Hush

with.”

Lake looked down, running her thumb along the handle of her mug.

“I can see your mind spinning,” Archer said. “Got any ideas?”

“No-no, I don’t,” she sputtered. “I mean, I guess a woman could have killed him. Someone he was seeing. Is that what you think?”

“That’s one possibility,” Archer said. “Or… he had sex with this woman and, lucky for her, she left right afterward. And then after she was gone, someone from the clinic-or hired by the clinic-snuck in and did the job. Maybe it was even the guy who attacked you last night.”

“There’s so much to consider,” Lake said weakly. It was all she could manage to say. She wondered if Archer suspected something and was toying with her. She needed to derail this conversation as soon as possible. She quickly drained her coffee mug and announced that she would grab her things from the living room.

They were in her car ten minutes later. Archer offered to drive and she gladly let him. Whatever sporadic calm she’d felt on and off at Archer’s apartment was shot now-in part because she was headed home but also because of the breakfast-table conversation about Keaton. The traffic didn’t help: the blaring horns on Sixth Avenue made her want to jump out of her skin. She barely spoke to Archer on the twenty-five-minute drive to the Upper West Side.

“I think I should come in with you for a minute,” Archer said as they walked up the driveway of her parking garage. “Just to be sure everything is okay in your apartment.”

Once again she didn’t fight him. Given the mystery doorbell ring from the other night, she knew someone could easily gain access to her floor.

As they approached her building, she looked around. There were a dozen people hurrying along different points on the block, probably all bound for work. Nothing ominous, at least that she could see.

The doorman, Ray, was accepting a delivery of dry cleaning, but that didn’t stop him from greeting her and giving Archer a discreet once-over. She worried briefly if having Archer come up might be grist for Jack’s case, but she figured it was okay if he only stayed a few minutes.

“Does everything seem all right to you?” Archer asked as they stepped into the apartment.

“Yes-at first glance.”

“Why don’t I take a quick look around-if that’s okay with you?”

“Thank you, I’d appreciate that,” she said.

At that moment Smokey shot down the hall toward her.

“Geez,” Archer said. “What’s happened to this poor cat?”

“Someone did that to him.”

“Last night?” Archer exclaimed.

“No, no. Before.” Lake quickly told him the story, as well as about the catnip and the night the doorbell rang. Archer listened with his brow furrowed, not interrupting.

“Okay, I need the actual timeline for all of this,” he said when she’d finished. “When was the cat shaved?”

“Last weekend.”

“And the catnip showed up in your purse…?”

“On Wednesday.”

“This isn’t making much sense to me. The office manager-her name’s Brie?-caught you going through the files a day or two ago. Since then you were given the cold shoulder at your presentation and you were attacked when you were supposed to be meeting with a former patient. That makes some kind of sense. But why was your cat shaved last weekend?”

“I-I don’t know,” Lake stammered. “Levin knew I’d found the file with your name. Maybe he already thought I was beginning to snoop around. Maybe he wanted to warn me off.”

“But how were you supposed to guess that having your cat shaved meant to cool it at the clinic? That takes a hell of a lot of translation. No, there’s a piece missing here…”

He swept a hand through his hair and stared off to the side, thinking. Lake could barely contain her agitation. She didn’t want him thinking about this. Because if he did, it wouldn’t be long before he saw the full timeline in his mind and realized that the incidents had begun shortly after the murder itself. And that she was somehow deeply connected to it.

“Should we look around now?” she asked. “I don’t want to hold you up.”

“Sure,” he said, but when his eyes caught hers she saw that they were questioning. She could tell he sensed she was holding back.

With Lake leading, they ducked into each room in the apartment. Nothing seemed amiss.

“I can’t thank you enough for this, Kit,” she said as they left the family room. She realized it was the first time she’d used his first name. “I honestly don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“I’m just glad you decided to call me. So when do you plan to talk to Maggie?”

“Around twelve-thirty. She goes to the same spot for lunch most days and I think I’ll just wait outside for her.”

“Call me right afterward, okay?” he said, walking toward the door. “And call me if you feel in any kind of danger.”

Their eyes met and he held her gaze for a moment.

“Thanks again for everything,” she said.

As soon as she’d closed the door behind him, she flicked the dead bolt and put the chain on the door. It was just after nine. Though Maggie was her priority today, there was someone else she needed to talk to: her lawyer. Hotchkiss was probably already at his desk. She dialed the number and his secretary put her through.

“I’m not sure if this will help my custody situation or not,” she told him, “but I’m pretty sure my husband is having an affair with one of my friends.”

“Interesting,” he said dryly. “How did you learn this?”

“I happened to see him going into her building last night.”

“He could have been visiting someone else who lives there.”

“Yes-but she’s also been unusually inquisitive lately about anything having to do with Jack and the divorce.”

“It’s worth checking out,” he said after a pause. “And we may be able to use it as a bargaining chip. Remember that I said we might want to hire an investigator? I think we should at this point.”

Lake sighed. She couldn’t believe it was coming to this. She agreed and Hotchkiss said he would have an associate make the arrangements. Then he warned her not to tip her hand.

“This isn’t going to be easy,” he said, “but you’ll have to act the same-to both of them. If they suspect you’re wise to them, they’ll alter their behavior. And there will be nothing for us to investigate.”

As soon as she disconnected the call, the phone rang in her hand. It was Hayden calling. Lake braced herself. There might be some kind of update about the case.

“What’s up?” Lake asked.

“Well, it’s not pretty,” Hayden said. “And I feel awkward as hell sharing it.”

“What is it?” she demanded.

“You’re going to be getting a letter by messenger from Levin and Sherman. They’re terminating your consulting arrangement.”

So this explained the coolness at the meeting-they were planning to can her. But maybe it had more to do with what happened in Brooklyn. They didn’t dare face her again.

“They told you that themselves?” Lake said.

“Yes-I just got off the phone with Levin. I called him to say that I thought the three of us should go over where everything stood and he broke the news. Look, I’m really sorry about all this.”

“I appreciate your giving me the heads-up.”

“What’s going on, anyway, Lake? Why’s he giving you the boot?”

“What did he tell you exactly?” Lake asked.

“Nothing-but he didn’t sound pleased. I know you felt rushed about your presentation. I take it it didn’t go over well.”

“I guess not. I don’t think we saw eye-to-eye on things.”

“Do you want me to try any damage control? It’s what people pay me the big bucks for.”