COLLATERAL CASUALTIES (The Kate Huntington mystery series) (8 page)

            “Do you really want to go through with the party Saturday?” Skip asked.

            After a beat, Janice replied, “No, actually. Best case scenario, it would be a farce.”

            “Worst case, you’d deck him in front of dozens of witnesses.”

            Janice gave him a wicked smile. “Oh, what a lovely fantasy.”

            “Hey, after the dust settles, Kate and I’ll have you over for dinner, and we’ll celebrate your birthday in style. I’ll make my six-alarm chili and we’ll drink margaritas ’til dawn. You can stay in the guest room upstairs so no worries about driving home.”

            “Sounds delightful.” Janice took a large gulp of champagne. “You know what’s really pissing me off is the betrayal. If he’d told me up front he’d had a vasectomy, we could have discussed it. At that point, I was madly in love with him. I would have still married him, but I wouldn’t have gone through years of longing and wondering, hoping against hope that this would be the month when I got pregnant.”

            Skip shook his head. “That was pretty damn cruel of him.”

            “Cruel. Yes, that’s the word for it. I always knew he was self-centered, but back when I still adored him that didn’t seem to matter, because he was the center of my universe too. But watching me suffer all those childless years. That wasn’t just self-centered.”

            “Are you sure you want to go home tonight? Do you want to come stay with us for a few days?”

            “That’s really sweet of you to offer, but no, thank you. I don’t want to tip my hand just yet. I’m meeting with a divorce lawyer tomorrow. Then I’ll decide when to tell Richard I’m dumping his sorry ass. In the meantime, I might call my girlfriend out in Arizona and see about flying out there for the weekend.”

            “That’s an excellent idea.” Skip lifted his glass and touched hers lightly.

            “To friendship.” She drained her glass, then pointed it toward the ice bucket.

            Skip hesitated, not at all sure that more champagne before she’d eaten anything was a good idea.

            “Come on, Handsome Man. Pour me some more bubbly.”

            “I think I like Paul Drake better as a pet name.”

            “Nope, I like Handsome Man better.”

            “Um, you might not want to call me that in front of Kate.”

            Janice’s expression sobered. “I’d have never pegged her for the jealous type.”

            “She’s not really,” Skip said. “But, uh... Okay, there’s no way to say this without sounding incredibly obnoxious–”

            “But you’re drop dead gorgeous so she can’t help but worry some,” Janice said.

            Skip felt the heat creeping up his cheeks. He squirmed in his seat.

            “Oh my God, he’s blushing.” Janice clapped her hands. “Skip Canfield is blushing!”

            “Why don’t you say it a little louder? I’m not sure the kitchen staff heard you.”

            Janice chuckled. “I’m sorry.”

            “No you’re not. You’re enjoying every moment of my humiliation.”

            She laughed out loud and grabbed the bottle to pour herself another glass of champagne. “Thank you, Skip, for being you. You’ve reminded me that not all men are bastards.”

            Their food arrived and they applied themselves to it. After a few minutes, Janice said, “So tell me about the latest little dramas in the Canfield household. Let me live vicariously.”

            Skip grimaced.

            “Seriously, Skip. I love your kids. Don’t feel like you can’t talk about them because I told you about the whole childlessness thing.”

            “It’s not that,” Skip said, then wished he hadn’t. Today was not a good day to mention his concerns about his wife.

            But there was a reason why he was attracted to Janice as a friend. Despite all her bluster, she was a very astute lady. “Then what is it?” she asked.

            “Nothing,” he said.

            “Bullshit.”

            Skip poked at his half-eaten steak, then took a bite of baked potato.

            “Come on, Tex, ’fess up. What’s bothering you?”

            “You do love to invent nicknames. Now I’m Tex?”

            “Yeah, I think I like that one best. So what is it, Tex? What’s bothering you?”

            “You know, Janice, I’m not sure about this whole platonic friendship thing,” he said, half teasing, half serious. “I’m not sure I can handle two women trying to get inside my head.”

