Hot Stuff

Chapter EIGHTEEN

Marty, Kellen, and Beast stepped out of the elevator with Cate, hurried down the hall, and waited while Cate punched in the code to unlock Marty’s front door.

“Okay,” Kellen said to Marty when they were all inside. “Where is the safe?”

“I don’t think I should tell you,” Marty said. “I appreciate the rescue, but I’d prefer not to reveal the safe.” He gave Kellen his best Doris Day smile. “However, I’d be more than happy to reward you when I feel it’s time to move some of the merchandise.”

“Here’s more bad news,” Kellen said to Marty. “I’m a private recovery agent, and you have property belonging to at least one of my clients. You can open the safe now, or you can open the safe when the police get here.”

“But I’m Robin Hood,” Marty said. “We were using the money for charitable purposes.” He flicked his eyes to the Warhol on the wall. “Almost all of it.”

“And what about the dead agent?” Kellen asked.

“It was an accident. He was in a panic, and he slipped and fell down the stairs, I swear on my mother’s grave.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Cate said.

“Well, actually she isn’t dead,” Marty said. “I was swearing pre-mortem.”

Kellen didn’t show much, and Cate suspected he wasn’t buying it. For that matter, she wasn’t sure she bought the whole package, but she did feel a tug of compassion for Marty. He looked pathetic in his raggedy clothes. He had a gash on his forehead, and a large bruise and abrasion on his right cheekbone. His right eye was partially swollen. And he truly did need a manicure.

“Are you going to turn me over to the police?” Marty asked.

“I haven’t decided,” Kellen said. “I’m not in the fugitive apprehension business, but I have an obligation as a citizen to come forward when I have information about a crime.”

“Suppose I open the safe and give you all the jewelry and promise not to ever steal again.”

“Evian really does need him at the bar,” Cate said. “And even though Kitty’s motives weren’t great, she still did a lot of good for the community.”

Kellen looked at Cate. “Aside from the fact that the agent accident could be pure baloney, if we don’t inform the police about Marty we could become accomplices to multiple crimes.”

“I just have a hard time thinking about Marty sitting in jail. And it seems a shame that he can’t go on entertaining people.”

“Okay, here’s the deal,” Kellen said to Marty. “I’m going to give you a twenty-four-hour head start. You can leave the country, or you can go to the police yourself and confess. If you go to the police with a decent lawyer, you can probably plea bargain and rat out Kitty Bergman, and get a very reduced sentence.”

“I’ll take it,” Marty said.

“Now show us the safe.”

“You’re going to love this. It’s in the utility room.”

Marty led the way, and Kellen and Cate and Beast followed.

“I was worried about Kitty,” Marty said. “And I knew she’d hired those two goons who would do anything. And I mean anything. So I had this safe installed just in case things got nasty, and the goons got nosey. It opens with a fifteen-digit code, and I have no head for numbers. I can barely remember my phone number. I didn’t want to write the code down because I was afraid they’d find the paper. So I had it injected into the dog when I took him for a walk before I bought him. I figured even if someone wanded him they’d just think it was an ID number. What I didn’t count on was Kitty’s ability to inflict pain and my inability to tolerate it. The first time they hit me I blurted it all out.”

The utility room was nothing more than a closet off the hall. It contained a water heater, a furnace, and two fuse boxes. No safe that Cate could see.

“Have you ever had to flip a circuit breaker?” Marty asked Cate.

“No.”

Marty opened the doors to the two fuse boxes. Both looked identical. The circuit breakers on the top box were labeled. Bath, kitchen, bedrooms, and living areas. The circuit breakers on the bottom box weren’t labeled. Marty flipped one of the switches quickly three times and the panel popped open to reveal a wall safe behind it.

“Nice,” Kellen said. “I’d actually wondered about the second fuse box.”

Kellen punched in the chip code and the safe clicked open.

“I’ve saved all my favorite pieces,” Marty said on a sigh, taking a blue velvet box from the safe. Truth is, some of these I’m not sure I ever could have voluntarily parted with.”

Kellen opened the box and unwrapped the jewelry. Four necklaces, two bracelets, a broach, two rings, and two pairs of earrings, all in their own blue velvet wraps.

“The necklace I’ve been looking for is here,” Kellen said. “And there are four more pieces that are on my list. If you decide to turn yourself in to the police, I’ll corroborate your story and testify against Kitty Bergman, but you have to agree to give Beast to Cate.”

