Her Something Impetuous

by Hunt Harris, Kim

  Michael simply raised his eyebrows and did that infuriating, gathering-his-patience thing he did when he wanted to make her feel an inch tall.

  Karen sat in the chair across from him and crossed her legs, leaning back as if she were settling in. “What are you doing?”

  “What am I doing? Karen, you were the one caught red-handed. You can’t blame this on me.”

  Karen raised her brows and swung her foot, waiting.

  Michael folded his arms on his desk.

  Karen took a deep breath. It was a slightly civilized game of chicken, and if she knew Michael at all, he would flinch first.

  “Look…there’s nothing I can do. You were caught red-handed. How would it look if I didn’t charge you?”

  “I’m not talking about the charges. I’m talking about Kitty Jones.”

  For a second – just a second – his jaw dropped, and he blinked.

  Aha, Karen thought. Caught you.

  “Who?”

  “I saw you, Michael. On the news. I couldn’t see her very well, but I know that was the girl who planted the drugs on Will’s desk.”

  “Don’t tell him we have the CD,” Will had said as she was getting out of the car.

  “Why not?”

  “A picture of him with a topless dancer may get him in trouble, but it won’t get us out of it. We have to find the girl first and get her to talk. We don’t need to play our cards too soon.

  “So, Will told you the box was planted? Karen, you’re too naïve. That’s what everyone arrested for drug possession says. ‘It’s not mine’.”

  “What do you hope to get out of this? How does having your ex-wife arrested for drug possession help you win Haney’s seat in congress?”

  His jaw didn’t drop this time, but he did blink three times. Karen watched as the emotions played over his face. Surprise, wariness, and finally resignation.

  “Look, Karen. I shouldn’t even be talking to you about this. You need a lawyer. I suggest you call Dan Hanover.”

  “Dan Hanover is a jerk and besides, he and Betsy are on vacation in Hawaii.”

  “They’re back now, and he may be a jerk but he’s a good defense attorney. He’ll give excellent counsel and if you have a brain in your head you’ll do exactly what he tells you to do. If you do, I’m sure everything will work out fine for you.”

  “Hmm…wonder why I don’t feel comforted by that?”

  “I don’t know. But I can’t talk to you about this anymore.” He stood. “Just call Dan.”

  Karen gripped the arms of the chair and narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Michael. Somehow it all fits together. You and Kitty Jones, the special election for Logan Haney’s seat. Somehow it benefits you to get me out of the picture. But I’m not going to just sit by and let you get away with it.” She stood and picked up her purse. “And don’t even think about picking Cait up from band practice today. You can wait till Saturday morning, just like the court ordered.”

  She joined Will in her car minutes later.

  “Well?”

  “Oh, he’s guilty all right. Completely.” She started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “I just have to figure out how to prove it.”

  The first thing she had to do was get Cait out of the house. Who knew what Michael was going to arrange for her next? Cait didn’t need to be around to witness any of it.

  “I have to go home and pack a bag for Cait and take it to Terri. While we’re there we can use Pam’s computer to make some still photos from that CD. She has a program that will do it, if I can figure out how to use it.

  The message light was blinking when they walked in her house, but Karen motioned for them to go upstairs. “I’ll check the messages while we’re booting up the computer.”

  It was Midge. Of course it was Midge. Her entire life was falling apart and Midge was having a conniption about her freaking muffins. “I couldn’t remember if I’d told you the apricots must be soaked in brandy for twenty-four hours before the batter is made. I am so forgetful these days.” She giggled, then went on to mention a couple of obscure spices and other life-or-death details associated with the muffins.

  Karen resisted pointing her middle finger at the receiver because after all, it wasn’t Midge’s fault Karen’s world was spinning out of control. And besides, Will was watching.

  So she wrote down the name of the brandy Midge recommended and hung up.

  “Hallelujah muffins?” Will asked.

