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"If you enjoy cozy type mysteries, I think you'll enjoy this light fast read."
~ Murder Most Cozy
Organization expert Kate McKenzie is looking forward to her newest consignment: organize the cross-country move for a divorced father and his two children. But when a dead body turns up, Kate's carefully organized plans are thrown into chaos. Was it an accident? Or murder? Kate aims to find out and ends up falling more emotionally involved than she'd expected when the victim's teenaged daughter becomes the police's lead suspect. As a mother herself, she just can't let the girl not only lose a mother but possibly lose her freedom and future as well. While the police follow the chain of evidence, Kate follows her gut, leading her on a dangerous investigation that could result in more than one death if she doesn't watch her step...
Organized Mysteries:
Organized for Murder (book#1)
Organized for Homicide (book #2)
Chapter One
When packing up the
tableware, instead
of wrapping each plate in newspaper, alternate each plate in the
packing box with a foam disposable plate. This not only makes packing
much faster and easier, but offers more cushion for the fragile
plates during transport. Then you can use news print to pack around
the sides of the plates so the empty spaces in the box are filled and
nothing slides around
* * *
“Here’s the
view I mentioned earlier,” Kate McKenzie pushed back the master
bedroom’s heavy cobalt drapes and threw open the French doors,
leading her neighbor, and sometimes employee, Meg Berman, to the
balcony view at the back of the house. Kate moved across custom tile
and made a sweeping motion above the artisan railing to encompass the
one-eighty-degree landscape beyond the almost alpine, three-story
luxury home. The owner, Blaine Collier a divorced father of three,
had contracted with Kate’s organizational business, Stacked in Your
Favor, to coordinate the family’s move from southwestern Vermont to
the California west coast. She breathed deeply and savored the fresh,
earthy-leaved smell that rode in the brisk air. “Have you ever seen
anything so beautiful?”
The sky was a
perfect robin’s egg hue above the lush panorama that included the
nearby Prospect Mountain ski area, and from this height the edge of
Green Mountain National Forest peeked through in the distance. The
landscape was peppered with both hard and softwoods, and Kate noted
the different greens that dotted the landscape, from sturdy hemlock
and balsam trees, to the lovely planes of white pine. She let out an
involuntary sigh as the palette unfolded around the house and
balcony.
A whiff of wood
smoke drifted from a neighbor’s chimney. Well, chimneys plural.
Hammered copper chimneys. The few homes in this exclusive
neighborhood were executive models, almost anomalies in the rugged
state, and each sported multiple fireplaces. Kate counted smoke
fingers rising from two chimneys in the luxury contemporary about
six-hundred feet away, all glass and metal that looked ready to
relocate into the Hollywood Hills or the Swiss Alps. Almost a direct
contrast with the warm, wooden peaks and balconies of the Colliers’
contemporary home. These were the only two homes in the housing
addition that were not Tudor or overgrown cottage-styled, and she
wondered whether the Malibu home Blaine Collier already purchased was
similar to either structure.
“It really is
lovely,” Meg replied, stepping to the end of the terrace and
rubbing her palms along the top of the railing. “Makes you wonder
why Collier would give this up, and move his family clear across the
country.”
Kate laughed,
clasping her project notebook closer to her chest so she could rub
her arms and offset the chill of the late May morning. Her seafoam
green polo shirt was great for business, with its embroidered logo
for Stacked in Your Favor. It had taken some searching to find a
color and look both women liked and wanted to work in, and the light
green flattered both Kate’s blonde complexion and Meg’s red hair.
But even after braving her first Vermont winter, she still wasn’t
acclimated for short sleeves in the lower-than-she-was-used-to brisk
temps. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s an amazing view, and this
balcony alone is probably worth buying the home, but I might be
persuaded to trade it for a luxury beach house.”
Meg snorted. “Trade
picture perfect changing seasons for endless sunny days, and the risk
of mud slides when it rains. Not to mention earthquakes. Naw, I don’t
see what Malibu has to offer.”
