Closing Books (24 page)

“Something just doesn’t sit right with my gut,” she murmured under her breath.

Silence lingered as each of them thought about what Evelyn had just said.
 

“Ryan? Dan? Oh, I don’t know, but one of you should take this. It’s Joe.” Marianne stood at the door, her frown deepening the lines on her forehead. “I’ll pack some clothes for Lydia.”

“Pack some clothes for Lydia?” Evelyn said as Marianne handed the phone to Dan.

“Please don’t tell me Lydia is at your hospital.”

Dan’s sigh was an answer that Evelyn didn’t want to hear. She shook her head and gave a frustrated sigh. “Kate’s going to freak.”

“How bad is it?” Dan asked. His lips pressed into a thin line as he nodded away. “All right, we’ll get there as soon as possible. No, it’s fine, Eve will call Kate. All right.”

“How bad is it?” Evelyn asked Dan once he put down the phone.

“He isn’t sure; he hasn’t seen her. She’s being transferred there right now, but based on what he’s been told, it’s bad. Should we wait until Kate gets back before telling her?”

“You’ve got to be kidding. I’m not putting my neck out for that. We tell Kate, and we tell her right now,” Ryan said.
 

Dan turned to Evelyn and waited for her to make the decision.

“He’s right, we have to tell Kate. I don’t look forward to her reaction, but we’ve got to tell her, now.”

As Evelyn expected, Kate didn’t want to wait for an update from Joseph. She insisted on heading down to the hospital immediately to see for herself how Lydia was doing. Dan, Evelyn, and Marianne headed down while Mr. Sawyer and Ryan stayed behind at the mansion, in case any new surprises sprang up.
 

They waited for over half an hour before Joseph came out through the swinging doors.
 

He didn’t smile even as he saw them. His face was clean of all expression, and the only sign of distress was the small sigh he gave before speaking. “She’s not in any danger, but she’s hurt quite badly.” His voice softened on the last two words, as though it would help lessened any anxiety they had.

“What happened? Was it David Morgan?” Kate asked.

“She doesn’t know. All she could remember was being shoved into her apartment while she was opening the door. The rest is just a blur.” He paused for a moment, allowing Kate to absorb the information.

Evelyn could tell he had more to say, but was wondering if he should say it all at once. When Joseph’s eyes flickered onto hers, she gave him a small nod. It was better to spill everything at one time. Kate hated having to sniff out information piece by piece.

“The paramedics said her house’s been trashed, but her money and jewelry are still on her table. She didn’t say anything except to send her here and my name.”

Kate took in a ragged breath as her hand moved toward her necklace. She tugged on it, and the focus of her eyes drifted from him.
 

“Did she tell you anything else?” Tyler asked, his hand around Kate, holding her protectively.

“The assailant did give her a message—back off or pay.”

Kate’s face blanched. “Can we see her now?”
 

“Yes, but not all at once. Her throat hurts, so she can’t really speak.”

“Evelyn, would you go in with her? I need to talk to Dan,” Tyler said.

Evelyn knew they were going to start planning their full security scheme that neither she nor Kate would have a say in. She went to her friend and looped her hand around Kate’s arm, following Joseph toward the wards.
 

Even Evelyn couldn’t help but gasp when she saw Lydia’s swollen face. Her face was a mixture of purple and blue, her skin stretched to accommodate the swells. The white of her eyes were barely visible, and when she forced her eyes open, all Evelyn could see was the crimson red in her eyes.

Kate couldn’t even speak. She stared dumbfounded as tears fell from her eyes.
 

“I’m okay.” Lydia’s voice was soft. As she spoke, her hand flew to her throat and she winced slightly. “Phone,” she mouthed.

Evelyn immediately stepped forward and handed Lydia the phone. Lydia typed away on the phone before handing it back to Evelyn.
 

“I’ve synced all the info I had in all my devices and uploaded them to iCloud.” Evelyn read out what Lydia had typed, and smiled before continuing. “Even if the person took everything, trashed everything, I can still get back every article, info and interview I’ve conducted.”

