Sticks & Stones (A Hollis Morgan Mystery) by R. Franklin James Page B

both straightened as she walked over.
    “There’s a church in the neighborhood that can help you Vince, the Eternal Lantern. Stephanie is going to see if they have room for you.” Hollis couldn’t ignore his distressed look. “You can stay the night, maybe longer.”
    Joel smiled at Vince. “It’s a good place. Hard to get into ’cause they don’t make you listen to the preachin’. People like it better. If you can go there, Vince, you’ll like it. They’ll take care of you.”
    Vince looked doubtful. “You sure I don’t have to hear a sermon?”
    Joel was about to answer when Stephanie returned with her fingers forming an “okay.”
    Joel tapped him on his shoulder, “Man, you better git up and g it goin’. You’re gittin’ a break.”
    Vince rose, a little unsteady. He faced Hollis, lightly scratching his arm. “What’s your name? Why did you help me?”
    “Hollis Morgan.” She tried to find the right words, “Because I could.”
     
    Lunch was delicious. Hollis and Stephanie ate at the same bistro whenever they went out to lunch. Stephanie was the original poor little rich girl turned poor girl. Her father had been caught giving insider information in a Wall Street broker sting, forcing his family to turn their backs on their lush lifestyle. They had met at Triple D after Stephanie had just earned her degree in Criminology, when she was still adjusting to her lower income bracket. They had struck up a friendship immediately. As a crime lab assistant, she had the best City contacts.
    “I owe you ,” Hollis said, scooping up her last bit of tiramisu.
    “Yes, you do, and I’m going to collect someday, so don’t forget.” Stephanie dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “I hope you realize the risk I took in tracking down this license number.”
    “I thought you could do it in the course of your job,” Hollis said. “I don’t want to get you in trouble, Steph.”
    Stephanie waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll add it to your friendship tab.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a letter-sized envelope. “Here’s the info on your girl. What’s the interest? There are no wants or warrants.”
    “Just checking, I didn’t hold out much hope that you would find something.” Hollis quickly scanned the single piece of paper.
    “I know I don’t have to ask for what purpose you wanted this information.”
    “Don’t worry. It’s for a probate matter I’ve been assigned.” Hollis eyed the sheet. “It says she’s twenty-five years old ; I thought she might be older. Schaefer is her married name.”
    “You mea n I did this for your fancy law firm? That does it; you can pay for lunch.” Stephanie put on her sunglasses.
    “Not a problem.” Hollis patted her case. “It was worth it.”
     
    On the way to her office, Hollis looked down at the message Tiffany had handed her. Hollis gave her an acknowledging smile. She was Triple D’s longest employed receptionist. She had lasted almost a year, maybe she might make it.
    The message was from Transformation magazine . She punched in the number and Devi’s secretary answered.
    “Miss Morgan, Mr. Devi wanted to let you know that Miss Briscoe left behind a few file folders that were with our attorneys. They could be duplicates, but if you’d like them, I can leave them at the Transformation front desk for you to pick up.”
    “I’ll be there later this afternoon.”
    Hollis leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead. The way Cathy’s files kept popping up, by the time she and Mark collected them all, they just might have enough ammo to fight Fields. She picked up the phone.
    Mark’s voice didn’t hide his enthusiasm. “That could be great news. Let’s go over where we are this evening. I can’t stay long. I’ve got another case I’m working.”
    “Not a problem, why don’t we just get together tomorrow.”
    “Can’t. I’m flying up to Portland tomorrow for two days. I want to make sure we get all our