A bright sunbeam
cut through the trees, and Kate stepped into the brightness and
sighed. Having lived with her own native Vermonter for ten years,
husband Keith, she had begun to think he and everyone from his home
state were born with flannel-wrapped veins. Not her, definitely not
her. “A little more warmth comes to mind.”
“They’ll be
bored in six months and wishing they were back here.” Meg nodded as
she spoke. “His ex-wife is staying here in Hazelton, right? And the
oldest daughter.”
“Right.” Kate
opened her notebook and set it on a wrought iron and Majolica style
tiled table. She could get used to this view, this kind of
extravagance. But when she’d met Lila Collier the day before, to go
over the items getting moved to the ex-wife’s new two bedroom
condo, the house hadn’t really seemed like “home sweet home” as
much as “a house divided.”
Lila had rubbed the
back of her neck as she talked, radiating frustration and more than a
little anger, despite the fact that the divorce was already
finalized. “It looks nice, sure. But something like this can take
over. You start fighting about bills and mortgages, and even
someplace nice starts looking like a dungeon.”
In spite of Lila’s
words, Kate couldn’t imagine a less dungeon-like home. She told Meg
about the encounter, then added, “It’s amazing how the breakup
colored the woman’s ideas about the place. I’ve already fallen in
love with it and I’m not even looking for a new house. With its
cedar closets, huge great room with vaulted ceilings and skylights,
gourmet kitchen, carpeting with pad so deep my feet disappear, and
custom wood accents everywhere, it’s one of the most welcoming
homes I’ve ever walked through.”
“Not to mention
the outside amenities,” Meg said, then pointed over the side to the
wide stone patio running the length of the back wall. “Can you
imagine the barbeques we could have down there all summer?”
Kate flipped pages
in her notebook. Each section was color coded, and every person in
the family had his or her own individual color. Flipping to the
calendar, she checked off the note for the change of address cards
and the self-inking stamp she’d picked up at the office supply
store on her way over that morning. Change of address notices had
been sent weeks before, both by mail and via website services, but
she wanted quick and easy cards for her client to use if new needs
arose after the move.
For color
designations, the father and son were coded to black and blue,
respectively, and the daughters, older and younger, as green and
pink. The mother’s things had been removed months before. “Lila
asked for a couple of paintings and a rug Collier isn’t planning to
take with them. He hasn’t decided yet, but anything left over can
go when the movers take Sydney’s things.”
“She’s the
oldest daughter, right?”
“Yes, and she’s
staying here to finish high school.” Kate chewed her lip. There had
been a tension the last time she’d talked to her client, and
thought she picked up the vibe Collier might be having second
thoughts about splitting up his kids. Not that it was any of her
business, but…
Meg interrupted
Kate’s thoughts, asking, “Is her stuff going ahead of the big
move?”
“No, the transport
company has subcontracted the smaller part of the job out to an area
firm. The local truck will take everything to the mother’s condo
the same day as the big move.”
“So, they hug
goodbye here and Sydney doesn’t see her siblings until summer
break.”
“Thanksgiving, not
summer. Lila said Sydney was picked for some great pre-Olympic
program in Boston. Has a world-class coach signed on to train her and
everything. She’ll be spending the summer figure skating on the
indoor ice rink and learning strategy to reach Olympic potential.”
“Ouch. Goodbye
family, then goodbye everyone. She’s okay with that?”
Kate sighed. “Who?
Mother or daughter?”
“Both, I think.”
There was no good
answer to Meg’s question—or any of the others that floated around
the issue. She’d met the teen a few days ago, and Kate had felt an
immediate connection. The young woman’s story was too close to
Kate’s own, with a parent wrapped up in environmental issues, and
responsibly raising herself and finding her own way in life. Sydney
at least had siblings, and a father who lived the corporate life, but
too many things the teen said told Kate the mother was a huge concern
to her. Like when she said, “Dad doesn’t need me in Malibu. He’ll
have lots of help for Dara and Dustin. But Mom tries not to rely on
anyone, and she needs to have someone around to watch her back. And
make sure she eats.”
