the man with whom I met this afternoon has been involved in a serious accident and is on the critical list."
"It's not your fault. You had no way of knowing where the man was going after your meeting." Kathryn assured her, giving her a hug and telling her that she was going to visit her friend Mary in the condo next door. Mary wanted to show her the pictures of her recent trip to Italy.
After carrying the wine glasses to the kitchen sink, Kate slid the sliding glass doors open and walked onto the balcony and sat in one of her grandmother's rattan chairs. She had to leave for Saratoga as soon as she could. For a moment she thought how nice it would be to take Kathryn to Saratoga. Her grandmother would adore all the lovely old Victorian homes and the flowers planted along the streets. They could eat in a different restaurant every night, for Saratoga offered every kind of culinary fare. But of course, she could not take her. Guy's car may have been deliberately hit. If someone was following him, maybe the person had seen the two of them together.
She then realized that finding a place to stay in the town of Saratoga this time of year would be almost impossible. Maria had reserved a series of rooms at the Sheraton for her out of town guests, but the wedding was four weeks away. She'd call Maria in the morning and see if she had any suggestions.
Her thoughts returned to Guy, who had given her valuable tips over several years. She generally knew he was no saint, but he had tried to help her. If she could get into the hospital and see him, he could possibly shed some light on who could be after him. But then she thought she had better stay away from the hospital for she might be recognized. If someone had tried to kill him, the person may try to finish the job. She decided to get a copy of the police report and see what it had to say. She would call Bob. He could get a copy and fax it to her.
Early the next morning while still in bed, she called Maria to catch her before she left for work. "I need to come to Saratoga now. Do you know of anywhere I could stay?"
Maria answered the phone with her mouth full of toast but managed to mumble, "Hello, is that you, Kate. Wait a sec." She swallowed the toast and took a sip of coffee. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any room at my place. My family is in and out, making preparations for the wedding. Let me ask around and try to find you a place."
"Thanks. And will you do me another favor?" Kate asked, sitting up in bed.
"Okay, but make it fast. I'm already late for work," responded Maria.
"If I send you a cup, do you think you can have it analyzed for prints and then have them checked in your computer data base?"
"May I ask whose you think they are?" inquired Maria.
"Please don't. Can you also have them checked in the FBI files?"
"Okay, girlfriend, as long as a set of clear prints can be lifted, I'll have them checked for you. But now I have to go." Maria hung up.
Kate didn't feel elated about what she had done, but Rod had left her little choice. Grabbing her robe, she went to the kitchen to find Kathryn. "Grandmother, I'm going to buy a new car," Kate said.
"Here, sit down and have some coffee and cinnamon rolls. I had them sent over from the bakery." While Kate perched herself at the counter table, Kathryn poured her a cup of coffee and set a plate of rolls in front of her.
"It's about time I own a car," Kate said. "Besides I have to go to Saratoga before the wedding to work on a story, and I'll need transportation."
"Kate, dear, you know you're welcome to drive mine."
"I know I can, but Saratoga is over a thousand miles away, and a classic car like yours shouldn't be pushed that hard. Besides, I need a car since I seem to be working more in the States. I have the money in my account to buy one, don't I?"
"Kate, you live so frugally you could buy several cars."
Because Kate had always traveled so much, she had all of her payment checks sent to her grandmother's home. Her grandmother deposited the checks into a bank account from which Kate used ATM's and debit cards to withdraw funds.
"In that case, tomorrow, I'm going car shopping. As soon as Maria calls me back, I'll have to leave. Grandmother, I wish I could take you with me, but I don't know how long investigating this story will take."
Kathryn poured more coffee for them and then divulged. "I worry about you, Kate. Remember the time when you were in that American lit class in college?"
"No, I don't," Kate said.
Frowning, Kathryn looked intently at her granddaughter. "The class was in the middle of reading that adventure story when your professor, Ms. Fisher, looked straight at you and said to the class that Kate Dorsey was the only one in the class who had enough curiosity and fearlessness to do what the character in the story had done. In many ways, you are still that college girl. You become totally single-minded when you are working on a story."
"It'll be okay," Kate explained, resting her elbows on the countertop and tucking her hands underneath her chin while looking up at her grandmother, "People feel comfortable talking to me, and that enables me to get the stories I write." Kate slid off the stool and walked over and put her arms around her grandmother. "But you and I are going to take a trip to Saratoga someday."
Kathryn smiling slightly said, "Don't put it off too long. These bones aren't getting any younger."
Maria called and told Kate that through a friend of a friend she had found her a place to stay. A biology teacher had left for the summer to study sea lions in the Pacific Ocean. She could use her place for a while. All she had to do was to water her plants.
"That sounds fine," Kate said.
"I'll call Teri and make the arrangements and call you back. Besides, having a house sitter provides good protection against burglars," Maria added.
"Thanks, you're a true friend," Kate replied
"Don't forget for the wedding, I have reserved a room for you at the Sheraton for four nights. I even tried to get you more but since it was August, no good."
"See you soon," Kate said and hung up.
CHAPTER FOUR
Three days later, a brand new, black Subaru Forester had been fully packed and was waiting in the parking lot outside Kathryn's condo.
"I think I have everything," Kate said. "If Rod happens to call, please tell him to meet me at the Sheraton on the first day of August. He's been invited to attend Maria's wedding with me."
"I will. I'm going to miss you, Kate. I got kind of used to your being around."
"I'll miss you, too. If you need me, leave a message on my voicemail." They embraced and Kate left, leaving Kathryn standing in the doorway.
While driving across the causeway, Kate reflected that she would be glad to reach the cooler air of Upstate New York. It was only eight o'clock in the morning, and it was already hot and humid. After entering the interstate, she glanced in her rearview mirror. That sure looks like the same brown sedan that followed me over the causeway, she thought. "Kate, you're just jumpy because of Guy. Settle down," she said aloud. From the city of Columbia, she drove north. After observing the same brown sedan behind her, she slowed down to five miles under the speed limit, but the brown car didn't pass. The car stayed behind her. Sometimes other cars drove between
