by Ritter Ames
Meg used a finger to tap her lower lip. "I just wonder who her father got to represent her. If he's hired anyone at all. Gil would have said a name if he knew one."
"Of course Collier has hired an attorney for Sydney. Why wouldn't he?"
"Maybe because he was the one who killed Lila and he wants to let the suspicion spread. You know, reasonable doubt."
"Use his own daughter?" Kate shook her head. "No, a father wouldn't do that."
"Maybe not, but why didn't Gil know yet if a lawyer has been hired? You know how my husband is about his stories. If the news is out there, he knows it."
"I still can't get over the formality between Timothy and Collier after working together four years," Kate said. "Of course. Collier seems to use professional distance to any advantage. Even his and Erin's affair seemed to fizzle before it had a chance to shine. Maybe that's what made her lose it, not even having the chance to see where it would go."
"Nah, she was sabotaging it long before the car-keying happened. Remember, she tried to get him to pull Sydney from the Olympic program before he even had the job in California."
"Yeah, you're right. And spending even a little time with her would likely have set off his woo-woo sensor."
"Because she's bat-crazy," Meg said, raising one eyebrow.
"She is that."
Kate stood and walked closer to the side window, trying to figure out if the girls had any chance against the boys in the two-on-two basketball game. Even though Mark was older, the girls were about his height already, but both boys had more experience at the game. She kept her gaze on the activity as she spoke, "I see your point, but you also know how Johnson is all about trying to keep what he deems unnecessary information from the press. Gil said himself we told him more about Amelia's case than he or anyone else could get from the state police. And Collier is probably even worse about his privacy. I don't doubt he would likely stay just as quiet in regard to Sydney's defense. Between the two of them, I'm surprised Gil is getting any information at all."
CHAPTER TWELVE
Collier Family Unpacking Instructions/Information
The notebook marked Master List gives an itemized accounting of the packed contents in each box. Each packed box or container will have its own page(s) detailing what is inside and will note how many boxes in total are packed for each room. You will not only find the room name marked on several sides of each box, but there will be a unique number for each room on the label as well. For example, the inventory sheet will show: Living Room, Rm#2 Box#1 of 25. When the moving van arrives at your new house, please have the movers look for these numbers—it will be easier for them to place all the boxes for one room together in your new California home. Then, unpack one room at a time, so you can focus only on that one space and where everything is going. Doing this will help make the unpacking process less chaotic, and actually get your new household up and running much quicker. All inventory info is entered into my computer forms and will be emailed to you to provide inventory files which are easily searchable via phone or tablet once you arrive at your new home. Given that you wanted to be able to hand off the hard copy to my counterpart on the West Coast, all data in the Master List is provided for this job in both digital and hard copy formats.
* * *
"You know, while I'm sorry the family is sequestered off-site, it will be much easier to get everything packed. We won't have to factor in people living there for the next few days," Kate said. She and Meg had sent their families on to church without them and planned to tackle the Collier home now that the police had given the all-clear. They had their van filled with supplies and all of Kate's notes, and Blaine Collier was scheduled to come by soon to cover any new instructions they needed to deal with since the family moved into the hotel.
The skies were cloudy, rain chances almost guaranteed, as Kate and Meg unloaded the stacked box flats that lay collapsed near the vehicle's back doors.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Meg said, hefting a share of box flats, then propping them next to the side of the van. "I feel kind of guilty seeing any silver lining in this, but it will be much easier not having to worry about anyone unpacking what we've just packed."
