“Just Ryan.” Kate removed the hair claw and shook her tresses out to fall free around her shoulders. “It turns out he’s a friend of one of the detectives. Go figure.” She rose from the table, her slippered feet padding softly down the hallway, to change her clothes for dinner.
I doubt we’ll be going anywhere fancy. She pulled on a turquoise turtleneck sweater and off-white skinny jeans. Then, after running a brush through her hair, she freshened up her makeup, and checked herself in the mirror above the dresser.
She noticed a framed photo of herself with her sister, sitting on the dresser top. Kate picked it up and stared at it for a moment, running her finger over her sister’s face. “You’re all I have left.” Struggling with the confusion of it all, Kate wiped at a rogue tear. “Where are you, Whitney?” she whispered sadly.
A sharp knock at the door caused Kate to jump.
“Ryan’s here,” Suki said, through the door.
“Already?”
“Yup.”
“Tell him I’ll be out in a minute.” Kate took one last look at her sister’s smiling face, set the frame back down on the dresser, and inhaled deeply. Then she noticed Whitney’s favorite perfume, Tatiana, sitting on the dresser, among her jewelry box and other personal items. She spritzed a little on her sweater, to symbolically bring her sister closer to her. She breathed in the scent to fortify herself.
Picking up her black leather jacket, she went out to greet her new friend. “Hi, Ryan,” Kate said, as she came into the living room. “I didn’t expect you so soon.”
Ryan was sitting on the sofa waiting and stood as she entered. “My condo isn’t far from here.”
“Well, I hope I haven’t kept you waiting too long.”
“You look great. It was well worth the wait,” he said with a twinkle in his deep green eyes and a broad smile lighting up his face.
“Thank you,” she replied, giving him a little smile in return.
“Mmmm...you smell really good, too. What’s that scent?”
“It’s my sister’s perfume, Tatiana. It’s her favorite. So, I thought I’d try it.”
“Well, it smells really nice.”
Kate looked around for Suki, but she had disappeared. “I’d better tell Suki we’re leaving,” she mentioned as they started out the front door.
“Suki,” Kate called down the hallway, “we’re leaving.”
“Okay,” the answer came from the direction of her bedroom.
Kate and Ryan had decided not to wait for the elevator, instead taking the stairs down the three flights. As they were descending the final flight, they passed a teenage girl and then, a few moments later, the familiar young man in the navy ball cap going up.
“Did you see that guy?” Kate asked, looking up the staircase.
“What guy?”
“The guy with the baseball cap that was going up the stairs.”
“I saw, but I didn’t really get a good look at him. Why?”
“I’ve seen him several times. First, at the Boise airport this morning, then he was on our flight, and then again outside this apartment building earlier today...” an uncomfortable chill ran up her spine, “...and now.”
“Do you think he’s following you?” Ryan asked, a hint of concern resonating in his voice.
“I don’t know. It kind of gives me the creeps.”
“Maybe you should mention it to Raj tomorrow,” Ryan suggested as he held the heavy door open for her. Once outside, she followed him as he began walking down the street.
“C’mon, let’s walk this way,” he told her.
“Where are we going?” Kate asked, putting on her jacket and catching up to him. She expected they would be heading to his car.
“There’s a great little seafood restaurant just down a couple of blocks, in one of the old brick buildings. Do you like salmon?”
“I love it.”
“Then that’s where we’re going.”
* * * *
There was a rap on Suki’s front door. She looked through the peephole. Her brother, Ethan, stood outside, appearing jittery and anxious, rocking from side to side. She opened the door and let him in.
“You should have waited to call me. I think they saw me,” he said, nervously, as he breezed past her. “They came down the stairs, not the elevator, Suki.” He sounded irritated at her for not knowing the route they would take.
“Don’t worry about it. Kate doesn’t know who you are. Neither does her date.”
“I don’t know about that. I mean, I don’t think she saw me on the flight from L.A. to Salt Lake, I was sitting near the front of the plane and she was in the back, but I had to walk past her seat on the flight from Boise.”
“I’m sure a lot of people walked past her seat, she probably didn’t even notice you.”
“But then, I was waiting outside your apartment building when she arrived this morning in a cab. I didn’t expect to beat her here—somehow I did. I think I was able to walk away before she saw me, though.”
“Ethan, you’re going to have to be more careful, or she’ll start suspecting something. She’s pretty smart,” Suki warned him.
“Well, I don’t understand why you insisted I fly to L.A. and come back with her,” he said, shaking his head. “It cost a lot of money.”
“Don’t worry about the money, I put the ticket on a credit card. I wanted to make sure she got on the plane and got herself here to Seattle. Wasn’t that the plan? Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yeah, but you wanted it, too,” he shot back.
“You more than me.” She glared at him. “You’re just going to have to be careful and stay out of sight until the time is right.”
“I will. I’m not stupid. I have this whole thing planned out. Besides, she’ll be dead before she figures it out,” Ethan boasted. He shifted from foot to foot again, his arms gesturing wildly as he spoke.
“Why don’t you sit down, you’re making me nervous.” Suki thought he must be doing drugs again and would need another hit soon.
