A Dangerous Widow (A Dangerous Series) (18 page)

“I can, but it will just upset him if he learns
that Lydia also might have been murdered.”

“Right now, if he’s read the news, he
already knows that you’re questioning Michael’s death for a reason.
 
If that’s the case—and since Lydia
was the last person to see him alive—then it wouldn’t be a stretch for
him to be questioning why his wife unexpectedly died six months later.
 
I say we reach out to him on those
grounds alone.”

That made sense to me, so I acquiesced.
 
“I can give him a call.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“What else?” Nick asked.

Ben told him that Michael died the day
following his decision to not sell StoneTech to Mark Dodd and Tom Smart, and
also about how Michael was just two weeks away from a hostile takeover of
MicroCom when he died.
 

“I need to print out a list of the top
people who were in control of QuantumCo and MicroCom at the time of Michael’s
death.
 
I want to see if any of
those names overlap.”

“How will you find such a list?” I asked.

“They’re publicly traded companies.
 
All I need is Google.”
 
He nodded at the box.
 
“As for our recent delivery, obviously a
place like the San Remo has security cameras on site.
 
With Kate’s insistence, we can view the
video—and if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to see the number on the cab that
delivered this box to her.
 
That
alone will lead us to the driver, whom I plan to question.
 
Hopefully that will give us even more
answers.
 
As for the box, many
people have handled it at this point, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t an
intact print on it somewhere—especially if there’s one inside the
box.
 
One of my best friends is a
detective at the NYPD who happens to owe me several favors.
 
I’ll ask him to run the prints for me,
and we’ll see if anything turns up in their database.”

“I have a request,” Nick said to me.

“Can we go into the living room first,” I
asked, feeling shaken by how quickly things were unfolding.
 
“I want to get away from that box and
everything that it might represent.”

*
 
*
 
*

“This psychic of yours,” Nick said when Ben and
I sat opposite him in the living room.

“Her name is Rhoda,” I said.

“Are you able to arrange a meeting with her
today?”

“You want to meet with her?” Ben said.

“Rhoda is the woman who led Kate to this
point,” Nick said.
 
“We can’t
dismiss that Rhoda nailed several things about Kate’s life that no one but she
knew.
 
Mediums do exist.
 
There’s a reason that the police reach
out to them to assist in many unsolved murder cases.”

“My one major problem with Rhoda is that she
has a storefront on Christopher Street,” Ben said.
 
“Clearly, she chose that spot to bilk
money from tourists.”

“We all need to make a living,” Nick
said.
 
“And who says that she’s
bilking them?
 
Maybe she’s giving
them correct answers.
 
I’m not going
to judge her until I meet her, and neither should you.
 
I’d suggest that you keep an open mind
when it comes to her, because if she’s good, she could help us right now.”

“Rhoda
is
the
real thing,” I said.
 
“We’ve talked
about this, Ben.
 
You know that I was
a skeptic before I met her.
 
But I
sure as hell wasn’t when I left.”

“I’ve already asked Kate to meet with her,”
Ben said.
 
He looked at me.
 
“Do you know how to reach her?”

“She gave me her card.
 
Let me call her.”

“One thing,” Nick said to me as I rose from
the sofa.

“What’s that?”

“See if she’s willing to come here.
 
Tell her that you’ll pay whatever it
takes for her to come here.
 
I don’t
want you out on the streets right now.
 
For the time being, it’s best if you stay in your apartment so that no
one can ‘toy’ with you.
 
Are you all
right with that?”

“I’m fine with that.
 
I’ve already accomplished my goal of
setting things into motion by getting this into the news.”
 

When I said that, I watched them exchange
disapproving glances.
 

“Look, I know it might be difficult for both
of you to imagine what I’ve done, but if you loved someone as much as I loved
Michael, and if you found out that person might have been murdered in cold
blood, you wouldn’t believe what you would do.
 
Trust me on that.
 
How far would you go for your own wife,
Nick?”

“All the way.”

“If you were in my shoes, would you put your
life on the line for her?”

“Absolutely, but not necessarily as you
have.”

“What’s done is done, and I’ve already
received a credible threat, which I consider to be a success.”
 
I folded my arms in front of me and
shrugged at them.
 
“At this point,
neither of you can deny that what I did last night has worked.
  
If this ‘W’ person and his or her
threat are real, then he or she wants me dead for a fairly obvious reason.
 
However you want to proceed, I promise
to listen to each of you and to do as you say so we can end this and give
Michael the justice he deserves.
 
I’m all in on this, so don’t be timid with what you have in mind for
me.
 
Now, let me go and call Rhoda.
 
It’s noon so she might be at lunch.
 
Hopefully, she’ll answer.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

My cell was on the kitchen island.
 
I stepped into the kitchen, picked it up,
and called Rhoda, but it wasn’t me who spoke first—it was her.

“Kate!” she said when she answered her
phone.
 