Each woman wore a heavy duty apron Kate had designed for their organizing jobs. Much like handymen wore, the twill aprons had large reinforced storage pockets to keep supplies accessible at all times. Meg scooped up a couple of extra rolls of packing tape and slid them onto her wrist like tacky bracelets. Both women had big tape guns hanging from the handles, the thick grips threaded through one of the many holster loops on each apron. Kate used a hanging Velcro line on her apron to add a spare tape roll for herself, then grabbed up a handful of black and red markers and divided them up between the big pockets. Finally, she slung one strap of a large blue backpack onto her left shoulder. Inside the bag were all of the notebooks needed for itemizing the move, with the one big master list that would go with the family the day of departure. The front flap pocket of the backpack held the pre-printed colored labels prepared for them to use in tagging and organizing the boxes and various packed items. The last thing she grabbed was a roll of red duct tape.
"Why the colored tape?" Meg asked.
Kate hung the roll on another of her Velcro loops. "Any box that needs to be opened first gets marked with an 'A' on the outside and taped up with this roll. That makes them easy to spot when the family is faced with a sea of boxes in each room."
"Good idea. Sounds like a smart tip for the next time we travel."
"Yes, I put it on the handles of every piece of luggage," Kate said. "Makes it a snap to spot our bags on the luggage carousel."
They slammed the vehicle's back doors in unison and headed inside.
"Why don't you go up and start packing up the kids' bedrooms," Kate said. When Meg agreed, she continued. "I brought over plastic to wrap and pad items yesterday evening. I wanted to make sure we could get in today and the crime scene tape was taken away. I left a good supply just inside the master bedroom."
She had no desire to look over the balcony, but the room was the best available community space for the upper floor. The crime scene cleaners were onsite when she was there the previous evening, finishing up any final stains and removing the last of the fingerprint powder. Kate was grateful for their diligence, as she had no desire to have to clean the dark powder from everything before packing.
"Where will you be?" Meg asked.
"The kitchen. But those blinds will stay firmly in place today." She tossed her supplies on the granite counter, and started assembling the first box. "Just yell if you need anything and I'll run up."
Meg nodded, and started up the staircase with her load. Halfway up, she stopped and called, "Is there a Kate McKenzie perfected moving procedure for labeling the boxes? Or do I stick the labeled tags on each side?"
"I don't know about 'perfected,' but I have my own system," Kate said, walking into the foyer with the box she'd been working on. "With all the moves we've made during Keith's hockey career, for me the best method is to always label packing boxes three times."
She ran tape along the bottom of the box, to use as a visual aid. The adhesive filled the space with its hesitant screeches, as Kate's pull made it release the grip on the roll and transfer hold to keep the bottom flaps affixed together. "I label one long side, and one short side, then the top. By labeling only the top, never the bottom, the movers have a quick visual so they don't stack things upside down. Then the other two sides allow for easy identification, regardless of how the boxes get slid into corners or stacked. You can label all the sides if you prefer, but I've found three sides cover most every contingency."
"Sounds like a good plan. Never the bottom. Got it!" Meg moved on up the stairs.
The kitchen had a unique footprint with its custom counters and built-ins, and a family of four could almost live in the walk-in pantry. Everything right at hand and offering a means of comfort and camaraderie at every turn. Kate's imagination filled with the
idea of all the holidays and family meals this space created, especially with the organic flow into the family room beyond, feeling the family's soul and body until marital discord grew too strong for even this beautiful home's positive influences.
Outside, the rain started with true purpose, then settled into a steady shower for about an hour. It was nice to be able to work inside, listening to the easy rhythm of raindrops against the windows. All the week's preplanning made their tasks go smoothly. The pair met several times to grab and trade out supplies, but the work continued efficiently. Meg went ahead and finished the closets first, hanging all the remaining clothes in large trash bags like Kate had shown her and adding the correct color coded labels for the movers to deliver each bundle into the correct Malibu closet.
Much of the kitchenware and remaining decoration was destined for donation. Collier felt it easier to buy new cookware than move the old, so Kate spent the first hour moving items out to the garage for the nonprofit pickup she'd scheduled for the end of the week. Which meant a quick scare when she returned after one trip and found Collier standing in the foyer slapping rain off the shoulders of his light blue shirt.
