Cate thought about it. Gina. Russo had a dream, and Marz.
“I hear all those people bitch about their college bills, and I want to say, do you know how lucky you are? Do you have any
Cate didn’t know what to say, and Gina eased back in her chair.
“And after a while, my dream changed,” she said, her tone calmer. “I was happy he was born. I understood why.”
“What’s your dream now?”
Gina thought a minute, and smiled. “My dream is that someday, he’ll say, ‘I love you, Mommy.’”
“He will.” Cate squeezed her hand, but Gina withdrew it and reached for her napkin.
“Wow, I never said that out loud.”
“Friggin’ Dr. Phil.”
Gina laughed.
“I’m confiscating your TV.”
Gina wiped her eyes, recovering. “So. Maybe you’re meant to do the same thing, Cate. To know the secret.”
“The secret I keep from myself?” Cate made woo-woo fingers in the air.
“Go ahead. Make fun.”
“I have a better idea. Instead of figuring out my secret, I’ll sue the bastards. I don’t want a TV show about me, you,
“Cate, I don’t know if you should sue.”
“Why? I want to. I have the money. I’m not sure I’ll lose because I don’t think it’ll get to the merits. I’ll make them give it up. I want to take a shot.”
“But you have to think about it, don’t just react.”
“When somebody hits you, you gotta hit back.” Cate heard her mother in her own voice.
“But then all you have is a fistfight,” Gina said, frowning like she used to when she practiced law, and Cate could see she was her old self, analyzing a legal problem. “You’ll never get the TRO, and they could counterclaim, so there’s that risk. They have tons of dough, way more than you. As a practical matter, it could make things worse for me and Warren.”
“Why?”
“Right now, nobody knows me or the baby. If you sue, making a big deal out of it, then they will.” Gina nodded, thinking aloud. “You’ll get the heat. I mean, I can imagine there’ll be newspaper articles once the series comes out, linking you as the judge in the case. But I don’t think the press will be as interested in us, unless you sue.”
“You think?” Cate recalled that Matt had said roughly the same thing, but she remained unconvinced.
“I mean, I know why you don’t want a show about your life, and I know why you’d sue to stop it. But what’s right for you might be wrong for Warren and me. You can take the heat, but can he?” Gina’s expression was stricken, and they both knew the answer. “I mean, I guess I’d be asking you to sacrifice your interests to his.”
Cate felt torn, but knew how that would have to come out.
“I’m sorry. You don’t have to decide now, do you? Sorian said to sleep on it, so maybe you should.”
“You telling me to listen to my lawyer?”
“The phone call probably cost you a grand.” Gina leaned forward again, shifting conversational gears. “You know, the show’s not what I’m worrying about. I’m worrying about that crazy detective. I wish you had your bodyguard tonight.”
“I know. I almost didn’t come.”
“Please, not for us. For you. It’s you that Russo’s after, and he’s experienced enough to know how to strike when you’re on your own. You should stay here tonight, so you don’t have to drive home in the dark.”
“No, I’ll be fine.” Cate checked behind her, automatically. She’d left the living room light off, so she could peek through the curtains to the street without being seen. She’d checked three times until Gina yelled at her to stop.
“If you think you’ll be fine, why do you keep checking the street?”
“Just to be sure.” Then Cate got an idea. “Hey, it’s trash night, right?”
“Yes, why?”
“Nothing.” Cate was already on her feet, going to the sink and opening the base cabinet.
“Why are you stealing my trash?”
“I want to scope things out. See if the coast is clear before I go. You get Warren ready for bed.”
“Is this the babysitting part?” Gina rose, going over to the baby, who was tapping his mirror, in the high chair. “I didn’t even get to go food shopping.”
“I’ll come back tomorrow night if you want. Better yet, I’ll make my bodyguard do it.”
“Maybe he’ll be cute. All the celebrities date their bodyguards.”
“Not happening.” Cate yanked the white kitchen bag out of the plastic trash can and tied the red plastic drawstring, catching a whiff of discarded salmon skin. “Guess where I’m going on Saturday night? Out with Graham the Stockbroker Man.”
“Really? That’s great!” Gina kissed Warren on the top of his head as she unlatched the fabric belt that held him in the high chair, and he had no reaction. “See, most kids with autism don’t want to be touched at all, but Warren’s not like that. He never was. He likes when I kiss his head.”
Cate felt a twinge.
“Don’t you, buddy?” Gina kissed Warren again, and he blinked, clutching his mirror. “You like when I kiss your head, don’t you? You’re a great kid, you know that?” She hoisted the child to her hip as Cate went to the threshold with the trash.
“Call the cops if I’m not back in five minutes.”
Gina frowned. “That’s not funny.”
“I’m not kidding.”
CHAPTER 27
Cate stepped out into the bitter cold, and on contact, her breath became a chain smoker’s fog, wreathing her face. She held her coat close to her neck and carried the trash bag in her free hand. She walked down the front steps, head down as if she were watching her footing, but she kept sneaking looks at the cars parked along Meadowbrook. There were more now than when she had first come; people had arrived home from work and parked their second cars on the street, so it was bumper-to-bumper along the curb. Many of the cars were dark, but after a few looks to the left of Gina’s house, Cate could see as far as eight cars down, in the bright, purplish light cast by the streetlight. She scanned the far and near sides of the street. One each side, all six driver’s seats were empty.
She walked down the driveway, alongside the Pathfinder and the Mercedes, making an apparent beeline for the dented steel trash can at the curb. When she reached it, she made a show of grabbing the metal handle, freezing in her bare hand, pulling off the lid, and moving the white trash bags that were already inside, as if she were making room. The street looked quiet. Many of the cars were dark, but it was nighttime and there was no streetlight in that direction, so it was dimmer than the other side.
Cate stole a glance to the right side and dropped the trash bag in the can. She could only see four cars down on either side of the street, because the streetlight faded at the perimeter. She was squinting past the fourth, making a fuss over closing the trash can lid, when she saw a sudden movement. In one of the cars. On the far
