Katie opened the bedroom door and came halfway to the kitchen, keeping her distance. “No, that’s it. Thanks.”
Nick saw the air mattress on the floor. “You got more stuff to move in? I’ve got some time if you need a strong back.”
“Nope. I’m afraid this is it.”
He scrutinized her bedroom. “You don’t even have a bed.”
“Nope, not yet.”
Nick’s head swiveled toward the living room. “Or a TV.”
“I’ve got my books.” Katie pointed at the stack on the coffee table.
“No TV? That’s crazy.” Nick frowned and placed his business card on the counter. Pointing at it, Nick explained, “I’m easier to get ahold of than my dad. Call me if you need anything.” Still shaking his head at the lack of a TV, Nick let himself out and headed for the General Store. There was more to this story.
Once Nick was gone, Katie washed her dishes and put them away. They barely filled one cabinet. Sighing, she headed back to Walmart to buy towels, washcloths, and coffee. She doled out another $36.17 and didn’t give in to the temptation to purchase more things for the kitchen.
Unsure what else to do with herself, Katie showed up at Tipsy’s a half-hour early.
“Watch it, girl, you’re making us look bad,” Colleen teased. She handed Katie her new work shirt and pointed her toward the bathroom to change.
Katie spent her first day acclimating herself to the restaurant and multiple storage areas. She snickered at the liquor supply stored in a massive vault with a safe-like lock. “Jeez! Kinda serious, huh?”
“An Irishman and his liquor?” Colleen winked, “You can never be too careful.”
Katie hauled and rearranged food staples—oldest to newest--in the freezer. Lorraine ran through the kitchen, harassed, as usual, and Katie bussed tables when she could.
“New girl gets bathroom duty!” Colleen laughed. Katie didn’t.
A few hours into the shift, Mark snuck an unauthorized break outside. Colleen threw open the back door, making him jump. “Dude, we don’t pay you to smoke. Annie’s running circles around your sorry ass. Get in here!”
Mark made a face and stubbed out his cigarette. “You can tell who’s the boss’ kid.”
Katie's mouth flopped open. “You're Colin’s daughter?”
“Yep. Have been all me life.” Colleen put brogue into the statement.
Katie felt foolish for not putting the pieces together sooner.
Catching Katie’s eye, Mark grinned. “Know how to get a redhead to change her mind?”
Colleen’s shot Mark a murderous look.
Katie couldn’t resist and took the bait, “No. How?”
“You wait ten minutes!”
Within a nano-second, Colleen quipped, “Why is a banana better than Mark?”
Katie’s eyes grew large. So far, the jokes had been tame.
Colleen snorted, “Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Lorraine swung through the kitchen. “Big family of six just walked in. But, tell me, why is a banana better than Mark?”
“A banana has a-ppeal!”
“Oh, you’re hysterical. Haha.” Mark rolled his eyes but got back to work.
By 4:30 that afternoon, Katie was exhausted. Her head hung heavily on her neck as she leaned against the sink. She was convinced she’d run every plate, glass, and piece of silverware through the dishwasher. She filled the soap dish and slammed the door, running a hand across her forehead and leaving a line of suds. She leaned against the counter and sighed.
Lorraine snickered. “Get used to it, honey. They’re all long days around here.” She handed Katie a towel, “Wipe your face. You look ridiculous.”
“I did move into my apartment last night,” Katie called out in defense. She was happy, though. To work and joke with people without the constant strain of Jack’s presence was a novelty.
Late in the afternoon, Jack found himself sitting on one side of the long conference table. The three auditors faced him across the polished oak.
“Mr. Werner, we have a few questions we hope you’ll answer before we finalize our report.” The first auditor picked up a stack of papers and tapped them together.
The second auditor pushed his glasses up on his nose. Addressing Jack, he said, “There seems to be an unusually high number of construction bids granted to two local contractors who’s estimates were toward the higher end of the scale. We need to review your parameters used in determining who received building contracts.”
