Chapter 7
As Katie got off the exit in Syracuse, she wondered where Will was setting up his office in town. She wondered how he decided on a place. And she wondered how he was doing after their split. Because she was miserable.
So miserable, she asked if she could visit Mary today. This heartache was like a brick in her chest.
Mary and Henry’s house was in an older neighborhood in Manlius, on Glencliff Road. They bought a house built on the side of a hill, with a swimming pool in the backyard. She drove around to the garage entrance, got out, and opened the door to the house. “Hey, Mar. I’m here.” Then she walked inside.
Her friend came into a lovely kitchen, remodeled to their tastes. “Hey, sweetie.” She crossed to Kate and hugged her. Kate prolonged the contact. When Mary drew back she said, “Come over to the table and we’ll talk before we eat.”
Kate nodded. They sat and Mary grasped her hands. “Tell me what’s going on.”
She cleared her throat. “Will and I broke up. That sounds so high-schoolish but I don’t know what else to call it.”
“Why?”
“He did something I can’t accept. And he’s fine with what he did. He wouldn’t even say he was wrong when I told him I was mad that he did it. I left him.”
“Ah. So you broke with him.”
“I can’t stay with a man who wants to control my life.”
“I wouldn’t be able to do that either. What’d he do?”
She explained about PI stuff. “And his first act after he got his license was to go to my boss and demand to see all the documentation of what those two assholes have done to me.”
“I know about the knife fight and the slashed tire. That all?”
“Um, that’s not all. The ceiling fell on me.”
“What the hell?”
She explained the bizarre occurrence. “Will’s trying to find out if they engineered that somehow.”
“That’s a crime, Katie.”
“I know.”
“Are you all right physically?”
“Miraculously. I still have some bruises. I would have been badly injured if the damn desk that was up there had fallen on me. It got stuck in the rafters.”
“I can’t believe this.” She hesitated. “You’re mad that Will wants to investigate the situation.”
“Yes. He didn’t ask my permission to go to my boss. When I objected to that, he glibly said he didn’t think he did anything wrong and I was overreacting.”
“Yikes. That’d piss me off.”
“I knew you’d agree that I was right to leave.”
“I didn’t say you were right to leave. People who care about each other fight. They get their backs up and won’t budge from their positions. Your brother and I have had some doozies.”
“You and Henry? God, you’re the perfect couple.”
“I know. But perfect couples fight.”
“I can never live with Will doing things like this.”
“Sure you can. And every time he pulls something, you’ll work things out between you.”
She felt her eyes moisten. “Mary, you don’t understand. I’ve accepted that we’re done.”
“You don’t want that, Katie. You’re miserable.”
“I am.”
Just then they heard a cry. “Ah, Henry’s up.”
Kate wiped a few stray tears off her face. “Can I get him?”
“Sure.”
She walked to the nursery and as soon as Henry saw her, he stopped crying and stared at her. “Hey there baby,” she said picking the boy up. “How’s my favorite nephew?”
He batted her face. Gurgled.
At the changing table, she swapped his diaper with a clean one and snapped up a onesie that said, I love my aunt . When she picked him up again, she sat in the rocker even though his nap was over. The scents of baby shampoo and lotion filled her head. The joy she felt cuddling a child close to her heart eclipsed the pain she’d been feeling for 72 hours.
And the thought came: she wanted this with Will.
* * *
Will said, “What do you think?”
Holden surveyed the storefront again. “I think it’s perfect.”
“So I should sign the lease.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve got a checklist here of what to do. I started collecting applications. I decided on an assistant. He’s got a great resume. Do you want me to send all this to you before I make final decisions.”
“No. I’m here if you need me. But this is all yours.”
Good. Because this is all I have left.
“There you go again.”
“What do you mean?”
“For the last two hours you’ve gotten distracted at least four times. I wouldn’t care but I can read the expression on your face. You go to a dark place.”
“I, um, parted ways with someone I cared about deeply. It’s recent.”
“I see. Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
Holden stood. “Then I’m going. But a word of advice. Secret Service agents have an 85% divorce rate.”
“I’m not an agent anymore.”
“It’s still in your blood.”
“We aren’t married.”
“I think that goes for relationships too. Look at me.”
Holden had been married with two kids. They divorced after 5 years.
“Think about it.”
Will nodded. But he wouldn’t think about her. An onslaught of pain knocked him off balance when he did. No, he’d concentrate on this job.
He headed to Westwood thinking about how he’d furnish and decorate the offices. There was one for him, a reception area in front of it for his assistant and a large room with desks for the other agents to use when they needed to be in the office.
His cell rang. He saw Unknown Caller on the screen. He pressed the green icon on the dashboard. “Will Kirkland.”
