Next of Kin

by Jae

  "My mother won't get to see you in your underwear, so she won't know it, even if you are black and blue," Kade said and pulled the sunglasses back up on her nose.

  Del laughed. Kade's logic was as impeccable as ever. "And? Will you?"

  "Beat you black and blue?" Kade asked seriously. Del was sure her eyes were twinkling with mischief behind the sunglasses. "Only if you deserve it."

  "See me in my underwear," Del emphasized.

  Kade folded her arms behind her head in a gesture of total casualness. "Old hat," she said, pretending to be bored with the prospect of seeing Del half-naked again. "I've already seen you in your underwear three different times."

  "I haven't been on top of my game those times," Del protested. "The first two times, you had just thoroughly trashed my ego by defeating me at chess, and the third time, I had a concussion."

  "Details, details." Kade gestured at a road sign. "Take the next exit."

  Del maneuvered the car into the next lane. "We're already there?" she asked in surprise. The time she spent with Kade always seemed to go by much too quickly. Two hundred eighty miles didn't seem like a large distance when traveling with Kade.

  "Starting to panic?" Kade teased.

  "Do I have a reason to?" Del asked.

  Kade lost her teasing grin. "Not really. My mother is the perfect hostess, and I'm sure she'll treat you with nothing but politeness."

  Del could sense there was something Kade wasn't saying. "And you?" she asked. "Is there a reason why you are so nervous?"

  "When I'm visiting my mother, I usually know exactly what to expect and why I'm there. I fulfill my obligation to take part in family functions, and after that, I leave and return to my own life." Kade took off her sunglasses and slowly, methodically folded them. "This time, I don't know what will happen. Maybe nothing. Maybe the big family blowout I've been trying to avoid since my father died."

  Del knew the situation had to be especially hard on Kade. Kade hated having no control over a situation. "I can't tell you what will happen. I can tell you one thing for sure, though. No matter what, I'll be there for you. You have backup, okay?"

  Kade gave a small grin at hearing the cop jargon. "Okay."

  * * *

  Del waited next to Kade for the front door to open. Front door? More like a portal. Del looked back over the perfect lawn, surrounded by majestic elms. Meeting the parents of a girlfriend – or a prospective girlfriend – had never been a relaxed affair, but Del couldn't remember when she had last been so nervous. The intimidating Matheson estate with the mansion, the rose garden, and its own tennis court wasn't exactly making her feel more at ease. At least they have tight security, she thought with a glance at the high fence around the property, the security cameras, and the password-protected gate.

  Finally, the front door opened. A gray-haired woman stood in front of them. She smiled when she saw Kade.

  Is that her mother? Del wondered.

  "Hello, Bernice," Kade said, answering Del's silent question. "Good to see you again. Is my mother home?"

  "Yes, Ms. Matheson, she is," the woman answered. She looked at Del. "Can I help you with the bags?"

  She's the maid, Del realized, feeling as if she had stepped into a strange world. They probably have a cook and a butler too. She quickly shook her head. "No, thanks. I have it." Del followed the two of them into a marbled entrance hall. She gripped her bag tighter and held up one of Kade's suit bags at shoulder height, careful not to knock over one of the antiques that decorated the marbled hall. She knew she could never afford one of the pieces, even after more than twenty years on the force.

  A slender woman came down the stairs that led to the second floor. "Kadence," she said, looking down at them. "I didn't expect you so early. I just came in from the tennis court, and I'm not dressed for guests."

  Guests? Del wondered if Kade constituted a "guest" to her mother. She looked at the elegant woman. Sophie Thayer Matheson was wearing an expensive blouse and tan slacks that were clearly tailored for her delicate frame. A cashmere sweater was arranged over her narrow shoulders, and whatever she had done on the tennis court hadn't gotten her sweaty or out of breath.

  "We made better time on the interstate than we expected," Kade answered in the same overly polite tone her mother had used.

  Sophie Thayer Matheson reached the entrance hall and kissed her daughter's cheek. Her embrace entailed hardly any body contact. "Hello, Kadence."

  "Hello, Mother," Kade answered formally.

  God, what is this? An audience with the queen or a mother welcoming her daughter home? Del wondered but said nothing.

  "I see you brought a guest," Kade's mother said, finally noticing Del. "Hello. I'm Sophie Thayer Matheson. You are welcome in my home."

  For a moment, Del almost thought Mrs. Matheson expected her to curtsey, but then she offered Del a delicate hand.

  Del put down her bag and gently wrapped her fingers around Sophie's. "Delicia Vasquez Montero. I didn't know Kade has a sister," she said with her most charming smile. She didn't even have to exaggerate much. With her smooth porcelain skin and her slender frame, Sophie Matheson looked barely old enough to have a daughter of Kade's age.

  Sophie looked confused at being complimented like that by a woman. After a second, a flattered smile flitted across her face. "I see good manners are still being taught, even in Portland," she said. She was facing Del, but her words were clearly directed at Kade.

  She doesn't like Kade living in Portland. She wants to have her home, Del understood. "Thank you for having me," Del said. She noticed that the Mathesons' formality was contagious.