Despite the differences between Kate and Lydia, they had one thing in common—they always had a contingency plan. If anything went wrong, they’d be prepared.

“I guess that’s a minor victory on our side,” Evelyn said, controlling her urge to show any disapproval. She wasn’t being unsupportive; she just didn’t understand how Lydia could dismiss her attack and injuries so easily.

Kate pulled up a chair and reached over, cupping her hands over Lydia’s. “We’ll get the son-of-a-bitch.”
 

Evelyn blinked, then laughed when she was sure she’d heard Kate swear. Lydia laughed, too, except hers became a soft cry of pain as her broken ribs throbbed within her chest.

“The police want to talk to her, but I told them they’d have to wait. And they refuse to place patrols for her until they’re sure her life is still in danger.”

“
This
is not enough proof that someone is out to hurt her?” Kate said, waving her hands as though she was showcasing Lydia.

“That’s just how they work. Can we take her home?” Evelyn asked. No point getting pissed off over the system. They always had rules and procedures to follow. Some were absolutely idiotic, but they’d follow it anyway.

“I won’t recommend it. I think she should stay and be kept under observation, at least for a few more days. Besides, she gets the morphine here. She needs it.”

Evelyn turned to look at Lydia, then to Kate. “I think she should stay, too.” She knew Kate would want Lydia to be well taken care of, but Kate couldn’t leave Lydia here alone, not with everything that had happened.
 

“Dan and I will stay with her.” Evelyn didn’t want Kate staying over here, not even if Tyler agreed. It was way too dangerous.
 

The last time Lydia meddled with the case, Kate’s house got burned down. This time, Kate would probably be the next target as well.

“No, we’ll—”

“No, I’ll stay,” Joseph interjected.
 

“But you’ve already been working all day,” Kate pointed out.

He shook his head while he said, “You think I’ve never pulled a double shift before? Look,” he said before either of them could continue, “Go home, eat something, and we’ll talk tomorrow. She’s not going to get better with either of you sitting here and worrying.”

Evelyn nodded. “He’s right, and I don’t think it’s safe for you to be here.”

Kate rolled her eyes, and Evelyn quickly added. “They chose to come after you the last time, what makes you think this time it’ll be any different?”

“You should go,” Lydia said with her hand against her throat, and her brows puckered.

“All right, all right,” Kate conceded. She gave Lydia a soft squeeze on her leg and stood.

Except for Joseph, everyone went back to the mansion. That night was the quietest dinner they’d ever had at the mansion. Everyone had different things on their minds, and though Evelyn wasn’t physically harmed, she couldn’t help but feel drained.

The ride back to her house was equally silent. Dan hadn’t said much since dinner, and she couldn’t help thinking he had something on his mind.

“You all right?” Dan asked as they entered her apartment. “You haven’t said much since we left the hospital.”

“Everyone was quiet; tired, I guess. I don’t know.” She sighed and plopped onto her couch.
 

Dan walked over, pushed aside the pile of clothes on her couch, and sat next to her. “I’m not letting you stay here alone tonight. I’m not letting you stay here until this whole thing blows over. Why don’t you pack some stuff and stay at my place for a while? I’ve got a spare room anyway.”

Her head snapped up, and she shook her head. “No, I’m not going to run. If he wants to send someone, let him come. I’ve got a gun.”

“You had a gun when Kate’s house went up in flames.”

She opened her mouth to retort, but was silenced by his kiss; a sudden, fierce kiss. A kiss of possession, of fear, of concern, and of love.
 

“Don’t fight me on this,” he said. His voice was soft, but it was clear he meant it as a command rather than a plea. “You don’t have to protect yourself. You have me now.” His lips returned to cover hers.

Her heart thumped hard as her hands fisted in his shirt. She yielded to his kiss and felt herself being pulled closer into his chest, his arms enveloped her as his lips continued its unrelenting kiss.
 

“I cannot, I will not, risk you getting hurt.” He paused and gazed into her eyes. “I love you, Eve.”
 

She hooked her arms over his neck and pulled his lips back to hers. She realized then, that Dan was the first man who’d ever told her those three simple words. She grinned and held on to Dan, unwilling to let him go.