  Karen closed her eyes and nodded. “Since I don’t have anything else to deal with right now.” She dialed Terri’s number. “Can Cait stay with you for a few days?”

  “Sure. She’s always welcome, you know that. What’s up?”

  “I was charged this morning with felony drug possession.”

  Terri gasped. “Karen! What is going on? You didn’t call me back last night.”

  “I’m sorry, I forgot. I don’t know exactly what’s happening, but I can’t count on being home until I get this straightened out, and I don’t want Cait to see anything. And right now I don’t trust Michael at all.”

  “I’ll pick her up when I get Amanda and Todd from band practice. Why were you charged with drug possession?”

  “Because I had a box of crack in my purse. But it wasn’t mine.”

  “Of course it wasn’t yours. It was the tattoo guy’s, wasn’t it?”

  Karen cast a glance at Will, who was booting up Pam’s computer. “We don’t know whose it was. That’s what I have to find out.”

  “Have you called a lawyer? You need a lawyer.”

  “Of course I have, I called Larry Hayes. He seems very confident that everything is going to be fine.” Maybe she’d just leave out his ‘imaginary friend’ reference. She remembered what Will said. “Don’t worry, Terri. A lot of things have to happen before I’m in any real trouble. I’ll bring Cait’s things over in a little while. She has to go to Michael’s Saturday afternoon, but I’d rather she not see him till then.”

  She hung up and saw a glass and a plate on the nightstand beside the phone. She picked up the glass and cocked her head.

  "What's wrong?"

  Karen shook her head. "Nothing, I just…I guess Cait was in here." Now that she looked a little closer, she saw that the comforter was a little crooked, and the pillow had a dent in it. "I guess she slept in here last night."

  "Does she like this room better than hers?"

  "No, it's not that. She just…she used to come sleep with Pam when she was upset, or had a bad dream or something."

  She straightened the comforter and swallowed the guilt that weighed down on her. Her poor baby. She knew Cait missed Pam horribly. They were so close, and Cait had cried as much as Karen did when they took her to Roosevelt. Pam had cried too, although she'd done her best to keep a stiff upper lip. They all acted as if they were marching Pam to the gallows rather than off to college. All of them except Michael, who kept saying it would be the time of her life, the best thing that ever happened to her.

  The jerk.

  Karen picked up the plate, and saw a note card beneath it.

  It was one of those cute handmade ones that Pam did, with stamps and stencils. Musical notes and instruments marched across the card. She'd made that set especially for Cait, personalized just as Pam personalized everything she made.

  The torn envelope lay under the card. Karen picked it up and saw the posted date was three days before. She didn't know Cait had gotten a card from Pam. Of course, she didn't have to know. They were entitled to correspond without her knowing. She just wished…she wished she were still a part of her daughters' lives. She wished she didn't feel the last one picked for the kickball team.

  She flipped open the card.

  "…a nightmare here, too…a total bitch…come up here anytime. Just tell Mom or Dad to bring you. Or take the bus, it comes from Piedmont every day. We could hang out."

  Karen flipped the card closed and set it back on the table. She wa
sn't going to read Cait's personal mail. Even if she was dying to know what was such a nightmare. And who was a total bitch.

  She refused to think for more than a few seconds that it might be her.

  "Is this it?" Will was pointing at an icon on Pam's computer.

  "That's it." She turned her back on the evidence of her failure as a mother and shifted her attention to redeeming herself as a law-abiding citizen.

  He slid the CD into the player and opened the program. "I don't know what I'm doing, but…” He studied the program as it came up. "When in doubt, there's always the Help menu."

  Silently they studied the Help menu and worked through their options until they'd figured out how to freeze the frame and save it.

  "How about here?" Karen took the mouse and selected a frame.

  Will put his hand over hers and clicked a few times. "I like this one better. It shows more of her face."

  "Good, right." Karen slipped her hand from below his and cleared her throat. "Pam had some photo paper, I'll put that in the printer."

