by Kit DeCanti
“Wait!” Angel said and took her fingers and fluffed Kats hair more and then after giving it a spray, stood back and gave her sister a once over and smiled, “That’s better. Let’s go!” Kat sighed and followed her little sister down the stairs, wishing she could just crawl under the covers and sleep through this Friday night. Except for last Friday, when she broke their date, this would be the first Friday night she and Ron wouldn‘t be having diner together for almost a year.
Angel insisted on driving her car, and was even more chatty than usual on the drive around Soda Bay Road to Konocti Harbor. Kat noticed that her little sister kept stealing looks her way and grinning which made Kat suspicious.
Angel was excited as she pulled her car into Konocti’s overflow concert parking. Exiting the car she ran around and opened the passenger’s door and grabbed Kat’s hand and pulled her along. “Come on Kat!”
“What’s the hurry- we have reserved seating!” was Kat’s response. Angel gave her a smile that made Kat again think she had something up her sleeve. Wondering what her little sister could be up to she pulled her hand back and stopped.
“What’s up, Angel?” Kat demanded.
“Why? Nothing!” replied Angel trying to assure her, “I just know you are going to love this concert!”
“Will you please tell me just what is going on?” Kat demanded again. Angel just grinned even wider and walked faster.
The sisters got in line, Angel chatting away the time. Her words fell on deaf ears. Kat was just not in the mood to be around someone so happy and bubbly. They finally got to the front of the line, and just as the usher took Kat’s ticket and tore off the stub, Angel cried, “Oh no! I must have left my ticket in the car. You go get our seats, and I’ll run back and get it!”
“I’ll go with you,” Kat said, but Angel insisted, “No! Go save our seats! You know how they rush the stage when the music starts.” And she turned and ran off. Kat relented, and made her way through the crowd and found their row. She stood in their sections, looking around hoping to see Angel coming, but when she didn’t see her, she slid in past three couples to her seat placing her bag on the vacant seat next to her for Angel.
As she sat there waiting for Angel, Kat tried not to think of the many concerts she had seen here with Ron. Then she looked up as a commotion made her think that Angel had arrived only to lock eyes with a very surprised Ron. There was something else besides surprise. Worry. A tall pretty blond peeked her head around him and smiled. Ron stammered, “Hello Kat. This is my… uh… this is Wanda.” His face was turning red.
Kat stood up, turned towards the opposite end and pushed her way through the people already seated. From the corner of her eye she could see Ron still standing as she left the room. She ran into the bathroom where she found Angel giggling with one of her friends.
Angel took one look at Kat’s face, and cried, “What happened, Kat? Didn’t you want to see Ron? Did he say something mean?” Kat just burst into tears and between the sobbing she begged Angel to take her home.
Kat rode slumped against the passenger window as Angel explained how she and Uncle Lenny planned this ‘blind date’ scheme to bring her and Ron back together again. Lenny had bought the two tickets and had one of the other deputies give one ticket to Ron while Angel gave the adjoining ticket to Kat.
“Well, guess what! Ron bought another ticket. He brought a date!” Kat wailed. Now she knew it was really over.
No amount of coaxing could get Kat out of her bedroom the rest of the weekend. She lay sprawled on the floor with a stack of client files spread out; trying to gain some perspective by pouring over cases she was working on. Focusing on other people’s problems that were far more serious than her own.
One terminally ill client had received a meager inheritance which really didn’t make a dent in her budget, but it was enough that she needed help to retain medical aid.
There was the ninety-five year old man who had symptoms of a stroke, but whose family thought it was a waste of money for him to have CAT scan.
And an elderly couple was losing their home because the reverse mortgage company they had signed up with went broke, and the new mortgage company was demanding payment in full.
And then there was the elderly woman, who was being forced out of her home by her deceased husband’s son.
Yes, these people’s problems were bad- but it didn’t make Kat’s hurt less.
