Saturday
12:15 PM
Katie looked up from the novel she was reading, yawned, and chugged another swig of her black coffee. She had the day off and intended to spend it doing nothing more strenuous than curling up on the lounger in her newly finished sunporch. She had been trying to find the time to read this novel for a month now. She popped another peanut M&M and glanced at the clock.
Well, the rest of the day anyway. She’d slept through the first half of it. She’d received a text from Olivia stating that all was quiet and peaceful at the Matthews household and Katie was instructed to enjoy her time off.
So, she focused back on the book and ignored the call of the rest of her unfinished house. Truthfully, she’d be working, but she couldn’t do anything in the kitchen until the cabinets arrived. Until then, she was content to wait and be lazy with a good book. And wait for Quinn to call and let her know how the investigation was going.
Unfortunately, the words on the page ran together and her brain refused to process them. She reread the last paragraph, and when she found herself reading it yet again, she finally slammed the book shut and looked at her watch. Was Quinn going to call or not?
“Not that he’s under any obligation to call,” she muttered. Backdraft, her orange tabby with reddish coloring, leaped onto her lap and settled against her stomach. She scratched the cat’s ears and thought about the events of the early morning.
She wasn’t officially assigned to anything dealing with the case, but she couldn’t get the burning building out of her mind, or the fact that Daniel could have killed Armstrong and hung him. Or wrapped the chain around his neck and held him there until he died. Or whatever . . . She really wanted to hear the official cause of death.
Regardless, no one in his right mind would do that and not expect to be a suspect. Or was it just a clever way to throw suspicion off himself hoping that the police would wave their hands and say no one was that stupid?
Unfortunately, the police knew people were that stupid, so if that had been Daniel’s plan, it would eventually backfire and he’d be arrested. But . . . she really didn’t believe he’d had anything to do with any of it. She sighed. Time would tell. The first thing Quinn would check would be Daniel’s financial status. Those records would show if he needed the insurance money from the fire.
Her phone buzzed and she looked at the screen. Her stomach dropped and she grimaced. But she couldn’t ignore the caller. “Hi, Daphne.”
“So you are still alive.”
“I am. And how are you?”
Her sister’s sigh filtered clearly through the line. “I’m fine, Katie. It’s the middle of October.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.”
“So . . . are you coming home for Thanksgiving next month?”
Katie closed her eyes. Was she? She pictured the event. Her family seated at the table with five places for her, her sister, her mother and father. And one distinctly missing person. The tension would crackle, the atmosphere would be subdued. And she would feel the blame emanating from her parents. She drew in a deep breath. “No. No, I’m not.”
As soon as she said the words, a deep satisfaction filled her. This was the moment she’d been dreading and now she felt almost . . . free.
Silence greeted her words. She could feel Daphne’s shock reaching across the airwaves. Katie held her tongue and refused to give in to the desire to cave and do what her sister wanted.
“I . . . see.” Daphne cleared her throat. “I . . . well. Um . . . are you sure?”
“Daphne, what will it accomplish if I’m there?”
“Well, I . . . don’t . . . I mean . . .” Another sigh. “Mom’s not going to take this lightly.”
“I didn’t make the decision lightly.” She glanced at the clock hanging over the television. “I need to go.” But she didn’t. Not really. But phone calls to her family always stressed her out and she didn’t want to be stressed today.
“You always need to go,” her sister said.
The sadness in her voice struck Katie and she swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat. She was only a two-hour drive from her family and she never saw them. And while she had her reasons, she knew Daphne missed her. “What are you doing this weekend?” Katie blurted.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, are you busy? What are your plans? Are you on the schedule?” Daphne was an ER nurse at the Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach.
“Nothing terribly exciting. I’m off Friday, probably will see a movie with some friends Friday night, work on Saturday, and Sunday dinner with Mom and Dad.”
“You want to come visit?”
More silence. “You’ve never asked me that before.”
Katie blinked. “I haven’t?”
“No. Every time we talk, you’re always busy with some job. So I don’t ask you to come home and I don’t ask to come visit. And . . . neither do you. Until today.”
“Oh.” She stood and walked over to the window to stare into her backyard and the wooded area beyond it. “I’m sorry.” Had she truly not? She closed her eyes. “I didn’t know I needed to. I suppose I just assumed you would know you had an open invitation.”
Daphne’s small laugh reached her. “No, I wasn’t sure.” The hesitancy in her sister’s voice nearly killed her. “I mean, aren’t you working?”
“Yes, I’m working a case, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see you.”
“Then I’d love to come see you this weekend. I want to hear more about your job.”
“Oh. Right. Well, it’s, um . . . pretty boring. At least most of the time.”
“All right, then we’ll talk about Thanksgiving.”