“Of course Cate can have Beast if she wants him. And she’s welcome to stay in my condo for as long as she wants if I’m… sent away. I’ll go to the police first thing in the morning,” Marty said. “And in the meantime I’m going to lock my front door and not let anyone in… just in case Kitty has escaped from the closet.”

Cate and Kellen and Beast took the elevator to the lobby.

“What should we do about Kitty?” Cate asked. “We can’t just leave her in the closet all night.”

“I’m sure she’s out of the closet by now. She was locked in there with two big guys, and the door wasn’t that strong.”

Julie, Pugg and Sharon were in the lobby.

“We ran into Sharon coming home from the movies,” Julie said. “And we’re all here waiting to see what happened.”

“Everything’s fine,” Cate said. “Kellen found the necklace he’s been looking for, and Marty is upstairs, safe in his condo. He has some things to sort through and some decisions to make.”

Sharon gave her head a small shake. “You never know about people. Who would have thought Marty and Kitty would be in business together, stealing jewelry?”

“It’s like he’s the Pink Panther,” Julie said. “I loved those movies. I think my next book will be about Marty.”

A man pushed through the front door into the lobby and went to the bank of mailboxes. He took a key out of his pocket and opened the box labeled Mr. M.

All eyes were glued to the man.

“Omigosh, are you Mr. M.?” Julie asked.

“Yes. Michael Menzenbergenfelt. My name wouldn’t fit in the space.”

He was in his midforties. Dark hair, receding hairline, average build gone a little soft around the middle, average height, pleasant smile. And Cate knew he had nice ankles and was slightly flatfooted.

“We’ve been wonderin’ about you,” Julie said. “You’re the man of mystery around here. No one ever sees you.”

“I’m a writer. Historical fiction. Mostly set around Bonaparte. Between trying to make a deadline and traveling on book tour I’ve been keeping odd hours. I haven’t really been here that much.”

“Julie’s a writer, too,” Cate said.

“Are you published?” Michael asked.

“No. But maybe someday. I’m just starting out.”

“Her book is wonderful,” Cate said.

“Let me know if I can help,” Michael said. “I assume we’re neighbors.”

“Yep, we’re 4A, 3A, and 3B,” Julie said.

Sharon stepped up. “Sharon Vizzallini in 3B.” She gave him her card. “In case you need real estate.”

“Sorry,” he said, “I don’t need real estate.” He looked down at her left hand. No ring. “But maybe dinner sometime?”

“Sure,” Sharon said. “Tomorrow at six?”

“I’ve read your books,” Kellen said to Mr. M. “I’m a fan. I think the Bonaparte years were fascinating.”

Cate and Kellen stood staring at Kellen’s bed. Beast was on it, sprawled across the entire width. Beast opened an eye and looked at them, and the eye slid closed.

“You’re going to have to move him,” Cate said.

“Me? He’s your dog.”

“Yes, but he’s big, and he gets cranky when you wake him.”

“Are you telling me you’re still afraid of your own dog?”

Cate pressed her lips together. “Certainly not. I just hate to see him upset. Okay, maybe sometimes he worries me a little when he does the growly thing.”

“He’s a pussycat,” Kellen said.

“Okay, so you move the pussycat.”

Kellen took hold of Beast’s two front feet and pulled. Beast growled low in his throat but refused to move or open his eyes.

“This is ridiculous,” Kellen said. “This is like moving a bag of wet cement.”

“Maybe there’s a bagel left downstairs. We could lure him off with food.”

“I ate the last bagel,” Kellen said. “And this is a challenge. This is man against beast. I can do this.” He grabbed Beast and wrestled him around until they were both lying lengthways on the bed. “Okay,” Kellen said. “Now I just have to get him to move to his own side.”

Cate clapped a hand to her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

“I saw that,” Kellen said. “If you laugh at me you’ll pay.”

“Oh, yeah? What would the price be?”

Kellen had a front foot and a back foot and was inching Beast along. “I don’t know, but I’ll think of something horrible. Like, you’ll have to eat my cooking or meet my sisters.”

“I could handle that,” Cate said.

“You think you’re pretty tough right now, but you’ve never tasted my spaghetti sauce,” Kellen said, giving one last grunt and finally moving Beast to the edge.

Kellen kicked his shoes off and sat on the bed. He patted the spot next to him. “Come here, princess. Now I get to wrestle with you.”

“Are you going to drag me across the bed by my feet?”

“No. I’m going to whisper erotic suggestions in your ear, and then I’m going to demonstrate.”

Cate sat next to him. “You’ve had a full day, cowboy. Rescued me, solved a crime, tackled the beast. You might be too worn out to demonstrate.”

