Chapter Fifteen #2
“And even after you’re eighteen,” Betsy said. “You must have noticed that we can’t get rid of Kit and Akiko. They’re always here. And Pop and I love it that way.”
Dawn’s smile grew stronger. “I have noticed that you’re a real loiterer, Kit.”
Kit chuckled. “And I mooch meals like nobody’s business. You have a home here.” She looked up, met the eyes of each of the other five teenagers sitting at the table. “That goes for all of you. If they didn’t ditch me, you all are golden. Trust me on that. Right, Mom?”
Betsy stroked a hand over Kit’s hair. “Absolutely. This one was a handful, and it was our privilege to keep her. And our privilege to keep all of you until you’re eighteen.
And once you are eighteen, you still have a place here.
Pop and I will make sure you’re ready for the world.
Nobody gets kicked to the curb. Not in this house. ”
“Well,” Rita said. “Kit did. Tamsin Effing Kavanaugh said so in her article. Kicked to the curb.”
“You little shit.” But Kit was laughing.
“We need a swear jar,” Rita said. “Just for Kit. We’ll be rich.”
Kit laughed again and her heart felt lighter. “You’re such a brat.”
“And you love me,” Rita sang.
“I do. Brat.” Kit gave Dawn’s hand a squeeze before letting her go. “Don’t be a brat like Rita, okay?”
Dawn’s grin was wobbly, but genuine. “I’m probably worse. I have a smart mouth. Gets me into trouble.”
“Not with me. You’re not in trouble with me. Understand?”
“Yeah,” Dawn whispered. “Thanks, Kit.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you. You opened a door in my brain. It’s been…overwhelming, all of this. I haven’t been thinking as clearly as I need to. So thank you for thinking for me. Never be afraid to make suggestions, Dawn. I’m serious.”
“Sounds like you’ll be a great cop someday,” Eloise chirped.
Dawn straightened in her chair. “I just might be.”
Kit stood up, realizing everyone was staring at her. “What?”
“That was nice,” Sam said, his smile sweet.
Ann nodded. “I see what my Sam sees in you.”
Kit didn’t know what to say. She didn’t like being the center of this kind of attention. It made her want to run and hide.
“Just say thank you, Kit,” Betsy murmured.
“Thank you,” Kit managed to say and retreated to her chair next to Georgia.
At least Georgia wouldn’t embarrass her with kind words. The woman was a curmudgeon, and delightfully so.
“Smart kid,” Georgia said. “I like her. If she decides to be a lawyer, have her hit me up for contacts. If I’m still around, that is.”
“Stop it. You’re going to live forever. Eloise says you’re too stubborn to die.”
“She’s right about that. And so was Sam’s mother. It’s easy to see what Sam sees in you. I saw it right away. So did Eloise. You’re all bluff.”
“Not all bluff,” Kit protested. “I can be a regular bitch when I need to be.”
Georgia raised her water glass. “To being bitches when we need to be. And may that reporter get what’s coming to her.”
“Truth.” Kit skimmed the article again. “My God, how is she getting her information?”
“Check your car for a tracker,” Georgia suggested.
“I was doing that routinely for a while, but I haven’t lately because she’s left me alone. I’ll have to go back to doing that. And I’ll check Sam’s SUV, too. I can’t believe she listed Akiko’s boat in the article. That’s gonna hurt Akiko’s business.”
“I doubt that. But Akiko should consider a defense attorney, just in case the Feds try to scapegoat her for Paolo’s crimes.”
“I thought of that,” Kit said grimly. “The ATF agent said they didn’t suspect Akiko, but I don’t believe him. I need to find a defense attorney that isn’t Sam’s ex.”
“Damn straight.” Bill scowled. “That woman is poison.”
Sam’s ex had cheated on him. Broken his heart. Kit hated the sight of her.
“I know a number of good defense attorneys who are not Sam’s ex,” Georgia said dryly. “Just say the word and I’ll send you their contact information.”
“Thank y—” Kit’s cell buzzed, startling her. It was Lennox. “I need to take this.” She excused herself into the next room, unsurprised when Sam followed her. “Hey,” Kit said when she’d hit accept. “You’re on speaker. Sam’s here with me.”
“Daisuke Takahashi,” Lennox said.
“Who?” Kit asked, googling his name.
“Skin under Mary Sherman’s fingernails.”
Kit sucked in a breath, suddenly a lot less tired as her search results filled her phone’s screen. “Akiko’s half brother. You’ve put out a BOLO?”
“I did. His description is consistent with the guy who shot you, Marshall, and Ashton, too.”
Kit showed Sam her phone. “Son of a wealthy LA businessman.” She tapped on the shooter’s Instagram page. “He goes by Danny. Oh, look at this. He’s a black belt in karate.”