The third auditor said nothing, which was unsettling.
Jack cleared his throat. “Is there a list of contracts in question?”
The first auditor split his stack of papers neatly in half, handing four pages to Jack.
Jack’s eyes grew large. “All of these?” He scanned them quickly. At least forty contracts were being questioned, with more than two-thirds awarded to Kane Brothers Construction. Jack fidgeted once in his chair and willed himself to sit still. “I don’t think we’re going to get through this in a day.”
The middle auditor agreed. “This may take most of next week, maybe two. You’ll want to gather your notes and get the files together. We’ll reconvene at ten o’clock on Monday.”
The third auditor had saved the best for last. “No paperwork leaves the office, Jack. We’ll be watching.”
Jack’s weekend plans of following Katie’s possible routes evaporated.
After work, Colleen handed Katie twenty dollars. At Katie’s questioning look, Colleen explained, “You get part of the tips today. You bussed tables, and kept things running.” Katie accepted it gratefully and headed toward home. Home. She bounced happily on the truck seat, but then Jack’s face filled her mind. She drove with caution, scrutinizing each car and driver she passed.
Chapter 51
Jack spent Saturday morning in his home office. He turned off the cameras temporarily and shredded the hidden bank statements in his desk. Next, he called each of the Kane brothers to set up a meeting, “Let’s meet in person and not do this over the phone.”
Sipping coffee, Katie re-figured her finances. Rent, the deposit, and two trips to Walmart had made another significant dent. She was slightly nauseous when she counted out the remainder of her money--$703.36. “I’d have less if I’d gone to Florida,” Katie comforted herself.
She paced the living room twice and walked toward the window to look down on the street below. “And I need some damn curtains too.” Scrubbing her face with both hands, she flopped on the couch.
She closed her eyes, thinking through what she absolutely had to do before her first paycheck. Put the electricity in my name, open a checking account, and get a few more basics for the apartment.
“I need another job!”
She missed Aunt Susan terribly and almost gave in to the temptation to call. Not yet. Katie told herself. It’s too soon. It made her sad, and with nowhere else to sit, she ended up on the couch again.
Looking at the clock, Katie realized fifteen minutes passed. “Quit feeling sorry for yourself, Katie. Get moving.” She grabbed her keys and all the paperwork she thought she’d need and drove toward a branch office for Georgia State Bank in the business section of town.
Less than an hour later, Katie was the proud owner of a checking account, ten temporary checks, and a debit card, arriving in three days. She’d deposited $400 in the bank to cover the next month of rent and electricity and hid $200 under the passenger floor mat of her truck. If Jack showed up, she needed to be able to run. The rest of her cash went into her tote to cover expenses until she got her first paycheck.
Katie called the electric company and set up the utility in her name. They required a fifty-dollar deposit, and she happily read off her new bank account number and authorized them to electronically collect the deposit. She called Don next, surprised when he answered the phone.
“Oh, hi. It’s Annie. I was going to leave a message.”
“Well, you got the real thing instead. Everythi
ng all right?”
“Yep. Your son fixed the faucet this morning.”
Don nodded, happy to have Nick home. “It’s good to have him here to help again.”
“Tom said he just moved back from New York?”
“Yep. Ran off for a few years, thinking the city would do him good. He had some lofty ideas he got to try out, but you can't shake off the hometown roots--ya know?”
“Hmm,” Katie answered noncommittedly. “I called to tell you I transferred the electricity to my name. I opened a bank account today, too. You won’t need to worry about me carrying all that cash.”
“Good girl. You hide all them documents. too, okay?”
She smiled at his advice. “Yes, sir.”
Jack met the three Kane brothers at a local sports bar. To anyone noticing them, they were simply four guys eating snacks and watching the football game. Jack told them about the audit, and they took the news better than he’d expected.
“We’ve seen that happen before.”
“No big deal if you covered your tracks.”
“We made cash payments from separate accounts, a little here and a little there. We wrote it off as marketing. We have accountants and audits, too.”