The comment touched
too many memories for Kate, and she knew she was already getting too
personally invested in this job. But thoughts like that one made her
believe it really would be better for the teen to move first, give
everyone a small transition ahead of the big break, and offer the
older daughter a little time alone with her mother before leaving
next month for her own temporary move. Sydney had too many changes
ahead to feel obligated for her mother’s well-being, too.
Lila had even
suggested something along those lines in the earlier meeting Blaine
Collier arranged so Kate could scope out the project. As expected,
however, his autocratic personality immediately cut off the
discussion. He interrupted and said, “I’m still not completely on
board with Sydney staying here at all. Don’t even think about
trying to separate her from her brother and sister before the move,
Lila.”
Kate rubbed her hand
along the edge of her notebook, trying to erase the tense emotions
she remembered from the three Colliers in those very different
meetings. These people were hurt and still searching for middle
ground. She said, “This is their family business, Meg, not ours.
We’re just supposed to pack and make sure everything gets shipped
in one piece. Send the California stuff with the movers and the stuff
Lila gets to her condo in Bennington.”
“I heard Collier
tried to have her ruled unfit as a mother.” Meg’s face lost its
soft lines and took on a stony expression. “Hard to believe a judge
would let him have custody and
move the kids three-thousand miles away from their mother.”
“Rumors only tell
part of the story. This is a family who loves one another, even if
the parents can’t stay together. No one can cause friction like
family.” Kate chewed her lip, her heart going out to the ex-wife
she’d only met the one time, but whose sad and sordid soap opera
script had been the fuel for every gossip maven in town. And as she
feared, Meg was just getting started.
“Collier is a
corporate guru who’s used to winning. According to all the
scuttlebutt, he gathered up any little thing in Lila’s past that
even hinted at instability or danger, really pushing how her strong
stances on social issues make her fitness as a parent register on the
questionable side. It’s so unfair, penalizing her for protecting
rights and the environment, and for sticking to her principles.”
“I know but—”
“You aren’t
taking Collier’s side in this, are you?” Meg stood with her fists
on her hips, the stance that made Kate give her friend the Wonder
Woman nickname.
“No, just…”
Kate couldn’t completely feel Meg’s sympathy. Her own parents had
been environmental activists whose actions had always kept their
family life anything but steady. She agreed with Meg’s point, and
believed no parent should be separated from her children without real
cause, but also recognized the risk of talking about the subject in
this location. She needed to shut down the conversation. If anyone
walked in and heard them it could be her reputation. “We need to
get started on today’s tasks. Honestly, we’ll talk about this
later when we know more.”
“Know more about
what?” A voice asked from behind them.
Both women made tiny
eek
sounds and whirled. Kate’s worst fears were realized. Lila Collier,
ex-wife of her client, and exactly the person they’d just been
discussing, stood in the doorway. The woman’s very erect posture
made Kate worry their conversation had been overheard, but the deep
vertical lines between Lila’s eyebrows and the obvious shadows
under her eyes spoke about worries far beyond gossip.
“I’m sorry, I
didn’t mean to scare anyone. I’m Lila Collier.” The tall, trim,
dark-haired beauty moved closer, cotton skirt swaying as she walked,
and extended a multi-bangled hand toward Meg. She had a calm aura
about her that seemed resigned and hopeful at the same time. Once
again Kate marveled over the way opposites attracted. This time in
the form of bohemian Lila and buttoned-down Blaine Collier,
“Please, don’t
apologize,” Kate said, and motioned toward her neighbor. “This is
Meg Berman. She helps me with my business.”
“Nice meeting
you,” Meg said. Kate held her breath to see if her friend would say
anything more, and almost sighed in relief when Meg stepped back
after the handshake.
“I…” Lila
said, waving a hand in the direction of the house’s interior. “I’m
probably intruding, but I had some things for Dustin and Dara. A kind
of picture-scrapbook for each of them to take in the move. I finished
the two books last night.” She half-turned and motioned back toward
the other end of the house. “I left the books in their rooms.”
