by Kelly Utt
As soon as Cate sat down, a pretty Asian waitress named Kai showed up at the table to take her order. Cate wasn’t sure what time of day Tim worked, so she didn’t know whether or not he’d be at the diner this morning.
“Hi, good morning,” Kai said cheerfully. “What can I get for you, Miss?“
“I’d love a cup of coffee and a Southwest-style omelet,” Cate replied with a smile. The thought of Lorraine enjoying retirement down in Arizona made Cate hungry for southwestern food.
“Coming right up,“ Kai confirmed. She moved fast and had already turned around to head to the kitchen when Cate stopped her.
“Also, if Tim Negley is here this morning, I’d like to talk with him. His mom and my parents are old friends,“ Cate said.
“You’re in luck,” Kai announced, turning back again. “Because Tim isn’t usually here this time of the morning. But today, he came in early. He’s in the office. I will ask him to come out and see you.”
“Wonderful,“ Cate said. She hoped Kai wouldn’t feel deceived when there was more to the story than their parents having been old friends. Kai trotted off while Cate made herself comfortable in her seat.
A short time later, Tim Negley himself arrived at Cate’s table and sat down across from her. He reached out his hand and introduced himself. “Tim Negley,“ he said. “I’m Lorraine‘s son. Kai tells me that our parents knew each other?“ he smiled while he talked. He seemed like the type who genuinely enjoyed being around people. Cate remembered his mom as having been the same way. She was certain that their shared affinity for relationships was a large part of what had made Lorraine‘s so popular for so many years.
“Yes, that’s right,” Cate said. “My mom and dad are Ron and Ellen Tatum.“
“Ah, yes,“ Tim said, with an even bigger smile. “Good people, those two. You must be the daughter that moved away.
“That’s me! I’m Cate,” she said, careful not to mention her last name yet. “My husband was in the Navy and so we traveled around a lot. We moved back home to Rosemary Run a little more than a year ago... When he retired.“
“Glad to hear it,” Tim said. “It’s always good to have one of our own come back home.“
Cate could tell that Tim wouldn’t be able to stay and chat for long. He was focusing his attention on Cate, but every now and then, his eyes would dart to something happening elsewhere in the diner. He seemed to be fighting the urge to get up and refill drinks and clear dirty plates off the counter. Cate knew she needed to get to the point if she had any hope of learning some real information this morning.
“Tim, there’s another reason I came to see you this morning. It goes beyond our parents having known each other. It’s something I need to ask you about.“
Tim leaned back against the padded booth and placed his arms at his sides with his palms on the seat cushion below him. “Okay, go ahead and ask,“ he said.
“It’s about my husband. Mick Brady.“ Cate could see Tim’s body react when he heard Mick’s name. His eyelids twitched and he leaned his chin to one side. She could tell he knew the name.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know any Mick Brady. But it’s been lovely to meet you, Cate. Now if you’ll excuse me…“
“I only need another minute,” Cate said. “I know a homeless man named Pal. I don’t know his last name, but he hangs around my office building downtown quite a bit and I’ve taken to buying him breakfast sandwiches and coffee.“ Tim relaxed in his seat again and looked at Cate as he listened.
“Okay,“ Tim said. “Would you like to take him some leftovers that haven’t been sold by the time we switch over to our lunch menu? If you could swing back by around 11… “
“No… Well, maybe,” Cate replied. “That’s a very kind offer that I’m sure Pal and some of the other homeless people downtown would appreciate. But that’s not what I’m trying to ask about.“ Tim pursed his lips, apparently realizing what was coming. “Pal said something very strange to me the other day,” Cate continued. “I haven’t been able to get it off my mind.“
“And what was that?“ Tim asked.
“He said that he’d seen my husband, Mick Brady, talking to you here at the diner less than a week ago. But the thing is, my husband has been dead for nearly two weeks now. Do you have any idea why Pal would say such a thing?“
Tim bristled. “Truly, I’m sorry,” he said as he stood up. “I can’t help you, Cate. Please tell your parents hello for me. I’ll do the same when I talk to my mom. Now, enjoy your breakfast and have a good day.“ Tim turned and walked away before Cate could stop him. He seemed determined to end their conversation. But Cate wasn’t finished yet. Tim’s reaction only made her more eager to dig deep. It was obvious to Cate here was something Tim Negley wasn’t telling her.
Cate stood up, leaving her belongings at the table, and followed Tim as he walked towards the kitchen. “Hey, Tim” Cate called out. “I can tell you know more than you’re letting on. Please don’t leave me in the dark. After the history that our parents had together, can you at least give me that?“
Tim stopped and stood still for a moment, his back to Cate. He was considering what she had asked of him. “Cate, please walk away,” he said.
“I’m not going to do that,“ Cate replied. “This is my husband we’re talking about. I see a wedding ring on your finger, Tim. Wouldn’t you want answers if it were your wife?“
Reluctantly, Tim moved to face Cate. He pulled her to one side up against the wall and whispered. “Look, Cate Brady, you need to leave this alone. You’re out of your depth here. Trust me. Go home and forget we ever had this conversation.“ Then Tim Negley turned around and walked away, the metal door to the kitchen closing obediently behind him.
