Lethal Affair (24 page)

She tried on her cut-offs and found
them a little snug but still usable. Soon she'd have to give in to
spandex. She donned a cap and sunglasses and studiously locked all
the windows and set the alarm. Between a killer in the neighborhood
and Drew's obsession with her, it felt prudent.

Riding through the light Saturday
traffic along the main drag of the trendy Village area, it seemed
surreal that a murder had taken place within its wide streets.
Boutiques, restaurants and all manner of businesses lined the
walkways where towering chestnut trees extended their limbs to
connect with their counterparts across the street, forming a
tunnel-like haven.

It was a small slice of heaven. Not a
murder site.

She veered off down long residential
streets lined with majestic Victorian homes, coming out to Beach
Drive and the Oak Bay marina. Yachts and other vessels bobbed
gently on the water while the cry of sea birds and the pungent odor
of seaweed cleared her jumbled thoughts.

Locking Jolene's ten speed onto a bike
rack, Kylie wandered down a length of pier admiring the various
vessels. She reached the end and sat, feet dangling over the edge.
Taking off her cap and sunglasses she raised her face to the sun,
absorbing its warmth.

Sunlight danced on wavelets of cobalt
water, dazzling her. In the distance a barge chugged, and further
still, an oil tanker slid into purple haze. The sky overhead was
postcard blue, with infant puff-ball clouds heading out to
sea.

Kylie breathed deep and found a
measure of peace.

It didn't last long. The fine hairs on
the back of her neck stood up and she twisted around, expecting to
find someone standing behind her.

No one.

The feeling persisted, intensified.
Despite the heat, goose bumps rose like a rash across her skin. She
swiveled fully around and scanned the area off the dock through
narrowed eyes.

There. A man, standing in the shade of
an elm tree near the road, the deep shadows partially obscuring
him. The stance, the cocky tilt of hip, hands in the pockets of his
shorts; it was all Drew.

Kylie's heart bucked. What the
fuck!

Moving fast, she jogged to the bike
rack, unlocked and yanked out the ten speed, hopped on and rode
off, aware that Drew had moved from his spot and was now
invisible.

Kylie cursed herself for having
forgotten her cell phone. She left the main drag and wove her way
through side streets, catching glimpses of sunlight sparkling off
of silver a block behind her. Peddling madly, she reached the
familiar landmarks of the Village area.

Instinct had her heading for the
Village Diner. They were doing a brisk business serving the lunch
crowd with a small line waiting to be seated. Kylie shoved the bike
into a rack out front, locked it and pushed her way
inside.

Jolene was run-off-her-feet busy and
didn't see Kylie come in. She asked Eileen if Will was in his
office. Thankfully he was so she headed straight up the stairs
taking them two at a time.

Dino announced her arrival with a
friendly bark and Will looked up from his desk where a stack of
paperwork vied with his computer for attention.

Pleasant surprise lit his features,
followed by a frown. “Did something happen?”

Winded, Kylie flopped into the easy
chair near the window and leaned forward to look down at the
street. There was Drew's car at the curb.

“
Don't tell me,” said Will,
“you've got a shadow.”

Kylie took off her cap, shook out her
sun-kissed hair, ran a frustrated hand through it. “He's like a
damn pebble I can't shake out of my shoe.”

More like a boulder, thought
Will.

“
Took Jolene's ten speed for
a spin. Thing rides like a charm. I was headed for Willow's beach
and made a pit stop at the Oak Bay Marina.” An incredulous laugh
bubbled up. “He interrupted my day and my head space. Managed to
follow me all the way there without me seeing him. Then I felt him.
Felt his eyes boring into my back. What the hell does he
want?”

“
What you need is a
restraining order.”

She told him what Jay Humphrey had
outlined for her about getting a peace bond.

“
Hell, I'll be a witness or
whatever you need me to be. I think it's time to put his harassment
on public record.”

Kylie slumped in her chair. “I'm no
woos, but he's making me nervous. Maybe I should start following
him, see how he likes it.” She fumed for a bit. “All this stress
can't be good for the kid inside me. And here I am spilling it onto
you. You, who has nothing to do with any of this. I'm sorry Will. I
shouldn't have come. You probably have tons of work.”

Will let her vent. Then he picked up
his desk phone. “How about a long, tall orangeade? After that, why
not come with me to check out our Langford construction
site?”

She appreciated his diversionary
tactic. “Are you sure it's a good idea? What if...”

“
If he follows us, so be it.
You came here because you feel safe with me. And while that means a
lot to me, what's more important is that you live your life the way
you choose. You can't let that jerk control you from
afar.”

Stunned, it hadn't occurred to her
that her coming here had been an instinctual reaction. While his
words rang true, he was forgetting something important.

“
What about Max? You have
him to consider, and we don't know how far Drew might take this
thing. I won't let you risk his safety Will.”

“
Max is with his buddy
across the street from my house today. The kid's mother is grateful
to have him over. Keeps her own kid out of her hair. She's an
artist and needs spaces of time without interruption, so I guess
we're doing each other a favor. Kylie, I'd like you to come with me
and give me your unbiased opinion of the new diner so
far.”

She figured her opinion was neither
here nor there; he was playing guardian. Grand gesture aside, she
wanted to spend more time with him. “Alright. I'll trust your
judgment since you're planning on trusting mine.”

Millie delivered two frosty glasses of
freshly made orangeade. Refreshed, they headed out with Dino along
for the ride.

Langford was a township nestled north
of the city with enough malls and businesses to make a trip into
downtown Victoria unnecessary. The Langford Diner site had been
chosen because of its proximity to business offices and a high
school, and would cater to the lunch and after school crowd as well
as evening clientele for dinner.