"I'm sorry, I should have called out," Collier apologized as he pulled the wet fabric away from his body.
Kate waved, speechless, staring down a moment as she caught her breath. "We've gotten a good start, so I was probably too focused to have heard you anyway."
"Your partner is here, too?"
"Upstairs." She nodded. "We decided to divide and conquer at the beginning, then we can tag team the larger chores, like the furniture."
"How do you do that without huge boxes?" he asked.
She pulled a large bolt of plastic wrap from where it leaned against the pantry door. "We wrap everything in this. It's like food wrap but wider, and the roll is bigger, of course. All the cushions, pillows, everything that goes with a piece of furniture is wrapped like a mummy with the plastic. It's usually enough for wooden items like headboards and chests, too. And it's great for holding doors and drawers closed. We'll use enough so you won't have to worry about the wood getting a lot of dings."
"I'm not worried." He walked over to one of the custom bookcases and ran a hand along a shelf. "I probably would donate the furniture, too, but I think having it when we arrive will help the kids get settled in. Familiar stuff, you know?"
"I think it's a great idea." She motioned toward the box on the countertop, one she assembled using red tape. "This will hold all the things I think you might need the first night for the kitchen. I've put most of the pots and pans outside, but I'm adding a small pan and the electric skillet to this box, as well as a few bowls and glasses and some silverware. The kids might want cereal or grilled cheese sandwiches, something easy, when you first get there."
He nodded. "Good idea."
"And don't worry about the utilities. Someone has to be onsite for the water to be turned on, but I've scheduled everything with the California Realtor. She'll be there, so you won't have to do any camping out the first night."
"Great."
Kate didn't bother going into the full detail of all the places she'd notified of the Colliers' change of address. She'd add that info to the Master List binder she was preparing to hand off the day of the move. Collier would have all the names and numbers he might need, but hopefully everything would already be changed and transferred, and there wouldn't be a single hitch. There was one more detail, however, she did need to talk with him regarding.
"About Sydney's workroom—"
He held up a hand to stop her. "The police took away everything they wanted to test. And Sydney will be by here either this evening or tomorrow to pack the rest."
The relief made Kate feel slightly weak. "Oh, good, they let her go."
"No, they let her out on a million dollars bail." Collier's face darkened. "Thank goodness I could get a good attorney up here quickly. They talked about an ankle bracelet, but by the time all the arguments were tossed around, the judge decided it wasn't necessary. They said Lila's body would be released tomorrow, so now we can at least plan a quiet family service and have the whole family in attendance."
"I can't believe the police still think she did it."
"They don't." Collier fisted his right hand and gave the countertop a good thump. "They're using my daughter to try to smoke out the real killer. I have no doubt. I'm also pretty certain they think the killer is me."
Kate wanted to ask if he had a motive, but she couldn't get the words out. Instead, she tried a less aggressive stance, "Why would they think that?"
"It's always the spouse first, isn't it? Or in this case, the ex-spouse. And the fact I didn't come home with Dustin and Dara. The police don't have any evidence to pin it on me, but they've looked into every second of my time from when I left the restaurant until I arrived outside just after the murder. They think they're calling my bluff and that I'll cave if they put pressure on Sydney. I wish they'd stop messing around and look for the real killer."
"They probably are." At least Kate hoped her statement was true. "Maybe they're trying to get the killer to feel like he or she has gotten away with it, so a mistake will be made."
He raised a cynical brow but didn't say anything. Kate wished she'd kept her mouth shut.
"Anyway," he said. "I came by to tell you to pack Sydney's belongings with everything else. I'm going to function under the premise she'll be heading west with the rest of us. Then she can fly to Boston later when her summer program begins."
"Okay. I'll let the movers know, too, in case they need to step things up to a bigger truck, and I'll let you know if the pricing changes. I've already canceled the second service we'd scheduled to move her to Lila's, anyway, so there's a credit from that cost."