“You’ve been on my mind
since last night.
 
I haven’t been
able to get you out of my head, especially after what just happened to you.
 
I’m so sorry you had to go through
that.
 
If this means anything to
you, just know that the bird died quickly.”

“You know about the bird?”

“That and more.
 
You’re in danger, and it’s more dire
than you think.
 
How can I help?”

After my initial meeting with her, I was
beyond wondering how Rhoda saw whatever the hell it was that she saw, so I just
took a breath and accepted this odd, unlikely gift she’d been given for what it
was—the real thing.
 

But there are others who need convincing…

“Rhoda, I’m here with two men who are skeptical
about your abilities.
 
Do you mind
if I put you on speaker phone so we can just end their speculations?”

“Time to prove myself again?”

“I apologize, but I’m afraid it’s for the
best.”

“Don’t apologize, toots.
 
I get this all the time.
 
Let’s just settle it, OK?”

I thanked her as I moved out of the kitchen
and back into the living room, where Nick and Ben looked up at me.

“I have Rhoda on the line,” I said.
 
“I’m putting her on speaker phone.”
 
I hit a button and said, “Rhoda, can you
hear me?”

“I can hear you.”

“Have I told you anything about who’s with
me now?”

“All you’ve said is that there are two men
with you who might be questioning my gift.”

“Do you know who they are?”

“One is Ben, for sure—and by the way,
congrats on last night.
 
What a
rodeo that must have been for each of you.
 
Memory lane, and all that.
 
Good for you two.”

When she said that, my eyes popped as wide
as Ben’s while Nick just cleared his throat.

“Look, I’ve already told you that I’m
terrible when it comes to names,” she said.
 
“I generally come close, but it’s going
to be a toss-up when it comes to the other one.
 
It’s either Mick or Nick.
 
I think it’s Nick.
 
Is it?”

“It is.”

“Well, there you go.”

“Can you describe what he looks like,
Rhoda?
 
I’m not sure what you can
see and what you can’t see, so that might not be a fair question.”

“Oh, honey, I can see him.
 
And what I’m seeing is a full-on
stud.
 
Tall, dark, and built.
 
What you don’t know, Kate, is that he
has two kids.
 
Just ask him.”

I turned to Nick, whose lips had parted
slightly.
 
“Do you have two
children?”

“I do.”

“What are their genders, Rhoda?”

“I’m seeing two little girls who love their
daddy very much.”

“Well, fuck me…” Nick said.

“Do either of you want to ask her anything?”
I asked them.

“When was I born?” Ben said.

“May,” Rhoda said at once.
 
“And by the way, you’re a total Taurus,
Ben.
 
Straight to your core.
 
You’re reliable, practical, ambitious,
and—as Kate knows from last night alone—you’re also fairly
sensuous.
 
Would you disagree with
me on that, Kate?”

How in the hell does she know that we slept
together…?

“Probably not,” I said.

“I didn’t think so.”

“Rhoda, are you terribly busy today?” I
asked.

“Not too busy to help you deal with the mess
you’re in.
 
I own this joint, and I
can shut it down whenever I want.
 
So, to answer the question you haven’t even asked me, yes, I’m willing
to come to your apartment and help.
 
When Nick, Ben, and I are on the same page about me, the four of us can
sit down and talk.
 
I’ve already
seen some things, Kate, like the bird I mentioned a moment ago.”

“She knows about the bird?” Ben said.

“I do, Ben,” Rhoda said.
 
“And it wasn’t Kate who told me about
it.
 
So, before I arrive, how about
if you give that some thought?”

“We need you, Rhoda.”

“You need me more than you know,” she
said.
 
“Look, I’m way the hell
downtown and you are…where?
 
You
never told me where you live, but I’m seeing the Upper West Side.
 
I can see views of the Park from there.”

“I live at the San Remo.”

“Fancy,” she said.
 
“Give me forty-six minutes, and I’ll be
there.
 
In the meantime, Nick needs
to know that his youngest daughter has a cavity that needs to be tended
to.
 
If you’re listening, Nick,
trust me on this—I’m right about that girl’s tooth.
 
So why don’t you get off that pretty
white sofa you’re sitting on, and call your wife to set up an appointment now
before I get there?
 
Because it
needs to be tended to—and I’m leaving now.”

*
 
*
 
*

Exactly forty-six minutes later, my intercom
rang.
 
Five minutes after that, a
knock came at my door.
 
When I
opened it, there stood Rhoda—her red hair swept behind her head in a
purple kerchief, her full face free of makeup.
 
She was wearing a flowing yellow skirt,
a white, loose-fitting top, and a pair of worn Birkenstocks on her pudgy
feet.
 
Her toenails, I noted, were painted
bright red.

Before I could say a word to her, she
stepped inside and gave me a hug that lasted a beat longer than it should have
for a mere greeting.
 
Rhoda was
hugging me for a reason, likely to soak in my energy.
 