23
The next morning, Cate was awakened bright and early by the sound of Meesha barking at the front door. Halloween was just a day away and Cate had been up late the night before putting finishing touches on the kids’ costumes. She stumbled out of bed to see what the commotion was about, wiping her bleary eyes as she walked into the living room. She tried to remain calm about Meesha’s level of alarm, but was a bit jumpy these days, what with everything that had happened.
To Cate’s relief, Meesha was barking at a delivery driver who had placed a neat brown box on the front porch. She knew what was inside the moment she saw the package. The security cameras she ordered had finally arrived.
Cate had spent most of the night tossing and turning, distressed by what had happened at Lorraine‘s diner. She was becoming more and more driven to find answers. Tim had acted so strangely. His behavior, combined with Pal’s comments made Cate begin to wonder if Mick really could be alive. If he were, she was determined to know about it.
She opened the package and installed the security cameras right away. As it turned out, she didn’t need her brother’s help to set them up. The instructions were pretty self-explanatory. Cate was able to get them placed and connected before the kids had even woken up and come downstairs for breakfast. She didn’t bother to tell them about the cameras, figuring maybe it was better that way. After all, she didn’t want them to be afraid in their own home. Cate didn’t know exactly what she hoped to capture with the new devices, but If anyone was snooping around the house, she wanted to see their face.
She fed the kids breakfast, like usual, and they all headed out to begin their day.
24
Detective Luke Hemming sat at his desk and poured two sugar packets into his coffee, stirring the mixture up with one finger. It was the day before Halloween and he was hoping to bring Cate Brady in under arrest before the new month turned. He wanted justice for poor Mick. Luke knew that when someone died and there was any hint of foul play involved, statistically, it was most often the spouse who was the guilty party. He had been a detective long enough to have seen the sinister combo of a life lost too soon and a greedy spouse looking to cash in on a huge insurance policy.
Luke knew that both his partner, Detective Neil Fredericks, and Ca
te’s brother, Officer James Tatum, were on her side. Luke was aware that both men were working behind the scenes to exonerate Cate Brady and to keep her protected.
Detective Fredericks had been on the straight and narrow side of the law in the beginning, but he had quickly become soft due to his budding romantic relationship with the suspect. Neil thought Luke hadn’t noticed, but Luke Hemming noticed everything. He saw the gleam in Neil’s eyes when he talked about her. He saw the way Neil stood up straighter and puffed his chest out when she was in the room. And he saw the way her car had been repeatedly parked in Neil’s driveway for an hour or so at a time during their personal visits.
What Detective Fredericks and Officer Tatum didn’t know was that Luke had done his homework. It had taken some digging, but he had found it, just as he suspected he would. Cate Brady had a record. One which painted her in the light of a cold-blooded murderer.
25
Cate's morning again looked like it was shaping up to be a good one. She made an effort to appreciate the little things in each moment, as was her new practice now that she knew her life could crash down into pieces without warning. When she arrived downtown, Pal was there and, as usual, she bought two cups of coffee and two breakfast sandwiches from the Brick House Café to share. Pal seemed dissociated again, so she simply handed him the food and coffee, then went on into her office building without attempting to initiate discussion. She walked by the reception desk and greeted Anna, making a joke about how, luckily, no police officers were waiting to question her this morning. She stopped by her friend Sasha‘s office to chat for a while and then settled in at her desk for what she hoped would be a productive morning’s work. Only, when she opened up her bag to pull out her laptop, it wasn’t there.
Damnit, Cate thought to herself. She knew she must have forgotten it at home. She had been distracted by setting up the security cameras. As she thought back and retraced her steps, she clearly remembered that the laptop had been left sitting on the kitchen counter. All of the files that Cate needed to work on this morning were stored locally on her laptop and were not backed up to the cloud. Annoyed, Cate knew she would have to return home and retrieve the laptop if she were going to get anything accomplished that day.
She gathered her things and walked back downstairs, back past Anna, and back out to the parking garage. She got into her SUV and drove home, thinking to herself how that laptop was causing her trouble. Cate began to consider that perhaps she should modify the way she managed her digital files. At a minimum, a cloud backup would have prevented her from having to go back home this morning. Her house wasn’t far from her office, but it felt like wasted time to return there when she had left it no more than an hour before. Not to mention, Neil seemed to have focused on her laptop when he was questioning her at the police station. She thought it silly. They hadn’t discussed it when they’d seen each other afterward because the two of them had decided not to talk about the investigation when they were together. But it had sounded at the station like Cate’s use of her laptop instead of her desktop on the afternoon Mick died incited suspicion.
When Cate walked in the front door of her house, the laptop was there on the counter just like she had remembered, nestled amongst bags of Halloween candy to be handed out to trick-or-treaters. The back door was slightly ajar, too. Cate thought it odd and began to feel afraid, but could explain the open door once she jogged her memory again. Jilly had been last out that particular door this morning on her way to the bus stop. Cate and Niko were home a while longer, but had gone out the front. Knowing how Jilly sometimes forgot to latch doors in favor of letting them swing closed behind her, Cate told herself that everything was probably fine. Her daughter had known she wasn’t going to be the last one out of the house, so Cate couldn’t blame her for not double-checking. Cate made a mental note to latch and lock all the doors herself before leaving the house each morning. Out of an abundance of caution, she looked around the house to be sure everything was okay. She found that all was quiet. Nothing seemed to be out of place.
