Falling Awake

him without getting the information concerning the three mystery clients out of him first, he really screwed up, didn’t he?” Ellis said.
    “True. I’ll call my friend Ken Payne after dinner and see what he has to say about the situation at the center. He’s always a great one for in-house gossip.” She turned toward the refrigerator and then paused, looking worried. “Do you have a problem with puff pastry?”
    “Depends what you plan to do with it.”
    She looked anxious. “Cook it and serve it for dinner.”
    He smiled slowly. “If you make it, I will come.”

21
    s he finally got ahold of Ken Payne at ten o’clock that evening. He sounded pleased to hear from her.
    “Isabel, I’ve been meaning to call you but I’ve been kind of busy since you left. I kept that appointment with the cardiologist. The next thing I knew, I was headed into surgery.”
    “What was it?”
    “Aortic aneurism. Disaster waiting to happen but a straightforward repair job if you find it in time. Had the operation on Monday. I’m home and doing great.”
    “Ken, I’m so relieved to hear that.”
    “They said the problem is often hereditary and that an aneurism is probably what killed my father and grandfather. It often goes undiagnosed because there are no symptoms until it ruptures, andthen it’s usually too late. The results look very much like a sudden heart attack so that’s usually what goes down in the records as the cause of death.”
    “But you’re okay, now?”
    “Better than new, they tell me. Susan is here with me.” There was a short pause and then Ken came back. “She says thanks for everything. Needless to say, I second that. I really owe you, Isabel.”
    “I’m just relieved that everything worked out so well.”
    “What’s going on with you? I haven’t been back to the center since the operation but I’ve heard things are kind of chaotic there.”
    “Yes, I can imagine. Not my problem anymore, though—I’m starting a new job at my brother-in-law’s company. It will pay the bills until I can get my consulting business up and running. Did you hear about Gavin Hardy?”
    “Yeah, Jason called with the news this afternoon. What a shocker, huh? What was Hardy doing in your neck of the woods?”
    She looked at Ellis, who was crouched in front of one of the six cartons containing Martin Belvedere’s research papers. He was sorting the documents by date.
    When they had opened the first box after dinner they were dismayed to discover that several decades’ worth of notes, dream logs and unpublished journal manuscripts had been dumped haphazardly inside. Evidently, although the lawyers had dutifully saved everything Belvedere sent to them over the years, they had not felt any obligation to organize the mass of paperwork.
    “Gavin was trying to put together a stake so he could go backto Las Vegas,” she said carefully. “He offered to sell me some confidential client information he had discovered on Belvedere’s computer, but he was killed before I could find out what it was.”
    “Confidential client data, huh? That sounds like something Hardy would try to peddle. He wasn’t a bad sort, but he definitely had a gambling addiction.”
    “He lived for those trips to Vegas,” she agreed. “Did Jason have any other office gossip from the center?”
    “He mentioned that several people are dusting off their résumés. I’m thinking of doing the same. Word is that the funding has dropped off quite a bit since the old man died. There’s even some question about whether or not Randolph will have to declare bankruptcy.”
    Isabel curled her legs under her and frowned at Ellis, who was listening to every word. “That sounds serious.”
    “That’s about it, gossip-wise,” Ken said. “Unless you’re interested in the news that Randolph Belvedere and Amelia Netley are an item.”
    Isabel raised her brows. “No kidding? They managed to keep that quiet while I was there. Never had a clue.”
    “According to Sandra Johnson, they were seeing each other even before the old man died.”
    “Sandra would know. She sits right outside Belvedere’s office and she doesn’t miss a thing.”
    “There may be trouble in paradise, though. Sandra heard Amelia and Randolph arguing behind closed doors a couple of times after you left.”

    “Ken, you are a fountain of interesting office news, as usual.”
    They chatted for a few more minutes and then Isabel said goodbye and put down the phone.
    Ellis