The Advocate (The Advocate Series) by Teresa Burrell

second, but she knew what she had to do. “I’m going to return the letter to her next time I see her. If she wants to tell me what’s in it, she will.”
    “I’d read the letter,” Bob repeated.
    “Well, it’s not as though she’s at immediate risk and the answer to her safety lay in the letter. In fact, I’m not sure she’s at risk at all, so unless something comes up between now and the hearing on Monday, Alexis may be going home with her father.”
    They returned to Sabre’s office. Bob went in with her. “Where’s your file on the Murdock/Smith case? I need to copy your report. I can’t find mine.”
    “You know, they have these little things called a ‘hole punch’ you can use to punch holes in your papers and then actually attach them inside your folder with an Acco fastener. And then your reports are inside the file when you need them. They work amazingly well. You might want to try it some time,” she teased Bob, as she handed him her well-organized, color-coded file.
    Bob went into the workroom to copy the report. When he returned, he slipped the papers into the empty folder Sabre had given him, thanked Sabre, and left.
    Sabre returned her phone calls and checked on Carla. Phyliss informed her Carla had improved, but was still pretty shaken up by the “Ron sighting.” Sabre left a message for Carla’s doctor to call when he arrived. She put a note in her own calendar to visit Carla on Saturday. She tried to catch up on the work piling up on her desk, but concentrating proved difficult at best. She couldn’t shake the vision of Dr. Steele’s face from her mind.
    Suddenly the phones became exceptionally active for a Friday afternoon. Sabre accomplished little else after two cases she had expected to settle fell apart, but it also kept her mind off Dr. Steele. After a few hours of finesse and negotiations, the crises appeared to be over. Sabre picked up the Murdock file, took out the letter, and, without reading it, went to see Alexis.
    When Sabre arrived at Jordan Receiving Home, Alexis and Jamie were waiting to see her. She met the children in the interview room. As usual, Alexis shared all of the Jordan gossip. She described the arrival of each new child and the departures and destinations of those leaving. She knew why every child was there and which little ones knew their ABCs. Her knowledge included who got along with whom and who didn’t. She told about Billy’s bloody nose and Ashley’s pierced tongue and green hair, and how Adam, one of the attendants, lost his temper and squeezed a kid’s arm and left a bruise. “He’s not coming back, though. I think he got fired,” Alexis said.
    Sabre enjoyed listening to Alexis’ stories. Not anxious to broach the subject of the letter, she let her go on talking. When she couldn’t avoid it any longer, she removed the letter from her bag. “Alexis,” she said, “the letter you sent to Mattie came back to me.”
    Alexis looked at the letter and glanced down at her feet. With her head still down, she sighed, “Oh.”
    “The address was incorrect.” Sabre handed her the envelope. “I know the letter is open, but I didn’t read it. No one has. When mail comes into my office, my secretary opens it and then gives it to me to sort through and read. When I saw it, I put it in your file. I didn’t read it because it was a private letter from you to your friend and I didn’t have your permission. I apologize for it being opened, but I honestly have not read it.”
    “Okay,” Alexis said. Sabre didn’t know whether Alexis believed her or not, but she was glad she hadn’t read her personal letter.
    “Alexis, why did you mail it to your old address in Atlanta?”
    “Because she lived there.”
    “Who lived there?”
    “I did.”
    “But you said ‘she.’ Who is ‘she’?”
    “I did. I lived there. That’s all.”
    “Listen, honey . . .”
    “Don’t call me that,” Alexis snapped. “I told you not to call me that. I’m not