Daddy's Gone a Hunting

63

On Wednesday afternoon, Hannah and Jessie met for a quick lunch at a small restaurant in the Garment District, a block from Hannah’s office. Hannah had stopped by the hospital briefly that morning. Now that Kate was no longer in a crisis situation, Jessie knew that she and Hannah needed to talk. They both ordered a sandwich and coffee. This was not going to be like their dinners at Mindoro’s, where they would sip wine and eat pasta and catch up with each other.

Jessie looked approvingly across the table at her friend. Hannah’s eyes were bright. The shadows under them were gone. She was wearing a high-neck white sweater with a designer scarf in shades of blue around her shoulders. “You look great,” Jessie said. “I would guess that you slept well last night.”

Hannah smiled and said, “You look great, too. That’s another suit I’m glad I talked you into buying. Green tweed is perfect with your red hair. I passed out at eight o’clock last night and woke up at eight o’clock this morning. I didn’t even get to the hospital yet but when I phoned they said that Kate was sleeping quietly and her temperature is normal. I know I can’t ask for more than that at this point.”

Jessie did not waste time engaging in meaningless optimism. “No, I don’t think you can, but the fact that the fever is gone is the best possible news.”

“Yes, it is. Jess, how does the fact that someone might have been in the van the night of the explosion affect the suspicion that Kate and Gus set it off?”

“It certainly adds a whole new dimension. I gather you didn’t see the news last night?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“They found a family picture in the wrecked van. It’s all over the media. They’re hoping to use it to identify whoever was there.”

The waiter had arrived. “Two ham-and-cheese on rye, lettuce, with mustard. Two black coffees,” he verified as he roughly put down the plates on the table, followed by the coffee cups.

Jessie looked at the splatters of coffee in her saucer. “Four-star dining,” she murmured. “Oh well. The sandwiches here are always good.”

“If they do find out who was in the van, what do you think that means for Kate and Gus?” Hannah demanded.

“I don’t know. That van was in the far back end of the lot, a good distance away from the buildings. If some homeless person was in it, he may have been sleeping off a hangover and know absolutely nothing. But it does mean, as far as I can tell, that they have to nail down who was there and what it means. And that is potentially good for Kate.”

“It’s good unless whoever was there saw something that would be bad for Kate.” Hannah took a sip of coffee and picked up her sandwich.

“Knowing you, you’ll eat that half and leave the other on the plate,” Jessie said matter-of-factly.

“You’re right. What can I tell you? It’s awfully big. You probably were working out at five A.M. You need to finish yours.”

“I was working out at six A.M.,” Jessie confirmed. “Hannah, I get the feeling that you are worried that Kate was involved in the explosion. Am I wrong to feel that way?”

She watched as Hannah framed her response. She does think, or know, that Kate was involved, Jessie thought, dismayed.

“All right. Let me tell you exactly what happened. On Thursday afternoon when Dad was alone with Kate, she said something to him. I was just coming into the intensive care unit but I could see his face. He looked scared. That’s the only word for it: scared. When I insisted that he tell me what Kate had told him, he said that she was sorry about the fire.”

“She was sorry about…,” Jessie began to repeat slowly.

“You can imagine what I was thinking, that Kate set the fire. But then a few days later, Dad said that he realized he had been so shocked about everything that he was garbled about what Kate had told him. He claimed that what she said was that she was sorry about the fire, meaning that she knew how much he loved the complex.”

“That is one very big difference, to say the least,” Jessie snapped. “Which version do you believe?”

“I cannot believe my sister is an arsonist.”

“Nor can I,” Jessie said emphatically, “but I have to tell you that Doug has been on the phone with me. He’s determined to create the scenario that Gus tricked Kate into meeting him at the complex. The way he explains her call to him is that she was always very friendly with Gus and just happened to call to chat with him. The rest of the scenario that Doug wants to put out is that Gus hated him so much for forcing him into retirement that he figured out a good way to punish Doug. He tricked Kate into meeting him at the time he knew the explosion would go off. He probably told Kate that he needed her help. But something went wrong. Gus gets killed and Kate gets badly injured.”

Jessie took the last bite of the first half of her sandwich and reached for the other half. “A disgruntled employee blew up the complex. The injured daughter is an innocent victim and the insurance is paid. Get the picture?”

“Suppose, if Kate recovers-make that when Kate recovers-and can talk about it, she says that that is not the way it happened?” Hannah asked, quietly.

“I don’t know.” Jessie did not want to tell Hannah that she was sensing a certain desperation in Douglas Connelly. No matter what, he can always get a lot of money for just the property, she thought. But he’s counting on the big prize, millions more in insurance. I wouldn’t want to be the one to stand in his way of getting it.