Steve Shell

Trust being in short supply among the heirs and those who served them.

Two men.

one a towering, lanky man with a perpetual stoop.

The other, compact, solidly built, and elegantly dressed, stepped out of the car, and the driver turned to quickly open the door for his backseat passenger.

The woman who emerged was tall and shapely, with glossy black hair pinned back in soft waves, smooth alabaster skin and amber eyes.

She wore a fine gray wool suit with a narrow pleated skirt and a graceful swing coat and matching hat, and a deep red blouse printed with white lilies.

Her fine leather t-strap heels matched the blouse perfectly.

They made a sharp clicking sound as she ascended the marble steps to a pair of wide double doors already peeling off her gloves as she walked.

The doors swung open as her foot struck the top step, held wide for her by a pair of nervous-looking clerks who kept their eyes on their toes as they mumbled, Evening, Miss Barrow.

Holly Barrow removed her hat and handed it to the nearest of the two, while the tall man who had driven the car stepped forward to take her coat.

Coat and gloves were also deposited with the clerk.

She proceeded with quick, purposeful strides down a dark hallway to the right of the entrance, her two subordinates trailing in her wake.

Crane and Churchman had served Polly almost exclusively since the mid-twenties, an honor they had earned through hard work and a willingness to get their hands dirty when the situation called for it.

This was not the first time they had been called into the presence of the patriarch, and they did not hesitate.

Still, she could sense their discomfort.

Even among the hollow, there remained a healthy fear of those who bore the name of Barrow.

And that was good.

A tool which had no sense of self-preservation could not be relied upon to behave appropriately in certain situations.

Complications could arise.

Look at Benyel, Polly thought, as she descended the shallow marble stairs into the basement, a space that had become her father's office and throne room and sanctuary and temple.