She tossed me the jacket. “Try it on. I’ll pour you some wine and get some snacks; come out when you’re ready and we can catch up while Mariana gives the kiddo his bath. Are you hungry?”
“Not really. But wine sounds great.”
On my way past the hall bathroom, I glanced in. “Hola, Mariana.”
She looked up “Hola, Miss Teo.” She had her arms full of Sebastian, so I said, “Hola, Sebastian,” and wiggled my fingers at him. He gummed his fist and kicked his legs happily like a frog.
Kurt looked a little startled when I smiled at him as he came up the stairs. I didn’t usually.
“Hi,” I said. “Sabina’s offered me a glass of wine.”
“Sounds good,” he said cautiously. He leaned into the archway leading to their sitting room. “Pour me a glass, would you, Sabina? I’ll be right there.”
I settled myself into a comfortable chair, leaving the sofa for them because they were sort of tactile, with a tendency to gaze into each other’s eyes a little too much. Sabina came out of the dining room with a third glass, and a plate of Brie, grapes, and crackers. She poured wine into a second glass and poured herself a glass of sparkling water. I heard Kurt cooing at Sebastian in the next room, which, frankly, I would never have believed if I hadn’t heard it myself. I turned to Sabina and opened my mouth to say as much, but she preempted me. “Sebastian will be asleep when he comes home this evening; he wants to get his baby fix.”
“Everything is good?” I asked.
A smile lit up her face. “Better than good.”
“So. How is parenthood?” I asked when Kurt joined us. I thought that was a safe topic, since they were both good for twenty minutes on the subject of Sebastian’s latest acts of brilliance, which, since he wasn’t yet three months old, you’d think would be fairly limited.
When I’d known him better, Kurt had the emotional depth of a flounder and a chilly mien to go along with his pale good looks. I thought he’d behaved out of character by marrying Sabina while she was pregnant with another man’s child. I was still suspicious and always watched him carefully for signs of disenchantment, but to all outward appearances he’d entered his marriage and fatherhood with enthusiasm. Sabina had told me he was participating in parental duties wholeheartedly, although what that meant for either of them with a full-time nanny on hand, I wasn’t sure. Sabina was pregnant again at the recommendation of their family therapist (this is California, after all), who felt a baby who was wholly theirs would cement the family bonds. I was raised on the unfortunate dynamics of the stepfamilies in the Brothers Grimm tales, so it sounded a risky strategy to me, but so far seemed to be so good.
After the stories of Sebastian’s weight benchmarks reached and cleverness displayed, we all sat in silence for a couple of minutes, Kurt and I drinking our wine. They seemed very happy, and six months ago I would have bet money that Kurt wasn’t capable of the depth of warmth I saw in his cool, gray eyes every time he looked at Sabina. He looked like a man who couldn’t believe his good fortune. Sabina’s attitude was a little more … wry. But judging from the condition of their bed, she was happy enough, too.
I introduced Katrina into the conversation gingerly, and they both made regretful faces.
Sabina said, “We knew about the orphanage.”
“Katrina asked us for a donation, and I was happy to help,” Kurt said. “Seemed like a really worthwhile cause.” And yet they hadn’t gone to the memorial service.
“The Professor said Katrina being murdered wasn’t much of a surprise to him,” I said gingerly.
Sabina’s expression darkened. “He was worrying himself into a nervous breakdown. I’d have said anything to ease their minds a little, and I could have killed her myself for putting them through that. But Kurt came up with a better solution.”
Kurt had a golf tee in his left hand and he rolled it between his fingers like a magician preparing a sleight-of-hand trick. He tossed it upward, caught it, and took a deep breath. “When the condo plans fell through, and the buildings were still sitting there empty, Katrina and I put in an offer.”
My jaw may have dropped. “The condo plan fell through? When? Why? How long have you known, for god’s sake? No one told the neighborhood.” He shrugged. He had a great line in shrugs if you weren’t on the receiving end. “You don’t think life here would have gone a bit more smoothly if we’d known? Jesus, Kurt, the association meetings alone—and Katrina might still be alive.”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Suppose someone thought killing Katrina would stop the condo project?”
He snorted and put down his wine. “Are people really that dumb? She was only the lawyer, not the principal.”
“Some people thought of the project as life or death for the Gardens. That didn’t make them dumb,” I said stiffly. Although, yeah, it probably did.
“Katrina thought if everyone was still furious with Noble, we’d slip in under the radar without too much opposition.” As usual, Kurt had thought of himself first and to heck with how things affected other people. I bet he only gave a donation to the orphanage because he could deduct it off his taxes.