CHAPTER SIX
Danger
Kat was thankful when Monday finally came around, and she could bury her sorrow in work. She kept her head down not making eye contact with her fellow workers, who by now had either heard or sensed that the biggest romance of Lake County was over.
Her court appearance was midmorning, so she knew she could count on no one trying to make small talk. She could even avoid answering the phones.
Kat wasn’t nearly as nervous as before about the court hearing. She had done her homework and felt ready, even though the defendant, Daryl Schneider, was a very large, angry looking, bearded, biker type who had tried his best to intimidate her during her interview with him.
Looking in the mirror Kat had practiced maintaining the detached and neutral expression that her college professor had recommended in such times. She had no desire to provoke Mr. Schneider’s anger against her. However, Kat felt strongly that her number one responsibility was to do her best to see that her client Mrs. Smith was protected and safe from Mr. Schneider’s abuse. And that the elderly woman regain control over what was left of her bank account and her own finances; and that Mr. Schneider pay restitution along with being barred from ever working as a caregiver again.
Kat looked at her watch, gathered her files, placed them in her briefcase and tapped on her supervisor’s door and requested the keys to the shared county vehicle. As Kay handed them to her she said, “Kathryn, I’m sure you will represent the county proudly and I’m not worried a bit about your ability to present your case… call me if you will be finished by noon and lets meet for lunch.”
Kat was smiling as she got into the county car and headed to the Court House in Lakeport.
It was a confident Kat that finished testifying “…. Your honor I am not sure Mr. Schneider is truly as contrite as he is portraying. In my observation he has displayed an attitude of ‘it’s my way or the highway- but in this case it’s the rest home. He peppered his conversation with names of local nursing homes obviously intended to intimidate and threaten Mrs. Smith. Your honor you’ve read the report that Mrs. Smith’s neighbor stated that she witnessed frequent verbal and emotional abuse and that she was privy to the fact that the signature to make Mr. Schneider power of attorney to Mrs. Smith’s bank account and other financial affairs was coerced by said emotional and verbal abuse.” Kat finished feeling strong and proud for her courage to face the large bearded ex-biker, “I ask your honor to take these facts into consideration when you make your ruling.”
Kat left the courthouse exhausted, but certain that partly because of her testimony and mostly because of the heavy evidence the District Attorney gathered against Mr. Schneider that the county would prevail.
A hunger pang reminded Kat of her lunch invitation with her supervisor. Before starting the car she called Kay’s cell phone, who said she was already at Bigg’s 155 Diner and invited her to join her. It would be the first time going there since her last Friday night dinner date with Ron. But today she felt strong enough to face it.
“Besides if I am going to get on with my life and stay in Lake County I need to start building new memories,” Kat muttered as she headed for the lake side restaurant. However even as she spoke, in the back of her mind she was beginning to toy with the idea of relocating. She had learned that the position she passed up when things got serious with Ron was available again and she still had a shot at it.
Kat climbed the stairs to the roof top where Kay had a table for them, wishing that at least they would eat downstairs where she and Ron had never sat. After ordering their lunch
Kat realized why Kay chose the more private roof top. This was more of a performance review meeting than a congratulatory lunch.
“… Don’t take this wrong Kathryn, you are doing fantastic. There are certainly no problems or complaints with your work. You are completely dedicated to your job. But that is the problem. Kat, you have no personal life. You are taking your work home with you- you are married to it. If you continue in this course you will burn out very quickly. I’ve seen it happen so many times before.
“You must be able to leave the work on your desk. Your home needs to be your source of relaxation. You need to find something you’re passionate about to take your mind completely off work.”
Reading Kat’s expression, she lowered her voice, “I know … you and Ron have… split... But romance is not the only answer. There are plenty of things that can consume your attention and leave you refreshed come Monday morning.” Looking up she smiled at the waitress who was bringing their order, and said “Now let’s enjoy our lunch! Your Penne Chicken looks scrumptious!”
