Authors: Kassandra Lamb
“Why don’t you think she killed herself?”
“Because she was getting better. Yeah, she had a down spell recently, but it wasn’t as bad as some of her previous depressions. And that last week or so, she was excited about something, but she wouldn’t tell me what.”
“A new art project maybe?” Kate asked to keep the conversation going.
“No. She would have told me about that. She became quite secretive about it all, but she said she might soon be free of the past.”
“That’s all she said?”
Marilyn nodded.
Damn! Why did you have to be so cagey, Josie?
“Back to her friends, there wasn’t anyone else she might have confided in? Was she dating anyone?”
Marilyn narrowed her eyes at her. “I thought you said you were her friend.”
“I am. I was–”
“Wait!
Kate
. You’re her therapist, aren’t you?”
Kate smiled. “I can neither confirm nor deny that information.” It was the line her graduate school ethics professor had suggested for such situations. It covered one’s butt legally without actually lying.
Marilyn smiled back. “So you knew her well, but not all aspects of her life.”
“Exactly. What about dating?”
“Not anyone recently. The last guy she was involved with, that ended badly.”
Kate nodded. She knew about that romance.
Marilyn tilted her head to one side. “Uh, I’m assuming you know that she was bisexual.”
Kate wasn’t quick enough to mask her surprise.
“I guess not.”
“No, I knew that she was,” Kate said. “But I’m surprised that she called herself that.”
“She didn’t. That’s my word. She tended to fight the homosexual tendencies.” Marilyn stopped, swallowed hard. “She’d become interested in a woman lately. Oh, she didn’t say anything to that effect, but she talked about the gal all the time. Her dog’s veterinarian.”
Kate nodded again. “Do you know how far things had gone?”
“Not very would be my guess. I think she was still trying to find out if, one, the woman was gay, and two, was she interested. But she also said that Dr. Blake acted strange at times.”
That fit with Josie’s comment in her journal about the vet “closing down.”
Had Josie asked Dr. Blake if she was a lesbian, and the vet had been offended by the question? That would hardly lead to a rage sufficient to commit murder, and setting up a suicide was not an impulsive action. And if the vet was the killer, she was also an extremely good actress. Her reactions the other night had seemed genuine.
“Could the vet have a partner,” Kate asked, “male or female, who got wind of Josie’s interest and was jealous?”
Marilyn scrunched up her face. “That’s a stretch.”
Kate thought so too. But she made a mental note to talk to the vet again. She was searching her mind for more questions to ask the gallery owner, when Edie came through the doorway into the packing room.
“Mommy, there’s a picture out here I really like. Can we buy it?”
Kate suppressed a groan. She seriously doubted an original painting was within their budget. She looked at Edie’s pleading face. Maybe, if it wasn’t too outrageously expensive, she’d take the money out of the brokerage account.
Manny came through the door behind Edie. He had Billy by the hand. “Sorry. She got past me when I was trying to keep this guy entertained.”
Kate rose from her chair. “That’s okay. I should be apologizing to you, for saddling you with babysitting duty.”
Manny shrugged. “
No problema
.”
“Come on, Edie. Show me this picture.”
They trailed out to the front room, and Edie led Kate to a small painting in a corner, halfway up the wall. It was of two dogs, a black mutt of indiscriminate parentage and a copper-colored Labrador. Except for the color, the Lab looked just like Toby. The dogs were romping together in the grass, sunshine highlighting the red in the Lab’s coat. Despite the Impressionistic style–the use of tiny dots of color to build the images–the scene was very realistic. Kate had to resist the urge to reach out and pat the dogs’ heads.
A choking sound behind her had her turning around.
Tears streamed down Marilyn Hiliau’s face. “That’s one of Josie’s.” She stepped forward and lifted the framed painting off its hook.
Kate tried to get a look at the price tag. “How much is it?”
“For your little girl, it’s free.” Marilyn handed it to Edie, who took it reverently, her eyes wide, her mouth a small o.
“I can’t let you do that,” Kate said.