            “Sorry. You don’t have to tell me.”

            “I’m making more of it than it deserves.” He poked again at his steak, trying to decide how much to say. “I’m just worried about Kate. She’s upset about a client who’s in a bad situation. It’s got her depressed and preoccupied, but because of confidentiality she can’t tell me about it. It’s frustrating to see her unhappy and there’s nothing I can do.”

            “See, that wasn’t so painful,” Janice said with a small grin, then her expression sobered. “My dear Skip, your wife does not need you to
do
anything about it. She just needs to know you’re there for her.”

~~~~~~~

            Skip managed to get home a little early that evening. Kate’s Prius was parked in front of the house. She had apparently gotten home even earlier.

            Inside, the house was quiet, except for the faint sound of children’s voices. He walked through the laundry room and out the back door. Billy was kicking a ball around the yard. Maria sat at the picnic table with Edie, who was laboriously writing on a pad of paper.

            “Edie learn to write her letters in school,” Maria proudly announced when she saw Skip.

            “They’ve got homework in kindergarten?”

            “It’s
real
school, Daddy,” his daughter said, with a touch of disdain for the preschool she had so recently attended.

            Skip hid a grin. “Where’s Kate?” he asked Maria.

            “She take a nap. I bring kids out here so dey not disturb her.”

            “What time did she get home?”

            “One-tirty.”

            Skip’s stomach clenched with worry. Kate didn’t cancel her clients’ appointments without good reason. Was she sick?

            “Look, I’m going to fix something for the kids,” he said. “Then could you do their baths and bedtime routine?”

~~~~~~~

            Kate woke to the fragrance of chicken frying. Her stomach rumbled. She looked at the clock beside the bed. Seven-ten. She’d almost slept past the children’s bedtime.

            She went into the bathroom and splashed water on her face, then straightened her rumpled clothing.

            Out in the living room, the kids were playing on the floor, already in their pajamas. Skip came out of the kitchen, spatula in hand. “Kiss ’em goodnight, darlin’. Maria’s doing story time.”

            After goodnight kisses all around, Skip led Kate into the kitchen. On the table were a platter of chicken, a green salad and a covered dish of wild rice. “You feel up to eating something?” he asked.

            “Yeah, I’m okay. I just needed to catch up on some sleep.” She knew this was as good an opening as she was likely to get... But he’d fixed this nice dinner. It wouldn’t be right to let it get cold.

            They ate in silence for several minutes.

            “Darlin’–”

            “Sweetheart–”

            “What?” Skip asked.

            “No, you go first. What were you going to say?”

            He told her what Janice had found out and that she’d decided to divorce Richard.

            “I figured it was only a matter of time.” Kate shook her head. “Why do people even get married if they care so little about the other person’s feelings or goals?”

            “I offered to let her stay here for a few days, but she said she was going to a friend’s in Arizona for a long weekend.”

            “I take it that means the party is off.”

            “Oh yeah.”

            As they finished their food, Kate worked on screwing up her courage again. She put her fork down and took a deep breath.

            But before she could say anything, Skip took her hand. Tilting it to kiss the tender skin on the inside of her wrist, he whispered, “I love you.”