Kellen grinned and twirled one of Cate’s curls around his finger. “I think I can manage to dredge up some energy.”

Cate unlaced her sneakers. “What will happen to Kitty? Will the police find her? If they do, I doubt her husband will do much to help her out.”

“If she’s smart, Kitty and her henchmen are at Logan right now, loading everything they can beg, borrow, and steal onto a private plane to some unknown and exotic location.”

“About those erotic suggestions…” Cate said.

“What about them?”

Cate ran her hand under Kellen’s shirt, enjoying the feel of his warm skin, letting her fingertips memorize the muscle definition. “I’m ready to hear them,” she said. “All of them. And I want details.”

Cate opened her eyes to sun peeking through the curtains in Kellen’s bedroom. Kellen was gone, but Beast was at the bottom of the bed, Cate’s foot trapped under him. Both the foot and the dog were dead asleep. Cate eased her foot out from under the dog and massaged some blood back into it. A small price to pay for a loyal companion, she thought.

She looked at her watch and grimaced. Almost ten o’clock. Half the day was gone! She was going to have to start a vitamin regimen if she was going to keep up with Kellen. He wore her out… in a very good way.

She took a long, hot shower and realized she hadn’t any clean clothes. She rummaged through Kellen’s dresser and came up with a T-shirt. The rest of yesterday’s clothes would have to make it through the morning until she could get back to the condo and change. She fluffed her hair dry, and she and Beast plodded downstairs to the kitchen in search of breakfast.

A cereal box sat out on the counter. Plus coffee in a cardboard take-out cup. Cate stuck the cup in the microwave to reheat and read the sticky note on the cereal box.

WALKED AND FED BEAST AND GOT YOU SOME CEREAL. MILK IS IN THE FRIDGE. MARTY TURNED HIMSELF IN THIS MORNING. I’M MEETING WITH THE PROSECUTOR. WILL BE BACK SOON.

Cate poured out some cereal and added milk. She retrieved her coffee and ate standing up in the kitchen. There were papers accumulating on the counter, Kellen’s cereal bowl in the sink, Beast’s bowl on the floor, keys and loose change on the counter. One of those keys was for Kellen’s front door. He’d left it on the counter for Cate. The kitchen was starting to have a life.

“I love this cozy little brownstone,” Cate said to Beast. “And I know this is dumb because it’s been such a short amount of time, but I love Kellen too. He makes me feel happy and sexy and safe. I thought I did a pretty good job of keeping a clear head and looking brave through all of this, but the truth is I was scared. Truth is, I kept going because I love you and Kellen, and I knew I had to fight to keep you both. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how Kellen feels about me. I know he likes me. And I know he’s a good guy, and he’s working hard to be nice to me. I just don’t know how deep his feelings go.

“And just between you and me, I’m not sure this is such a great time in my life to be falling in love. I still have dreams about finishing school and teaching. And then there’s you. I’m a new dog mommy. I haven’t totally got it down. How am I going to juggle Kellen, you, school, and work all at the same time? What do you think?” Cate asked Beast.

Beast stopped drinking water. He looked up at Cate, water ran from between his lips, and he burped.

“You’re probably right,” Cate said. “A walk might help clear things up. Not to mention I need clean clothes.”

Cate snapped the leash onto Beast’s collar, and they headed out the door into the midday heat. They took it slow, leisurely strolling the route to Cate’s condo, pausing occasionally in the shade to watch couples walk past on their way to Sunday brunch and families returning from church.

Cate had mixed feelings when they reached her building. It was home, but it had never really been home. Not in the same way her parents’ house had been home. Not in the same way Kellen’s house could be home.

“We’re an odd pair,” Cate said to Beast. “Sort of in limbo, but at least we have each other now. And maybe we have Kellen.”

The lobby was empty, and the elevator ride was quiet. Cate rang Marty’s bell and held her breath. No answer. She rang again and punched the code into the lock. She stepped inside with Beast and called out to Marty. She didn’t know a lot about the process when someone confessed to a crime. She supposed they went to jail, but maybe not right away.

“Anybody home?” Cate called a second time.

No answer.

Cate resisted the urge to snoop in Marty’s bedroom and check his closet for telltale signs of a last-ditch flight to Buenos Aires. Instead, she led Beast straight to her little room, where she changed into clean clothes and packed a few more essentials into a bag, just in case Kellen wanted her to stay longer.

Cate locked up after herself and took the stairs to the third floor. She knocked on Julie’s door. No answer. She knocked on Sharon’s door. No answer.

“Nobody home,” Cate said to Beast. “We’ll have to visit some other time.”