All three brothers eyed Jack.
Scott, the oldest, leaned forward. “You were careful, right?”
Jack answered quickly, “I deposited the money into a separate account, right about the time I’d have gotten my bonus from work anyway.”
“You should have left the transaction as cash,” Scott admonished. “It’s harder to track. You should close that account. Not now, or it will look suspicious.
Ronnie, the second brother, issued a soft warning, “We don’t want anyone knocking on our door. You understand, Jack?”
Tim, the muscle of the group, stayed silent.
They spent another hour discussing ways around questions, giving tips, and coaching Jack. They naturally left him to pay the bill.
It wasn’t quite noon, and Katie wasn’t scheduled to work until five. She had no idea what to do with so much time. She headed toward the General Store and was disappointed to find the old-timer table empty.
With nothing else to do, she traipsed in and out of all the specialty stores at the Blue-Sky Market, pestered Isaac about his carvings, and once again drooled over the piece resembling an ocean wave. Katie stood on tiptoes and peered through the window of the empty commercial space next to Tanja’s Antiques. She could fully envision it as her future bookstore. It won’t be happening anytime soon, that’s for damn sure.
Since it was next door, Katie walked into the antique store. The cashier was about her age, so Katie struck up a conversation, “You’re young to be working in an antique store. I always assumed antique stores were for retired people.”
The woman laughed and pushed her long, brown hair behind her ears. The move made her pixie-like face stand out, and Katie was charmed.
Well,” the woman answered, “a little old lady owned it—my grandma. She named it after me. I’m Tanja.” Her eyes turned wistful. “I spent every summer here, helping Nannie run the store. She taught me about furniture and china and crystal perfume bottles. It was a magical place, and I fell in love. When she died, the store came to me. I never dreamed that was her plan, but here I am,” Tanja’s voice held pride.
“I wouldn’t mind having a little store of my own someday. Not antiques, though, so don’t worry. I won’t be competing. I’m Annie, by the way.”
“I know. The whole town’s talking about the new girl.”
Katie had picked up the same china pitcher three times during their conversation. She turned it over, frowned, and set it back down.
“You like this?” Tanja put the small vase into Katie’s hand again.
“No. I love it. The bright red roses, the gold plate around the rim. It’s calling my name.”
“You’ve got a good eye. That’s Bavarian china signed by Findley Rosenthal.”
Katie blinked. “I have no idea what you just said.”
“It’s rare to find a piece without any chips.”
“Is that why it’s twenty-seven dollars?” Katie pouted.
Tanja laughed. “Where do you want to display it?”
“On my kitchen counter.” Katie playfully ducked her head and closed one eye, waiting for Tanja to scold her.
“You want to put a rare piece of china on your kitchen counter?”
Katie nodded.
“Just because it looks nice? Annie, you’re my new best friend!”
“But I can’t spend twenty-seven dollars.”
“Oh, you’re a wheeler-dealer, huh? Twenty-five?”
No, I mean I really can't spend any money right now.”
Tanja nodded and set the vase down. “Are you all moved in?”
Katie’s eyes grew large. “How did you know?”
“I told you. You’re big news.”
“Hardly,” Katie scoffed. “But yeah, I’m moved in, although I still need a hundred things. I’m out of money until I get paid. Is there a thrift store around here where I can get the stuff I still need--cheap?”
“Did you say you want to go to a thrift store?” Tanja pretended to fan her face. “My God. You are my new best friend.”
Maggie strolled in, at that moment, and caught the end of the conversation. “Now you’ve done it. Tanja will be dragging you to the Goodwill Store every free hour you’ve got.”
Tanja nodded her head hard enough to have her hair flying around her face.
“See?” Maggie asked.
“Seriously, what are you doing tomorrow afternoon?”
Katie spread her hands. “Absolutely nothing. I don’t work until Tuesday.”
“Wrong.” Tanja made a game buzzer sound. “You’re going shopping with me!”
Maggie laughed. “I warned you, Annie.”
