Part 17 (1/2)
She made it sound like Kate had done it on purpose. Kate was about to respond to the woman's a.s.sessment, but the door opened, and Dylan and the chief walked out of the office. She immediately noticed the gun in a holster at Dylan's side. He had a box in his hand. Probably extra bullets, she thought. Can't have enough of those, can he?
”You're in good hands with this boy, Miss MacKenna. He's got an impressive record and his superior in Boston was mighty aggravated he was doing a job for Silver Springs. He finally agreed but made sure I knew it was temporary. They want him back,” he added with a nod.
She couldn't stop looking at the gun. Images of Dylan lying in the hospital bed flashed into her mind. She realized his job required that he carry a gun, and as Drummond had just confirmed, Dylan was very good at that job, but still, just seeing the weapon made her feel queasy. She smiled at the chief and said, ”Yes, I am in good hands with this boy.”
Drummond walked them to the door and held it open. In parting he called, ”Try not to get yourself blown up again, Miss MacKenna.”
Kate walked ahead of Dylan to the car. ”The way people are acting around here you'd think I was some kind of walking detonator-wherever I go there's an explosion,” she complained.
Dylan laughed. ”I think you've brought a little more excitement to Silver Springs than they're used to.”
He pulled the car out of the parking lot but stopped at the corner. ”Want to give me directions?”
”The most direct route to get to the highway is to take Main Street, which is your next left, but there will be a lot of traffic this time of morning.”
”Compared to Boston, this is nothing,” he said a few minutes later. ”It's nice not to have to be so aggressive. The noise level is so much lower here. I like that.”
Kate adjusted the air conditioner vent so it wouldn't blow on her face and tried to relax.
”What did you think of Chief Drummond?”
”Cranky,” he said. ”The man is definitely cranky. I don't think he knows how to smile. The way he was frowning at me when he took me into his office made me think he was going to give me trouble, and even after he started complimenting me on my record, the guy was still frowning. It took me a while to catch on.” He shook his head and added, ”He kind of reminds me of my father.”
”Judge Buchanan isn't cranky. He's a dear man. He's always so kind to me.”
”He likes you,” he said.
”Jordan and Sydney still call him Daddy.”
”His sons don't. We call him 'sir.' He was tough with us when we were growing up, but I guess he had to be. Keeping six boys out of trouble couldn't have been easy.”
Kate was remembering what Judge Buchanan was like in the hospital when he was waiting with his family for Dylan to come out of surgery. The time had dragged on and on, and the anguish in his eyes was heartbreaking to see. He might have been hard-nosed with his sons, but he also loved them fiercely.
”I hate hospitals.”
She hadn't realized she'd whispered the thought out loud until Dylan said, ”I imagine you do.” Responding to the sadness he heard in her voice, he put his hand on top of hers and said, ”What made you think about hospitals?”
She didn't want to talk about it. ”I just did,” she said without an explanation.
The highway traffic was light. Dylan set the cruise control and sat back.
”I talked to Nate early this morning,” he said.
”You did?”
”I let him know last night that you were going to Savannah,” he explained, ”and I asked him to check out a couple of things.”
She turned toward him. ”Yes?”
”Remember, he had already told us that a corporation owns the warehouse that blew, but he was having trouble finding out who the shareholders were. He finally was able to dig through the layers, and guess who has controlling interest.”
”Who?”
”Carl Bertolli.”
She certainly hadn't expected to hear his name and immediately thought there had to be a mistake. ”Carl? Are you sure? He said Carl? That can't be right.”
”You think Nate made it up?” he asked, smiling.
”No, of course not, but . . . Carl? He never said anything to me . . . why wouldn't he tell me he owned the warehouse?”
”Obviously because he didn't want you to know.”
”Did Jennifer know?” she asked. ”Surely she did. She's a Realtor, for heaven's sake. She'd have to know who the owners were. Did anyone talk to her yet?”
”She and her family are camping, but she's scheduled to be back at work tomorrow morning. Nate could have tracked her down, but he'd already gotten the names of the shareholders, so he's waiting until tomorrow to question her. Nate's guessing Carl instructed her not to tell you.”
Kate couldn't wrap her mind around any of it. It just didn't make any sense.
”What would Carl have to gain by blowing up his property? Even if he had the place heavily insured.” Her mind was racing. ”He doesn't need the money. And tell me, please, what would he gain by killing me? No, it doesn't make any sense.”
”You can bet the FBI is digging into Carl's financials right now. If there's a motive, they'll find it.”
”The FBI won't find anything.”
”You might be surprised. Everyone has secrets, and Carl could have a couple of big ones.”
She couldn't accept it. ”I've got to think about this.”
”I'll give you something else to think about. Compton Thomas MacKenna was, in fact, your great uncle.”
”Was?”
”That's right. He died last night, exactly two hours before the letter went out. According to his attorney, Anderson Smith, Compton left specific instructions about the notification of his relatives.”
”Then why-”
”You're not going to the attorney's office to meet Compton as the letter implied. You and your sisters have been summoned for the reading of his last will and testament.”
She was shocked by the disappointment she felt. ”Then I guess I can't ask him any questions, can I? You might as well turn around. I'm not interested in anything the man left.”
”Your sisters might be interested.”
”I'll be happy to give them the attorney's phone number, and they can talk to him. The next exit is coming up. We can turn around there.”
”Kate, you and your sisters weren't the only ones to receive letters. Your cousins will also be there. Now are you interested?”