Riding in Will's Jeep with Dino, they
took the Old Island Highway, a more domestic route than the
congested main artery that extended from downtown Victoria all the
way up-island. Will cranked up the radio and they both laughed at
each others pitch-y efforts to sing along.

“
Well it's official,”
proclaimed Will. “Neither of us were born to be rock stars. But
most everyone has a dream and their forté.”

“
Yeah, but sometimes dreams
and forté don't add up. Then what?”

“
Then you start over with
plan B. How about you? Do you love what you do?”

“
When I was a little girl my
mother couldn't keep me out of her garden. She'd find me on a pile
of dirt surrounded by flowers that I'd ripped up just to see how
the roots looked. When I got bigger she put me to work planting and
weeding her vegetable garden, which turned out to be a lot of work
using plastic gardening tools. That was when I discovered my green
thumb. Went to horticulture school and the rest is
history.”

“
You love to make things
grow.”

“
I'm a nurturer, if that's
what you mean. Plants have a lot of different qualities. Most of
them are beautiful, some are deadly. All serve their purpose and it
makes me feel useful to help them achieve their full potential and
deliver on that purpose.”

“
Makes perfect sense to me.
Kinda how I feel about serving up a plate of food that's got all
the essentials. Nutritious, delicious and memorable.”

“
Not to mention
profitable.”

“
Doesn't hurt. The fast food
industry leaves me cold. It's quality or nothing for Lyle and me.
It was something we agreed on from day one. There's a helluva kick
in watching people appreciate good food at a fair price. I imagine
it's a lot like how you feel when folks take home your plants to
beautify their space, or your produce to enjoy their home
cooking.”

Kylie let that sink in. She was
learning things about Will Delaney that intrigued. For one, his
ability to delve inside of a person rather than skim the
surface.

Will pulled the Jeep onto a side road
where a large lot had been temporarily fenced off. Raising a dust
cloud, they entered the site near an opening at the rear where Will
parked and got out a leash for Dino.

“
Can't have him running
loose. Dangerous equipment around here.”

They headed toward the skeleton of the
diner whose bare bones were already taking shape, the building
nestled into a copse of fir trees. Will spoke with a worker who
brought them both hard hats. Kylie put hers on over her cap and
followed Will inside.

Contractor Al Saunders sighted Will,
came over and firmly shook his hand. Will made the introductions,
then handed Kylie Dino's leash. “I need to go over some things with
Al. Why don't you take a wander around, get a feel for the
place.”

Will and Al huddled over a makeshift
table with blueprints covering it.

Buzz saws and hammering assaulted the
clouded air. A fine sheen of dirt coated just about everything.
Debris was piled in one corner and stacks of materials were heaped
in another. Over the din male voices called out, their raucous
laughter at some crude joke resounding off the existing
walls.

It felt exciting. Alive with promise.
This was Will and Lyle's dream in the making. It struck Kylie that
she didn't know all that much about either of them, and wanted to
fill in the gaps.

Taking cautious steps she made her
way, Dino in tow, soaking in the general setup. Larger than their
Village Diner it had a more open floor plan and two bar stations.
She asked a worker and he explained that one would be for fresh
juices and smoothies, the other for adult beverages.

In the kitchen the work was almost
complete, with three massive stainless steel ovens, two eight
burner gas cook tops, a grill, and no less than four glass front
refrigerators. Deep basin sinks lined one side with industrial
dishwashers on either side. At the far end a walk-in freezer was
underway, as well as a large, temperature controlled storage
room.

Will stepped up next to her, hard hat
in place.

“
This kitchen is incredible.
Love what you've chosen for the walls.”

“
It's standard white subway
tile. You look like you're enjoying yourself.”

“
I love all this,” she
admitted. “Gives one a real appreciation for what it takes to
create an efficient restaurant.”

“
Helps to have a guy like Al
running things. Lyle and I used to work for him, and now we're
restauranteurs. Pretty cool, huh.”

“
Are you two fifty-fifty on
this diner?”

“
Mine's still the bigger
stake, but I consider Lyle a full partner. In my books, he worked
hard to become the exceptional chef that he is, and that's
something I'm not. So for me, it's fifty-fifty all the way in terms
of profit.”

A nice combo of fair and honest. Where
were his flaws?

A worker approached with a clipboard
and asked Will for some signatures. Picking up and cuddling Dino,
Kylie feasted her eyes on him while he scanned the documents. He
wore jeans and work boots with a casual shirt. Comfortable,
practical, sexy as hell. His dark hair had grown over his collar
and his blue eyes shone with the friendly banter he offered the
worker while cheerfully signing his life away.

She felt her heart trip. Where with
Drew she'd questioned her feelings, with Will she couldn't seem to
deny them. She'd sought him out instinctively, felt a thrill of
excitement to be in his company and enjoyed it without a single
trace of defensiveness or anxiety.

The realization made her heart
sink.

She was pregnant by another man. And
not just any man. A nut case. Maybe worse. Her reality had been
shelved since the moment she'd run to Will for cover. Now it hit
her full force.

Dino squirmed, sensing her mood
change.

When Will turned back to her he
immediately saw that her thoughts had taken a turn. He took her
hand. “You're thinking too much.” He led her outside where they sat
on saw horses and watched the roofers lay down material. “Okay,
spill. What's eating at you?”

“
What makes you
think...”

“
I can tell when that mind
of yours goes into overdrive. Please tell me you're not still
worrying about that idiot. He's taking up too much of your time and
energy.”

“
It's hard not to think
about it. I'm carrying his child.”