Tattered Legacy (A Nora Abbott Mystery) by Shannon Baker Page A

pushed. Maybe he knew how much Lisa’s death pained her and wanted to give her support. She wanted nothing more than to hurry back to him and feel his arms around her. But first, she needed to get a copy of Lisa’s film. According to Lisa, she’d completed everything except one video session and the final edits.
    Darrell stood in front of her, all warm sympathy again. “You’re frowning. Are you worried about the presentation to the committee? Don’t be. Even without Lisa’s film, I’ll make a great case for expanding Canyonlands’ borders.”
    No simple presentation would pack the wallop that viewing the iconic landscapes would. Lisa had created time-lapse footage with stars and sun trading places and views of pristine sunrises juxtaposed with damage from tar sands mining.
    If there was no film, Nora might as well start sending out her r é sum é again. Just the thought of leaving the Trust hurt. Nora’s position at Living Earth Trust was so much more than a paycheck, even a much-needed one. For twenty-five years, the Trust had done good work for the environment. But recently, it had been tainted with scandal and murder and corrupt leadership. In the last few months as ex ecutive director, Nora had worked endless hours repairing its rep-
utation. She’d flown from coast to coast meeting with past and potential donors. She’d staked her personal integrity, taking responsibility for the programs and policies coming out of the Trust. Another disruption could finish the Trust, and all the good work would stop. Nora would lose the anchor of a job that gave her life meaning.
    Darrell’s voice brought her out of her funk. “It’ll be okay. I can be very convincing. You can come with me, and together we’ll make the committee understand the importance of preserving this area.”
    Maybe Darrell was right. Probably he wasn’t. “I’ll get a backup of the film and figure out how to edit it,” Nora told him.
    Darrell looked skeptical.
    The door opened again. The sunshine outlined a slightly stooped, thin man with a halo of unruly hair.
    Nora grinned. “Excuse me,” she mumbled to Darrell, leaping around him and running the two steps to fling herself at the grizzled old man. “Charlie!”
    His arms circled her in a bear hug. “You are a vision of loveliness.”
    She loved the way he always spoke, as if acting in a melodrama. “I didn’t know you were here, too!”
    He patted her arm. “It’s tough when your friends leave this world. Your mother and I thought you’d need us with you.”
    Nora squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”
    He scrutinized her. “How’re you holdin’ up?”
    Why did he have to ask? Her throat closed up, and she fought tears.
    “Nora. Dear.” Abigail spoke from behind Nora.
    Nora didn’t anticipate her reaction when she turned to see her mother. She stepped into Abigail’s comforting embrace, probably surprising them both.
    Abigail patted her back. “There, there.” Her soft words lasted only seconds. She took Nora by the shoulders and held her at arm’s length. Abigail reached up with a tissue that had magically appeared in her hands and dabbed at the tears streaming down Nora’s face. “Since you don’t wear makeup, at least you don’t have black streaks.” Yep, typical Abigail. Thank goodness some things didn’t change.
    Abigail lowered her voice. “You have to be strong for Rachel. She’s going to need you now.” Then she turned to Charlie. She placed her white hands on either side of his Velcro face and planted a solid kiss on his lips. “Thank you for parking the car, dear.”
    Charlie glowed in his worship of Abigail.
    Darrell approached them. He held out his hand to Abigail. “Hi. I’m Darrell Burke.”
    Abigail slipped her hand into his and smiled. “Abigail Podanski. This is my husband, Charles.”
    Charles? Nora raised her eyebrows at Charlie. He had been one of her closest friends for years. But once he’d laid eyes on Abigail, he’d been