“No, I’m good,” he said, wiping his nose on his coat sleeve.
“Are you on something? You look like you’re tweaking.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. Really, I’m fine,” he answered, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets. “By the way, where’d you end up sticking that sister?”
“She’s in a hidden storage area in the underground city, where I work...like we talked about. Don’t you remember?”
“Uh, yeah, yeah, that’s right, I remember now.”
“No one will think to look for her there. I have her sedated, but I don’t know how long I can keep her down there. I checked on her today after work. I’ll go again sometime tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry about it. If she dies, no one will discover her for months, maybe even years,” he said coldly.
“Ethan. It’s not Whitney you’re after. It’s Kate. Whitney shouldn’t have to die.”
“Does it really matter? C’mon, Sis, I mean really.”
“It matters to me. I’m not a murderer,” Suki declared.
“But you don’t mind me killing Kate?” Ethan responded sarcastically.
“That’s different. She deserves it. An eye for an eye, you know.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter to me. Besides, it’ll all be over tomorrow.” Ethan looked into the kitchen. “Hey, you got anything to eat in this place. I’m hungry.”
“Sit down and I’ll make us some sandwiches. Kate’ll be gone for a while.”
Chapter 5
Ryan and Kate reached the restaurant just as a light rain began to fall. He pulled the heavy wooden door open for her, and they scooted in out of the drizzle.
“Welcome to Yellowfin’s Seafood Grille. Table for two?” asked the twenty-something Asian hostess.
“Yes, please,” Ryan replied.
“Would you like a booth?” she asked. There was a small Tuesday night crowd, so she was able to seat them right away.
“Kat
e?” Ryan deferred.
“Yes, a booth would be nice.” Kate’s eyes wandered around the restaurant as the hostess showed them to their booth along the front window. Her photographer’s eye took in the beauty of the architecture and interior design. She admired the contemporary upscale décor—high ceilings, straight lines, a natural color scheme of greens and browns, a mix of steel and wood. A high wall of exposed brownish-red brick added to the ambience.
There was a casual elegance about this place that appealed to her. Ryan seemed to fit right in, with his black cashmere sweater, leather jacket and well-fitting jeans. “This place looks great, Ryan. I’m loving the décor.”
She pulled her jacket off and laid it on the seat next to her.
“Me, too, it has a great feel. Very Pacific-Northwest-goes-upscale kind of thing, don’t you think?”
“I do.” She chuckled at his quirky description.
They read over the menu for a few minutes. It was filled mainly with gourmet seafood entrees, offering a few savory beef and chicken dishes, as well.
Their trim, middle-aged waiter arrived at the table, straightening his deep-green vest, standing tall. “Good evening. My name is Julian. May I start you off with drinks tonight?”
“Not for me, thanks,” Kate answered.
“No, not for me either,” Ryan told the waiter, “but, we might have some wine with dinner. Kate?” he said, asking for her opinion.
“Sure, wine with dinner sounds nice.” She wasn’t much of a drinker, and she certainly wasn’t a wine connoisseur, still somehow, wine with dinner seemed appropriate for this trendy upscale restaurant, so she agreed to have some.
“What’s the special tonight?” Ryan asked, as he closed his menu to listen.
“The special of the house tonight is Alaskan Salmon with a creamy dill and lemon sauce, served with truffle risotto and fresh asparagus.”
“Mmmm. That sounds delicious,” said Kate eagerly, she’d hardly eaten all day. “I’ll have that.”
“Make that two.” Ryan told the waiter, handing him their menus.
“Would you like a fresh garden salad with that or maybe a Caesar salad?”
“Not for me, thank you,” Kate replied.
“No, me either, but I would like to ask you what wine you suggest with the salmon?”
“I would suggest a bottle of white wine, a Chardonnay or a dry Riesling.”
“That sounds good,” Kate piped in. “Chardonnay.” She didn’t actually know a thing about wines, but the name sounded nice, how it just rolled off her tongue.
“Yes, it does. Let’s have a bottle of your Chardonnay,” Ryan ordered. Kate suspected he wasn’t a wine aficionado, but it seemed he had at least some experience with the more popular wines.
“Very good, sir, I will have your dinners out shortly, and I’ll be right back with the wine.” He turned sharply and was gone.
“Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Ryan,” Kate began. “I don’t know what kind of company I’ll be tonight, though, with my sister constantly on my mind, but I really needed to get out of that apartment. I’ve just been sitting, then pacing, sitting, then pacing, imagining the worst, waiting for news from the detectives.”
“Happy I could help. Is Suki not good company?” Ryan leaned forward, folding his arms on the table and giving her his full attention.
“It’s not that. Well, yes, she is a little odd, and I am still irritated at the time we lost by her not notifying the police, but that’s not it.” She lowered her eyes for a moment and tucked her hair behind her ear on one side, fingering her silver hoop earring.
“What is it, then?”
“It’s just being in Whitney’s place, you know?” Kate continued, raising her eyes. “Staying in her room, it reminds me every second that she’s missing and something terrible might have happened to her. She’s all the family I’ve got.” As Kate met Ryan’s eyes, she sensed he understood.
