disappear—abused women. I guess a bit like witness protection. They help you get settled somewhere else under a new identity. You’re meant to cut all ties with your past.”
“What made you decide to come back?”
“Honestly? I got tired of hiding, always looking over my shoulder. I missed my family. Leaving parents and siblings behind is one thing. Cutting all ties and leaving your children behind? That’s a different thing altogether. When I heard Maddie was getting married, I couldn’t stay away anymore.”
“Yeah, I heard Maddie’s getting married.” Shifting in his chair, Laurence leaned forward, his gaze searching. “So, what is it you think you have that has you looking me up, Lia? It’s been a lot of years since we last spoke.” He probably hadn’t intended to call her by the nickname he’d given her. It had slipped out.
“Yes, I guess it has,” Tahlia replied, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. Not saying anything more about their time spent apart, she reached into her purse and pulled out a sheaf of papers. She slid them across the table as she continued. “I was looking for something in my safety deposit box at the bank, and I came across these papers. I didn’t recognize them, so I read through them. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but I don’t think it’s anything good. Why else would Marcus have put them in my box and not his own?”
She watched as Laurence picked the papers up and shuffled through them. A couple of pages in, she saw his body stiffen. A frisson of alarm ran through her, leaving her hands cold.
“What it is?”
“Do you have any idea where these come from? What they are?”
“No. I have absolutely no idea. As I said, I found them in my safety deposit box, so I can only assume Marcus would have put them there since he’s the only other person who had access to that box.”
Tapping the papers lying on the table in front of him, Laurence said, “Thanks for these. I’ll look into it. Where can I reach you should I need to speak to you again?”
Reaching into her purse once more, Tahlia drew out a little notebook and pen. She wrote her number on a page, tore it out, and handed it to him.
“I’m staying in a rental suite for a while until I can find a place of my own. But you can reach me on my cell.” Silently debating for a moment, she eventually asked, “Do you have any idea what these might be? Do you think they’re important, since Marcus put them in my box?”
Larry shook his head. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to go over them more thoroughly than the brief scan I gave them.”
Tahlia studied him for a moment, not saying anything, as she tried to decide whether he was telling her the truth. His face gave no indication of what he was thinking, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
After long moments of awkward silence, Larry said, “I need to get back to the office, but it’s been good to see you again, Lia.”
“You too, Laurence. Take care of yourself.”
“Thanks. You too.”
He got to his feet and rounded the table, on his way to the door. Stopping beside her chair, he hesitated a moment, and Tahlia could have sworn he wanted to say something to her. Instead, he touched a hand briefly to her shoulder before leaving without another word.
2
Larry stood on the sidewalk outside the coffee shop for a moment, gathering his thoughts. The papers in his hand made him twitchy. If they were what he thought they might be, things were about to get mighty interesting.
With one last lingering glance at the woman he’d left inside, he headed back to the office.
A million thoughts raced through his mind as he walked the short distance. He spared a quick glance at his watch. His meeting with his top agent on the trafficking task team was, it seemed, well timed. These papers could possibly be just the thing they needed to create a crack in this nightmare of a case.
His secretary looked up as he strode into the office.