Collier shook his head, as if the details were more than he wanted to even consider at the moment. "I'll go now, but let me know if you need anything."
The only thing Kate needed was the answer to a question she'd been worrying over for days now. There was no way to ask without sounding nosy, so she figured spitting it out was the best method. "Lila came by here the day of the murder and said something about talking with you and Sydney later in the evening. Is that why she was here? She just let herself in?"
His gaze moved up toward the second floor. "Lila always loved the view from the balcony in the evening. I actually think it's the only part of the house she didn't grow to despise. I'm not surprised she arrived early so she could stay out there alone before we got home."
"You were going to talk?"
One fist balled, the other hand rubbing the back of his neck, Collier said, "We were going to tell Sydney she wasn't moving in with Lila. There had been a bomb threat in her office, and a section of her apartment building caught fire the night before. Both things were kept quiet. The environmental organization didn't want the publicity, and the apartment complex owner felt it was just an electrical problem. But those things, along with the nasty epitaph scratched into her car door, were enough to sway Lila over to how I'd been thinking all along. We just needed to convince Sydney it was for the best. I'd started breaking the news that morning, and she had a major fit before taking off for school." He scrubbed his face with his hands, then used the last of his pent up energy to run fingers through his damp hair. His frustration was palpable. "I wasn't looking forward to the discussion, and neither was Lila. I'd called her the minute I got to work."
"I hope you didn't mention this to the police," Kate said.
"No. But why?"
"If Lila was coming around to your side, the police could see the decision as a motive for Sydney to kill her mother."
"I…but…it doesn't make sense." Collier shook his head. "If she killed Lila, doing so would guaranteed she'd be headed for California to finish high school. Exactly what she didn't want. Like she is now."
Kate shrugged. "The police will simply see this as a teenage girl angry at a mother for changing her mind. It's not logical, but it's a human response for a tee
nager. Retribution. And the prosecution can find all kinds of expert witnesses to back up the supposition."
He blew out a long breath and suddenly looked ten years older. "Thank you. I hadn't thought." He sighed. "I'll tell Sydney to keep quiet."
"You might want to mention it to her lawyer as well. He needs to be prepared in case the police get the idea from some other avenue."
"Like a student at the high school?"
Kate nodded, thinking immediately of Nikki Parker. "You said Sydney left the house angry. Even if she didn't say anything at school, someone could do a little guess work and—"
"Screw over my daughter." He ran his hands through his hair again. Kate hoped he could get his agitation level down before he came into contact with anyone else. He stepped closer. "You won't say anything. Right?"
"I can't lie if the police ask me a direct question," she said, "but there's no way I'll volunteer the information."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, other hand on his hip, and gazed at the floor. "That's the best we can hope for," Collier finally said, then looked at Kate. "Thank you. I appreciate you talking to me about this." He spun on his heel and left via the front door.
Wonder where he's headed? Glad I didn't ask that, too.
Now, of course, she was left to figure out what to do about Meg, and right on cue, her friend poked her head around the upstairs banister. "Were you talking to someone?"
"It was Collier stopping by to get the latest update." The kettle was the one kitchen item not packed or not yet destined for the donation pickup pile. Kate grabbed the handle and filled it from the tap before returning it to the cooktop. She needed something calming to figure this out, and tea seemed her best bet. "Come on down and take a break."
Kate knew what she promised Collier, but Meg factored into all of this with her, and her first thought was the oath only extended to the police and the press. They had been talking about the police, so it made sense that's what Collier would have assumed she meant. Not keeping Meg in the dark. Yet, telling her friend the confirming facts the pair already thought likely, the assumption the parents had now planned to send all the children west for the next school year, also meant Kate risked telling the press if Meg told Gil. Could she expect Meg to keep this from Gil? Could she—or should she ask? She didn't even know for sure she could keep the info from Keith in similar circumstances. Would she tell, then ask him not to tell any radio news people at his station?