“Yeah, like I can enjoy pasta after this,” Kat groaned to herself. She pushed her food around her plate taking only a few bites; conversation with her boss was forced and uncomfortable until thankfully enough time had passed for her to excuse herself to return to work.
Kat dreaded the weekend. If she didn’t take files home with her to work on what would she do? A little more than a month ago she had no time for anything, and now she seemed to have more time on her hands than she could bear. It caused to her wonder again, if perhaps she had really been stalling about making wedding plans because she was not really in love with Ron.
“But if that was so, then why did she hurt so much now?” she asked herself again.
She just didn’t understand any of this. How could Ron have found someone so fast? Did he really not love her either?
Kay was right about one thing. She did need a distraction. But not from work.
She needed something to keep her mind off Ron and their broken engagement. She just couldn’t think about it. It hurt too much. But it hurt too much right now to think about not thinking about it.
She pulled her thoughts back to Mr. Guido Lombardi and his rich, elderly wife. Since she was told to close this case at work, it was not technically ‘work’; and so, she rationalized, she was free to follow up on it on her own time.
Besides, she was not convinced that something fishy was not going on. Mrs. Lombardi seemed to be well cared for; and Mr. Lombardi seemed genuinely saddened by his wife’s condition. He had been every bit cooperative up to this point; even so, Kat had a gut feeling that all was not as Mr. Lombardi would have her believe. She remembered Ron’s theory about gut feelings. “Go with it!” he had said often. She decided to.
Kat frowned again. She wished she could put her finger on just where she had seen Mr. Lombardi before. She was certain she had seen him and the young vivacious woman he was with at the post office before- but where? And who was she?
Kat went through the motions of getting up, going to work, answering phones, filling out forms, filing papers, returning home and going to bed; and somehow got through the rest of the week.
Saturday morning arrived and she stayed in bed as long as she could. Then getting restless- and against her better judgment Kat decided to take another ride up to Vista Montagna. But this time she drove up in broad daylight.
Once again, she was surprised to find the gate open. In the light of day, she soon could see why. It looked like someone had taken a crowbar to it, breaking the lock and pushing the gate off its track. “Funny, Mr. Lombardi hadn’t had it fixed by now,” Kat thought as she cautiously drove up the steep winding driveway. As she got to the top, she knew right away it was abandoned. The trees had shed leaves all over the roadway and paths, the ornate lawn furniture was gone, the Model T and gas pump were missing, and the topiary was unkempt.
Kat parked, walked up the stairs and peered through the glass door. Empty. Well, empty of most furniture, but there were a few items left behind and things were all strewn about. It almost looked like a burglary scene. As Kat turned to go she was startled by a woman coming around the corner of the porch.
“Oh!... Hello,” Kat said, “I was looking for Mr. Lombardi.”
“Oh!” replied the woman, equally startled. “Uh… They have moved.”
“My name is Kathryn Amoretti, I ...” Kat started to say she worked for Social Services, but thought better of it, since she would then have to explain why she was here on her day off and not in a county vehicle. She abruptly changed course. “Umm… I guess I missed them. Well, I…I’ll meet up with them later.” Then out of curiosity she asked, “May I ask your name?”
“I’m Suzanne Wrigley… I’m a realtor and am hoping to list this property. Do you know where I can find Gu... Mr. Lombardi?”
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t. Well, I’ll be going then, nice meeting you,” Kat said and left quickly before she could be asked any more questions and thinking, “That’s a first. I’ve never met a realtor that didn’t greet you with their business card in hand.” There was something about the woman that unnerved Kat. Maybe it was just the mountain itself. After all, it had not been that long ago that Kat was chased and ran off the road on this mountain.
“What am I doing here?” Kat asked herself as she got in the car and made her way down the drive way; then added out loud, “More to the point; where do I go from here?” Kat had reached a dead end. There had been neither mention of, nor signs of the Lombardis moving. Something had caused them to pack up and leave suddenly. Was it her visit and inquiries? Or perhaps Mr. Lombardi feared the news of his affair would be leaked to his wealthy wife. She wondered about that along with all the other suspicious things surrounding Guido Lombardi, as she drove back down the steep driveway.
