Trip rose, giving the creaky chair a backward glance of relief. ‘I’d like to check it before we leave.’
‘Please come with me,’ Dianne said. ‘I’ll show you.’
Candace exhaled wearily as Trip left the room with her sister. ‘We’ve been talking about getting a dog. Penny loves that idea, as you might imagine.’
‘That was my next recommendation. I have the perfect place for you to go for a dog.’ Adam wrote Delores’s contact information on the back of his card. ‘This woman is a dog whisperer. Many of my friends have adopted dogs from her shelter. Give her a call.’
Candace smiled back, the first true smile she’d shown since he and Trip had arrived. ‘I just might do that.’
‘Good. My cell’s on there too. And my email. If you could send me the photos you took of those license plates, we’d appreciate it.’
‘I will. Please, tell Dr Fallon how sorry I am next time you see her.’
‘Absolutely.’ He hoped his expression remained professional because, inside, the memory of those few minutes against her refrigerator were hitting him hard. ‘I’ll make sure she knows.’ Because he planned to see Dr Fallon very, very soon.
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Saturday 19 December, 10.15 P.M.
‘Meredith? You okay in there?’
Meredith sighed at the bathroom door and sank a little deeper into the tub. She’d had twenty minutes of quiet privacy, the most she’d had all day long. This time it was her friend FBI Special Agent Kate Coppola, who was likely armed with several guns and at least one pair of knitting needles. ‘I’m fine. Really.’
‘I thought I heard you talking to yourself.’
Meredith rolled her eyes. ‘If you wanted to know who I was talking to on the phone, you could have just asked.’
‘Sorry,’ Kate said sheepishly. ‘I didn’t want to seem nosy.’
‘That train’s already left the station.’ It was nice to have people worried about her, but it was exhausting too. ‘I was talking to my cousin Alex in Atlanta. Bailey called her and got her all twitterpated. Alex and her husband were going to drop everything and drive here tonight, but I told her that I had plenty of bodyguards and they should leave on Monday like they’d planned.’ Because, like Papa, Alex never let her spend Christmas alone. It was Meredith’s trigger holiday and her family knew it passed more easily when she was surrounded by their support.
‘Yeah . . .’ More sheepishness. ‘It was pretty crowded downstairs. I can go.’
‘Oh, stop,’ Meredith said fondly. ‘You know I don’t want you to go. But I am surprised. I thought you had plans with Decker. I didn’t think you were coming today.’
‘I wasn’t supposed to, but . . .’ Kate’s self-conscious laugh came through the door. ‘I needed to be sure you were all right. I’ve stayed away for hours, but I couldn’t sleep and . . .’
Meredith had to smile. For all her badassery, Kate was a softie who mothered almost as much as Meredith did. ‘I’ll be out in a few minutes. I’ve got to rinse my hair.’ Because she’d washed it again. It had smelled like the shampoo at the hotel where she’d washed away the remnants of . . . She swallowed, pushing the memory away. She had to stop remembering the shot that had destroyed the young man’s head. She’d drive herself crazy.
She’d had to take her anti-anxiety meds twice today. They’d helped, but she didn’t want to take any more. Shampooing her hair would let her smell familiar scents. Calming scents. She hoped.
A few minutes later she found Kate sitting in the armchair in the corner of her bedroom, knitting needles clacking rhythmically as a big old dog rested at her feet. ‘Hey, Cap,’ Meredith crooned, stooping to pet the dog’s white muzzle. ‘How’s he doing?’
‘Really well.’ Kate gave the dog a fond look. ‘We had a scare last week, but it was just a little infection. A round of antibiotics and he seems good as new. The vet says he’s got a few years left. Decker and I want to make them good years.’ She and her fiancé had adopted the oldest dog in Delores’s shelter because the dog had been passed over so many times. ‘He’s a good dog and he hasn’t eaten a single shoe.’ She pretended to scowl. ‘Unlike Loki. I swear . . .’
Chuckling, Meredith sat on the floor and petted Cap’s head when he put it in her lap with a huff of pleasure. ‘Puppies are hard work. Delores told you that.’
‘I know. Decker’s doing most of the training and he’s loving it. Don’t get him started talking about obedience class. You’d think Loki had just graduated from Harvard or something.’ But she was smiling. And then she wasn’t, sobering abruptly. ‘I stopped by Mariposa before I came here.’
Meredith sighed. ‘How is Mallory?’
Kate shrugged. ‘Sitting and staring straight ahead. I don’t know what to do for her.’
‘For now, we just love her.’
‘I know, but I don’t know how to do that. I was going to stand guard there, but between Colby and Stone, they have things sorted. Nobody needed me. Mallory wouldn’t even say hi to me.’
‘She had a horrible shock today. Try not to take it personally. She loves you, you know that.’ Because the monster who’d held Mallory captive for six long years had tried to kill her when she’d finally escaped, putting her in the hospital with a concussion and a badly broken leg. Meredith and Kate had held her hand in the hospital and had been her first protectors as she’d transitioned into the real world. ‘She may just need space.’
Kate winced guiltily. ‘Like you do. Like I’m not giving you. Decker told me not to come. That you’d be overrun with people.’
Meredith patted her friend’s knee. ‘I was earlier, but I think everyone’s planning on going home soon except for Kendra and maybe Diesel. And my grandfather, of course.’
‘I met him. He’s pretty . . . well, like no grandpa I’ve ever met.’
Meredith chuckled. ‘That’s the truth. How long can you stay?’
‘Depends. How much ice cream you got in your freezer?’ She smiled proudly when Meredith laughed. ‘Seriously, how long do you need me to stay?’
‘Depends. You think you can convince Kendra to go home?’
Kate put down her knitting. ‘Why? What did she do?’
‘Nothing yet.’ Meredith focused on petting Cap’s soft coat. ‘Adam may come by later and I don’t want Kenny to make things awkward.’
‘Oh. Well.’ The clacking resumed. ‘Why is Adam coming by?’
Meredith fought the urge to press her fingers to her lips. They still tingled from that kiss. Hell, her entire body still tingled from that kiss. ‘He’s going to explain some things.’
Kate grunted. ‘That sounds ominous.’
‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘Oh?’ Kate’s voice became slyly smug. ‘Tell me. Tell me everything.’
Meredith laughed again. ‘Now I feel like we’re at one of Hope’s slumber parties.’
‘I’ll paint your toenails if you tell me everything.’
Cap rolled to his back and Meredith scratched his belly. ‘Not yet, okay?’
Again the clacking stopped, but this time Kate gently lifted Meredith’s chin. ‘I’m just teasing you. You tell me when you’re good and ready. I’ll always be here to listen. Hell, you listen to me spout off often enough. Somebody needs to be your confidante.’
Meredith’s eyes pricked with tears. ‘I’m not sure what’s happening, but I am a little scared to hear what he has to say.’ She swallowed, uncomfortable with sharing what little she knew of Adam’s secrets, but needing to talk to someone. ‘He’s stayed away from me for months.’
‘I know.’ Kate’s thumb stroked her cheek just like Meredith’s mother used to do. ‘We all know. None of us knows why, though.’
‘Something’s wrong.’ Meredith drew a breath, straightened her spine. ‘Did you know he’s been sneaking into Delores’s shelter to clean cages?’
Kate blinked. ‘Really? No, I didn’t know that. Huh. But I don’t really know him that well. We’ve only worked together a few times. I know he’s a good cop and I know he’s had some issues in the past.’
‘He also spends hours at Mariposa every week. But never when I’m there. He goes out of his way not to be in any space where I am.’