When we parted, there was a deep well of
concern in her eyes.

“Thank you for coming,” I said.

“I had no choice.
 
You need me now.”

What does she know…?

“Let me introduce you to Ben and Nick.”

“I’m eager to meet them.”

She reached out and held one of my hands in
a vice grip as I led her into the living room.
 
Both Ben and Nick stood when we entered.

“Ben Cade, Nick Martinez—Rhoda Burns.”

“Both of you might be dark and built, but I
know that you’re Ben,” she said as she released her hand from mine so that she
could shake Ben’s.
 
“It’s a pleasure.”

“The pleasure’s mine.”

“Is it?
 
We’ll see, I guess, because I already know where I stand with you, and
please believe me when I say this—I take no offense.
 
Doubt plagues me every day, but I
typically shut it down within a minute or so.”
 
She turned to Nick and shook his hand.
 
“And good on you for texting your wife
about that tooth.”

He furrowed his brow at her.
 
“How could you know that I texted my
wife?”

“How about if you think about that and then draw
your own conclusions?”

She turned to Ben.

“Before we go forward with Kate’s situation,
you and I need to come to terms, Ben, because, despite the fact that I knew
about the bird, the month you were born in, and the fact that you two got it on
last night, I know you’re still on the fence about me.
 
So, we can do this in public or in
private—your choice.
 
Just
know that, when I shook your hand, I saw plenty of things, some that might
embarrass you, and one in particular that haunts you to this day.”

“We do this here,” Ben said.

“How far do you want me to go?”

“As far as you want.
 
Start with something that no one in this
room knows.”

“I’ll give you two choices.
 
We can either talk about what you wanted
to say to Kate last night when you were making love to her, or we can talk
about Afghanistan.
 
Your
choice.
 
And by the way, the fact
that I know that you and Kate made love last night and that you did two tours
of duty in Afghanistan should seal the deal between us right now.
 
But you’re a typical
Taurus—stubborn to your core.
 
The good news is that I can sense that your head is about to spin off
your shoulders right now, so I know we’re making progress.
 
But we’re also wasting time, which we
don’t have, so choose.”

“Afghanistan,” he said.

“Give me your hand again.”

He gave it to her, and when he did, Rhoda
closed her eyes for several moments before looking at him again.
 
“All right,” she said.
 
“I’ve seen enough—and I’m sorry,
Ben.
 
Are you sure you want to go
there?”

“Go where?”

“You and I both know where.”

“Let’s see what you know, Rhoda.”

“First of all, it wasn’t your fault.
 
But you’ve never believed that, have
you?”

“That what wasn’t my fault?”

“Your friend’s death.”

“Which friend?
 
I lost many friends in that war.”

“Your best friend.
 
I can’t get a read on his name, but I
can see him.
 
He was blond.
 
Had a dimple in his chin.
 
And he was younger than he looked.
 
And then there’s his eyes, which were so
pale blue, they were almost surreal.
 
So, I’ll ask again.
 
Do you
want me to go on?
 
Do you really
want to relive what happened to him?”

He shrugged at her, but when he did, it was
clear from the troubled expression on his face that he was trying to mask that
she was getting to him.

“Fair enough,” she said.
 
“I can hear gunfire.
 
Shouting.
 
And I can see that you’re in some town
that’s been blown to hell—dust and sand are everywhere—though some
buildings are somehow still standing.
 
I can sense that claiming this area is very important to you, though I’m
not sure why.
 
And I can see you and
your friend huddled down in one of the houses for protection.
 
That’s when you saw her—the little
girl.
 
For some reason, she’d
wandered out of her house, into the street—and straight into a hail of
gunfire.
 
Your friend said something
like, ‘I need to grab her.’
 
You
told him to stay put, but he didn’t.
 
I can hear you yelling at him to stand down, but he didn’t.
 
You were his commanding officer, but
because you were such close friends, he didn’t listen to you.
 
He busted away from you and you tried to
tackle him in an effort to stop him.
 
But you were too late, weren’t you?
 
By then, he’d already slipped away and was running toward her.
 
What happened next has left you scarred
to this very day.
 
Seeing those men shoot
down your best friend in the middle of that street was perhaps the worst day of
your life—”

“That’s enough,” Ben said.
 
My heart went out to him when he said,
“That’s it.”

“I’m sorry,” Rhoda said in a gentle voice.

“Nobody knows anything about that.”

“You need to relieve yourself of the guilt
you’ve been carrying, my love.
 
Your
friend always was impulsive, wasn’t he?
 
In situations such as that one, it was in his nature to act first and
think later, wasn’t it?
 
That
infuriated you about him—but it’s also one of the reasons why you admired
him so much.
 
For his honor and his
bravery.
 
To this day, you feel that
if you only had gotten to him in time, he wouldn’t have lost his life.”

“I’d rather not talk about this anymore.”

I went over to Ben and put my arm around
him.