  "You're welcome," Sophie Matheson answered.

  Despite that graceful answer, it was very clear to Del that Kade hadn't told her mother she was bringing someone with her. It was equally clear that, even if Kade had told her, Sophie wouldn't have expected someone like Del. Sophie Matheson was hiding it well, but Del sensed she was being scrutinized from head to toe. Del knew she was very different from other friends Kade might have brought home before. I'm not a twenty-something, rich, white lawyer, but a forty-three-year-old, middle-class Puerto Rican cop. Not exactly the kind of guest Sophie Thayer Matheson is used to.

  "Bernice," Sophie Matheson addressed the maid, "please see our guests to their rooms and help them get settled while I change."

  Del tried to imagine a young Kade living in this mansion of a house while they were making their way up the stairs to the second floor. She got a peek at an extensive library, but there was nothing in the house to keep a child entertained, and Del couldn't see Sophie Thayer Matheson getting down on the floor to play with her daughter. I bet Kade was expected to act like a little adult from a very early age.

  Meeting her mother and seeing the house in which Kade had grown up gave Del a whole new understanding of Kade as a person. No wonder she's always so controlled. Showing emotions just isn't done in this house.

  Suddenly sad for the child Kade had once been and the woman she was now, Del wanted to say something to her but didn't know what. The presence of the maid added to the awkwardness of the situation.

  The maid opened the door to the guestroom for Del, and Del noticed with satisfaction that Kade had the room right next to hers. This way, she could keep an eye on Kade should the stalker have found out where she was despite their best efforts.

  She entered the large guestroom and looked around while she set down her travel bag and laid down Kade's suit bag on the bed. The furniture was tasteful and expensive, but it looked more like a museum than a comfortable home. Del sighed. Maybe coming here hadn't been such a good idea after all.

  A knock on the door that connected her room to Kade's made her look up. Kade's copper-haired head appeared in the doorway. "Is the room okay?" Kade asked.

  "Yes, of course." Del would have slept in a broom closet if necessary to keep Kade safe.

  Kade walked farther into the room. She left her bag and her laptop bag in her room. "It was my nanny's room whe
n I was growing up," she said as she looked around.

  "You had a nanny?" It was a strange concept for Del. There had been a lot of children in her family. Not one of them had ever had a nanny. Older siblings, aunts, or friends had babysat, but no child had been raised by a stranger.

  "I had half a dozen of them over the years," Kade answered matter-of-factly. It was probably the most normal thing in the world for her.

  Half a dozen? That means she probably didn't have the chance to get close to one of them. Del shook her head. Seems like a very lonely way to grow up. She couldn't look back at her childhood and her family without bitterness, but at least she had never been lonely growing up. Until the day she had been thrown out of the house, someone had always been there for her.

  "What was that downstairs?" Kade asked. "You didn't try to flirt with my mother, did you?"

  I'd rather flirt with her daughter. "No, I didn't. I just paid her a compliment – and I didn't even have to lie about it. Jesus! I'm closer to your mother's age than yours," Del said with a shake of her head. You're a woman; you're not a blue-blooded socialite, and you're almost her mother's age – three strikes, you're out.

  "She looks younger than she is," Kade answered. "Good genes, I hope, and a good beautician."

  Kade was probably right. Sophie Matheson never had to juggle a stressful job and raising half a dozen kids on very little money. She didn't have the work-worn look or the worry lines of Del's mother. Still, one thing was very clear to Del. "There's no way she could have a son of your brother's age," Del said. Douglas Matheson junior was at least ten years older than Kade.

  "That's one of the Matheson family secrets everyone knows but nobody talks about," Kade said. "Doug is my father's son from his first marriage."

  Once again, Del was reminded how private Kade usually was. She was sure that none of her colleagues and friends knew Doug was only her half brother – if they knew about his existence at all. Del was glad to see how freely Kade answered her questions. "Your father got a divorce?"

  "No. Mathesons don't get divorced. They have unhappy marriages, but no divorces. Make each other miserable, but never leave – that's the unwritten rule," Kade said with a touch of bitterness. "Doug's mother died shortly after his birth. My father remarried two years later."

  "So you did grow up together. Is Doug close to your mother?" Del asked. She could see how being half siblings and the weight of their father's expectations had caused a lifelong rivalry between Kade and her brother. Maybe Kade's mother had added to that.

  Kade picked up her suit bag that Del had laid on the bed. "Not particularly," she said, no emotions coloring her words. It was just a fact of life for her.

  Neither are you, Del thought. Kade and her mother had been polite and friendly toward each other, but there had been no real warmth in their interaction.

  Another knock came, this time on the door that led to the hallway.

  Kade quickly took her suit bag, gave Del a small, conspiratorial smile, and disappeared through the connecting door back into her own room.

  "Yes?" Del called.

  The maid opened the door. "Mrs. Matheson had a light supper prepared. If you want to join her in the dining room..."