“Yes you can.” The woman’s voice was fierce. “Just find out what really happened to Josie.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Maria surprised them by returning home from her weekend off at dinnertime on Sunday.
Kate was heating up leftovers while Skip was upstairs overseeing the preparation of backpacks for school the next day, making sure all homework was accounted for.
“Aren’t you having dinner with Eduardo tonight?” Kate asked. She always felt a little weird saying the man’s name, since she had sometimes teasingly called her first husband Eduardo.
“No,” Maria said. “I tell him I need time to tink.”
“Think about what?”
Maria stood still in the middle of the kitchen, staring into space for a moment. Then she shook herself and said, “He propose to me today.”
Kate’s mouth fell open. “He asked you to marry him?”
That’s a little quick, Señor Eduardo.
She kept that thought to herself.
“
Sí.
” Maria clasped her hands together in front of her. “I not sure what to do.”
“Do you love him?” It wasn’t a question Kate had dared to ask before, but Maria seemed to be inviting input.
The little woman tilted her head to one side. “I tink I do.”
Kate’s stomach knotted. “You only
think
so?”
Maria nodded once, firmly. “
Sí.
I do. But it so complicated with de children and all.” She stared meaningfully across the room.
Kate turned. Her son was standing in the doorway. “Billy, go tell your sister to wash up for dinner, and you do the same.” It wouldn’t buy them much time, but…
“Okay, Mommy.” Billy bolted for the stairs.
Skip stepped into the doorway. “All set for tomorrow…” His voice trailed off as he stared at Maria.
Kate turned back to her. Maria had covered her face with her hands and was crying.
“Oh my God!” Kate grabbed her by the shoulders and guided her to the table, ignoring the ding of the microwave behind her.
Skip pulled out a chair for Maria. They all sat down.
“What is it?” Kate asked gently.
Maria swiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. Skip fished his handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.
“
Gracias
.” She blew her nose, then looked at them with sad eyes. “I no want to leave you.”
For a selfish moment, Kate was tempted to encourage her to turn down the marriage proposal. She couldn’t imagine their household without Maria.
She pushed her own feelings aside. “You will still be a part of our family, always.”
Maria teared up again. “I no can imagine not seeing Billy and Edie every day. Dey like my own children.”
Kate leaned over and hugged her. “We’ll work something out so you see them regularly. Don’t let that stop you from grabbing at this… chance for love.”
At having your own life
, she thought but didn’t say out loud.
Skip grinned. “We’ll be happy to dump the rug rats on you as often as you like.”
Maria smiled, even as a fresh tear broke loose and trickled down her cheek. “You tink I should do it then?”
“I think you should do whatever you want to do,” Kate said. “Whatever will make you happy.”
Skip nodded.
Maria’s head bobbed up and down. Then she rose from her chair. She held up Skip’s handkerchief. “I do laundry tomorrow. Kate, you set table. I heat up food.”
Skip chuckled. Kate shot him a mock glare. She was such a lousy cook that the two of them conspired to keep her away from food preparation as much as possible. But even she could heat up leftovers, for Pete’s sake.
As Edie said the blessing at the dinner table, Kate looked across the table at her housekeeper. A poignant sadness washed over her.
Cherish this,
a little voice inside her said.
It won’t be the same soon enough.
~~~~~~~~
Monday morning, Kate woke up with a minor epiphany. After a moment, she realized it was really the completion of the thought she’d had Saturday. It had been driven out of her mind by Edie’s accident.
Josie “used to” keep a journal and she “used to” have flashbacks of a man’s face. Kate needed to find those old journals.
She hustled through her morning routine so that she was ready for work by the time the kids were headed out the door for school. She left right behind them.
She opted to wait until she got to her office to make the call. It might be too distracting while driving.
That turned out to be a good decision because she never got past Pernette Wells. The PA refused to even tell Mrs. Hartin that Kate was on the phone.
“As I understand it, Mrs. Huntington,” the woman said in that snooty voice of hers, “you and the Hartins are engaged in a legal dispute and all communications should go through attorneys.”
