by Ritter Ames
“I can answer that.” Gil retrieved his notebook and flipped a couple of pages. “A husband. Matthew Sledge.”
“Do you know him?” Kate asked Keith. “Did he work at the agency?”
“No. Never met him. I wasn’t even aware that she was married. She never changed her name.”
“Mr. Sledge lives in Boston,” Gil added, before closing his notebook. “He told the constable he’s been home all day.”
“Makes sense. That’s where the agency is headquartered. It would have made things easier on Gina to live there, what with the traffic and all.” Keith turned to Kate. “Ready to go and rescue Meg from kid overload?”
“Definitely.”
ABOUT EIGHT-THIRTY that evening, Gil called Keith’s cellphone. Kate heard the ring and the voices while she made her nightly rounds.
The girls were ready for bed after their baths. An extended period of “what should I wear tomorrow?” had followed with Suze still fussing as she contemplated her closet. Sam rolled her eyes and polished her ice skates while her twin played diva. Experience told Kate if she didn’t watch out, the girls would talk half the night about the new school year starting the next day, so she tucked them both in and left with a warning that if she heard whispering, she’d wake them up thirty minutes early the next morning. Either the threat worked, or her ears were as tired as the rest of her body, because she heard nothing from their room as she headed for bed. The cat was in the laundry room, corralled to keep him from wandering the house and waking Kate up at four a.m. She needed her beauty sleep if she hoped to look her best at the banquet that she and Keith were attending in Boston tomorrow evening.
Her husband sat propped up in bed talking to Gil on his cell phone with a sports magazine he’d been reading discarded across his lap. “Good. Thanks for calling to tell us. And yeah, Kate will take the kids to school in the morning. We appreciate what you and Meg are doing, keeping the girls overnight. Thanks again.” He winked at Kate when she nodded.
As he rang off, she asked, “What’s the word?”
“All the Traces have been rounded up. Bernadette had been worried sick when she learned their son wasn’t with Jim. The kid left the picnic with a friend to avoid what he’d already assumed would be a stressful evening at home.”
“Poor kid.”
“Uh-huh, and Gil says the three sets of prints they found on the murder weapon match the victim, Jim, and his wife.”
“We told the police that might be the situation.”
“But there weren’t any others. A smudged area, but no other readable prints. We assume Lieutenant Johnson is working on the theory that either Bernadette or Jim killed Gina.”
“Has he made an arrest?”
“No, but the police haven’t finished with the Traces yet. They’ll hold them for twenty-four hours.”
“And their son?”
“He’s still at the friend’s house. His grandparents are coming from Albany to pick him up until this situation gets settled.”
“Tough with school starting tomorrow.”
“Probably just as well that the boy will move away from here,” Keith said. “Got a call from Skip before Gil called. The station is strongly considering exercising the morals clause in Jim’s contract. There’s a definite possibility he’ll be out of a job even if the police let him go.”
“So, Skip called to give you the latest gossip before we left for Boston?”
“That and he needs me to come by the radio station and pick up Gina’s briefcase to take with us when before we head to Boston.”
“What?”
Keith shrugged. “Seems that she left her briefcase in Jim’s office before heading to the picnic. Skip found it and decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to keep something like that at the station. It’s filled with notes on contract negotiations for her clients, as well as her iPad, and Skip doesn’t want any questions about conflict of interest. I can’t blame him, can you? I said we’d drop it by the agency since we were going to Beantown, anyway. That’s much safer than messengering it, given the circumstances and everything. I can run to the station and pick it up while you’re taking the kids to school.”
Kate draped her robe over the side chair and pulled back the spread on her side of the bed. “Good plan. Do you have a morals clause in your contract?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Just worried that Skip might decide I’m a bad influence on you. After all, it’s not just me and Meg finding bodies anymore. You’re caught in the web now, too.”