Katie worked six hours behind the bar at Tipsy’s Saturday night. Her back hurt, her feet were sore, and she felt vulnerable out among the customers. Her head swiveled toward the door every time someone new walked in the restaurant.
“You looking for someone, A Chara?” Colleen asked. “You got a hot date tonight?”
Me?” Katie flushed. “I just got here, remember? And, What’s A Chara?”
“It means friend. We take care of our friends here, understand?” Colleen gave Katie a pointed look.
Katie nodded once and began cleaning the bar top in earnest. Later at closing, Katie accepted $46—her portion of tips. It eased her financial worry a tiny bit. Katie waved goodbye to Colleen and Mark and headed for home.
She watched every car along the route, peering into windshields and still expecting Jack.
Chapter 52
Sunday morning found Jack in his office again. He drank his third cup of coffee, trying to develop a reasonable approach to tomorrow’s meeting with the auditors. He swiped the dust off his desk and spent hours creating an official list of pros and cons for choosing construction companies to complete county jobs. His vision blurred a few times, but he made himself finish the document, adding a much earlier, fictitious date to the footer at the bottom. He researched the companies he’d bypassed over the years, so there'd be a believable explanation as to why Triple C or Kane Brothers Construction were chosen over lower bids.
He tossed a ready-made dinner in the microwave, hating this new aspect of his life. If Katie hadn’t left, frozen dinners wouldn’t be necessary. It was one more thing to resent.
With no opportunity to bring Katie back home, and the auditors breathing down his neck, it was going to be a long week. Jack mixed himself the first of several drinks.
Katie didn’t know the last time she’d had so much fun. She’d shown her list to Tanja, who had taken off like a shot, scouring the aisles of the Goodwill. It was an education, as Tanja gave a running monologue, “Oh my God, would you look at these!” She held up a set of salt and pepper shakers. “These are leaded crystal!” She dropped the set into Katie’s cart.
Katie sidetracked to the clothing area, finding another pair of jeans, shorts, and one more bra. When Tanja caught up to her, Katie played off the purchase, not wanting to admit how desperate she was, “These are all name brands!” Katie wheeled the cart back toward the household aisles.
She and Tanja found the right sized curtains for the bedroom and living room. When Tanja threw curtain rods in the cart, Katie grinned. “I would have forgotten those.”
They found a plethora of accessories; a dish rack, two wine goblets, ice trays, measuring cups, a cutting board, and two paring knives. Tanja even made Katie try on hats, and they each picked out a book.
“I had no idea,” Katie said, still wearing her silly hat and loading her truck. The whole experience had cost $47.08. “I’m never going to Walmart again.”
“That a girl! You got any wine to go with those goblets?”
Katie shook her head.
“Well, stop at the liquor store. We’ve got some celebrating to do.” Tanja saw Katie purse her lips, and added, “My treat. I made a new friend today.”
Katie fretted. Her lack of things would be painfully noticeable, and she was afraid Tanja would ask questions. Let it go, Katie. See what happens. As they entered Katie’s apartment, Katie did, however, close her bedroom door.
Tanja took in the kitchen and sparse living room. “Let me guess. Bad relationship just ended, right?”
“Pretty much.”
Tanja nodded, opened the wine, and made a toast, “To two fabulous women.”
Katie clinked her glass, and they spent an hour getting better acquainted. They even hung up the curtains in the living room. Katie felt some of the stress of running and hiding ebb. Katie hadn’t experienced such natural camaraderie since her Atlanta days with Renae and Donette, a whole lifetime ago.
As a slightly tipsy Tanja walked home, Katie rested her head against the door and decided she was calling Aunt Susan. It had been ten days, surely it was safe now.
“Hello?” Susan barked into the phone.
“Aunt Susan?”
“Oh, my God! Katie? Where are you? Are you all right?”
“I am. I can’t talk long, but I had to hear your voice.”
There Was a Crooked Man: A Psychological Thriller Page 26