shower while I make coffee.” She turned and faced the barking dog. She pointed her finger sternly at him. “And you be quiet. You’ve caused me enough trouble this morning.”
Harley broke off in mid-roar and sat down gazing expectantly at her.
“He’s actually quiet.” Kendra gazed at him, stunned. “Causing you trouble? He’s been howling and barking off and on since I brought him up here from your condo.”
“Serves you right,” Olivia said as she left her bedroom. “Did I mention that the super woke me up because he couldn’t rouse you?” she called back over her shoulder. “He wasn’t pleased with you, either. We’ve got to solve this problem. And a few others that I realized are on the agenda. Now get moving.”
“I’m on my way.” Kendra was staggering toward the bathroom. “I’ll be right there. Ten minutes.”
But it was twenty minutes before she could force herself to leave the warm flow of the shower after her sleepless night.
“Sorry. I decided to wash my hair,” she said as she came into the kitchen. “And I had to make sure I didn’t smell like a dog. I had to do a lot of petting and close contact to keep Harley quiet.”
“And you still weren’t very successful.” Olivia put a plate with French toast and bacon in front of her. “Eat.” She poured her a cup of coffee. Then she sat down opposite her with her own cup. She faced Harley, who was standing practically on her feet, and said sternly, “Sit. You’ve caused enough trouble.”
He sat down and put his head on his paws.
“Any other orders?” Kendra murmured. “You appear to be the one in charge around here.”
“Someone has to be.” Olivia leaned back and cradled her coffee cup in her two hands. “One more order. I was so blown away when you told me about Elaine and then sprang Harley on me that I let you get away with avoiding my questions about Afghanistan. Now you’re going to stop sidling away from the subject and talk to me.” Her lips tightened. “And tell me if it had anything to do with Elaine’s and Ronald Kim’s murders.”
“No!” Kendra said, shocked. She had never thought that Olivia would draw that conclusion. “Well, not really. Not the murders themselves. Just the opposite. I only became involved because Lynch wanted me out of Afghanistan. The bastard pulled strings with Griffin, and Metcalf came up with—” She drew a deep breath and said, “Okay, I can see how you might think that, but you don’t have to worry about those scumbag contractors in Afghanistan having anything to do with Oceanside. What a nightmare it would be if I thought I’d brought that ugliness down on Elaine and Mr. Kim. I don’t have any idea yet why they were killed, but I guarantee it had nothing to do with those sons of bitches who were trying to screw our soldiers over there. The timing of my arrival here was pure coincidence. One had nothing to do with the other.”
“Then tell me,” Olivia demanded. “Start at the beginning.”
“Lynch,” Kendra said bitterly. “Doesn’t it always start with Adam Lynch?”
* * *
“I can see why you were angry,” Olivia said after Kendra had finished. “Lynch was totally outrageous and arrogant.” She lifted her cup and took a sip of coffee. “You were perfectly right to be furious with him. I would have felt the same way.”
“Yes, you would,” Kendra said. “I knew you’d understand how I was feeling when I stood on that runway in Afghanistan.”
“Of course,” Olivia said solemnly. “I can definitely identify.” Then she started to chuckle. “But it doesn’t help me get the picture out of my head of you confronting that pompous general and ready to take on half our troops in Afghanistan to go after Lynch.” She leaned back in her chair and started to laugh helplessly. “Lord, that’s funny. I needed something to lift my spirits after the night we had, and you gave it to me. I can almost forgive you for bringing this lion-dog to torment me.”
“I’m glad it amused you,” Kendra said coolly. “Particularly since you said you would have felt the same way about Lynch.”
“Oh, I would.” Her face was still convulsed with laughter. “And I would have been deep in planning how to punish the son of a bitch for daring to interfere with my independence and lifestyle. But that doesn’t mean I can’t stand back and enjoy the show he put on when it doesn’t concern me.”