Page 23 of Ashes of Us

“David, huh? Are you free right now?” The voice was even and smooth, with a slight Boston accent. “I have a couple of hours before I'm busy again.” Danica blinked in surprise but nodded before she remembered he couldn't see her.

“Yeah, I'm just leaving David's office.”

“My office is on the corner of Cottage and Sumner, directly across from the pizzeria, just come on up.” Danica realized he wasn't that far from her place and said she'd be there in fifteen minutes.

When she parked, she walked up to the outer door and, after a moment of hesitation, she walked in and followed the signs to the second floor.

She knocked lightly on Maverick’s office door and then opened it.

She wasn't sure what she expected, but the dark green interior walls, exposed brick exterior wall and warm wood floors weren't it.

The outside of the building was a little shabby, but there was no sign of that inside.

All the furniture was a mix of black metal, the same wood as the floors, and warm brownish-yellow leather, which was the perfect mix of modern and cozy.

There was a desk in the corner with a pile of papers on it and a computer, and in the center of the room was a leather couch, matching chairs and a coffee table.

There was a short hall to the left, and just as she was about to call out “hello,” a tall, slender man with curly, sandy brown hair came walking out holding a large coffee mug.

He was followed closely by a tri-colored basset hound whose tail immediately went into overdrive when he spotted her, but he didn't run or jump at her, which she appreciated.

“Wow, you weren't kidding when you said fifteen minutes.” He smiled at her, and she saw he had adorable dimples. “You are Danica, right?”

“Yeah,” She smiled back at him and held out her hand. “Maverick?”

“Call me Mave, most people do.” He shook her hand and glanced down at his dog, who was now whining a little.

“You good with dogs?” She nodded, and he grinned.

“Good, cause he's desperate to say hello. Go on, Watson.” The dog immediately came over and began sniffing her, so she bent down and patted his head a little awkwardly.

She wasn't used to pets. Jasper had mentioned getting a cat a few times, but nothing had ever come from it.

“Can I get you a coffee or a bottle of water or anything?”

“A coffee would actually be amazing. Black is fine.” She straightened up.

His coffee smelled incredible, and she hadn't had breakfast yet.

He nodded and gestured for her to have a seat as he set his mug down and turned to go back down the hall.

As he walked away, she noticed that he walked with a slight limp.

She sat down on the couch, and the dog climbed up next to her, flopping down and rolling onto his back.

She had to laugh as he pawed at her, clearly demanding belly scratches.

Glancing down the hall, she obliged and giggled again when his back leg started to flick rapidly.

“Looks like you found his spot.” Maverick returned, holding a mug of coffee for her. “He won't leave you alone now.”

Danica grinned and found she didn’t mind that. “He's very cute.” She took the mug, gratefully wrapping her cold hands around its warmth and murmuring thanks.

“And he knows it.” Maverick sat across from her, stretching out his leg in front of him.

“If he bothers you, let me know and I'll call him off.” She could see him studying her face from the corner of her eye and wondered what he saw because he was giving her the sympathetic look she had been receiving since she was told about Jasper.

“He's a trained and licensed emotional support dog, and he seems to have picked up that you need him.”

Danica nodded, not sure what to say, her eyes drifting around the room. She could see a lot of pictures of the same three women, a blonde and two women with black hair who were clearly twins, and bore a faint resemblance to Maverick, everywhere and nodded toward them. “You're sisters?”

Maverick chuckled. “Just the twins, the blonde is my girlfriend, I guess.”

“You guess?” Danica glanced back at him. “You're not sure?”

“We haven't really had the talk yet.” He shrugged. “It's a long story. So, what can I do for you?”

“You didn't talk to David?” Danica felt a wave of apprehension come over her. She hoped she wouldn't have to go over everything again.

“No, I prefer to hear my client's stories directly from them.” He studied her for a minute, and his expression softened.

“You can just give me the crib notes for now.” Danica sighed and, for the second time in three hours, she went over her situation.

When she was finished, Maverick was frowning as he jotted a few notes into his tablet with a stylus.

“So, to sum it up. You want me to investigate this Lucy Gamache, see what I can find out about her and her relationship with your late husband, and see if I can get evidence that your husband didn't want this child?”

“That's right.” She paused, chewing her lip. “We only have three weeks before we have to be back in court.” She was worried that wouldn't be enough time, but Maverick waved his hand.

“Yeah, that's not a problem.” He got up and walked over to his computer, waking it up.

A few minutes later, he was back with a bunch of papers he had printed on a clipboard.

“The first three pages are my standard contract with my fees, and the last four are questions about things I need to know.

If you don't have the answers, it's fine. Just answer what you can.”

He picked up her empty mug and asked if she wanted more.

When Danica shook her head, he picked up his and headed down the hall.

A few seconds later, she heard the sound of running water and figured he had a small kitchenette back there.

Realizing he was giving her space so she could read everything over without him staring at her, she quickly skimmed through the contract and, after some thought, signed it, realizing this was the best chance she had to find out what had happened between Jasper and Lucy.

Maverick came back into the room when she was about halfway through the form, which just had basic questions to see how much actual digging he would have to do, like if they had social media, if she had passwords and if so, what were they?

She couldn't answer a lot of the questions about Lucy and glanced up at Maverick, who was on his phone and looked like he was texting someone.

“I can probably get more information about Lucy this evening.

Jasper's family are coming by the house for an informal memorial.” Maverick glanced up, his expression perking up.

“Would you mind if I came? I'd like to get my own impressions.”

Danica shrugged. “Sure, but we should probably tell them you're a co-worker from the hotel.”

“Perfect.” He grinned, and she actually found herself melting a little with those dimples of his. “Just tell me what I do.”