Slow Burn

Chapter Nineteen

The letter arrived by special messenger at ten o'clock that evening. Everyone heard the doorbell ring, though they were each in different areas of the house.

Isabel was upstairs packing; Kiera was in the kitchen folding laundry, and Kate had spread the papers from the CPA firm on the coffee table to search for a copy of the loan agreement. Dylan had decided to do a home security check and was moving from room to room inspecting the doors and windows.

"I've got it," Isabel shouted from the upstairs landing.

"No, you don't," Dylan replied in a no-nonsense tone of voice as he came from the back of the house. He went outside and pulled the door closed behind him. Isabel watched from the side window.

"Who's at the door?" Kate asked.

"Some man with an envelope. Dylan just made him show him his driver's license. That's kind of odd, isn't it?"

"It's late," Kate offered as an excuse.

"I think he's scared of Dylan. If you could see his face…" She jumped back so Dylan wouldn't know she'd been watching when he opened the door.

"One of you needs to sign for this."

"Who would send something this late at night?" Isabel asked as Kate signed the form.

The envelope was marked urgent. That can't be good, Kate thought. She looked at the return address and wanted to groan. The envelope had come from a law firm, and that definitely couldn't be good.

"Who's it from?" Isabel asked.

"Smith and Wesson."

"The gun company?"

"The law firm."

Concerned that the letter was delivering more financial bad news, Isabel snatched the envelope out of Kate's hand so that Dylan wouldn't see it. "Why don't we let Kiera open this," she said as she quickly headed to the kitchen.

Kate didn't follow her. If it was another unpleasant surprise, she didn't want to be the one to break it to the others this time. She returned to her work in the living room. So far, she hadn't found the loan agreement, nor had she found a ledger summarizing the account since Tucker Simmons, the CPA, had taken it over. She was just about to go through the stacks once again when Kiera interrupted her.

"Kate, you've got to read this." She held up the letter. Her face was flushed.

Isabel followed close behind. "It's not about the loan, is it?"

"No, no. This is from an attorney in Savannah representing Compton Thomas MacKenna."

Isabel was trying to read the letter, but Kiera kept waving it around.

"Who's Compton Thomas MacKenna?" Isabel asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe he was our father's father or maybe an uncle. He could even be a cousin."

Kiera stepped over a file box and sat down next to Kate. Isabel dropped down on her other side.

"Either read it to me or let me read it," Isabel said. "The suspense is killing me."

Kiera handed her the letter. She read it out loud and then said, "Isn't this exciting? I wonder what this Compton Thomas MacKenna wants."

"It appears he wants us to come to Savannah. It says he requests our presence," Kiera answered.

"I'm not going," Kate said.

"What do you mean you're not going? Shouldn't we at least think about it?" Isabel asked.

An argument ensued, and Dylan walked right into the middle of it. "Kate, the back door-"

"I mean I'm not going," Kate said. "You two can do whatever you want, but I don't want to have anything to do with those people. Our father's family disowned him when he married Mother, and I have no interest in meeting any of them now."

Isabel was becoming more and more frustrated. "But one of us has to go, and it should be you, Kate. Maybe this man wants to beg our forgiveness. He said the matter was of the utmost importance. It must be, because he wants us there tomorrow afternoon."

"We're supposed to drop everything and drive to Savannah with absolutely no notice? I don't think so. I'm not going."

"Going where?" Dylan asked.

No one answered him. The sisters were all talking at the same time. It was loud and chaotic, and very much like the home he grew up in, which was probably why he felt so comfortable. He leaned against the door frame, folded his arms, and simply waited for them to finish. Then he was going to give them hell for not locking their doors. Not only was the back door unlocked, but also the side door and the outside door leading to the garage. Damn, he thought, they ought to just put a sign out on the lawn, victims inside.

Oh, yes, they were all going to catch hell no matter how long he had to stand there and wait.

Kiera yawned loudly. "I can't go," she said. "Isabel and I can't take the time. We should have left here yesterday."

"But we stayed because of you. You just had to go and get yourself blown up again," Isabel said.

"Are you kidding me? I did not…"

Isabel looked at Kiera. "Couldn't you drop me off at the dorm and backtrack to-"

She stopped when Kiera shook her head. "I don't have the time. I have to get back. As it is, when we get to Winthrop, I'll have only enough time to help you find your room and unload the car. Once I get back to my apartment, I'll be working twenty-four-seven."

"Do you see, Kate? You're the only one of us who can go."

"I'm not going," she repeated for what she thought had to be the tenth time.

"You're so stubborn," Isabel muttered. She nudged Kiera's foot as she walked past and said, "Make her go."

Kiera laughed. "How do you suppose I could do that?"

Isabel noticed Dylan in the doorway and turned to him. "How about you? I'll bet you could make her go."

"No, he could not," Kate said emphatically.

"Go where?" Dylan asked once again.

Isabel realized that Dylan didn't know what they were talking about and hastened to tell him what the letter said and to catch him up on their family history. "We've never met any of our father's side of the family," she said. "And this is a wonderful opportunity to find out about them, which is why Kate has to go. We don't even know how many uncles and aunts and cousins there are."

"Why would I want to have anything to do with any of them? Not one relative even came to Dad's or Mom's funeral," Kate argued.

"Sorry, Isabel, but I'm in Kate's corner. If she doesn't want to go, then she shouldn't go," Kiera said. "Except-"

Isabel interrupted. "This man… this Compton MacKenna… maybe he wants to give us something that belonged to our father. If you don't go, we may never know what he wants to talk to us about."

Kate ignored Isabel. "Except what?" she asked Kiera.

"None of them wanted anything to do with us… until now. Wouldn't you like to know why? Besides… this would be a great opportunity to get some medical history. Certain diseases run in families," she pointed out. "Don't look at me that way. There could be heart disease and all sorts of genetic problems we're unaware of."

"How about I take one of those forms they make you fill out when you're a new patient in a doctor's office? Or maybe you could make up a list of questions for me to ask them. I could even check their teeth and report back if you want me to."

"I'm serious, Kate. We don't have any medical knowledge about our father's side of the family. It would be good to know something, but if you don't want to go, then don't."

"Okay then."

Isabel was so frustrated with her sisters she threw her hands up and started to walk out of the room. Dylan stopped her.

"Go sit," he said. "I want to talk to you." He added, "Especially you."

"Yes, sir."

"Please think about it, Kate. This could fill in so many holes and answer so many questions about our family," Kiera reasoned.

Kate let out an acquiescent sigh. "Oh, all right, I'll go."

"Good. That's settled then," Kiera said. "I'm going to bed."

"Not just yet," Dylan interjected. No one was going anywhere until he'd had his say about their total disregard for safety. After looking over their house, he had been tempted to submit it for the "what not to do" section of a home-security manual.

"Did you want something?" Kate asked.

"As a matter of fact I do. I want to give all three of you hell."

And then he proceeded to do just that.