“I can probably get a special dispensation if you assure them and me this will be the last time you drag me into your new hobby,” Keith said, laughing as he wrapped Kate in an embrace. She started to kiss him, but he stopped her. “Seriously, what Johnson told you is exactly right. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen again.”
“For crying out loud. It’s not like I go around looking for murder victims.”
“I know that, Katie.” He kissed her forehead and then her lips, mumbling as he did, “But every time this happens, I worry ‘what if.’ Promise me, please.”
“I promise.”
“I... I just had to hear you say it.”
“I’d say the same thing to you if our roles were reversed.” She gave him another kiss and patted his chest. “Lights out. I have carpool in the morning. And this mom needs her sleep.”
Day after, 1st day of school, ahead of trip to Boston
WHEN KATE PULLED UP at Meg’s house the next morning for the school run, her friend handed her the newspaper through the driver’s side window of the van.
“The pictures are useless of Gina, but Nathan got a good shot of the girls getting their ribbon,” Meg said, watching her boys climb through the blue van’s cargo door to join the twins. “Buckle your seatbelts,” she reminded her sons.
“Thanks for saving this for me,” Kate said. “I still want to email the editor about getting a print.”
“Text Gil. He’ll take care of it for you.”
“You two are the best,” Kate said and then looked in the rearview mirror. “Sam, did you grab your lunch?”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Oops...” Mark unbuckled his belt and bailed out of his seat. “I’ll be right back.”
The moms smiled at one another. Meg mouthed, It’s always something. But they needn’t have worried about being overheard. The three remaining kids kept up nonstop chatter. Aloud Meg asked, “Are you and Keith ready for your big night in Boston?”
“Yes, we’re all set,” Kate said. “The awards banquet doesn’t start until eight o’clock, but we’re leaving after I get home from dropping the kids off at school. Will you be around for a while?”
Meg shook her head. “I’ll be at my mother’s or running her to appointments. But don’t worry, I’ll pick up everyone on time this afternoon.”
“The doctors have any ideas yet what’s going on with her?”
Tears shone in Meg’s eyes. “Mom is so tired, but she never wants to slow down. I’m keeping my fingers crossed she simply needs to try a less-hectic routine. Today, the doctor will go over all her medications.”
“You’re sure this isn’t too much for you? I don’t have to go with Keith. I can stay here.”
Meg shook her red curls. “No, it will be great. And you deserve the trip as much as Keith does. I have no plans after school, and with Gil working on this new story, I’ll be a single mom. Having your girls here gives me an excuse to take everyone out for a pizza dinner. Maybe even squeeze in a round of miniature golf afterward. If they have any homework the first night, my plan should get everyone to finish in record time.”
Kate reached over and squeezed her friend’s freckled arm as it rested on the open window frame. She didn’t bother with platitudes. She knew both daughter and mother would stay optimistic. Keeping busy was best. Meg just needed a listening ear, and she was happy to oblige.
“Oh, and hey,” Meg added. “Gil just left a little while ago saying it looks like the police
will let Jim and Bernadette go. My dear husband ran out of the house with his phone to his ear, so I didn’t get all the details, but from the sound of it, looks like they’ll be free after their twenty-four hours are up.”
“So, who did it?”
“It still could be one of them,” Meg said. “Even if the police can’t find anything to hold them on at the moment, something may break later.”
“Or Gina was involved with someone else. It’s not like that wasn’t her normal operating procedure,” Kate added.
“Oh, I like this dark side to you, Katie. You’re sounding as snarky as me,” Meg said as Mark leaped back into the van and slid the door closed.
“I have everything.” The boy gave the mothers a thumbs up. “We can roll.”
“Everyone buckled in?”
Mark’s seatbelt click set off a chorus of, “Yes!” Meg stepped back and waved. Kate rolled up her window and told her crew, “Okay, then. New school year, here we come.”