So many questions Kat needed answers to.
Kat decided to purchase a thorough background check on Guido Lombardi. Although she didn’t have permission to do it through her job, nothing was preventing her from going online on her personal computer and finding out what she could, as long as she paid for it herself.
As Kat drove through the broken gate at the bottom of the hill she looked to the right on Diener Drive and a shudder ran through her as she flashed back to the night she was chased on that road. She quickly pulled out and headed the opposite direction towards Salmina Road and the highway; checking her rear view mirror the whole way home.
Once home Kat felt foolish for being so panicky. She turned on her laptop and out of habit logged into her email. She bit her lip, realizing that she was still hoping for something from Ron.
Kat looked over at her jewelry box which still held her precious engagement ring. Ron had not asked for it back yet. She had been going without any jewelry because she couldn’t bring herself to open her jewelry box, knowing the sparkling Lake County diamond would glisten up at her. She knew sooner or later she would have to open the box and retrieve the ring and return it to her one time suitor. But each time she tried she couldn’t. Not yet.
Kat also couldn’t pick up the brooch she had made for her mother at Magoon’s Jewelry store, because Ron had had Kerry Magoon design her ring there, too. “I’ve got to get over this! I’ve got to move on!”
Kat pulled her thoughts back to the task at hand- to the mystery up on Cobb Mountain. She thought she would try looking up the two addresses that she had come up with when she first did a search for Mrs. Lombardi. That seemed to be a logical place to start. She printed out the addresses with directions and decided to see what she could find out there.
Having a new destination her spirits rose and she skipped down the stairs taking them two at a time. Kat climbed into her rental, and briefly wondered if her car would be ready soon. Not that she missed her little Spyder. After that close call, she was determined to trade it in for a larger and more solid vehicle. Perhaps a Jeep. Kat backed up a bit and pulled out of the driveway and headed once again back up Cobb Mountain to what she suspected
would be the Lombardi’s previous address or maybe even their current one. She wasn’t familiar with the addresses. She had never been to that part of the county.
As Kat wound her way up Bottle Rock Road, she watched the mileage carefully trying not to miss the turn off; however she did miss it and had to circle back. Having found it, she drove slowly up the long lane and wondered what kind of house could be at the end of such a rough road. When she arrived she whistled under her breath.
“It must be the legendary Willow Mansion.” Kat had heard about this place, but thought its reputation to be overly exaggerated.
It wasn’t! It was beautiful and it was huge.
“You would think that anyone who could afford a home like this could maintain the road,” Kat couldn‘t help thinking. Of course the past couple of winters had been harsh, and without constant maintenance it didn’t take long for a road to erode. Kat knew that from experience with her own family’s drive way. But then they didn’t have money to burn, and the owner of this property would have to.
Kat was happy that no gate prevented her entrance this time, but was disappointed to see a large pickup and not the black Hummer in the driveway. That and the fact that there were no signs of the lawn ornaments or furniture that were now missing at Vista Montagna, discouraged her from having any hopes of finding the Lombardis here.
Kat parked next to a large weeping willow whose branches were swaying in the gentle spring breeze, and got out of the car, stopping to look around a bit. Other than the large pickup in the driveway, the place looked vacant and neglected.
The home itself was a breathtaking three story brick plantation style mansion. And, although unkempt now, the grounds had the definite signs of being professionally landscaped and loved at one time. However, things had obviously not been kept up for quite awhile. Kat also could tell that, although now overgrown, the shrubs were once trimmed and trained into topiary. She felt certain that Guido Lombardi and his elderly wife had lived here. She looked up at the balcony and thought she saw someone step back from the railing. Kat hurriedly walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Soon a man opened the door looking very surprised and, Kat thought, worried as well.