Miami purely on business. And his death was just a horrible accident.”
“Can’t you ask that security chief you spoke to whether Healy was supposed to be in Florida?”
“The police will get in touch with Ithaka, and it wouldn’t be smart for me to interfere. Besides, I want to distance myself from this whole nightmare as much as possible.”
“Good point.”
“Baby, one thing I can’t ignore. This story is bound to end up in the New York papers, at least in the tabloids. There’s a chance it might even mention me and the firm. I’m really sorry.”
“Oh don’t worry about that, dear. As my mother used to say, ‘Bad breath is better than no breath at all.’”
Kit managed to laugh, despite how agitated she still felt.
“You’re back tomorrow, right?” Baby asked.
“Yes. I’m going to check out Avery’s aunt’s house first thing in the morning and then be on a plane early. The sooner I launch my butt out of this state, the better. Plus, I’m meeting that doctor at seven tomorrow night.”
“I’ll probably still be here when you arrive, so I’ll see you then. But call if you need to vent beforehand.”
“Will do,” Kit said, more than grateful for having Baby in her corner.
Good restaurants supposedly were everywhere in Key West, but she had no interest in venturing beyond the hotel dining room. She knew there was little chance X could have discovered her whereabouts, but in her mind he seemed ready to emerge from behind every corner, just as he had in the shop in Islamorada. For a moment she flashed back on what Baby had suggested the other day, that she step back, determine the warning signs she might have missed, and then freaking learn from them. But though she’d pressed herself, she’d had no luck summoning any warning signs about X. Yes, he’d been a little mysterious at moments, but that had hardly hinted at a sinister side. In so many ways he had seemed the kind of man she’d been searching for.
She took a book with her to dinner and ordered a glass of white wine along with a small pot of moules marinière.
She’d done what she had to do to put this all behind her. Relax, she told herself. But the mussels tasted as if they’d been barnacled to the hull of a freighter for the past year and she couldn’t enjoy them. She returned to her room still hungry and fretful, and woke the next morning in the same state.
The taxi ride to the aunt’s home took only a few minutes. The house was enchanting from the outside: sea blue with yellow shutters and a deep wraparound porch. Though much of the furniture was dark and imposing, at odds with the Key West vibe Avery wanted to incorporate, Kit spotted a few framed prints and small accessories that could work.
At noon she was buckling her seat belt on the puddle jumper to Miami. She had a short layover at the airport there and spent the entire time at the gate with her nose in her iPad. She let out an audible sigh when the wheels of her plane finally touched down on the LaGuardia Airport runway.
She stopped by her apartment first, dropping off her roller bag, and then let herself into the office. Dara and Baby were both still there, glancing through a catalog together. She felt joyful at the sheer sight of them.
“Welcome back,” Dara said. She flashed a smile, but there was an undercurrent of concern in her tone. Kit knew she must still be wondering about the call from the cops and the earlier-than-planned trip to Florida.
“Good to be here,” she said, and nodded to Baby in a way that divulged she was doing okay.
“So did you run into Bogie and Bacall down there?” Dara asked. Unlike many girls of her generation, Dara knew plenty about popular culture from the decades before she was born.
“No sightings, unfortunately. Anything going on since we last texted?”
“No, just that the doctor confirmed his seven o’clock. You’ve got his address, right? East 84th Street.”
“Yes, I’m going to head up there before long,” she said.
“I could take the meeting if you want,” Baby said as Dara stepped into the bathroom. “You must feel spent.”
“Thanks, but I’m eager to do it. I want to dive back into work and just feel normal again.”
And she did feel almost normal the minute she stepped into Keith Holt’s foyer. She always loved the rush that came from meeting potential clients and contemplating