WHEN SHE RETURNED FROM the school run, Keith’s Jeep was waiting at the curb. She saw their suitcases as he closed the back hatch. With a wave at him, she pulled the van into the garage and entered the house one more time to check that the cat had all his food, water, and litter box needs filled. Meg and the girls would come and check on him later, but she and the cat had unexpectedly bonded when her girls brought him home as a stray. No way she’d admit it to anyone, but she couldn’t leave without double-checking on the scruffy orange/gold cat and... well... say goodbye. She might have been the holdout parent originally on getting a pet, but Kate was now hooked on their one-eyed Robin-Hero. His name represented a compromise between Sam and Suze—and the only way peace reigned again in the McKenzie home.
Five minutes later, she hurried back through the garage door and toward the Jeep. The cat was in the front window, watching them climb inside the vehicle, and Kate waved at him. Keith hit the button for the garage door opener as she buckled up. He asked, “Did you kiss the cat goodbye?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“But you did give him the bacon you hid in the back of the deli drawer of the refrigerator after breakfast this morning. Right?”
“No point in letting good bacon go bad before we get home.”
Keith laughed.
“Besides,” Kate said, “if your parents weren’t rubbing retiree elbows at their high school reunion they’d be keeping the cat and the kids—and everyone would be spoiled with much more than just pieces of leftover bacon.”
“Before we adopted that cat, we never had leftover bacon.”
“Aw...” Kate put her hand over the one Keith rested on the stick shift. “Are you feeling neglected because the cat got the last piece of bacon?”
“Darn right, I am.” They smiled at one another.
This trip is just what we needed, Kate thought. Rest, relaxation, and the possibility even for a little romance. She looked at her husband again and smiled.
“What?” Keith asked.
“Oh, nothing. Just happy to be with you.” She slipped her arm through his.
HOURS LATER, AS THEY hit the perimeter of Boston, Keith said, “Can you pull up the map to the agency on the cell phone? I’ve only been there once, and it’s been awhile.”
“Sure.”
Traffic was heavy the first day after a holiday, but it was still better at midday than Kate had feared. The GPS sent them along the best route. It wasn’t long before they found the right skyscraper, and Keith located a nearby parking garage.
He grabbed Gina’s briefcase from the backseat and said, “I’m putting the parking fees for this stop on my expense account. Forgot how pricey parking is in Boston.”
Kate loved this city. She felt her smile spreading ear-to-ear as they broke from the cover of the parking garage to hit the glorious avenue filled with high-rises and history.
Keith laced the fingers of his free hand with hers and said, “Never try to convince anyone you don’t love Boston. Your face would give you away.”
“I wouldn’t even try.”
Their destination was less than two blocks from the garage. Bypassing the revolving doors, he held open a heavy glass door, and Kate slipped inside.
“Thanks,” she said. “I still don’t like revolving doors.”
“From the number of people coming in behind us, you aren’t the only one.”
The agency was on the fifty-second floor. They found the correct bank of elevators easily enough. Minutes later, they stepped into a reception area filled with oversized headshots of sports stars, as well as the team memorabilia from the franchises they played for.
In the middle of the space was a tall desk shaped like a half-moon. Behind it sat an attractive brunette in her early twenties, who looked like she could be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
“Hi, can I help you?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m—”
“Oh my gosh! You’re Keith McKenzie,” she squealed, cementing the cheerleader idea for Kate. “I am such a big fan. I’m from Vancouver, and I was heartbroken when they traded you.”
You and me both, Kate thought. She’d loved the weather in British Columbia.
“Would you mind taking a selfie with me?” the receptionist asked, holding up her phone.
“Why don’t you come out here and stand by Keith? I’ll take a picture of the two of you,” Kate suggested.
“Would you? That would be awesome!” As she circled the desk, the girl said, “By the way, I’m Brandi.”
“Okay, Brandi, stand next to Keith. We can use that blank wall for background,” Kate said, checking the phone’s screen. “Keith, put the briefcase down so it isn’t in the shot.”
He set the satchel on the desktop and moved closer to the star-struck young woman.