“What do you wanna bet that he studied with Edwin Ito?” Sam asked.
“That’s likely a sucker bet at this point,” Kit said. “Lennox, do you know if Danny Takahashi has ever been suspected of organized crime?”
“Like gun smuggling? Not that I’ve heard, but let’s check it out. We can check out Ito as well.”
We. Kit had been planning to work on the case regardless of Lennox’s invitation, but it was nice to have. “You ready for a road trip to LA?”
“Let’s leave first thing,” Lennox said. “I can pick you up at six a.m.”
“We’ll be ready,” Sam said.
San Diego, California
Wednesday, February 1, 6:15 a.m.
“I packed snacks,” Sam said as they set out in the SDPD sedan that Lennox had checked out for the trip.
Lennox was behind the wheel, Kit in the front passenger seat.
Sam had the whole back seat to himself, but he’d have preferred to have Kit beside him.
She and Lennox, however, needed to work on the way to LA.
He’d gotten a few hours’ sleep after leaving McKittrick House the night before and made sure his folks were okay with spending the day alone.
They were wonderful, as usual, graciously offering to dogsit Siggy.
They’d made lunch plans with some of their San Diego golf friends, and then his mother was going back to the McKittricks’ to—of all things—take a cooking class from Betsy.
If Betsy could teach his mother to cook…There weren’t enough gifts in the universe to thank her. His father had always done the cooking, and he simply couldn’t anymore.
That his mother was stepping up was sweet. That she and Betsy were becoming friends was good for both women.
“Snacks are good,” Lennox said. “I brought a thermos full of coffee.”
“And I brought breakfast sandwiches,” Kit said. “I didn’t make them, so we’re all safe.”
“I finally get to sample your mother’s cooking,” Lennox said, holding out her hand. “Gimme.”
Kit shook her head, but she was smiling as she passed out what smelled like egg, bacon, and cheese biscuits. “You should have come over last night. It was late, but everyone was still awake, and Mom always makes plenty.”
“It was kind of you to offer,” Lennox said, “but I had to get my childcare sorted. And prepare my game plan for LA.”
Kit’s brows lifted. “You have a child?”
Lennox chuckled. “I do. She’s seven and the light of my life. You wanna see a picture?”
“Of course.” Kit held out her hand for Lennox’s phone and made all the appropriate noises as she swiped through the photos. Then she chuckled. “Oh my. She’s…an artist.”
Lennox laughed. “You got to the one where she painted the dog?”
“She didn’t make a painting of the dog, Sam,” Kit explained. “She painted the actual dog.”
Lennox laughed again. “Yeah, that was a day. I went to start a load of laundry and when I came back, she’d gotten out the paints. Luckily it was only watercolors.”
“What’s the dog’s name?” Sam asked, looking at the photos when Kit passed back Lennox’s phone.
“She’s a shelter Chihuahua who was called Taco Bell. We renamed her Bella.”
“My shelter dog is named Siggy, after Freud.” He returned the phone to Lennox.
“And my poodle is Snickerdoodle because she’s the same color as the cookie,” Kit added. “Who watches your daughter when you have to travel?”
“My sister. She’s a lifesaver.”
Sam wanted to ask more questions. Like, was there another parent? Had there been? Was Lennox divorced? Widowed? Was there trauma he had to tiptoe around?
Once again Lennox laughed. “I can hear you thinking hard, Sam. I’m a single mom, never been married. Never met the right girl. I wanted a child and…well, science is a good thing.”
Sam nodded, relieved. “I didn’t want to misstep.”
“It would have been accidentally,” Lennox assured him. “I can tell you’re a nice guy.”
“He really is,” Kit said fondly. “He puts up with me.”
“Such a hardship,” Sam deadpanned. “After our first meeting, the only direction was up.”
Kit made a face and explained the circumstances of their meeting to Lennox. That Sam had information on a possible murder, but Kit had taken him for the killer and ended up knocking him to the floor of his apartment and cuffing him.
“And Baz threatened to shoot his dog,” she finished. “We’re both lucky that Sam’s the forgiving type.”
“Mostly,” Sam said. “I’m still irked at Baz.”
“No, you’re not,” Kit said.
“No, I’m not,” he agreed. “I really want to be, though.”
“You two are so cute,” Lennox said warmly.
Sam glanced at Kit to see her reaction. A few months ago, those would have been fighting words, but today she was smiling.
Sam retrieved Lennox’s thermos and poured three cups of coffee into travel mugs. “Coffee for everyone.”
“Thank you,” Kit said. “I did some research last night, too. Should we share and then decide what else needs to be done?”