She almost agreed without a second thought. Almost.

The accuser in her mind chided her. She should know better. With all her sleeping idiosyncrasies, she was only going to embarrass herself or scare the hell out of Dan.

Her arms dropped to her side and she leaned back.

“Dan, I get nightmares and—“

“I know, and I don’t mind. If you wake up from a nightmare, I can accompany you.”

“When I sleep at a new place, I wake up at the slightest noise or maybe even non-existent noises.”

He shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t mind.”

“I may scream.”

He grinned and moved in close. “Just make sure that if the police show up, you don’t let them arrest me.”

She scowled at him. “I’m not joking.”

“Neither am I.” He removed his smile, and she closed her eyes as she felt his warm touch moving lightly down the side of her face. “Trust me.”

The next morning, Evelyn walked into Kate’s office, yawning.

“Didn’t sleep well?”

“Didn’t sleep enough.”

“Marianne packed them for you.” Kate pointed to the brown bag sitting on the coffee table, right next to a set of home decor magazines that she had fanned out, ready for clients to browse through.

There was a meeting room catered for the clients, but sometimes, the meetings clashed and Kate would require another place to speak to the clients.

It didn’t happen often.
 

They met most of their clients in their own homes. It was more convenient for the clients, and Kate and Evelyn could see the house for themselves. But Kate still kept everything ready in case she had to meet a client in her office.

Everything in Kate’s office had a place. Kate knew exactly where all the forms and contracts were; the portfolio of all her clients, all labeled, arranged in alphabetical order, all neatly placed in the cabinets. When opening any of the folders, there wouldn’t be any loose forms or papers chucked within. Everything would be filed neatly in the different sections she had labeled inside.

Evelyn had always found it scary whenever she called Kate to ask for a file, and Kate could tell her exactly which cabinet to open, which color the file was, and exactly which section she could get the document from.

Even the cabinets in Evelyn’s office were packed and maintained by Kate.
 

They had a system between them.
 

Evelyn stacked everything up on the corner of her desk, then Kate would get so irritated at the sight of the stack that she would file them for her.
 

Sometimes, Evelyn would return and think, for a moment, that she’d gone into the wrong office.

So when Evelyn strolled in, she immediately noticed the difference in Kate’s office. A new laptop bag was leaning against the couch. Kate always placed her laptop bag under her desk, so that it wouldn’t look messy when clients came in.
 

“Whose laptop is that?”

“Ty got it for Lydia.”

“That was fast.”

Kate nodded and got up from her chair. “He even downloaded all the stuff back into her laptop. Have you moved your stuff over to Dan’s?”

“No, maybe tonight or something. I was too tired last night.”

“Okay. Eat your breakfast, I’ll make coffee.”

Evelyn slumped onto the couch and opened the bag. It was a tough decision to skip breakfast; she really didn’t want to miss Marianne’s breakfast, but it looked like she didn’t have to. She pulled out the three boxes and took in the aroma of the food as she opened them.
 

She held the fork in her hand and debated on which of the boxes she should attack, eventually popping a piece of peach with a pancake into her mouth. She chewed and was about to reach for the magazine when she noticed the laptop again.

Curious at what Lydia had been working on, Evelyn picked up the bag and took out the laptop.
 

She scanned through the different files and documents, not looking up even when Kate returned with a cup of coffee for her.

“I don’t think you should look at that while you’re eating,” Kate said, placing the coffee in front of her.

Evelyn chewed on her lips and continued to browse through some of her documents. “She’s not just looking at your parents’ case. She’s looking into everything; she has all the information on the various victims and cases that your father believed David Morgan was involved in.”

“She was trying to find evidence, so I guess she had to be thorough.”

“No, it isn’t just that. It seems like she’s trying to solve all those cases as well.”
 

There weren’t just newspaper clippings. Lydia did some serious research, trying to piece together the timing and whereabouts of David Morgan through various socialite parties printed in different newspapers. She even went to the detectives in charge of the different the cases and interviewed them.
 

She had collected detailed notes on every murder linked to David Morgan.