“Put your arm around Brandi’s shoulders,” she instructed. Her inner-worrier said she was nuts letting her husband get this close to such a gorgeous young fan, but the girl sparkled even more at the suggestion, and Kate remembered what it was like to meet a personal hero.
Once a shot was taken that met everyone’s satisfaction, Keith explained why they were there.
“Isn’t it sad about Gina? We all feel terrible about it. She worked here for so long. But your timing is perfect,” Brandi said. “Her husband came by to sign some things for Human Resources. He should be out here again any minute. He can take her personal items and leave the agency files with me.”
On cue, a man walked out of the door leading to the inner offices. Kate had seen him before, but no matter how hard she tried, the memory of where or when wouldn’t come to mind. They so seldom came to Boston anymore. She decided she must be remembering an old sports affiliate party that they all attended. But then she remembered Keith hadn’t known Gina was married.
Maybe they were just dating at the time, she thought.
“Mr. Sledge,” Brandi said, “your timing is perfect. Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie are returning your wife’s briefcase. She left it at the radio station in Hazleton.”
Matthew Sledge turned toward Keith and extended a hand. Keith stepped forward for the shake. “Wow, Keith McKenzie. In the flesh.” Matthew Sledge grinned. “This is an honor.”
Kate studied the recently bereaved man. He was dressed in a gray suit, and he wasn’t much taller than she. Why did he look familiar?
“Sorry about your wife,” Keith said.
“Thank you,” Sledge mumbled.
“My wife, Kate.” Keith pulled her slightly forward. Slowly taking his eyes off Keith’s face, Matthew Sledge turned his attention to Kate. Panic flashed across his face.
His suit had thrown her. But Kate recognized the need-a-haircut curls of the park’s maintenance man. She blurted out, “You were at the picnic yesterday!”
He shoved Kate into Keith and ran for the elevator. An elderly couple had just gotten off, but they were moving too slowly for Sledge. They blocked his escape. The man and woman looked bewildered as he flew right at them. They tried to get out of his way. Instead they
ended up obstructing him as he tried to skirt them and board the elevator. Finally, Sledge made it into the car. But before the doors closed, Keith launched himself in a flying tackle. The two men landed on the floor of the elevator car. Their outstretched legs kept the door from closing. The old man hit the “Open” button, and the doors slid to a fixed position, then he jumped back to avoid their wild feet and legs.
Gina’s murderer twisted and tried to push Keith away. When that didn’t work, he punched Keith square in the face. But the former pro hockey goalie had experience with on-ice brawling, and Keith had taken tougher punches. Rather than give up, he delivered a round-house jab to Sledge’s face. The blow slammed the murderer’s head against the floor of the elevator. The man groaned and managed to wedge his foot against the elevator walls. That allowed him to flip Keith onto his back. Keith fought to keep his grip on the man.
“Call security and 9-1-1,” Kate shouted to Brandi. Worried that Keith might get the worst of this scuffle, she grabbed the briefcase and raised it high. Her goal was to hit Sledge over the head, but both men were moving too fast for her to aim accurately.
“Here, take this instead,” Brandi said. She handed Kate a Taser before grabbing the receiver and dialing for help. Kate dropped the briefcase and fumbled with the Taser. Now all she had to do was figure out how the device worked and keep from zapping Keith by accident. Was that possible? She had to try.
“Stop or I’ll shoot,” she yelled, pointing what she hoped was the right end at Gina’s murderer. But the men were locked so closely in battle, she still worried she might miss and hit Keith.
Matthew Sledge turned and looked her way. Kate inched closer, pointing the Taser at him. She gripped the weapon with both hands and glared at Sledge, trying her best to look intimidating. Sledge looked at her, at Keith, and back at the Taser.
“Do it now!” Kate screamed.
Sledge gave up. His nose was bleeding, and Keith’s lip was swelling fast. Keith pulled the man to his feet, cranked his arm behind his back, and pushed him toward the offices.