And there’s the garage and her car.”
“Got it. You know I could use some of that coffee now.”
Boone went to the door. “You still like it black?”
“Yup.”
Boone left him and headed for the kitchen. He slowed as he approached, standing just within earshot of the two women.
“That’s Dan Paterson. He’s a psychologist. He was nice, when I needed someone to be there. It was just after my brother died.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Kate said.
“Yeah. Me, too. Did you know him?”
Boone moved closer to the kitchen entrance, making sure he was quiet.
“Yeah, I knew him. He was a hell of a soldier. And a good friend.”
He didn’t hear anything else, except for Milo. When Boone walked into the room, he saw the dog sitting right next to Christie’s chair, scratching at his neck, which made his collar jingle.
“You guys done?” Christie asked.
“Not even close. I’m just getting Seth some coffee.”
Christie nodded, then turned back to Kate. “Anyway, we met at this bar I go to sometimes. They play trivia there, and it was a nice way to spend an evening when I had nothing better to do.”
“How soon did you meet him? I mean, after Nate’s death.”
Christie sighed behind him. “A month, I guess. I remember it was the first night I’d been out in a long time. He gave me an answer to one of the trivia questions, then bought me a drink.”
“How long did you go out?”
“A few months.”
“What went wrong?”
“I don’t know. Me, I guess. He wanted to help, but I didn’t want all those questions. It was like going to therapy instead of a date.”
“What kind of questions?”
Boone didn’t even make a pretense about listening now. He got himself a coffee refill, then filled a cup for Seth, but he went to the table and sat down. He wanted to hear this.
Christie looked at him, and he could tell she was disconcerted by his presence, but he didn’t care.
She cleared her throat, then looked at Kate. “About my family. My relationship with my mother and father. That kind of crap.”
“Did he ask a lot of questions about Nate?”
“What do you mean by a lot?”
“Did he focus on Nate?”
“No. Just me. He thought I couldn’t get close to a man because of my relationship with my mother.”
“What was wrong with it?”
“Is that necessary for your profile?”
Kate sat back. “No. Sorry.”
“That’s okay.” She bent down and petted Milo. “What are you scratching, buddy? It’s really starting to get old.”
Boone figured he’d better get the coffee to Seth. And that he’d best leave Kate to do her thing. “You guys take your time,” he said. “Don’t miss a trick. It could matter a lot.”
Christie smiled at him as he stood. She nodded once, then sat up straighter. As he walked out of the room, he heard Christie talk about a guy named Brent, and Milo, scratching again.
He took his time walking down the hall. He wasn’t thinking about the bugs in her room, but the man who’d been in her bed. He’d ask Kate for his last name later. It wouldn’t surprise him if this Dan clown turned out to be the stalker. Psychologist. What a pussy. He’d like to see Danny boy in the field. He wouldn’t last ten minutes. Jerk.
“Hey, what the hell took so long?”
Boone walked into the guest bedroom to find Seth on top of the bed, running a scan over the light fixture.
“Sorry.”
“They on to anything?”
“Don’t know. Kate’s being thorough.”
“Didn’t expect anything less.”
“How we doing in here?”
“Give me twenty.”
Boone nodded, went to the duffel and pulled out his kit, then crouched in the corner and cleaned his weapon. Seth moved around the room like smoke, getting into corners and crevices, under and over, in places Boone never would have thought to look.
Boone’s electronic expertise wasn’t about bugs. It was radios, GPS systems, telecommunications. When they were in the field, Boone got them where they needed to go, and got them out again. When necessary, he was the man that got the updated orders, and he was the one to report home.
Seth, on the other hand, was surveillance. He could listen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, with no one the wiser. They worked well together. They had for years.
Once Seth gave him the all clear, he knew it was safe to talk again. And there was something he really needed to know. “What do you hear from the rest?”
Seth looked at him for a long time before he went and picked up his cup of coffee. He drank, put the cup down, and walked over to Boone. Once he was crouched in front of him, he put his hand on Boone’s leg. “Everyone’s alive.”
“Alive? Sometimes that isn’t enough.”
“Cade’s working in Colorado. Leading tour groups through the mountains.”
Boone smiled. That made sense. “What about Harper?”
“She’s working in a clinic right here in L.A. Downtown. She’s happy.”
“Good. That’s great.”
“We’re keeping under the radar, buddy. But this. This might turn into something ugly. And then what?”
Boone looked him right in the eye. “We prevail.”
IT WAS LATE AFTERNOON BY THE time Seth was finished with every room but the kitchen. Kate and Christie were still in there, but they weren’t working. They were cooking. And from what Boone could see, having a decent time of it.
He was sitting at the table, looking over some of the bugs Seth had discovered. The technology was so cutting edge it felt more like James Bond equipment than real things used by real people. But there were lots of folks out there whose sole purpose in life was to try and crawl into places they didn’t belong. He should know.
Seth sat down across from him. He looked tired, but
