meant her comment about getting together, but she certainly hadn’t expected a visit so soon. “Please, come in. How did you know where to find me?” She hadn’t said a word about where she was staying while she’d been in the office, had she?
“It’s all over Blackburn House already, I’m afraid.” With a restrained smile, the woman stepped inside. “Please, call me Lina.”
“Lina,” she repeated. “How would anyone at Blackburn House know?” If she sounded a little suspicious, it was nothing to how she felt. Were people watching her?
“Obviously you’re not used to the way news spreads in a place like Laurel Ridge. After all, we’re right next door. I’m sure someone saw you moving in.” Lina shrugged. “People in a small town are interested in their neighbors.”
“Obviously so.” Kate gestured to the sofa. “Please, sit down.”
Lina had apparently come straight from work, since she still wore the tailored suit she’d had on earlier. She sat down, looking around the room with frank curiosity. “This is really quite nice, isn’t it?” Her gaze seemed to linger on the desk, and Kate was relieved that she had closed the file. “I haven’t seen the inside before, but it’s roomier than I’d have expected.”
“You were never inside when Jason lived here?” Kate sat down opposite the woman.
Lina’s lips twitched in what might have been a smile. “I can just imagine the talk that would have spread if I’d come to visit a young male colleague. I’m afraid financial consultants are expected to be models of rectitude in a place like Laurel Ridge.”
“Yes. I’d say Mr. Gordon made it clear that adverse publicity was frowned on.” She couldn’t seem to keep the resentment from her tone. Gordon’s facile sympathy had disappeared very quickly at any faint suggestion of fault on the part of the firm.
“That’s really why I’ve come so quickly.” Lina leaned forward, her pale face intent. “I’m afraid Bart reacted badly, and I wanted to explain. It’s not entirely his fault, you know. Our clients didn’t like seeing the newspaper stories about one of our staff in such a situation.” She shook her head, rueful. “Sorry. I don’t want to hurt you, but that’s the truth.”
Kate suppressed her irritation as best she could. “I understand being concerned for the reputation of the firm.” But Bart Gordon had overreacted, it seemed to her, and she really wanted to know why.
“But you think he was over-the-top.” Lina seemed to know what she was thinking. “I’m afraid he was so annoyed because he was the one who suggested taking Jason on as an intern. He talked Mr. Sheldon into it. Apparently Jason’s adviser was an old fraternity brother of Bart’s, and Bart agreed as a favor to him. Then, when things went badly...”
She let that trail off, and Kate managed not to point out that things had gone far more badly for Jason than for the firm. She hoped to get information from the woman, not antagonize her.
“Aside from the way it ended, how was Jason doing as an intern? I’m sure you have an opinion, working so closely with him.”
“Well, not really all that closely, I’m afraid. It was actually Russell Sheldon who seemed to take the most interest in Jason. He took the time to work with the young man, and according to him, Jason did very well. He always seemed very conscientious to me—almost too preoccupied with his work at times, I’d say.”
That sounded like Jason. He’d focus on a task to the exclusion of everything else.
“I’m glad Jason found a mentor here. I really should thank Mr. Sheldon personally, then. Is he still living in town?” It would be as good an excuse as any to probe into what the man remembered of Jason’s time here.
Lina looked doubtful. “Yes, Russell Sheldon is quite a fixture in town. Everyone knows him. But I don’t know that it’s a good idea for you to visit him.”
She paused, then seemed to realize she’d have to explain further if she expected Kate to drop the idea.
“The trouble is that Russell has been failing mentally for the past few years. He probably should have retired earlier than he did, to be honest, but he had such a good rapport with our older clients that we hated to see him go. They’d trusted him for years, and it wasn’t easy to convince them that they’d be quite safe in Bart’s hands.”
“Surely a short visit with him wouldn’t hurt...” Kate began, but Lina was already shaking her head.
“I understand the poor man is becoming increasingly erratic. Apparently the least disruption of his usual routine causes him to react very emotionally. In fact, his son has been trying to get him into an assisted living facility. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to cause Mr. Sheldon any distress, and I don’t imagine he even remembers Jason at this point.”
“I see.” Somehow she didn’t think she wanted to take Lina’s word for it, as helpful as she seemed. “I’ve hoped people who knew my brother during those last weeks might have noticed some indication of trouble. Anything that seemed out of his normal routine, any change in his attitude...”
There had to be something—something that had pushed Jason into his final act.
“I wish I could be of more help.” Lina spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “In retrospect I do think Jason seemed a bit more preoccupied than usual toward the end of the summer, but then he’d been sending out résumés and looking for a position, so that’s only natural.”
Kate nodded. In one of his phone calls, they’d talked about the possibility of Jason getting a job near her. He wouldn’t have wanted to move in with her again, but she’d wanted to be close enough to provide some support, at least.
She tried another tack. “I suppose you don’t know any of the friends he made here?”
“I’m afraid not. Jason didn’t seem like the social type. He was more serious than a lot of young men his age.” Lina’s smile seemed to freeze. “I’d be wary of anything Nikki has to say about your brother, by the way. From what I saw, he was usually trying to evade her attentions.”
“Thanks. I’ll bear that in mind.”
“Well, you don’t need my advice. I’m sure a woman of your experience could see at once just how much you can rely on Nikki for the truth.” A smile warmed her rather restrained manner. “What was she doing when you came in? Filing her nails?”
Kate had to laugh. “Actually, I did spot her doing that earlier.”
“We’d get someone better, but there isn’t really all that much choice. The bright kids take off for college after graduation. At least Nikki knows how to operate the office equipment, and she’s better on the computer than Bart is.” Lina smiled. “Although that’s not saying much.”
“I sometimes think a five-year-old could teach me something new, despite my job.” In the interests of possibly getting more from the woman later, she should respond to any friendship cues.
Lina reached for her bag. “I won’t hold you up any longer, but if there’s anything I can do, please, let me know. Jason’s death must have been a terrible shock as well as a devastating loss.”
The woman’s sympathetic tone got to her, and for a moment