Kate smiled. “I’ll
make sure they get packed in the boxes they’ll be carrying with
them. So the kids can look at them along the way.”
Lila swallowed and
nodded, but didn’t speak for a moment. She looked off in the
distance, and took a deep breath before she said, “I know this is
an inconvenience for you, all this sorting and packing for two
different locations. But…Well, it may not matter. Blaine and I need
to talk again, and…” She moved back to the doorway, then stopped
for a moment and almost whispered. “Thank you for understanding.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to work.”
I wonder what
that’s about. Kate
hoped they weren’t changing their minds again about Sydney staying,
but she could understand wanting the kids to stay together, too.
Kate watched Meg’s
face get almost as red as her hair, but no words came from her mouth
until they saw Lila’s car drive away. Even from the distance, they
had no difficulty reading the word bitch
scratched
deeply into the paint.
“That’s awful.”
Meg pointed at the car. “Does she know who damaged the door?”
“Someone with a
sharp key or knife who doesn’t want her speaking out on hot topic
issues.”
“And I supposed
Collier used this as a means of trying to prove her unfit.”
Kate shook her head.
“I think things were long past the point of needing new examples
for him. When I met with Lila yesterday, we walked out together. She
caught my surprised look, I guess, when I saw the scratches, and she
explained they’d been left behind a couple of weeks ago, when she
and Sydney went out to dinner together. Unfortunately, Sydney was the
one who first discovered them.”
“People can be so
mean.”
“But the marks do
help prove up Collier’s concerns, whether we like it or not. And
given the cryptic way she just spoke, Lila may be coming around to
the same idea. Let’s hope Sydney goes for it, if that is indeed the
case.”
“All because she’s
taken strong stances on feminism, the environment, and civil rights
issues. Anyone else would be pleased his wife climbed the
environmental corporate ladder to the northeastern director level.”
Meg had a full head of steam and plowed on with her rant, “He had a
detective comb every police blotter and newspaper morgue, looking for
anything violent that occurred at any demonstration he could prove
she or her group participated in. He even claimed her work as a
watchdog to monitor voting booths across the northern states during
contested elections showed politics was more important to her than
the children. Then his attorney argued before the judge and found
witnesses to back up the bogus claims that if the kids were left with
their mother they ran the risk of being bombed in their home or car
by some activist opposed to one of her causes.” Meg ended by making
a hrumph
sound deep in her throat. “If that woman killed him and I was on
the jury, she would walk.”
Oh, boy!
Time to divert Meg’s attention. “Okay, here’s the outline for
us to use to keep the tasks we need to do in order and to stay on
schedule. One thing we still need to consider, however, is moving
Dustin’s terrarium. Since your boys have the bearded dragon, I
thought you might be able to figure out a couple of options for us.”
“I know what
you’re doing.” Meg cocked an eyebrow.
“Never doubted
it.” Kate looked her friend in the eye and smiled. Now that the
subject was officially changed, she turned attention back to the
notebook. “Dustin says he wants his iguana to stay with him during
the move. The lizard is a baby, and transporting it shouldn’t be
difficult, but the terrarium will be unwieldy. In case the dad
overrides the son’s decision—”
“Like he seems to
do everyone else’s choices.”
“We need
alternative shipping ideas. Just in case,” Kate emphasized the
last, and raised her own dark blonde eyebrow in response to Meg’s
tweezed brow going even higher.
Meg blew out a big
breath. “Okay, I’ll climb down off my soapbox. I’ll make sure
all the pets are taken care of. Okay?”
“I think the
Labrador will be fine.”
“You never know.
Even the nicest dogs can become biters if they get anxious about a
move.”
Kate couldn’t help
laughing. “Just make sure you don’t take a bite out of Collier.”
“Moi?”
Meg’s expression was all innocence. “I would never take that
pleasure away from Lila.”
“Come on, let’s
go in,” Kate said, “I just brought you out here to see the view.”
“And it really is
a nice one,” Meg walked back to the railing and squinted, cocking
her head to one side so her short fiery curls bounced with the
movement. “You can’t see it from here, but we used to climb Mount
Equinox when I was in high school.” She pointed to the north.
