“Would you mind finding a trash can for this? I’ve been holding it for twenty minutes.” Steve handed Kate the empty coffee cup he’d drained and prepared to leave the emergency room. Fingers touched and the cup slid from his grip. “How long have we been here?”
“Three hours. It took that long to transfer her upstairs. It was good to see Heather and Jack together. They make a lovely couple.” She giggled. “Thanks to your sneaky manipulation.”
“I prefer to call it strategic guidance, and don’t pop the cork on a bottle of champagne yet. She’s a tough nut to crack and the wheels can fly off at any time.”
They kept walking across the hospital’s parking lot. “You and Heather were gone for almost an hour getting coffee. What took you so long?”
“We went over the details of the case and concluded we’re one answer short of being able to call Detective Hall and turn our results over to him.”
“By results, do you mean the person responsible for Cleo Stanley’s death?”
“Uh-huh, but there’s also the matter of the hot pepper juice in the eye drops.”
They made it to the rental and Kate delivered him to the passenger side door. Once inside, with the air conditioner blowing, Steve asked, “What time is it?”
“Almost six in the evening.”
“No wonder I’m hungry. How would you like a slab of barbecue ribs?”
“It wouldn’t be a trip to Texas without barbecue.”
“There’s an out-of-the-way place going to Lake Conroe with ribs so tender I can’t promise there’ll be any leftovers to take home.”
Kate spoke after they both settled into the rental. “With your love of leftovers, we’ll have to get a couple of pounds to go.”
“I like the way you think.”
“What’s the name of this place? I’ll put it on the computer and that cute Australian voice will tell us how to get there.”
“Bill’s Texas Smoke Shack.”
Kate worked her magic on the onboard navigation system, and before long they were on their way to barbecue nirvana.
Steve put his head back against the leather headrest. He and Heather had their plan now on wrapping up the case. The only thing missing would be Heather if she needed to stay with Jack and Cora. He ran a scenario through his mind of how he’d conduct the meeting with all the suspects, but without her. The possibility didn’t appeal to him. She picked up on so much that he couldn’t, and the end of an investigation wasn’t the time to miss something that could turn the case upside down.
“You’ve gone silent,” said Kate. “Something on your mind?”
“I was thinking about how to close the case without Heather. I’ve grown accustomed to relying on her to catch last-minute surprises.”
A few seconds of silence followed. “I’m a poor substitute for Heather, but I could stay on if you need me to.”
Steve cleared his throat to buy an extra second or two before he answered. “She’s never missed us closing a case together. I’m betting on her doing whatever is necessary to be there.”
“Don’t you think Jack and Cora need her more?”
“Heather’s one of those rare people who can immerse herself in multiple things at the same time and do them all well. She’ll be there.”
“And if she’s not?”
“Then I lose the bet.”
“Who did you bet with?”
“Myself, and I always pay if I lose. The money goes from one pocket to the other.”
Kate laughed, which gave Steve time to come up with a serious follow-up line. “If only Chris would have learned that trick.”
Kate’s voice changed to match the lament in his. “How often do you think or say, ‘If only?’”
“Not as often as I used to, but it’s like a favorite song from college that gets stuck in my head.”
Steve straightened his posture and put a more hopeful tone to his voice. “We must be close. I can smell the smoke from the barbecue pit.”
Kate’s hand rested on his arm. “We’re at least ten miles from the restaurant. You can relax. I’ll not ask again if you want me to stay.” She turned on the radio and searched stations until she found one playing classic country. “We need music to fit the mood of Bill’s Texas Smoke Shack.”
The opening riff of a long-ago song caused Steve to moan. “Now you’ve done it. That song will stick in my head for the next week.”
Disoriented to time, Steve awoke with Max’s front paws putting divots in his chest and a serenade of insistent meows. He slapped at a clock on the nightstand and a mechanical voice replied, “Monday, August twenty, 9:30 a.m.”
Max continued to express his displeasure while Steve said, “Sorry, buddy. It was another one of those nights where I couldn’t slow my mind down. Too many things going on.” He held out his hand and Max stopped the kneading of his paws, nudged the hand with his nose, and received a good scratch.
“Okay, buddy. Time to get up.” Steve slipped out of bed and prepared to meet the day with Max making laps around his ankles.
“I hope Kate didn’t wait until I got up for breakfast. Did she feed you?”
Max’s only response was a yawn.
“Yeah, she must have fed you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have let me sleep so long.”
Steve checked his phone for texts and voice messages. Two awaited him. The phone sounded like a robot. “First voice message, 2:03 a.m. ‘It’s Heather. I’m staying the night with Cora. She’s asleep. I thought I’d never talk Jack into going home for a few hours. He’ll spell me tomorrow so I can come home long enough to shower. Sorry to abandon you with the case so close to ending. It’s a good thing Kate’s there to help you.’”
The mechanical voice spoke again, “Second voice message, 8:14 a.m. ‘Good morning, sleepyhead. I loved your idea about leaving a note telling Heather I’m gone. In fact, it appealed to me so much I thought it best to do it twice. Consider this your thank you and goodbye note. This past week ranks in the top five of my life. I’m calling from the airport. If you sleep past nine, I’ll be somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico. If you ever come to Miami again, bring ribs from Bill’s.’”
Max let out a long, mournful sound that Steve wasn’t sure he’d heard before. “I know, Max, but it’s more complicated than you realize.”
Steve took three steps down the hall and came to a stop. “Listen, Max. Do you hear water running next door? That means Heather’s home. Go check on her.”
Max trotted off and soon the pet door resealed behind him.
Steve knew it didn’t take long for Heather to shower, throw on clean clothes, and be out the door, as long as she didn’t wash her hair. Today, the faint sound of a hair dryer caught his attention.
The night before, he’d gorged himself on ribs with all the trimmings, so he scaled back on breakfast. A bagel smeared with cream cheese, and coffee would suffice. He pulled out the toaster, plugged it in, prepared his light breakfast, and had Heather’s bagel out and ready to toast.
When he heard her talking to Max, he shouted at the pet door. “Coffee and bagel are at Smiley’s diner.”
“On my way. Can I get them to go?”
“Sure.”
In no time, Heather entered the condo with an accusatory question leading the way. “What did you say to Kate to make her leave?”
“Did she leave you a message on your phone, too?”
“Mine’s written on a page torn from her notebook, and you didn’t answer my question.”
“She has her life, I have mine, and you have yours. It’s as simple as that.”
Heather let out a huff. “I know you too well. Things are never simple.”
Steve hated bending the truth, but it was for Heather’s good. “All I know is, we went to Bill’s last night, stuffed ourselves with ribs, and listened to a cover band play old music.”
As if the first huff of disgust wasn’t loud enough, Heather made the second one louder. “You know how ribs and old music bring back too many memories for you. You purposefully torpedoed a perfectly good relationship.”
Steve shrugged. “Do you want your bagel toasted?”
“And now you’re lost in the past. You won’t be able to think about the case for days.”
“So what?” he said with a snap of his voice. “We have to wait until you hear something from your source before we can call everyone together. What difference does it make what I think about?”
Heather stomped her foot. “You can be so aggravating. I don’t have time to discuss this any longer. If you want to die a lonely old man, be my guest.”
The next sound Steve heard was the front door slamming shut.
The cat door opened and resealed. “Hey, Max. I guess you heard everything?”
No answer.
“Keep your claws crossed that she doesn’t find out.” Steve pulled his phone out of the pocket of his shorts. “I’d better call Heather’s father and let him know our plan is still on track.”