“Hi, Will, Jackson Kane here. I’ll get right to the point. Would you be able to drop by my office today? I’m swamped or I’d come to you.”
“Sure. What’s this regarding?”
He heard noise. “Hold on a second.” When he came back, he said, “I’m sorry. My wife and son are here.” There was humor in his voice. Love. Joy. “I have to go. Stop by if you can.”
“I’ll be there in half an hour if that’ll give you enough time.”
“It will.”
Will drove carefully, wondering why Jackson would ask for a meeting. Diego had mentioned once that he would be a good fit for Pathways. Maybe that was it.
When he arrived at the building where Jackson’s office was located, he got out of the car. Jackson’s door was open, but no assistant was in sight. He walked to the doorway.
“Hey, Will. Thanks for coming.”
“No problem. I was out anyway.”
“Can I get you anything. Water? Coffee?”
Will declined.
“Come on in.”
After they sat, Jackson said, “I’m sure you know we hired Diego for the summer. We’re trying to establish relationships between the kids and law enforcement before they leave here in September. I’m planning to have various agency reps come in periodically to work with the boys. Nothing full time.”
Will cocked his head. “You probably aren’t aware that I left the Secret Service.”
“Diego told me. You’re going into security, right?”
“Yes. I’m opening an office in Syracuse and I’ll be working with a buddy of mine who set up the business in Rochester.”
“Good for you and for us. I doubt we could get an active agent.”
“What would they learn from me?”
“They’d be interested in your Secret Service experience. Fascinated by it I’d guess. And you’d be an excellent role model of a resilient man. They need to learn they can change their lives around, too.”
“Hmm. I’ll—”
“Daddy,” a little boy called out as he ran into the room and threw himself at Jackson. “Mommy left her scarf here. She’s waiting for me in the car because she doesn’t want to bother you.”
“It’s on that chair.”
“Okay.” Before he got the scarf the boy hugged him. Then he was gone.
Jackson said, “Sorry about that.”
“You’re married, I knew. But I didn’t know you had a kid.”
“Yeah. We adopted him.” He rolled his eyes. “After we finally got together.”
He didn’t know why he asked, “Finally?”
“Man, it was a rocky road. Even though we loved each other we had troubled times. But it all worked out.”
“Was it worth it?”
“Yeah. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”
“You’re a lucky man.”
“I am.” He stared hard at Will. “Is this about Kate Donovan?”
Shocked, Will blurted out, “How would you know that?”
“I saw you two at the eclipse party circling around each other and you left at the same time. You’ve been in town with her, too. You looked happy.”
“I was. It’s over now.”
Jackson snorted. “Sorry. But your face and your body language say it’s nowhere near over. A word of advice. Don’t let it end. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
* * *
Kate went back to work after a full week off. It was odd being in the precinct again. It used to feel like home to her, but not anymore. It felt strangely…threatening. Of course, it was a police precinct. And some bad things had happened to her.
She said to the officer who’d done nights, “I’m here, Conrad.”
“Great. I don’t know how you do so many night shifts. I hate it.”
I have no choice .
Or did she? Katie told Will she wanted to control her own life, make her own choices. So why was she a shrinking violet at work?
“The chief wants to see you. I’ll wait till you come back.”
“Thanks.” She walked back to the squad room. The chief’s door was open. She walked to the doorway. “You wanted to see me, chief?”
“Yeah. Sit down.” He gestured to the chair before him. “Welcome back.”
“Thanks.” She sat.
He faced her squarely. “I wanted to inform you that Officer Landry has been fired. Officer Lawrence is out on a two-week suspension without pay.”
She was taken a back. “Wow. I never expected that.”
“No?”
“What made you do it after all this time?”
“Truthfully, after gathering all the data your boyfriend asked for, I saw the pattern. Landry’s prints were all over the desk that fell. Lawrence was in on the dead bird but when Landry wanted to slash your tires, he backed away. Lawrence opened up for a deal.”
“Good news. I appreciate all this.”
“Thank Will. He started the whole thing up.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s all. You’re dismissed.”
She stood.
Then dropped back down.
“Not just yet, chief.” She took in a momentous breath. “I want you to reinstate me as a Lieutenant and Detective . ”
His eyes narrowed. “You know why you’re on desk duty.”
“Yeah, but other cops have made mistakes and you didn’t demote them.”
“True.” He steepled his hands. “I expected so much of you, Kate.”
“And I lived up to that expectation except I made one mistake. I want you to know I went down the rabbit hole with this demotion, this shame, and it almost ruined my life. So I’m fighting back now. I want to be reinstated.” The tone of her voice was harsher that she meant it to be.
“Or what, Donovan?” His tone told her she’d gotten his hackles up.
But she raised her chin. “Or I’ll give my two weeks’ notice.”