Katie closed her eyes and gave a silent groan. “Okay. Text me when you’re on the way.”
“I can come Friday morning. We could have most of the day Friday, but I would have to leave first thing Saturday morning. I have to work that afternoon.”
“That’s fine. I’ll take what I can get.” Katie paused. “It’s been too long. I’m looking forward to seeing you, Daph.”
“Same here. Bye.”
“Bye.” Katie pressed the button to end the call. She dropped the phone into her lap. She knew why she hadn’t extended an invitation before now. She’d been sure Daphne would say no. But she hadn’t. Wonder of wonders, she hadn’t.
Her phone vibrated. Riley. “Hello?”
“Hi, Katie, I hope you don’t mind me bothering you.”
“Of course not. You’re never a bother. What’s up?”
“I saw you sitting outside my house last night and wanted to say thanks for keeping an eye out for us. It made me feel better knowing you were there.”
Katie stilled. “Wait, what? What are you talking about?”
“Uncle Daniel told me to go to bed, but I couldn’t sleep, so I came down to the kitchen to get some water. When I looked out the window, I saw your car on the street.”
What? “Riley, I don’t mean to scare you, but that wasn’t me.”
Silence. Then, “Oh.”
“What else did you notice about the vehicle?”
“Nothing really. I just thought it looked like yours and I didn’t think any more about it.” She paused. “It could have just been the neighbor’s. I think they have one like it, but . . .” She laughed. A jerky, self-conscious sound only a teenage girl can make. “Never mind, I guess I was just seeing things. Maybe things I wanted to see.”
“Or maybe not, Riley. Don’t discount it. Did you see someone in the driver’s seat?”
“Just a shadow. Like a silhouette.”
“But there was definitely someone there,” Katie said.
Riley didn’t answer right away and Katie could almost see her blue eyes narrowing in thought. “Yes,” she finally said. “Because I thought it was you.”
“So it was a woman?”
Riley hesitated. “Um. Maybe. I don’t know. I mean, I just glanced out the window and saw a vehicle that I thought was yours and someone in the driver’s seat, so . . .”
She just assumed. Katie drew in a deep breath. “All right then. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”
“You wouldn’t? Come on, Katie. After all that happened last night—this morning—you can’t be serious.”
She wasn’t going to be able to blow it off. Not with Riley. “Well, I was hoping I could ease your mind, then go about investigating it a little.”
“I thought that might be what you were doing.”
The girl was sharp. Too sharp sometimes. “It’s not going to work, huh?”
“Nope.”
“Want me to come over and ask a few questions of your neighbors? See if anyone else saw anything?”
“Do you mind?”
“Of course not.” Katie picked up the bowl that had held her M&Ms and found it empty. “I need to make a chocolate run. Can I bring you something?”
“Of course. I never turn down chocolate.”
Katie smiled even though Riley couldn’t see it. “I’ll be sure to come by sometime today.” She glanced at the clock. It was already a little after twelve. She could be there in a couple of hours.
“Thanks, Katie, I appreciate it.” The girl’s voice had thickened with emotion.
“Is there something else going on?” Katie asked.
“Um . . .”
“I’m just scared I’m going to lose him too,” she whispered.
Katie knew the story of her parents being killed by a drunk driver. She remembered the grief flashing in Daniel’s eyes when he’d confronted Quinn while his building burned behind him. “Don’t go there, Riley. It doesn’t help anything. Stay positive and focused on the things you can change.”
“Like what?”
“Like if someone is after your uncle, he needs to take precautions, be careful, stay alert. You can remind him of that. And when you’re with him, you can be watchful and alert as well. Actually do that even if you’re not with him. But you get the idea. That’s being proactive. He’s got skills too, Riley. Good skills. He’s a fighter, he’s smart, and he can take care of himself. Remember that, because worrying about what might happen won’t help the situation and can distract you from what you need to do. Does that make sense?”
“Yes.” This time she sounded thoughtful. “Yes, that makes a lot of sense.”
“Where’s your uncle this morning?”
“At A Taste of Yesterday, the downtown restaurant. He, uh, told me about that man that was killed and hung there. He figured I should hear it from him instead of seeing it on the news.” The girl sounded distanced from the fact, like she’d already thought about it, processed it, and was thinking about something else.
“What are you thinking, sweetie?”
“A lot of things. We’ve talked a lot. Had some good conversations on just about every topic there is, and I know you believe in God.”
The statement caught her off guard. “Yes, I do.”
“I know. And you know I do too. Remember I told you that my parents were missionaries?”
“I remember.”
“Well, they taught me that God puts people in our lives for a reason. I really believe that.”
The seventeen-year-old’s insight brought a lump to Katie’s throat. She cleared it. “I agree.”
“Which is why I want to hire you to be my uncle’s bodyguard.”