“We’ve been talking about taking the boys camping again sometime
this summer. We should all go when school’s out, both our families.
This job will be completed by then.”
“Well, we’d
better get a move on if we want to get finished on time.” Kate
clasped the project notebook to her chest. “I want to show this
balcony to Keith before the house sells, too. I don’t know if we
could add a balcony on our house and make it look right, but I’d
love something like this outside our master bedroom.”
“I like this
over-high railing, too,” Meg said, running her hand along the
polished wood resting atop the steel bars and put everything at
nearly chest level. “Anything waist high and you run the risk of
someone still accidentally going over the side. At least with boys
like mine, that is. Something this high makes such a thing less
likely.”
Kate took another
cleansing breath and smiled. “I could get used to this.”
The two women reentered the house and Meg commented, “My feet just disappear in the carpet pile. Do you think Collier would mind if I worked barefoot?”
The two women reentered the house and Meg commented, “My feet just disappear in the carpet pile. Do you think Collier would mind if I worked barefoot?”
“Probably.” Kate
rolled her eyes. “Let’s keep our shoes on just in case, Ms.
Troublemaker.”
“Spoilsport.”
“Sticks and
stones, my friend.”
They were grinning
when they reached the hall. “Come on into Dara’s room. I’ll
show you how we’re going to start on the closets,” Kate said.
The youngest
daughter’s bedroom was a fairy tale setting, with mountain top
castles painted high on the walls, and wildflower meadows near the
baseboards to merge with the thick carpeting. Kate knew her daughter
Suzanne would love the room, but was equally aware that twin Samantha
would roll her eyes unless it was tied somehow to soccer or Barbie.
She sighed. Right now the twins preferred sharing a room, but the
battles for style were becoming more frequent. A compromise, and
probably new room assignments would be coming soon.
“Something wrong,
Kate?”
She shook her head.
“Nothing a look in ‘The Great Big Book on Parenting’ won’t
cure.”
“Well if you ever
find a copy, I want a peek, too.”
“Deal,” Kate
said, and grinned. One of the things she liked best about Meg is how
her parenting style was just as make-it-up-as-you-go as the
McKenzies’ efforts. “The closet is over here.” She slid away a
section of an alpine mountain, and revealed an almost wall to wall
enclave of clothing and accessories. “I asked Collier and Lila to
help the kids sort out the clothes they wouldn’t be wearing before
the move, so we can pack them ahead.”
Meg looked in the
closet and around the room. “I don’t see any boxes.”
“We’re just
doing the clothes now. We don’t need boxes.” Kate reached for a
high shelf and pulled down a box of extra tall garbage bags. “I put
these here last night. There are several boxes of trash bags in each
closet.” She shuffled clothes around on the rods, so like items, in
this case winter clothing, hung together on the rod closest to the
door.
“I’m confused,”
Meg said. “Why would you want to just toss them in the sacks? Won’t
the client get mad if clothes are a wrinkled mess when they unpack?”
Kate winked. “No
wrinkles, no folding. Watch this.” She pulled out a bag, then moved
to the section of the closet holding Dara’s winter dresses, and
took a second to shake the bag open. With one hand, she pushed back
neighboring clothes and held them back with one shoulder, so a
collection of dresses about a foot wide now hung separately. The
opened garbage bag was placed around the hem level of the dresses,
and then moved up toward the hanger hooks. When the bag completely
enclosed all of the dresses, Kate cinched the top tight around all of
the hooks, wrapped the plastic drawstrings around the hanger tops for
extra support, then tied everything together.
“Now, we can lift
this bag in one piece,” she explained, using one hand to grasp the
hidden hangers and remove all of the dresses at one time from the
closet rail. “The movers can hang up the bags in the moving van, or
they can be laid down flat. But either way, wrinkling is minimized,
and unpacking clothes is nothing more than hanging everything in the
new closets and pulling off the sack.”