“Your wine, sir.” The server reappeared, as if out of thin air. “Shall I pour?”
“No, I can do that,” Ryan replied. “Thank you.”
“Your food should be out soon.” He set the bottle on the table and was off again.
“Tell me about your sister.”
“Well, she’s twenty-four, cute and outgoing, smart and creative. Blonde hair, blue eyes, like me.”
“Long hair like yours?”
“No, she wears it short and kind of spiky.”
“Really? What does she do for a living?” he asked.
“She’s an administrative assistant at Amazon’s corporate offices. She got her degree in marketing from the University of Washington last year, so she’s hoping to move up when there’s an opening.”
“What about your parents?” Ryan asked, pouring a little wine into both of their goblets.
“They both died in an auto accident a couple of years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I can only imagine how terrible that must have been.”
“It took me quite awhile to get over it. I mean, who ever totally gets over something like that? But it’s not as difficult talking about it now.”
“And you have no other brothers or sisters?”
“No, just Whitney,” she said, sadness in her voice. She picked up her wine glass and took a small sip.
“Really? Hmmm. Not even grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins? Nothing?”
“No, nothing. Our parents were in their forties when they got married and had us. All our grandparents have long since died. Mom had a sister who died as a child from pneumonia, and Dad was an only child. There may be some distant relatives back east somewhere, but we never knew any of them. Our parents moved out here to Seattle right after they were married. My dad went to work for Boeing.”
“I thought you said you were from Los Angeles.”
“No, that’s where I live now,” Kate explained. “I grew up here, in Seattle.”
“Really? What part of Seattle?”
“Near Queen Anne Hill,” she replied. “It’s a beautiful area, but I don’t need to tell you that. As a Realtor, you must know all the areas pretty well.”
“Yeah, but I have to say Queen Anne Hill is my favorite, with its big handsome old homes. I’d love to buy a house there someday.”
“Yes, the homes are gorgeous. And the views from there are spectacular, too. I can’t remember the last time I saw them.”
“Why is that?” Ryan asked.
“I went away to college in California. I came back here for a while, but after my folks died, I decided to move back to California.”
“And here I thought you grew up in Los Angeles.”
She took another sip of her wine. “And you said on the plane you were from Boise, right?”
“Yeah, I grew up there. My parents still live on the outer edge of Boise, in the little town of Eagle. I try to go home to see them every few months.”
“You’re a good son.”
“I am, aren’t I,” he chuckled. He looked at her and she looked back at him. Their eyes locked for a moment, until they were interrupted by the waiter setting their plates down.
“How does that look?” he asked.
“It looks wonderful. Thank you,” Kate answered, as she put her white linen napkin on her lap. She leaned her head slightly over her plate and breathed in. “It smells delicious, too.”
“I’ll be back to check on you a little later.” And he was off to another table.
“Let’s eat, I’m starved,” Ryan declared.
They both dug into their salmon and risotto, savoring the rich flavors. Conversation was light and pleasant, and the food and wine were delicious. Ryan had been able to successfully take Kate’s mind off Whitney for at least a little while, and give her some reprieve from her worry. She was grateful for that.
“So, do you have any brothers or sisters?” Kate asked, as she finished off the last bit of her salmon.
“No. Well, I did,” he answered. She could see a shadow of sadness fall over his face.
“But not now?” Kate was almost sorry she had asked. The words just slipped out before she could stop them. She could tell it was not going to be a pleasant story.
“I had a little sister. She was hit by a truck while she was out jogging one day. She was nineteen. It was early on a winter morning, and a teenage boy hadn’t cleared all the frost off his windows. He was driving to school and didn’t see her until it was too late. She died that night.”
“Oh, Ryan, I’m so sorry.”
“How’s everything tasting?” The server interrupted again.
“Great, it all tastes great,” Kate answered, a little annoyed at the disruption.
“Yes, great. Thanks,” Ryan replied.
“Good,” the waiter remarked, and again he was off.
“It was a long time ago, nine years,” he said, returning to their conversation. “She would have been twenty-eight now.” He took a hard swallow from his wine glass. “I’ve gotten used to her not being around, but I still miss her when I think of her.”
“I feel so bad that I brought it up,” Kate said.
“No, no, don’t feel badly. It is what it is.”
“So, you understand how important a sister is,” she told him, looking into his kind eyes.
“Yes, I do,” he agreed, holding her gaze for a moment.
Their waiter returned and slipped the small bill folder onto the table, then refilled their water glasses. Ryan stuck his credit card into the black leather folder and handed it back.
Their server left and Ryan smiled at Kate. Then, just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, they were interrupted once more. This time, it was by an unexpected guest.
A stunning dark-haired beauty with a deep and sultry voice slinked up to the table. “Hey, Ryan, I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”
“Oh, hi.” Ryan seemed caught off guard, looking a tad bit uncomfortable.
The woman rested a hand on Ryan’s shoulder and pulled her long raven hair to one side with the other as she turned to look at Kate.
Kate was taken aback, also and she raised her eyebrows and shot Ryan an impish grin before looking up into the face of the lovely brunette.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” the woman asked, glaring at Kate.
Three Days in Seattle Page 4