"Oh, right." With obvious chagrin, she checked the hallway leading to the offices, then lowered her voice. "Actually he's here. It's just that he's in a meeting with the senior partner, and I've been told to hold all calls."
"I see. Must be an important meeting."
"It is. I think he might be in trouble." She winced, even friendlier now that she felt the need to make up for lying to him.
He lowered his voice to match hers. "Has he done something wrong?"
"Not wrong, exactly. It's just that--" She caught herself. "Listen to me.
I'm so bad." The giddy edge to her laugh would've made it clear, even if she hadn't already told him, that she thought he was handsome. "I shouldn't be telling you this."
"Why not?" He raised two fingers in the traditional Scout's honor salute. "I won't tell a soul. I promise."
She mouthed the next words. "He might be getting fired."
"Really?"
Her eyes widened innocently. "His productivity has fallen way off.
And they don't put up with a lot around here. Each attorney has to perform, or that's it."
He took one of her cards from a holder on the desk. "Any idea why Colin's productivity might've fallen?"
"None."
"Problems at home?"
She nibbled on her bottom lip. "I doubt it. He and Tiffany seem happy together. She came to the company Christmas party in this low-cut slinky dress that showed his name tattooed on...well..." She blushed. "Tattooed on her chest, if you know what I mean. Before the night was over, they were both smashed, and he had her prancing around like a show pony."
"If it's not his marriage, maybe he hasn't been feeling well." Jonathan doubted Colin had health issues, but it was an easy way to keep the receptionist talking.
"He's not sick." She leaned toward him. "Actually, Mr. Scovil thinks he might not be mentally capable of handling the job."
"Why does he think that?"
She turned and gave the hall another cautious glance. "You'll never hear Colin talk about it, of course. All he says is Georgetown this and Georgetown that. But he didn't start at Georgetown. He started at a third-tier law school in Maryland. It's all in his employment file."
"But he graduated from Georgetown?"
She shrugged. "Somehow he managed to get the grades he needed to transfer."
Colin was plenty smart. Jonathan was sure that wasn't the problem. "I see. So...you don't like him?"
A guilty expression appeared on her round, soft features. "I like him, I guess. I like everybody. But...I don't know. He has a mean streak."
Jonathan refused to draw any conclusions from that statement. For all he knew, a few cross words could be interpreted as "mean" to this Pollyanna.
"What's he done to make you believe he's mean?"
Her mouth twisted as if she was fighting tears.
Surprised by this sudden show of emotion, Jonathan reached out to touch her elbow. "Are you okay?"
"It hurts to think about it."
"About what?"
"Several months ago someone left me a nasty note." She adjusted her purple, clingy blouse to get it to hang more smoothly over the bulge of her middle.
"What'd it say?"
"'I'd love to...'" Her face beamed scarlet. "Never mind. I shouldn't have mentioned it."
Jonathan caught her eye. "Tell me."
"No, you two might be...friends, or whatever."
"I'm just the P.I. investigating Samantha Duncan's disappearance. I know Colin only in relation to my work during the past week."
"So why are you here?" she asked.
"This is just a courtesy visit to let him know I'm doing a background check on him and several other neighbors. I wanted to get permission to talk to his boss and some of the other lawyers and people who work here."
Actually, Jonathan was more interested in his reaction than his permission, but that didn't sound as benign.
"You don't think he had anything to do with the girl's disappearance, do you?"
"Would that surprise you?"
"Yeah! I mean, he can be a jerk, but he'd never kidnap a child."
"This is just a precautionary measure."
Coupled with the devilish gleam in her eye, her smile made her appear almost childlike herself. "I bet it's gonna make Colin mad. He doesn't like people snooping around. He screamed at me once for being in his office when he came to work, and I was only delivering his messages."
"Doesn't take much to get him riled up, huh?"
"For me, breathing is enough."
"So...what happened with that note you referred to a minute ago?"
"Oh, I'm sure he's the one who left it. He did it because he didn't have some copies he needed for a meeting and he had to go in unprepared. But it wasn't my fault."
"What'd the note say?" Jonathan asked.
"It said--" she cleared her throat "--'I'd love to make you squeal.'"
She'd muttered the last part in a voice so low he could barely make it out. "That kind of talk has other connotations," he said. "Are you sure whoever wrote it meant it in a bad way?"
"It had a picture of a pig and was stuck to my seat with a pair of scissors."
Jonathan shoved his hands in his pockets. "I see how that might concern you. When was this?"
"Just after Colin came on last summer."
"Was it handwritten?"
"No, typed. In a really big font."
"It couldn't have been someone else?"
"No one else would do such a thing. I've worked with the rest of these attorneys for years. They all treat me great."
"Except Colin."
She seemed to wrestle with her answer. "He treats me okay part of the time. But his jokes can be...insensitive. You know, a snicker here or there about my weight. Or a subtle comment in the break room about leaving enough food for everybody else. A plastic padlock on the fridge." Her expression grew contemplative. "And there's something missing in his eyes.
There are times when he looks at me as if he hates me. Just because I'm fat, I guess, since I've never done anything to hurt him. That day he asked me to make those copies?"
"Yeah?"
"I was in meetings all morning. How could I make copies if I wasn't even here? When he saw I was gone he should've made them himself instead of leaving me a message."
Okay, so Colin wasn't the kindest boss. But was he capable of nearly beating a boy to death? "I take it you won't be sorry if he gets handed his walking papers," Jonathan said.