Mercy Street by Mariah Stewart Page A

be meeting with the man himself? So much for her plans to try to make an in with him. Bye-bye, authorized biography.
    “Right in here.” Father Burch ushered Mallory into a spacious corner room that had tall, wide windows on two sides. Behind an antique wooden desk sat a very attractive woman with dark brown hair and deep blue eyes who smiled when Mallory and the priest entered.
    “Mallory Russo, meet Susanna Jones.” Father Kevin stood to one side while he made the introductions.
    Susanna Jones rose from her seat and walked around the desk to offer her hand to Mallory. She was slim and dressed in a stylishly casual boat-neck dress of a teal knit fabric that came just to her knees. She wore fashionably flat shoes and chunky silver jewelry, and next to her, Mallory felt underdressed in her plain black suit and white cotton shirt.
    “Mallory, thanks for coming in this morning.”
    Mallory wasn’t sure how to respond. Somehow,
I really wasn’t given a choice
didn’t seem appropriate.
    “I was under the impression that Mr. Magellan wanted to meet me,” she said, opting for a more innocuous reply.
    “Please, take a seat, either chair is fine.” Susanna brushed off her remark. “Kevin? You’re staying?”
    He shook his head. “I’ve got to be at the school by ten thirty. There’s an awards assembly that I shouldn’t miss. If I leave now, I’ll just make it.” He turned to Mallory. “Suse will answer any questions you might have, but don’t ever hesitate to call me if you need me for anything. You have the list I gave you yesterday of the names and numbers of people from the neighborhood you might want to talk to. I’ll let everyone know they can expect to hear from you. Anything else, just give me a shout.” He patted Mallory on the shoulder and said, “Good luck.”
    And with that, the priest vanished into the hall and closed the door.
    “I was under the impression I’d be interviewing with Mr. Magellan.” Mallory turned to Susanna and tried again.
    “He might stop by, might not.” Susanna’s eyes appeared to assess Mallory from head to toe. “Actually, I do the hiring.”
    “I like to see who I’m working for.”
    “Well, once again, that would be me.” Susanna smiled not unkindly, but clearly marking her territory. “You’ll give a weekly report to Kevin, with a copy to me when you hand in your expenses. If Robert’s interested, he’ll take a look at it. If not…” She shrugged and slid a file across the desk. “Before we go any further, however, I’d like you to take a minute to read this.”
    Mallory leaned forward, opened the file, and scanned the one-page document.
    “Are you serious?” she asked when she’d reached the bottom of the page.
    “Absolutely,” Susanna assured her.
    “I’m not to discuss my employment with anyone? Not to talk to the press…well, that’s a no-brainer. I don’t do press.” She glanced across the desk where Susanna sat, no doubt studying Mallory’s reaction. “Why all the secrecy?”
    “You’re well aware of what happened to Robert’s family last year. Even if you hadn’t been a member of the police department at the time, you’d have heard about it. I’m sure Kevin told you about the efforts Robert made to find his wife and son.”
    “He told me that a number of private investigators had been hired.”
    “Hired and fired,” Susanna said, heavy emphasis on the latter. “Not one of them worth a damn, frankly. To them, this tragedy was just one big endless gravy train.”
    “Father Burch told me that Mr. Magellan had been taken advantage of.”
    “That’s putting it mildly.” Susanna’s smile held no warmth as she added, “It won’t happen again. I assure you, I intend to be much more vigilant this time around.”
    “Ms. Jones…”
    “Susanna.”
    “Susanna, I can appreciate your concern, but I would remind you that this was not my idea. I did not seek out this job. Father Burch came to me. I have no intention of taking