Read Online Nun Too Soon (A Giulia Driscoll Mystery Book 1) by Alice Loweecey - Free Book Online

Zane’s client chair.
    Sidney disappeared into the bathroom for the second time since eight-fifteen. Fitch ignored Giulia’s invitation and paced between both desks, drinking and staring first out the window, then at Zane and Giulia, then at Sidney when she emerged from the bathroom.
    “Zane, can you give more reasons to justify items b , d , and g ? I don’t want to give Monsignor Jerome any reason to cut us off before we complete the presentation.”
    “Yeah. I’m pretty sure.” He added notes to three header cells in the spreadsheet on his screen.
    Sidney eased herself into her chair, both she and the chair creaking.
    “Ready to pop, huh?” Fitch said.
    Sidney gave him an excellent imitation of Giulia’s “frost in July” smile.
    Giulia inhaled sharply enough for Roger to hear her. He turned, but Giulia’s face showed nothing but polite welcome. As recently as last year, she would’ve laughed out loud at Sidney’s mimicry. Now? Not a chance. One, she liked Sidney too much. Two, it wasn’t professional. Three, it was an excellent imitation of Angry Giulia and she wanted to see more. So she cut Roger off before he could do any real damage.
    “Thank you for waiting, Mr. Fitch. Please come into my office. Zane, I can take calls.” She closed the door behind them.
    Roger dropped into Giulia’s client chair and slugged more of his V8. “Okay. Thirteen days ’til my trial starts. What’s the strategy?”
    Giulia’s professional mask never cracked, even as she catalogued Fitch as a typical problem child. Well , she didn’t spend ten years teaching high school students in challenging settings to allow a client like this to disturb her equilibrium. Besides, the attitude was most likely slapped on to cover his fear of that looming antiseptic death chamber with its poison-filled needle.
    Out loud, she said, “I’ve worked up a multi-step plan. It’s labor-intensive, but the time constraints give us no choice.”
    “I knew it. Laid in a stock of these V8s and single malt and steaks to get me through.”
    She opened her spreadsheet on her desktop rather than the tablet, for the sake of using her ergonomic keyboard.
    “I want to go over some of the ground that the police have already walked.”
    “Good God, why?”
    “Because my team will look at it in a very different way than the police did. See these DNA reports?” She handed those papers out to him.
    He made a puking noise. “I remember those giant Q-tips they stuck in my mouth and in Lori’s.”
    “They’re going to be just as much use to us as they are to the prosecution. So are the police reports and all the crime scene photographs.”
    A shrug. “You’re the boss.”
    “True. First of all, I would like more background on you and Loriela. Specifically, the restraining order.”
    Fitch’s eyes narrowed. “Scheming bitch. Lori’s mother, that is. Ever read up on Alexander the Great? His mother was a real piece of work. Pushed, pushed, pushed; killed off rivals; thought up more schemes than contestants on reality shows. Lori’s mother could’ve been her star pupil.”
    Giulia typed it all up with a straight face. “And?”
    “I wasn’t good enough for Madre Cassandra’s little princess. Forget the fact that Madre Cassandra raised her princess in a two-room welfare apartment because Madre Cassandra spent her career cleaning second-rate office buildings.”
    “There is nothing demeaning about working with one’s hands,” Giulia said.
    “Yeah, yeah, I know. Honest wages for honest labor, yada yada. Lori got a full ride to Temple because of her kickass grades combined with Madre’s extremely limited income, so it all worked out.” He shook the V8, drank the dregs, and tossed it dead-center into the trash can. “Oh, no,” Fitch continued. “Nothing less than a CEO was good enough for the princess. Of course Lori wasn’t like that. If she was here, she’d tell you I was the guy that made her get a clue.” He stood up and started