  "I'd love to," Del said with more enthusiasm than she felt. She had a feeling dinner with Sophie Thayer Matheson could be a stiff and boring affair. At least she would have Kade's company, and that made it worth it.

  Del followed the maid down to the dining room. Kade was nowhere to be seen, so Del took her time, not wanting to be alone with Mrs. Matheson for too long. Her gaze wandered over the oak panels on the walls and the chandelier above the table that was much too big for just three people. There was a lot of space between the three place settings, and Del couldn't help thinking it was a symbol for the emotional distance between the people in this family.

  Sophie Matheson was already seated at the head of the table, now wearing even more elegant clothes.

  Del hesitated in the doorway. She wasn't sure where to sit or what to say to Mrs. Matheson. A light touch to the small of her back made her turn around.

  Kade had finally arrived downstairs. She had changed out of her comfortable traveling clothes and into a pair of well-tailored pants and a light blue silk blouse that flattered her slender build and brought out the blue of her eyes.

  I should have changed before sitting down to have dinner with them, Del realized. Between the very refined Sophie Thayer Matheson and her equally elegant daughter, Del felt like a mongrel among pedigreed poodles. Come on. Where's your confidence? If Kade doesn't mind your wearing blue jeans to dinner, why would you try to impress her mother? I think it's an impossible feat anyway. Kade is as close to perfect as one can get, but her mother still doesn't seem entirely satisfied with her.

  Del waited until Kade had chosen a seat, barely holding herself back from pulling the chair out for Kade, before she sat down. She noticed the large portrait on the wall in front of her. An imposing man with sand-colored hair and ice blue eyes was sternly looking down at her. Kade's father.

  "Tell me, Ms. Vasquez, how do you know my daughter?" Sophie Matheson asked while the maid brought in the soup.

  No one called Del "Ms. Vasquez." I'm a cop, not a schoolteacher, for heaven's sake! She was used to being called Del, Lieutenant, or just Vasquez. "Please, call me Del," she said.

  "Del?" Sophie Matheson's eyebrow lifted in exactly the same way Kade's did when she heard something she didn't approve of.

  Looks like the proper Mrs. Matheson doesn't like to shorten names. She calls Kade "Kadence" too. "Or Delicia," she reluctantly amended.

  Kade gave her a surprised look, and Del shrugged in answer. The sacrifices I make for you.

  Now Sophie Matheson nodded but didn't return the offer to call her by her first name. "Then tell me, Delicia, how do you know my daughter?"

  Del internally winced at being called "Delicia."

  Kade didn't look up from her soup, but Del could see her fingers tightening around her spoon at her mother's question.

  Don't worry, Kade. I won't tell her anything that might get you in trouble. Del gave Kade a reassuring smile before she turned to Mrs. Matheson. "I'm a lieutenant with the Portland Police Bureau's homicide division, so we occasionally meet through our work. Kade also prosecuted the rapist of a very good friend of mine last year," Del continued. She decided not to use the longer version of Kade's first name. Sophie Matheson might have preferred it, but Del knew Kade didn't. "She won the case, and for that I'll be forever grateful to her."

  Kade looked up. Her gaze met Del's, and her features relaxed into a smile.

  Mrs. Matheson wistfully gazed at the portrait of her late husband. "Kadence is an excellent lawyer," she said as if Kade weren't sitting right next to her. "Her father always said that. He was convinced that her talent is wasted in the DA's office." The look on her face said she thought the same thing.

  Del laid down her spoon. "I can assure you that it isn't. Her conviction rate is way above the national average for a prosecutor. Kade is bringing justice to a lot of women and children who would otherwise see their tormentor go free," she said with passion.

  Both Matheson women looked at her with various degrees of astonishment. Under the table, a foot touched Del's in a silent gesture of gratefulness.

  "Good to see that at least your talents are appreciated by the people you work with," Sophie Matheson finally said, now directly addressing Kade for the first time.

  Oh, I appreciate a lot more about Kade than just her lawyering talents, Del thought, suppressing a smile.

  "Tell me a little about yourself." Mrs. Matheson turned to Del again. "Are you married?"

  Del nearly choked on her soup. That won't happen unless a few laws change. "No, I'm not," she answered as neutrally as possible.

  "But you do have a boyfriend, don't you?" Mrs. Matheson inquired. Most people would have suspected Del was gay by now, but Kade's mother was still blissfully unaware.

  "I'm single," Del answ
ered. She wouldn't lie if Mrs. Matheson asked her directly, but for now, she saw no reason to come out to Kade's mother. If Mrs. Matheson knew Del was a lesbian, she would probably start to question Kade about their friendship, and Del didn't want that. She wanted Kade to be able to relax for a while.

  "If you –" Mrs. Matheson began her next question.

  "Mother," Kade interrupted sharply. "I don't think our guest likes being interrogated about her private life." Her facial expression was the same Del had often seen in court when Kade passionately objected to something the defense attorney had said.

  Del looked at her appreciatively. She had a feeling it wasn't very often that Kade openly put her mother in her place.

  "I was just trying to get to know your friend better," Mrs. Matheson answered indignantly. "It's not very often that you bring someone home."