He went on. “I thought it would preserve the nature of the Gardens for the people who already lived here and owned property.” He darted a look at Sabina, who smiled and patted his hand. Okay, maybe he didn’t always think of himself first. Just mostly. He cleared his throat. “So we made an offer on the buildings, but—Theo, this is complicated; do you really want to hear about it?”
“Are you kidding? Of course I want to hear about it. Why was it complicated?”
“Noble was tired of all the protests and the city on his case for months. Two months ago he was looking for a way out, and Katrina found it for him. The title on one of the buildings wasn’t secure. He backed out of financing the purchase. Unfortunately, Angela was stuck with properties she didn’t want. I think it put her in financial hot water, too.”
“Angela?”
“Angela Lacerda. She’d purchased the buildings on his behalf originally. It isn’t that unusual,” he went on, at my surprised exclamation. “If people know there’s someone with deep pockets interested in their property, the price goes up. A developer has a front person do the purchasing so his name doesn’t come into it.”
I thought of Angela’s left hand, which used to be weighed down with a three-carat diamond engagement ring. No wonder she blamed Katrina for her troubles. “So, simplifying here, Angela bought the buildings for him, but Noble refused to reimburse her, and she was stuck with them. And it was Katrina’s fault.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Basically. After the title thing was cleared up, Katrina and I wrote her an offer, but Angela rejected it. She ripped Katrina a new one apparently, insisted there wasn’t anything wrong with the title, that the sale to Noble was being held up for no reason.”
“Was she right?”
He put his wineglass on the coffee table and avoided meeting my eyes. “The title issue was cleared up, that’s all I know.”
“So what happens now? Do the buildings stay empty?”
“With Katrina out of the picture, I couldn’t handle the purchase alone. I mended fences with Angela, told her if she decided to hold on to the buildings, and did a build-out to suit me, I’d be her first tenant. I offered her a year’s rent up front, and we’re guaranteeing her a ten-year lease. She’ll recoup her money and then some. It’s property in San Francisco. Money in the bank. Look, I’ll show you.”
He took up the bottle of wine, and Sabina and I followed him into the dining room, where he unrolled an architectural rendering and some technical drawings onto the table. He leaned across to anchor the top corners with the bottle and a potted orchid.
“The view from the Gardens side will look pretty much the same as now; she’ll put retail space with large windows on the street level, but most of the work will be interior. Upstairs, we’ll have plenty of consultation spaces, good space for the admin staff, natural light. Space like that downtown would cost us twenty-five dollars more a square foot. The permitting process was fast-tracked, demo has started, and it should be ready in six to eight months. And after that, my commute will be five minutes instead of twenty-five.” He and Sabina exchanged a smile. His surgeon’s hands were delicate and sure as he rolled up the drawings. “If I’m honest, I’m relieved it turned out this way. Katrina was—she hadn’t been completely—” He didn’t finish the thought. “If you’re interested, I’d offer to show you the space, but I’m doing a video consult with a surgeon in Australia, and if that somehow runs long it could be a while.”
“Would you like to see it, Theo?” Sabina asked. “We could walk over. It’s mostly just a construction site, but it’s kind of interesting to imagine the ‘after.’ Almost as good as HGTV. I was there a couple of days ago checking out the closets.” She snorted. “The plans call for eliminating some of the storage spaces, but I’m thinking we need to put them back into the design.” She shrugged. “Anyway, come on over with me and you can tell me what you think.”
Kurt checked his watch. “I have to change and get back to the office.” He hesitated. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble by keeping this all under wraps, Theo. Katrina wanted it kept on the down-low. We don’t need neighborhood association approval for the build-out, because nothing much will be different on the outside, but if you want to share it all with them, I’m fine with it. Maybe they’ll think I’m one of the good guys, for a change.”
If it weren’t for the fact that he’s an arrogant bastard I would have said he looked unsure of himself. I knew he wasn’t popular in the community, mostly because of that arrogance, and I certainly wasn’t a fan, but maybe he had some good points hidden under the façade after all.
Sabina pulled on a sweater. “Come on, Theo—I’ll show you what the new space will look like. There’s already been some problem with the plumbing, and I imagine there’s a lot more of that kind of stuff to come.” She rolled her eyes.
I put down my wine glass. “What’s the plumbing problem? Is it anything to do with the stream under Polk Street?”
“There’s a stream?”
“Apparently.”
“The builders called yesterday and said some storm drain must have backed up, and it’s causing a stink. Luckily, not our problem. If we’d bought the buildings, on the other hand…”
Most of Sabina’s height was in her legs; her jacket fit me perfectly. I put it on as we left.