  She avoided looking at him while she rummaged through a desk drawer. "The printer never works for me, so you'll probably have to fiddle with something or adjust this or that, mechanical things have something against me, I don't know what it is."

  Will took the paper from her, set it on the desk, then took her hands in his and drew her down into the chair beside him. "You know, all parents go through this. Even the ones who don't get divorced."

  "How do you know?" she asked, but she was grateful for the sympathy and understanding she saw there. How did he know, this man who had no kids, and yet the father of her children had no clue?

  “Because they do. Don’t you remember a time when you thought your parents were clueless? When you dreamed of getting away from them? It’s called asserting your independence, Karen. If we didn’t all go through that stage, we’d never learn how to be on our own. We’d just live with our parents forever. It’s totally normal.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I say so. Quit beating yourself up over things you can’t control.”

  “I wish I hadn’t given her so much evidence to back up her theory that I’m clueless.”

  He laughed and stroked her cheek. His gaze rested on her lips, and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her. Then he raised his eyes to hers, and the corner of his mouth tipped up wryly. He blinked and pulled his hands away. “Just wait till she hears how you tracked down the topless dancer who tried to frame you for drug possession. She’ll think you’re a genius.”

  “Yeah. And she’ll find out her dad is actually a criminal. Okay, if you’ll print some copies of that, I’ll pack a bag for Cait. I’ll need to drop it off at Terri’s before we go.” She stood and picked up the plate and glass to take downstairs. “Then I guess we get to go hunting down girls who jump out of cakes. Happy happy joy joy.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Karen knocked for form's sake and entered Terri's house. “Ter! We’re in your kitchen,” she called.

  “Hi Sweetie.” Terri came in and froze when she saw Will coming up the steps behind Karen. “Ummm…hi.”

  Will lifted his hand. “Hi, Terri. Sorry to bother you.”

  “No problem.” She put her hand on her hip and gave Karen a look.

  “I have Cait’s stuff,” Karen said. “I called her after class and told her she was going home with Amanda. I got the normal grunt and mumble thing.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll be picking them up about half an hour.”

  “Thanks. Make sure she wears her retainer tonight.”

  “Sure. What’s the news?”

  Karen took a deep breath. “Well, here’s what happened. While I was at the tattoo place yesterday, a girl came in and left a box on Will’s desk. Then the police came. While they were in the front, I was looking at the box, and the drug dog went berserk when he came there and smelled the box. It was on Will’s desk, and in my hand. So we both were arrested.”

  “Karen, my God.”

  “I know. But we weren’t charged with anything until this morning. As I understand it, Michael is the one who decided to go ahead and charge us. But…here’s the kicker. The girl who left the box on Will’s desk was also seen getting out of Michael’s car yesterday evening.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “What was she doing with him?”

  “This is our theory: Michael hired the girl to frame Will and I got in the way. So now he’s trying to get rid of us both.”

  “But…why would he do that?”

  “I have no idea. He and Will are old rivals. And it’s not like Michael and I are best friends. But still…”

  Terri cast a glance toward Will.

  “I know,” Will said. “She shouldn’t hang out with the likes of me.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “It’s okay. I’d agree with you if you did.”

  “There's the criminal.” Terri's husband, Arthur, entered the kitchen. “Is there some kind of reward I can get for turning you in?”

  “Not yet. But I'll keep you posted.”

  Arthur opened the refrigerator and began taking out vegetables. “Want to stay for dinner? Terri's making chicken spaghetti. Or are you still on that diet of yours?”

  “I’ll probably always be on that diet. But no thanks anyway. We’re on the hunt for the topless dancer that my ex-husband hired to frame us for drug possession, so we have to hurry.”

  “But maybe some other time,” Will said. He stuck out his hand. “Will Corcoran.”

  “Arthur Miller.” He turned to Terri. “He doesn’t look that much like Jesus.”

  Terri bit her lip. “You hush. Karen, can you come in the kitch – living room with me for a minute?”

