“Oh,” Sam nodded. “So, you were about to answer my question.”
“Right.” Kate stretched out her leg. As much as she wanted to defend her own motives, she had needed certain resources to ensure her safety, and Chase had offered them to her. While she really didn’t owe anybody any explanations, Sam had been kind enough to give her the reassurance she’d needed. The least she could do was to give her some reassurance in return.
But how much did she dare tell her?
“I do love Chase.” She looked at Sam. “But there is more to it.” She pulled in a breath. “I think I’m in danger because of something stupid I did.”
“Danger?” Sam leveled a look of concern. “What kind of danger?”
Still collecting her thoughts, Kate peered out the door at the cozy outside deck. The sky had darkened to a vivid cobalt and the thought of fresh air appealed. “Do you mind if we sit outside for a bit?”
Sam stood. “That’s a good idea.”
As they stepped through the glass door, the cool air felt refreshing against Kate’s cheeks. Sam flipped a switch, and pools of soft golden light washed the deck, which was almost as big as the salon inside. A hot tub, with a bar rimming one edge of it, stood at the center, and various kinds of seating surrounded it. On the far end, two sets of batwing gates opened to stairs leading down to the lower level swim platform. Kate recalled coming up that way earlier after Sam had tied the dinghy to the back of the boat.
Sam flicked another switch, illuminating the orange glow of a couple of heat lamps which flanked a long white sofa. As Kate sat, Sam looked over the railing at the swim platform. “I thought I heard someone.”
“Someone?”
She shook her head. “It’s no one.” She eased down onto the sofa. “I’m just half-expecting Stuart to come paddling out on his kayak.”
“He’s still upset?”
“He just has some things to work through.”
“Oh.” Settling into the soft cushions, Kate let her gaze drift over to the hot tub, with its neatly folded white towels and a champagne bottle in a shiny silver bucket gracing its edge. This really was the life.
She took a deep breath and began. “I came from a pretty bad family situation and I left home before I graduated high school. I wound up in San Diego with no money and no job skills. I answered an ad to be a customer service rep for a clinic, and it was kind of a lifesaver. See, a bunch of us were in the same boat, down and out or runaways. The guy who ran the company—his name was Joe….” A shiver ran up her spine when she said his name. “He had a condo and let anybody who needed a place to live move in. It wasn’t exactly ‘home’, but it was a place to sleep. Sounds pretty dismal, right?”
Sympathy brimmed in Sam’s eyes. “Go on.”
“So the job turned out to be a sales job. Some of the people who had been there longer tracked down names and contact information for people who were critically ill. Then they’d send us out to talk to them about the clinic. We’d make fifty bucks for every person we convinced to come in to experience a healing.”
“A ‘healing’?” Crinkles formed on Sam’s brow. “What kind of healing?”
“I didn’t really know at first. Just that Joe had all kinds of people saying they’d been cured of various things. Like it was some kind of miracle.”
“Uh huh.” Sam sounded skeptical. “Go on.”
“So after a while, I realized that Joe was making a bundle of money, but I didn’t really question it because it was keeping me off the street.”
Sam raised a disapproving eyebrow. “It sounds like a tenuous situation.”
“It was. But I had a small group of friends I could count on. Shari and Ben, and Iowa. We called her that because she hardly ever talked and no one knew her name. All we could get out of her was where she was from, so that’s what we called her.” Kate smiled at the memory. “But my favorite was a boy named Dakota. That really was his name, not where he was from.” A lump formed in her throat. “He was just a kid—only fifteen when he first got there.”
“Fifteen? You mean this man employed children?”
“He kind of looked the other way, I suppose. Anyway, Dakota’s seventeen now, but he still seems so young. He has Downs Syndrome, and he really needs looking out for. I kind of took him under my wing.”
Sam pulled her legs under herself, clearly getting involved in the story. “Did he do the same job as you?”
“Yes, and he was great at it. He’ll talk to anyone, and he’s a hard worker. Plus, Joe had him telling people a story about how he couldn’t walk or even speak until Joe healed him.”
“Was that true?”
“No, but people believed him. He’s so sweet, I don’t think it registered to him as a lie.” Kate pulled her good leg up, mirroring Sam’s position as best she could. “Anyway, after I had been there for a while, Joe offered me a promotion to office assistant. I was thrilled not to have to solicit patients anymore, and it was kind of exciting. I was let in on all the inner workings of the clinic, and I finally got to witness actual healings.”
“So, what happened in these ‘healings’?”
“Well, they took place in the room Joe called the ‘Operating Theatre’. It looked just like an operating room, but he had a place along one wall where a small audience could observe. It was my job to help guide the audience members in and tell them what to expect. I also made sure they knew the rules.”
“Rules?”
“Like to stay in their seats and to not cross the line on the floor. Joe didn’t want anybody to get too close to him while he was working on the patient.”
Sam shuddered. “That sounds ominous.”
Kate expelled a jittery breath, hating the memory of this part. “It was weird, but people who are sick or have sick loved ones want so badly to believe in miracles, that maybe it didn’t seem so strange to them. The patient would be all prepped on a table with a sheet covering them. Then Joe would come in wearing surgeon’s scrubs, complete with mask and the whole bit. He’d pull back the sheet to uncover whatever area of the person’s body was most impacted by their illness.” She clasped her hands to keep them from shaking.