She pulled a stack
of adhesive-backed pink labels from her pocket and slapped one on
each side of the bag. “There. Now the preprinted pink label will
highlight for movers that it needs to go into Dara’s room in the
California house.”
Meg’s eyes were
wide. “That is an amazing idea. I knew you were clever, but your
bag of tricks never fails to amaze me.”
“Thank you, all
accolades are truly appreciated.” Kate moved back into the middle
of the room and spun slowly to take in the scope of the area. “This
room doesn’t look too hard, but we’ll probably have to do all of
the packing ourselves. Dara is helpful, and likes to do things
herself, but she’s only eight. She’ll probably need a little
guidance, and we’ll have to double check any of the boxes she does
pack.”
They turned as both
heard running footsteps on the stairs. Sydney, the Collier’s oldest
daughter, moved into sight, backtracking when she passed the doorway.
The teen’s long hair, brunette with highlights, flowed down the
back of her green and white Hazelton High t-shirt in thick, layered
curls. “Oh, sorry to disturb. I needed to come home and grab a
hoodie for my run tonight. It’s supposed to turn cooler with a
chance of rain, and coach won’t let us leave after practice if we
aren’t dressed for the weather.”
“You didn’t
disturb us,” Kate said. “It’s nice seeing you again. This is
Meg Berman. She helps me in my business.”
The teen came into
the room, a soft smile lighting her face. She shook hands with Meg,
then cupped hands around her elbows in an almost protective measure.
“Nice meeting you.
“So what’s your
sport?” Meg asked.
“Competitive
figure skating. Individual. You know, like Michele Kwan.”
“You have Olympic
dreams?”
“Definitely.”
Sydney started backing out of the room. “I hate to be rude, but I
only had enough time to run here and get back to school.” She
offered a quick wave. “It’s good seeing you again, Mrs.
McKenzie.”
“You too, Sydney.
If you’re driving, be careful,” Kate said.
“I have a friend
waiting for me outside. Bye.”
Less than a minute
later her footsteps again hit the stairs, this time heading down to
the first floor and out the front door.
“Professional
hopes, I suppose?” Meg mused. “I know from reading the paper
she’s an honor roll student.”
“And promising
entrepreneur as well. Come on, and let me show you her workshop,”
Kate said, and led the way to a small room tucked away a few doors
down the hall. A long cherry wood table filled up the middle space,
holding an astounding collection of jaw-dropping purses, totes,
belts, and even boot toppers. Another smaller table standing against
the closet wall displayed knives and curved tools, along with a high
beam lamp and a wheeled chair. The whole back wall held bins filled
with a variety of leather, fabric, beads, buttons, and bindings of
every sort. A dull black, heavy-duty sewing machine sat under the
only window. “This is Sydney’s business. And she told me in no
uncertain terms she would pack all of this herself.”
Meg wandered over to
the work table and touched a wooden handle of a tool whose looks
implied it poked holes in leather. “This is pretty astounding.”
“What’s
astounding is how much she gets for all of these pieces.”
“What’s the
average price?” Meg asked.
Kate quoted a figure
high enough to make her friend gasp, then added, “She hooked up
with a New York designer who added them to her collection. The items
are all made from natural materials, and Sydney uses as many recycled
pieces as she can. People have really been drawn to the line.”
Fingering one of
belts, Meg asked, “I wonder what she would charge me directly if I
ordered one of these for Gil.”
“If she gives you
a price break, let me know, because I want a tote like this one.”
Kate held up a leather bag with flowers worked into the grain, each
petal individually tinted with muted shades. Copper wire finished off
a kind of frame to most pieces, coiling through the sewn edges around
the outside. On the tote Kate favored, antiqued brass closures
offered function as well as fashion for anyone not wanting to leave
the top completely open.
She started to look
at the finishing inside, but heard the doorbell chime.
“That’s what we
get for gawking. We had no idea someone had driven up.” Meg said,
following Kate back into the hallway. “At least this time the
person didn’t just pop up behind us.”