  Terri spun on Karen as soon as they were out of earshot of the guys in the kitchen. “What are you doing? Are you seriously teaming up with the guy who keeps getting you arrested?”

  “No, I’m divorcing the guy who keeps getting me arrested.”

  “You can’t honestly think Michael is really behind this. Come on, Karen. That’s just…paranoid. You’re taking this whole thing too far.”

  “Terri, believe me, I didn’t want to take anything this far.”

  “Your something impetuous is taking over your life.”

  “What? Terri…” Karen huffed and shook her head. “The wild fling thing is out the window. Right now I’m just trying to stay out of prison.”

  “Then you need to hire a lawyer and take advice from him, not the guy who’s making you an accessory.”

  “I have hired a lawyer. He doesn’t believe me, so I’m thinking I need to do a little looking out for myself. And besides, Will hasn’t done anything wrong. I was there. I saw the girl leave the box on the table.”

  “A girl left a box of drugs on Will’s desk,” Terri said deliberately. “Shouldn’t that tell you something?”

  “Yes. Terri, I’m not an idiot. I know there’s a chance Will could be lying to me. I don’t think so, but if he is I have nothing to lose by finding this girl and getting her to talk to me.”

  Terri closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath, as if she were gathering her patience. “Karen. You’re planning to go with a criminal to talk to another criminal. There is something wrong with this picture.”

  “I don’t think you can actually call him a criminal until he’s been convicted of a crime.”

  “He’s been arrested! That’s good enough for me.”

  “Then I’m a criminal, too, remember?” She didn’t think this was a good time to let Terri in on the fact that Will had a prior drug conviction.

  She gave Terri a quick hug. “I know you’re worried for me, honey. I am too. But I don’t know what else to do. I know what I saw. And I know the look on Michael’s face when I confronted him about the girl.”

  “You confronted him?”

  “Yes, and you should have seen the look on his face. He’s guilty of something
. I haven’t figured out why he’d do it, but he’s behind this. I can’t just sit around and wait for something else to happen.”

  Terri just shook her head and gave Karen a sad look. “Where are you going to look for a topless dancer?”

  “Actually, Will thinks he might know some people who may recognize her.”

  “Of course he does.”

  “Don’t be catty, Terri.”

  “You could have made a better choice when you decided to walk on the wild side.”

  “Probably. But then it wouldn’t have been wild and impetuous, would it? Hey listen, I forgot to tell you two important things. Michael is going to run for Logan Haney’s seat.”

  “You’re kidding! He’s going to be a senator?”

  “If people actually vote for him. Promise me you won’t.”

  “Of course not. But Karen, why would he set up his ex-wife for drug possession when you know he’ll have to be watching out for his image, if he’s running for that kind of office?”

  “I have no idea. But he’s up to something. I have a tape of him in the same car with the girl. Oh! Get this.”

  “Ter, where’s my paring knife?” Arthur called from the kitchen.

  Terri rolled her eyes. “Where you left it,” she said, heading back to the kitchen. “Get what?” she asked Karen over her shoulder as she pulled open a drawer.

  “When we saw Michael with the topless dancer, he was driving a Jaguar.”

  “He bought a Jaguar?” Terri drew her head back. “Where'd he get the money for that?”

  “Don't ask me. Maybe his teenage girlfriend bought it for him.”

  “Man.” Arthur shook his head. “I want a Jaguar.”

  “Buy a lottery ticket,” Terri suggested. “Karen, you know what Rosemary says? She works for a urologist, you know? She said when a man is having trouble with his mmm-hmm” She lifted her index finger and then let it droop. “He always goes out and buys a fancy sports car. She said it never fails, when an older guy pulls up to their parking lot driving some hot car, he ain't there for kidney stones.” She cast a quick glance at Will.

  Will just raised his eyebrows and remained silent. Terri flushed and went back to rummaging through her drawer.