“Then he’d take a small knife, like a surgeon’s scalpel, I guess, and he’d cut into them. You knew he was really cutting because blood would…” She had to pause to subdue the memory and its accompanying emotion. “Blood would spurt out. Then he’d reach into the person’s body and pull out the thing that was making them sick. It always looked like a tumor or something. Then he’d rub his hand over the incision and say some kind of chant and the incision would heal. It was weird, like I said, but he really convinced people that he had some kind of healing power.”
Disgust rolled across Sam’s face. “And you believed it?”
“I really wanted to. It was all a little weird and cult-like, but it was a job and I liked my friends. Plus all the patients seemed to think they were either cured or at least better after their healing, so there was every reason to believe it was real.”
An image of Mr. Hingston clung to her as fresh as the day he’d visited the clinic. Kate brushed back a tear. Karen had tried to talk him out of it, right up until he’d gone in for pre-op. She was the only family he had and since she hadn’t wanted to watch, there had been no audience for that surgery.
Mr. Hingston was such a sweet man, and he’d been so certain that the healing was going to cure his cancer.
It hadn’t.
A wave of sadness washed over her. “Then it got a little scary towards the end.”
Sam rubbed her upper arms. “What happened?”
“Well…. One day I walked across the parking lot to get a sandwich at the mini-mart. A man walked up and started threatening me.”
“Threatening? What did he say?”
“He asked if I worked for Joe Malone and I said yes. Then he said he was a detective and that if I didn’t do everything he told me to do, he’d arrest me.”
Sam frowned. “On what grounds?”
<
br /> “Well, he told me that Joe was perpetrating a scam and that I would be charged as an accomplice if I didn’t help to gather evidence against him.”
“What kind of evidence?”
“He said that what Joe did wasn’t real surgery, but that it’s a sleight of hand, and he wanted me to get close enough to take a video. I was so scared of this detective, and of going to jail. I mean, he really had me terrified.”
“I can understand that.”
“That afternoon, I cut a little hole in the pocket of my lab coat so you couldn’t tell I had the camera in it. I was so scared when Joe started the healing. It was dark in the room except for the bright lights shining right on Joe and the patient. I eased closer and closer to that line. I hoped he wouldn’t notice, but he kept glancing over at me.”
“Kate, that must have been so frightening.”
“It was. Finally, I was standing right on the line but I still couldn’t get a good view of his hands. So I took a big step, and he kind of jerked his arm up and looked at me. A thing that looked like a kidney fell out of his sleeve and splatted on the floor, and the audience gasped. It was really awful. Joe did his best to try to save the performance, but it wasn’t very convincing. To make matters worse, I knew I hadn’t gotten anything on video.”
“So what happened?”
“Well, after the surgery, Joe wanted me to go into his office and talk to him in private. I reminded him I had to get to the bank before it closed because I always took the day’s money in to deposit. Joe only let people pay in cash so there was always a lot of it. I took the money pouch out of the safe and shoved it in my backpack like I always did. Joe said we’d talk as soon as I came back, and he went into his office.”
She stopped and took a deep breath. She couldn’t admit that Karen Hingston had picked that moment to storm into the clinic, furious that her father had died that morning.
What happened after that was the real reason Kate had run. Would the story still make sense if she skipped ahead?
“Kate?” Sam touched her arm.
Jerking back from the memory, Kate realized she’d been staring off into space. “So I grabbed my backpack and ran. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You couldn’t call the police?”
“Maybe I should have, but I was afraid because of what Detective Johnson had said. I thought if I went to the police, they’d arrest me. So I ditched my lab coat and kept moving till I made it to the Greyhound station. I looked to see when the next bus was leaving, and it happened to be going to San Francisco.”
“You ran away a second time?”
“Yes. The good thing was that I always kept my most important possessions with me in my backpack.” She took in a deep breath, confident that she should include the next part. “It wasn’t until I was holed up in a seedy motel room in San Fran that I remembered I also had the money pouch. I took it by accident.”
Sam raised an eyebrow.
“Please don’t tell Chase,” Kate quickly added. “I haven’t told him that part yet.”
With a slow blink of understanding, Sam nodded. “And you couldn’t return it because you were afraid of Joe?”
“Right. And of Detective Johnson finding me.”
“So, how much was in the pouch?”
Kate gulped. “Almost a quarter of a million.”
“A quarter million dollars?” Sam’s eyes shot open. “That was his take for one day?”
“Yeah. It was a good day.”
“So what did you do?”
“The only thing I could think to do. I dyed my hair blonde, changed my name from Kathy to Kate, and got a job in a place called The Club After Five”.
“Is that a restaurant?”
She took in a breath. “Sort of. It’s more of a Gentleman’s Club. Anyway, I got asked to move into an apartment that five of the girls who worked there shared. It wasn’t great, but it was in a safer neighborhood than that motel and it was good to have people to walk home from work with.”
“So the club is where you met Chase?”
