Page 67 of Fight or Flight

“What about the delivery people? Do any of them know you had a car? Where you kept your keys? Did they come inside any time?”

“I don’t think so, but I’m not one hundred percent sure. They’d have to be pretty sneaky to get past Sam and Sophie.”

“Or they are well-acquainted with the dogs. Do Sam or Sophie seem overly eager when you have a delivery?”

“Not really. They bark at everyone, though the kid from the Apple Blossom Market brings them treats when he delivers, but not every time.”

“Think back to the last time he was here, if you can remember,” Tyler coached. “When you made dinner, did you order any groceries that day?”

“Yes, I ordered a couple of things. I never normally go out to get the bags until he leaves, but yesterday—or the day before? —he had treats for the dogs. I’d been brave that day, because you were coming for dinner, so I stepped outside as he was giving the dogs a treat. Royce, that’s his name. He saw me and said it was nice to finally put a face to the name. I agreed, grabbed the bags, and came inside, feeling like I’d just conquered Mount Everest. That was it. He seems like a nice kid.”

“I know who he is. He is a good kid. I doubt he’s been breaking into your house.”

“There is no one else. I really don’t have any idea who would do this. Maybe someone local who is down on their luck?”

“Could be. Something to check into. When we were at Kyle’s, the Airbnb house, I saw a garage in the back, an unattached one. There was a vehicle inside. It looked either gray or silver. It was hard to tell, since it was so dark out.” Tyler looked at her title again. “Your Nissan is silver?”

She nodded. “Yes, it was a great car, with good gas mileage. It had the works. Sirius Radio. The first car I bought with my own money.”

“Someone is going to pay for this, Katherine. I’m going to make damn sure of it. Now, what about your attorney? Have you heard back from her yet?”

She’d forgotten all about Lisa. “Yes, she left a voicemail, but I haven’t listened to it yet. With all the excitement going on, I didn’t play it back. Let’s listen now.” She took her phone out of her pocket and clicked into her voicemail. Lisa’s voice was clear and succinct: “Call me, kid. I think I know who’s screwing with you.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything,” said Katherine. “Lisa knows I don’t have any close friends. She is aware of my living situation. If she has a name in mind, maybe it’s simply a stranger from here, and she was able to find them faster than that jerk detective. No—defective,” she couldn’t help adding.

“You trust her?” Tyler asked.

“With my life.” And she did. Lisa’s references had been top-of-the-line. Clean as a whistle.

“How did you meet this woman?”

“She came highly recommended to me after my parents died. Their attorney was an old bastard. I remember him trying to touch my breasts when I was eleven. As soon as their last will and testament was read, I fired him immediately.”

“Wouldheresort to this type of behavior?”

“Unless he crawled out of his grave, no. He died not long after Lisa took over. He had a massive stroke,” she told him. “Lisa said he lingered for days.”

“I guess we can definitely count him out then.”

“I can’t imagine anyone wanting to do this. Do they truly believe they’re going to get credit for my work? It’s insane. Plagiarism happens, sure, but nothing on a scale like this. I’m calling Lisa. I need to know who she suspects, a name, or anything I can give to investigators.”

Tyler refilled their coffee mugs. “I wouldn’t call in your investigators just yet. You don’t want to alienate the local authorities.”

“I really don’t care. If Detective Davidson is representative of the police force, then I’ll have Lisa fly my people in.” More and more, Katherine sounded like her father, a powerhouse. There were times such as now that she understood why he’d had to be so forceful.

Katherine hit speed dial, and Lisa picked up immediately. “Hey, Lisa. I got your message, but it was so cryptic. Were you able to find out who this Jameson Thurman is?”

Listening to what Lisa had discovered was mind-blowing. Never in a million years would Katherine have even thought of it. She ended their call and just sat there, staring at her phone. She had no words. Lisa had to be mistaken.

“K, what’s going on?” Tyler asked, sitting down next to her. “You’re white as a ghost.”

She didn’t answer. Memories of that day came back in full force. While they weren’t as clear as she’d have liked, she realized that she had known what she saw was wrong, but had no one to explain it to her. So she hadn’t said anything. Ever. Not a word.

And now, knowing what she’d just learned, would she have reacted differently?

“You’re scaring me, and I don’t scare easily,” Tyler said nervously.

Katherine took a deep breath, blowing it out so forcefully that strands of her hair landed in her mug. “This is so frigging out of this world, I’m not sure I want to repeat it. I’m going to have one of the company investigators look into it before I go any further.”

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