She had been expecting the call. In fact, she had expected Olivia to call earlier in the day, possibly in a rage. If she hadn’t been swamped, she would have phoned Olivia herself to see if she still had a friend. Kendra had tossed out the dice and heaven only knew whether they had come up snake eyes.
She braced herself and answered. “Hi, how much trouble am I in?”
“Big time,” Olivia said grimly. “Get down here and face the music.”
“I’ll be at your door in three minutes.”
She was actually ringing the bell in two minutes.
Olivia swung open the door and stepped aside. “Come in.” Her expression was stern. “What the hell made you think you could get away with this?” She gestured to Jessie, who was curled up on the couch. “Manipulation all the way, Kendra. We aren’t pleased.”
“I didn’t think you would be.” But she noticed Olivia had said we and not I. It brought a tiny ray of hope. “But I couldn’t think of anything else to do. Two is always better than one. It wasn’t really safe for you to be with me, so I thought maybe if Jessie moved in with you…”
“And you didn’t remember how angry you were when Lynch hired me to guard you several weeks ago?” Jessie asked. “You were ready to throw me off the nearest balcony.”
“I remembered. But I thought perhaps the two of you could work it out. And you don’t have to guard her nonstop. Neither of you would tolerate that. I thought just having you as her roommate might deter Zachary.”
“And you told Jessie I was this weak-kneed wimp who needed her to take care of me?” Olivia asked. “I could feel all that slimy sympathy oozing over me when she walked in the door.”
“I didn’t say that,” Kendra said quickly. “I didn’t really—I tried to describe—but you’re fairly indescribable, Olivia.”
“But you didn’t push it,” Jessie said. “You didn’t want me to know what I was walking into when I showed up with a suitcase and my ‘oozing’ sympathy. I’m lucky she didn’t karate chop me and toss me out in the street.”
“I think you could have handled that,” Olivia told her. “I’m no wimp, but I’m no ninja either.”
Jessie grinned at her. “I could try to teach you. You have potential.”
“Yes I do. For all kinds of talents.” She turned back to Kendra. “And my friend here knows it, and yet she did this to us.”
“Your friend wanted both of you to be safe,” Kendra said. “And I handled it clumsily but an opportunity presented itself with Jessie and I took it. You told me forgiveness wasn’t necessary, but I think it is in this case. Forgive me.” She looked at Jessie. “I sent you in blind because I was desperate. I had confidence that you could make it work once you took Olivia’s measure.”
“We did make it work.” Jessie got to her feet. “But we had a bad thirty minutes before we decided you were the bad guy, and we were golden. Olivia figured it out that I was on your protect list, too. I couldn’t believe it. Me? The humiliation gave us an instant bond.” She came toward her. “So you’re going to get your way, Kendra. We’re going to be roommates and keep each other safe. Because we find we like each other and respect each other and for one other reason. We’ll be living one floor below you and we’ll be able to take care of you. We’ll not pay any more attention to your precious independence than you did for ours. How do you like them apples?”
“You expect me to argue? I think I got off easy,” Kendra said unevenly. “After looking at those crime photos all day, I’m just grateful that you’re not going to punish me by telling me that no way would you stay in the same condo. I’m grateful, period.”
Olivia was listening, head tilted. “Rough day, Kendra?”
“You might say that.”
“Did you have dinner?”
“A burger. Don’t coddle me, Olivia. I’m feeling too guilty.”
“Good.” Olivia swept toward the kitchen. “Mission accomplished, Jessie. We can let her up for air. I’ll make the salad, you get a drink for all of us.”
“I’d prefer a tad more punishment,” Jessie said regretfully. “She insulted my professionalism.” She lifted her shoulder in a half shrug. “But if you insist. Sit down, Kendra. You can see Olivia is making a virtual slave of me. What do you want to drink?”
“Anything.” She dropped down on the couch. She was relieved and just as monumentally grateful as she’d told them. It was obvious that the two women had already formed a strong bond and Kendra couldn’t have wished for anything more. “Just not too strong. I’m so tired I’m a little dizzy now anyway.”
“Well, you’re off the hook for the time being. Just don’t do it again.” Jessie was at Olivia’s small, elegant bar. “I don’t know what on earth you were thinking.”
“Neither do I.” She wearily rubbed her temple. “Something about circling the wagons…”
*
THE GANG WAS ALL here.
Zachary smiled as he walked down Fifth Street. He had spent an exhilarating half hour watching the dream team arriving at their digs at the San Diego Hilton. They’d each arrived in their own rental cars, looking oh-so-impressive as they’d strutted toward the tall glass doors. The men didn’t look as if they’d aged a day. Except Gale, whose lines had grown deeper and skin had gotten grayer. Those New York winters hadn’t been kind to him.
But it was good to see them all.
He was quite sure they’d spent their day trying to get to know him, desperately attempting to slot him into their ridiculous psychological profiles. Didn’t they know what a unique animal he was? He’d beaten each of them all on their own turf, although Detective Rosco had gotten closer to catching him than anyone ever realized.
He’d created his own unique profile for each city and the know-nothing investigators had fallen for each one.
He knew each of them better than they would ever know him, he was certain of that. He even knew how they would spend their evenings. Richard Gale would order in room service and watch some kind of sporting event, probably the New York Knicks if they were playing. Arnold Huston, the oldest man in the bunch, would have a sandwich in the hotel coffee shop before going to his room, calling his wife, and turning in. Young Trey Suber, the serial killer enthusiast, would type up his impressions of the day before cross-referencing them with his own database of killers that he kept in his trusty laptop. Ed Rosco would have dinner in the hotel bar before enjoying a few drinks. He’d hit on the young women who might be impressed that he’d once been portrayed by a big movie star, even if the film was one they hadn’t actually seen.
Did their years of experience give them any idea what he’d planned for them? Doubtful.
And are you sensing the storm that’s coming, Kendra? If anyone could guess what he had in store for those fools who thought they were so clever it would be you.
His pace slowed as he felt himself being drawn away from those egotistical detectives he had just left. As much as he enjoyed thinking about his old sparring partners, his heart was a few blocks away, with Kendra Michaels. He wanted to go to her with a yearning that was almost hunger. She was so close after all this time of preparation. He had reached out and touched her when he’d sent that message through her friend Olivia.