            She sucked in her breath. And lost her nerve.

~~~~~~~

            Thursday afternoon, Kate’s last client canceled on her. She headed home, vowing she would tell Skip what was going on before dinner.

            She arrived just as Maria and the children were returning from Edie’s riding lesson. Maria whispered to her that the little girl had been upset because the teacher had let another child ride Fiddlesticks, the pony Edie normally rode. “Teacher give her yellow horse to ride instead. She seem okay by end of de lesson.”

            Kate went into the living room. Edie had settled on the floor and was drawing yet another picture of a horse.

            “Mommy, when I get my own horse, I want a pal’mino.”

            Kate hid a smile. “
If
you get your own horse, its personality will be more important than the color of its coat.” When she saw the stubborn look on her daughter’s face, she added, “But we can look for a palomino,
if and when
the time comes.”

            Edie vigorously nodded her head, making the dark curls that matched her mother’s bounce up and down. She apparently considered herself victorious in that exchange.

            Her mother stifled a sigh. They were trying to put off the purchase of a horse until Edie was a few years older, but the little girl was a very persistent lobbyist.

            Kate was too nervous to sit still. She started tidying the living room. She picked up the State and Local section of the morning paper from the end table and headed for the recycle bin in the kitchen.

            She was halfway there before the headline registered,
Arson Suspected in Sykesville House Fire
. With a sick sense of foreboding, Kate skimmed the article under the picture of a raging fire.
Arson is suspected in the early morning fire that claimed this Sykesville home while the family was away.
The family wasn’t named and the specific address wasn’t given, but her eyes froze on the last paragraph.
The owner of the house has had more than her share of tragedy lately. She recently lost her husband in an accident in Patapsco State Park.

            The burning house in the picture was the Dawsons’ home.

CHAPTER SIX

            Kate raced to the phone in the kitchen and punched in Mac’s cell number. “I need to talk to you,” she said when he picked up.

            “Be there in a minute.”

           
A minute?
Kate went to the back door and pulled the curtain aside to look out. She didn’t see him but she knew Mac was out there, slipping through the shadows under the trees.

            Anger battled with gratitude. She and Mac had grown up together. Their parents had been best friends. Mac was an only child, a year older than Kate, and he’d always treated her like a little sister.

            Leaving the back door unlocked, she made a pass through the living room to check on the kids, then sat down at the kitchen table to wait for him.

            When Mac walked in, he looked even scruffier than usual. She suspected he’d spent the night in the back alley watching the house. “What happened to acting normal?”

            He gave her an offended look. “Ain’t nobody gonna see me when I don’t wanna be seen.”

            Kate decided to let it go. She handed him the newspaper. “That’s my client’s house. I need to call his wife but I’m not sure how to do that safely.”

            Mac pulled a cell phone from the pocket of the jeans hanging from his skinny hips. “Pre-paid throwaway. Lemme do another sweep of the house first.” He produced what looked like a small radio with an oversized antenna from another pocket.

            When Mac had finished, Kate placed the call. A mechanical voice invited her to leave a message. “I’m calling for your house guest. Tell her to stay gone for now–”

            “Kate, is that you?” a voice in her ear interrupted.

            Kate filled Jill in on the house fire and her visit from the mystery ambassador.

            “Dear God! I’m so sorry I involved you in this.”

            “I think this guy had already figured out my connection to Miller, before you and I spoke,” Kate said. “But the house fire doesn’t fit with what he said, so either he’s lying through his teeth or he’s still got a loose cannon on his staff.”

            She gave Jill the number of the disposable cell phone. “Use that instead of the number I gave you, and I think you need to stay out there for awhile longer.”

            “I’ve already enrolled the kids in school here. I think we’ll be staying for good,” Jill replied. “But I’m just worried about you. It sounds like the killer is tying up loose ends.”

            “The ambassador said that no one knew he was coming to my office, so whoever it is probably doesn’t know I exist,” Kate said, giving the ambassador’s reassurance more credence than she believed it deserved. She figured Jill had enough on her plate without worrying about her. “And I have help now. A friend of mine has experience with these things. I’ll be okay. I’ll call you if anything else happens.”

            “Thank you. Be careful, Kate!”

            “I will. You, too.”

            After Kate disconnected, Mac said, “I think we need some insurance. Let’s go talk to Rob.”

            “I don’t want to involve him any more than I already have.”

            “Don’t worry, sweet pea. I’ll get us there without anybody following.”

~~~~~~~

            Mac had called Rose to ask her to join them. When they were all gathered around Rob’s desk, Kate summarized the latest developments.