She nodded. “He came in one night with a group of guys for a business meeting. He was so nice, and different than the other customers. He seemed kind of protective of me in a way.”
“It sounds just like Chase to want to protect a pretty young woman.”
“Especially one with blonde hair and blue eyes?” Kate looked down, still feeling conflicted about that point. “He came in a couple more times, by himself. He just sat at the bar and had a drink, and struck up a conversation when he saw me.
“Then one night I went in to work and there was Detective Johnson sitting at the bar. I panicked. I ducked back into the room we used for our breaks and one of my roommates confronted me. She said he’d been asking around about me, and told me that if I was in trouble with the law I’d have to move out. I knew I couldn’t stay at my job either if Johnson was onto me. Chase happened to walk by and he heard me crying hysterically. He asked if there was anything he could do to help me. I just sort of blurted out my story.” She looked away. “Except the part about the money.” And Karen.
She sniffed and went on. “He told me he wanted to help me, and he took me to a nice hotel and put me up in my own suite. All by myself with no strings attached. Over the next few weeks, we just got to know each other. And he meant what he said. No strings attached.”
“That does sound just like Chase. He has such a big heart.”
“I honestly don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t shown up in my life. He was a real angel. That’s why I have a hard time believing he could have harmed anyone.”
“Trust your instinct, Kate. I’ve known Chase most of my life. He’s had a couple of rough breaks, but the man you met in San Francisco is the real Chase.”
Kate smiled.
“And I’m relieved to know you’re not marrying him for his money.”
Kate thought back on everything she had just told her. Had she made that clear?
Sam met her questioning gaze. “I know that, because you have enough money to keep yourself safe.”
“Oh, but…” Kate cut herself off. She had never even considered using the stolen money, but if knowing she had it assured Sam of her intentions with Chase, then maybe that was okay.
Sam let out a sigh. “And now, it’s getting late.” She stood, stretching her arms over her head. “I’m guessing you could use some good rest.”
Kate couldn’t help a yawn. “You’re right about that.”
A few minutes later, Sam began checking all the doors as Kate braced herself for her careful trek down the stairs to the lower level.
“Oh, Kate.” Sam stopped abruptly as if jarred by recollection. “I meant to tell you this earlier.” She crossed to the wall near the top of the stairs where Kate stood, and put her hand on a white box, similar to the ones in the house. “I don’t want you going up and down the stairs any more than necessary. If you need anything, just call me on the intercom. There’s one right next to your bed.”
“Thanks, Nurse Sam.”
Sam’s eyes twinkled. Clearly, she enjoyed the opportunity to dote on people.
After making the slow journey to the lower level, Kate hobbled down a short hallway and entered the master suite. This room occupied the tip of the boat and made Kate feel like royalty. She quickly changed and slipped into the humongous bed, which was situated in the middle of the room. She reached over and turned off the light, sinking into the fluffy pillow and gazing at the windows making up the V-shaped end of the room.
As she looked out at the lights of the Shaw Island ferry landing in the distance, a sense of security warmed her as much as the downy duvet. Joe couldn’t get to her out there.
She allowed her eyes to close and a feeling of peace to claim her. She would dream of Chase and the life they would share together. Yachting. Maybe even traveling once the media frenzy died down. Life would be good, and filled with love and passion.
Passion….
As she sta
rted to drift off to sleep, an image soothed her mind. Embraced by warm, strong arms, a sense of love and security which she had never known before surrounded her. In the soft haze between sleep and wakefulness, she felt her head tip back to look into the eyes of the man she adored.
Josh.
Her eyes popped open. Josh?
She sat up, her heart hammering in her throat. Her mind had wickedly shone a light on the secret her heart had kept hidden for the past three days. An ache…no a yearning for Josh.
What had triggered the release of this longing that her logical mind had known was best kept concealed? His phone call. That was it.
She let out a groan. Getting so caught up in her conversation with Sam, she’d completely forgotten to check for a message. She was way too comfy now to trudge all the way back upstairs, and in spite of Sam’s instruction, she would feel like a total brat asking her to bring her purse down to her. It was no big deal. Even if Josh had left a message, it could wait until morning.
Closing her eyes again, she listened to the soft sloshing of the waves outside and the occasional cawing of some kind of a bird. She’d gotten what she needed—reassurance, from a reliable source, of Chase’s innocence. Everything would be okay.
With her course laid out before her, she finally felt truly safe.
Cautiously, she closed her eyes again, praying that a certain handsome future filmmaker wouldn’t invade her dreams.
Chapter 22
Relaxing into one of the cushy chairs on the deck of the main house, Kate suffered a sudden pang of consciousness. All night and through breakfast, she’d done such a great job of pushing Josh to the back of her mind that she’d forgotten to check for a phone message. With a resigned sigh, she grabbed her purse from the floor next to her and began diligently digging through it.
Sam glanced at her from behind the morning newspaper. “Did you lose something?”
Kate frowned into the depths of her purse. “I know I put my phone back in here last night.”
Compassion filled Sam’s dark brown eyes. “Maybe it fell out and slid between the sofa cushions. We can check once we’re back out on the yacht.”
Tide Will Tell (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans) Page 16