Kate opened and closed her mouth, trying to think of what to say next.
What the hell does a woman who doesn’t work need with a personal assistant, anyway?
As if the woman had read her thoughts, she said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to attend to some details for a charity function Mrs. Hartin is hosting this coming weekend.”
“So soon after her daughter’s death?” Kate blurted out.
“It has been in the works for months. She could hardly cancel. Now good day, Mrs. Huntington.”
Kate disconnected and stared at the phone for a moment.
I’m sure people would understand her cancelling when she’s grieving her daughter.
Or would they? She’d just gotten a glimpse of the pressures a woman of Mrs. Hartin’s position experienced. All too much of her life was dictated by the conventions of her class.
She recalled her envy of Dr. Kraft’s luxurious home in Ruxton.
You all can have it!
She dialed Rob’s office. Fortunately, he was in. She gave him a quick summary of her earlier meeting with Josie’s mother and the arrival of the journal.
He was silent on the other end of the line.
“Now I need the other journals. There’s something in this one that hints at some earlier flashbacks, of a man’s face. I need to find out more. This man may be the key. He may even be the killer.”
“Kate, the Hartins are suing you for malpractice because they want your records. Do you realize how much leverage you will lose if you ask them for these journals?”
“Yes, except that Mrs. Hartin really wants answers. If the answers are in those journals, she’ll give them to me, but I can’t get past her assistant to even talk to her.”
A sigh from the other end of the line. “I’ll call their lawyer, but don’t hold your breath.”
They said their goodbyes and disconnected.
Kate checked her watch. Time to get her head oriented toward dealing with clients.
.
At lunchtime, she checked her messages. Nothing from Rob. Ignoring the couple of requests to reschedule appointments–she could call them back tonight–she read through the last entries in the journal again.
This man’s face, it was the only real lead she had right now, at least until she could catch up with Sister Michelina. She had to get her hands on those earlier journals.
Maybe they were still in Josie’s condo.
Kate jumped up and grabbed her purse. If she hurried she could get there and back before her first afternoon client arrived at one.
On the way, she remembered that she wanted to talk to the veterinarian again. She called and was informed by Dr. Blake’s receptionist that they only had one evening time slot left this week. “I’ll take it,” Kate said, making a mental note to write it in her appointment book when she got back to the office.
The condo manager was on the phone when she entered the management office. She crossed her arms and resisted the urge to tap her foot.
He fell quiet, as if waiting for something.
“Are you on hold?” Kate whispered. “I need to get into Josephine Hartin’s condo again. Could I get the key? I’m pressed for time.”
The man waved a hand at her. “Yeah, I’m here, Frank. No that wasn’t what I ordered. I need a truckload of topsoil, not fill dirt.”
Kate despaired of getting his attention before she had to get back to her office.
He opened a drawer and rummaged in it while he continued to argue with the supplier on the phone. Finally he pulled out a key and tossed it to her. “Bring it back,” he mouthed.
“Of course.” She hurried out the door and across the windswept complex, not bothering with her car for such a short ride.
Once inside Josie’s condo, she paused and looked around. Where to start? Her bedroom? No, older journals would probably be stored somewhere. In a box in a closet, or on a bookshelf maybe. She didn’t have time to search closets, but she could look over the bookshelves in the study.
A quick rummage through the books on the middle shelves turned up no journals. She crouched down and searched the lower shelves. Finally on the top shelf, she noticed a couple of books tilted on an angle across an empty space. She pulled them out. They were novels.
She stood on tiptoe and felt around the bare spot on the shelf. Her fingers came away dusty. Whoever had cleaned the rest of the apartment hadn’t bothered with the bookshelves.
So had they removed whatever had been in that spot, or had Josie?
Kate pulled over the desk chair and climbed up on it so she could see the shelf. There were lines in the dust that indicated several books had sat there at one time. Probably recently.
She stood on tiptoe to see better. The chair wobbled under her and she grabbed the shelves for support.
A soft thud came from behind the bookcase.