'Where's Dylan?'
'He's waiting for you in back.'
She collected her purse and briefcase from his office and followed him to the back door.
He put his hand on her shoulder. 'You're going to get through this just fine,' he said. If she wasn't sure of his good intentions, she might think he was chastising her with his abrupt order.
'I'll be over later with dinner,' he added.
'You don't have to go to all that trouble-'
'Yes, I do. I looked inside your refrigerator. I'll bring something,' he said curtly.
She was glad hadn't protested when she arrived home and looked in the refrigerator. There really wasn't anything there she wanted to eat. Her stomach was grumbling. Neither she nor Dylan had eaten anything since breakfast, and it was already after six.
'Time flies even when you're not having fun,' she remarked as she walked into the front hall.
Dylan followed her up the stairs carrying their bags.
'You're not having fun? I guess we'll have to do something about that.'
He didn't ask her if she wanted him to share her bed. He put his bag in the guest room and dropped her bag on her bed.
She was not going to ask him to sleep with her. Absolutely not. She went into the bathroom, locked the door, and took a long shower, hoping that would revive her.
It didn't help much. She put on her favorite pair of old jeans and a T-shirt and actually did feel a little better then. She combed her hair and went downstairs.
Dylan was in the backyard talking to a police officer. She watched him from the kitchen window while she chewed on a wilted celery stick. He looked tired, she thought. And wonderful. He certainly seemed to be coping better than she was. There were moments when she felt she was going to fall apart.
Not wanting him to catch her staring at him, she forced herself to turn away. She listened to the messages on her home phone. Most of them were for Isabel, and none of them were important.
She was feeling out of sorts and restless. She got a bag of potato chips out of the pantry and put it back unopened.
She knew what was wrong with her. Dylan. How long was it going to take her to stop loving him, she wondered. Was it even possible, or was she doomed to live in misery the rest of her life? There was no one to blame but herself for her unhappiness. She had known from the very beginning what she was getting into with him-he loved them and he left them. He didn't make any excuses about the way he lived. He was what he was.
And she was what she was-a complete idiot because she had fallen in love with him.
Definitely melancholy tonight, she decided. Stress was putting her on edge. That's what it was, all right. Stress. And feeling completely helpless.
The doorbell rang, and she was forced to stop feeling sorry for herself. She assumed it was Drummond with dinner, and she was suddenly ravenous. It wasn't Drummond, though. It was Nate, and when she opened the door for him, he looked astonished to see her.
He was quick to recover. 'What are you doing opening this door?' he demanded.
His glare made her flinch. 'You rang the doorbell. Answering it seemed the proper thing to do. Please, come in.'
'Are you alone in here?' he demanded as he stormed past her. 'What the hell's wrong with you? Don't you know someone's trying to kill you? Or don't you care?'
'Yes, I know, and yes, I care,' she said softly. 'Please stop shouting at me. My ears are ringing.'
He took a deep breath before continuing. 'I've got to yell at someone. Where's Dylan?'
'In the backyard. There are deputies in the front and the back,' she said. 'So it was all right for me to open the door.'
'That's not why I'm angry,' he snapped.
She chased him to the kitchen. 'Then why are you?'
'Because I didn't know where the hell you were last night. Not good,' he snapped. 'You two just… vanished. What if I had vital information? What then? Dylan wasn't answering his cell phone, and you weren't answering yours… what the hell's the matter with him? He knows better. Where is he?'
Nate was on a rampage. 'I just told you,' she answered.
'Tell me again,' he demanded.
'In the backyard,' she said. 'Have at him.'
'Don't you dare open that front door again. Understand me?'
He didn't wait for an answer but tore the kitchen door open and went outside. The door slammed shut behind him.
He's just lost his dinner invitation, she thought. How dare he shout at her. She wasn't a child he could scold.
But he was right, she reluctantly admitted. They should have let him know where they were going. It wasn't deliberate; they weren't trying to hide from him. They hadn't been sure where they would spend the night, and once they had checked into the hotel, one thing led to another, and they had become occupied.
Oh, that's a great excuse. Sorry we didn't call. We were too busy having sex. Nate would understand. Sure he would.
The chief arrived a few minutes later with enough food to feed half the town.
'What's going on out there?' he asked as he set the bags on the kitchen counter and looked out the window. 'Looks like Hallinger is giving Dylan hell.'
Kate quickly explained.
The chief glanced out the window again. 'Dylan doesn't seem contrite. Fact is, he's giving it back.' With a shrug he added, 'They'll work it out. Let's eat.'
The chief was right; they did work it out. Nate didn't ask if he could stay for dinner. He grabbed a plate and helped himself.
'I'll get some men here in an hour and let you off the hook, chief,' he offered.
'No reason to do that,' Drummond replied. 'We're all set. You've got enough going on trying to get everyone in place for tomorrow's meeting.'
'Is that a for-sure thing?' Nate asked. 'She signs the papers tomorrow? No more changes?'
'Seven o'clock tomorrow night unless you change the plan,' Dylan said. 'We just went over this in the backyard.'
'I'm making sure. No one's going to disappear on me again. Got that?'
'You need to let that go.'
'And you need-' Nate began.
Drummond put his hand up to stop him. 'That's enough. Kate needs all the help she can get, so stop bickering and get with the program.'
Nate nodded. 'Yes, sir.'
The three men went over strategy for the next day while they ate.
'What did you find out about the video?' Dylan asked Nate. 'Any idea who taped it?'
'No. We know that it and the packet of photos were delivered by messenger to Anderson Smith's office. He claims no one there even knew a video existed until it and Compton MacKenna's instructions showed up on his desk.'
'Someone knew about it,' Dylan insisted. 'When Compton was talking into the camera, he would glance beyond the lens every so often. Obviously, someone else was in that room. What about servants, staff?'
'No, there's no one we can find who knew anything about it.'
Dylan glanced over at Kate, whose eyes were half closed.
'Kate, why don't you go upstairs to bed,' he suggested. 'We're almost finished here.'
She was happy to oblige. It had been a very long day. She could hear the men talking as she put on her pajamas, and a few minutes later she heard Nate and Drummond leaving.
She was tired, but she decided to call Isabel to check on her before going to bed. Her sister surprised her by answering. Kate said hello and didn't get another word in for about fifteen minutes. Isabel must have assumed that
