soon will we know?” she asked, excited for the first time that day.
“A day or two.” Zach remained hopeful. “How much was this glass?”
“They were ordered in bulk, but six hundred a piece. There about.”
Zach grunted. “Stealing one is a felony. And he got six.”
“Maybe he won’t be back.”
“Baby, you’re a judge. He’s gone undetected and he got away. This is an easy score for him. There are bragging rights for him right about now. He’ll be back. There are two groups. I’m convinced of that.”
Kim didn’t know whether to believe Zach anymore. He’d been in her life for a few hours and she was so full of anxiety, she wasn’t sure she trusted even her own judgment anymore. “I went from nobody believing me to having not one but two groups targeting me.”
“Life’s a bitch, ain’t it?” Zach said, not looking at her, studying her alarm control panel. “You’re just too close to it and you’re the victim. I don’t expect you to see things the way I do. No, wait.” He smiled at her. “Yes, I do.”
He disarmed her with that quick smile in the face of all this serious talk about her life. The thing was, she did believe him. And now, she was more afraid than ever.
“Why didn’t the chief of police believe me?”
“Because he sent his best people to protect you, and if they investigated and said you were out of danger, then he would take their word over yours.”
“What about Clark’s arm and that attempted kidnapping? Surely that can’t be swept under the rug?”
“No, it can’t. I’ll have my people follow up on that. I’ll have answers for you, Kim. You never told me who has keys to your house.”
His quick shift in conversation was a tactic used in trials to redirect witnesses, but Kim wasn’t that easily distracted. She couldn’t look away from the blocks wedging the window open. Who would do this?
It was well past nine, and the sun was finally fading for the evening, but a few rays still managed to reflect off the beautiful stained glass. Kim’s heart ached for the mother who had neglected to love her. Zach was still waiting and Kim turned away from the glass to find his questioning gaze on her. “Lieutenant Jerome from the marshals has a key to the house. Clark, of course, and Flora, my housekeeper. Giuseppe, the grocery delivery man, and Paul, my next-door neighbor.” She reached out again and Zach guided her away from the window. She finally met his gaze, unable to look away. “People are really trying to hurt me.”
She was stuck, like a truck in the red Georgia clay after a hard rain. She wanted to ask Zach who would do this, but she couldn’t. He didn’t know any more than she.
“Five keys, huh? Why not leave a key in the mailbox with a note?” He tromped all over her already bruised feelings.
“I have no appreciation for sarcasm.”
“I was kidding.”
“No, you weren’t.”
“You’re right. You’re a judge, and you should have used better judgment. You’ve practically waved a flag at the satellites in space and said, ‘notify all attackers, I’m waiting to be a victim.’ How many doors open with that key that everyone has?”
Kim didn’t really want to answer because he was right, of course. And since they had the key, they had the alarm code, too. It crossed her mind that she’d doled out her house key like French fries, and lots of keys could have been made. But why would those people betray her?
She braced for the onslaught of words her reply would bring. “All of the doors open with the same key.” She knew he heard her barely audible words. She’d conceivably invited the perpetrator into her home.
“This house is how old?” he asked, saying nothing further, scrutinizing the glass on the window leading to the second floor.
“Ninety years old. It’s been renovated twice. In the forties, and then a year ago. I have a bit of a defense for myself, Zach. When I’m home, I try to live a normal life. I didn’t know I’d made myself so vulnerable.”
“I don’t really blame you, Kim. Your security team should be fired for not knowing about this. Then again, who knows when this happened? But this is how innocent people die.”
“I’ve never had any trouble, and I’ve lived here for quite some time.”
“You grew up in this house,” he stated. How did he know? He’d only been in her house a few hours.
She thought about lying, but it would be useless. “How did you know?”
“The picture over the fireplace. I recognize the window behind the chair your mother is sitting in.”
His astute observation was correct. The artist had captured only the side portion of the window, but Zach’s attention to detail was uncanny. Men didn’t usually notice much past her breast size and the fact that she was in a position of power.
“All my life, I went to boarding schools, and I visited here. After my parents died, I came back for good.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
Zach sounded so sincere, Kim wished she hadn’t brought it up. She never talked about her family or their less-than-close home life. She didn’t need sympathy. She offered empathy only to those who genuinely needed it.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. This neighborhood was all but ignored by the young urban professionals who were buying up the land in the late nineties. Most of us second generation owners renovated and refurbished our family homes. We got lucky to have such nice property in the right zip code.”
Zach gave her a wise, knowing look. “These houses are worth millions because of that zip code.”
“The status associated with these is almost ridiculous.” She waved nonchalantly.
“Why not leave if it makes you feel that way?”
“What way?” Kim crossed her arms and leaned away from him.
“Cold and detached.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’ve touched a nerve. We don’t have to talk about it. Let’s move on.”
He had more than touched a nerve. He’d run his six-foot-four self all over her central nervous system. Accepting the house had been a final thank-you for all of the years of boarding school, holidays alone and lonely nights. She’d taken it with bitter acceptance from their attorney at their graveside funeral. She, the child of spies, had hardly seen them.
Now she was living in their home, her home now, and being stalked as they used to stalk others for information. Kim shook off the ghosts of her parents, and needed coffee. Instead, she bit her nails; her one vice. At the door of the keeping room, Kim went ahead and walked out, hoping Zach would get the hint, but he ignored