As the women moved
to the stairs, Kate said, “This house is so spread out, it makes it
easy to miss things, unless you’re on the back deck or where we
were earlier on the master bedroom balcony. If we hadn’t been
talking so much and looking out toward the national forest, we’d
have noticed Lila’s arrival, since out there is the only direct
view to the driveway because of the trees.”
At the bottom step,
the flooring transitioned to parquet, and Kate’s heels clicked as
she hurried across the foyer. The skinny two-story sidelights showed
someone at the door, but the person stood too close, and all Kate
could make out was a lustrous head of chestnut hair. At first, she
thought Lila may have returned, but realized this visitor wasn’t
wearing a full skirt.
“Can I help—”
Kate was tossed
aside, as a tall brunette with a phone sandwiched between her right
shoulder and ear shoved the door farther open and stepped inside.
Dressed in what was probably her work clothes, a pair of jeans with
the Dolce and Gabbana logo emblazed on a pink leather patch on the
back pocket and a matching cotton candy-hued silk tee, the woman took
aim with a laser device to shoot off points while talking into her
iPhone. She used her free hand to rummage blindly through a D&G
labeled handbag. “That’s right, Lee Ann, twenty-four foot ceiling
in the foyer, some kind of antiqued brass and lead glass craftsman
type hanging light. Nice, but not pricey enough. Be sure to make a
note. We’ll want to change it out for the viewings. Need to go high
end here. The corporate sellers want this turned quickly, and I want
the commission to be worth it.”
“Excuse me—”
Kate tried, but received only a face-out palm in reply.
“Yes, someone let
me in, and I’m heading for the interior rooms now. Just stay on the
line and I’ll keep feeding you measurements and notes I want
documented.” The woman withdrew a business card case from her bag
and flipped it open, extending it as if offering a cigarette. Kate
frowned and pulled a card from the pack. Erin Parker. Broker, Vermont
Views Real Estate. There was a local office number, followed by a
cell number, and a full gamut of social media connection options.
Kate tried again.
“Can you—”
“Oh, for heavens
sake! Hold on a minute, Lee Ann.” Erin pulled the phone from her
ear and faced Kate. Meg moved closer in a show of support. “What
are you, the cleaning people? Yes, we’ll keep you contracted until
the house closes. But right now I have work to do. I have a primo
prospect flying in within two days, and I have to transform this
house in the interval.”
“We are not the
cleaning people.” Meg looked ready to blow.
“We’re
organizing the Colliers’ move.” Kate extended her right hand, so
she could not only offer a handshake, but could cut off the direct
path between Meg and the real estate pro.
Erin returned the
handshake, shook Meg’s hand as well, and before turning back to her
phone said, “You two look like soccer moms. I realize it’s nearly
time for all of you to line up to retrieve the kiddies at school. If
you leave, put the key on that table over there and I’ll lock up.”
She and her rapid
laser measure resumed producing measurements for the off-site Lee
Ann, and Erin’s long legs took her around the corner to disappear
in the hall toward the media room and Blaine Collier’s office.
“I’ll call
Collier’s personal assistant and figure what to do next. You go see
if you can help
her,” Kate told Meg.
“Keep an eye on
her. Got it!”
The foyer felt too
open for a phone call, so Kate moved into the great room and seated
herself on one of the cushy patterned sofas, tapping her phone
against the padded, earth-toned arm. The floor to ceiling
south-facing windows not only offered a lovely green view, but
allowed gentle heat from the sun to warm the room. She took a moment
to calm herself, and sent up a quick prayer for Collier to be tied up
in meetings so she could speak with his assistant, Timothy, instead.
Then she dialed.
Luck, for once!
“Hello, Timothy, it’s Kate McKenzie.”
“Sorry, Kate, but
Mr. Collier is in a meeting.”
“That’s probably
okay. I have a feeling you might be able to help. An Erin Parker is
here now, and she wants me to leave her my key. Thought I’d
better—”
“No! She’s to
have no unsupervised access to the house, by Mr. Collier’s direct
order.”
Kate pinched the
sharp crease that ran down the left leg of her twills. “Okay. My
associate, Meg Berman, is with her now, and I’ll make sure one of
us stays with her at all times. But really, we don’t have the extra
time to work as monitors too.”