Satisfied nothing was wrong, Cate took a few minutes to use her own bathroom while she was home. When she finished, she checked her hair in the framed bedroom mirror above her large, wooden dresser. She loved the farmhouse-style furniture she and Mick had picked out for their bedroom. Cate’s thoughts drifted to Neil and how it would be strange to make love to him in the bed she had shared with her husband. For now, she’d avoid that discomfort by sleeping with him at his house only. Maybe, she thought, when she was ready, she’d purchase a new bedroom set to start fresh. If Nancy didn’t take her house and all of her money away first.
As she returned to the kitchen and began to pack up her laptop computer, Cate took a notion to check the security camera footage. She didn’t expect it to have captured anything yet. After all, she had only been gone a short while. But she was excited to have the devices up and running and was feeling especially proud that she’d been able to complete the setup process all by herself. She knew that checking the footage would become a routine, so she figured she might as well start now. She sat down, opened the laptop, and cued up the feed.
At first, there was nothing to see. Just the empty house with no movement, save for Meesha lumbering around from one resting spot to another. Thinking this might take a few minutes, Cate hit fast forward on the feed and stood up to get herself a glass of water. She filled her glass with ice and was watching the footage out of the corner of her eye as she held it under the tap. Then, Cate saw something. It was a male figure, walking in the back door of her home casually as if he owned the place. Meesha could be seen on tape sauntering up to greet the man while wagging her tail.
Cate’s heart lurched inside her chest and she thought she might throw up. She dropped the glass onto the floor, where it shattered into pieces with a thud. She knew that figure. Even though she was seeing the footage on fast forward, Cate recognized the way he carried himself. She remembered that man. She remembered his movements, his posture, and his body language. She ought to remember him. She had seen him nearly every day for over fifteen years.
Cate rushed to the laptop to slow the playback speed and to zoom in on his face as tears streamed down hers. And there it was, plain as day. It looked like his head had been shaved bald, but otherwise, it was him.
Mick Brady had been in their home. This morning. He was alive.
26
Time stood still as Cate sat frozen for a long while. She didn’t know what to do and couldn’t think clearly. Her body was trying to process what her mind now knew. She felt betrayed and disrespected. She had so many questions.
Once she had gathered her wits enough to dial her mobile phone, she placed a call to her brother. He didn’t pick up until after several rings, which nearly gave Cate an anxiety attack. She needed him right away.
“Hey, Sis,” James said as he answered. “What’s up?”
“James! I need you to come over immediately,” Cate said. “It’s an emergency!” she could hear the distress in her voice. It didn’t even sound like her. The pitch was higher, and she was talking so fast that her words were garbled.
“Whoa, slow down,” he said. “Is everyone okay? Anyone injured?”
“No, nothing like that… just come over right now. I mean it, James Tatum. Get your ass over here as fast as you can.”
“Okay, okay,” James said. “I’ll leave now. Give me about fifteen minutes.” Then he hung up the phone.
Cate was still in her chair at the kitchen table, visibly shaking, when her brother let himself in with his key.
“My God, Cate,” he said when he laid eyes on her. “What has happened to you?” He set his keys down on the entryway table and rushed over to his sister in the kitchen.
“Look!” Cate said, pointing to Mick’s face on the screen of her open laptop.
“What are we looking at?” James asked.
Cate didn’t answer at first. She was still crying and it was hard for her to speak. “The surveillance
cameras were delivered this morning and I managed to get them set up myself. I had gone into the office, but returned home because I had forgotten my laptop.”
“Okay?” James said, a skeptical look on his face.
“When I got here, I noticed the back door was ajar. I figured Jilly had left it open. You know how she is about that.”
“I do,” James said, still looking skeptical but allowing himself to chuckle a bit. “So?”
“I decided to check the footage before heading back to work… And I found… this…” Cate said, her hand trembling as she pointed at the screen. “It’s him. Mick’s alive.”
James leaned forward to get a closer look. “That can’t be,” he muttered. “There’s no way. I mean…”
“I know,” Cate said. “It doesn’t seem real. But it is. The proof is right in front of our faces.”
James pushed play on the footage and watched, just as Cate had. He saw the guy walking in casually. And he saw Meesha amble up to the man, clearly happy to see him. He looked at the time stamp and then checked his watch.
“This must be edited, Cate,” he said. “There’s no other explanation. Someone must be trying to toy with you.”
“Dammit, James,“ Cate said, getting angry. She was in no mood to act polite or to hold back on what she wanted to say. “I was gone barely an hour this morning. Who would have had time to orchestrate this?“
“There’s no need to raise your voice with me, Cate,” her brother said, taking a step back and crossing his arms over his chest like he does when he’s defensive.
“There’s more that you still don’t know,” Cate continued. “And frankly, this fits in. It’s all beginning to make sense.”