“I completely
understand. I’ll make Mr. Collier aware of this as soon as
possible, and do what he suggests to remedy the situation. I know you
have kids to pick up soon from school.”
If she hadn’t
known how efficient Timothy Oakes was, Kate would have been a little
creeped out that he knew her schedule. But she did know, and was
grateful he was handling the situation and knew the time constraints.
“Thanks so much, Timothy. I know Mr. Collier has to be as grateful
for your loyalty as I am.”
She heard a sound
like a snort, then, “Yes, he says he’ll sign whatever letter of
recommendation I need before he leaves.”
“You’re leaving
the company, too?”
“It’s a standard
corporate policy to let any supporting staff go when a chief
executive leaves to take a position with a new company.”
The Collier family
had moved to Hazelton four years before when Blaine Collier left a
Florida recreational company to head up Green Mountain Boards, an
up-and-coming snowboarding business. He was a corporate wunderkind
whose expertise made every business he touched a worldwide name. A
month ago, Techno-Cal hired Collier to basically do the same to one
of their subsidiaries, a company making small yachts and sail craft.
“For some reason I
thought you were at Green Mountain Boards before Blaine Collier
started working there.”
“I was. Three
years longer. Seven in all.”
“And they’re
still letting you go?”
“It’s company
policy. I understood the risks when I accepted this position.”
“Still…Is
Collier helping you find another position somewhere? Has he even
asked if you want to go to the West Coast with him?”
“Mr. Collier is
doing everything to meet his professional responsibilities in the
matter.”
In other words, Kate
thought, he’s doing little more than saying “write a letter of
recommendation for me to sign and I’ll sign it.” She also
recognized that Timothy’s word choice was putting a halt to this
conversation.
“I’ve had a few
interviews scheduled,” Timothy cut into her thoughts. “Don’t
worry, I’ll land on my feet.”
However, she
wondered how many of the open positions were at the pay level he
likely enjoyed as Collier’s assistant. She was willing to bet the
young man would have to relocate out of the Hazelton area. She had no
idea who might be able to overhear the conversation at his end, and
hoped their discussion and her questions hadn’t compromised him in
any way. “Well, I won’t keep you, Timothy. Especially after I’ve
given you something else to do. Thanks so much. And we’ll work to
maintain a close watch on our visitor. In the meantime, I would
appreciate if you called in the cavalry some way, please.”
The doorbell chimed
again, and Kate ended her call. When she opened the door, a courier
stood on the other side.
“This is for
Sydney Collier.” He held a large heavy duty envelope atop his
delivery clipboard.
“She’s not here
right now.”
“I only need a
signature.” He stuck the envelope under his arm, and turned the
notepad to face Kate. “Just sign here.”
She grabbed the pen
attached to the clipboard and signed her name in the space he pointed
to, then accepted the envelope. As she closed the door, she noted the
Boston address, and realized it was probably paperwork for the summer
Olympic-training program Sydney was looking forward to attending.
Kate slipped it into the back of her project notebook, to keep it
safe until she could give it to the teen later in the afternoon.
Kate found the women
in the media room, Meg standing guard duty at the door, arms crossed
and eyes sharp. Erin paced the front of the room, counting the dark
blue seats out loud, noting a wear spot in the carpet, and barking
dimensions into her phone to the poor invisible Lee Ann.
“Anything
suspicious?” Kate whispered, her head angled close to Meg’s.
“Everything. Well,
technically annoying instead of suspicious. But nothing that appears
criminal.”
“Collier’s PA
says he’ll work on the situation. But she’s not supposed to have
access to the house unsupervised.”
“So, do we add
babysitting services to our cost estimate?”
The women hushed
when Erin Parker breezed past them and strode down the hall.
“Appears the
kitchen is her next destination.” Meg offered a crooked smile.
“We need to start
building our game plan in there anyway.” Kate shrugged. “Let’s
go, Wonder Woman.”
“Right behind you,
Batgirl.”
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