Kat shrugged. “We don’t have a clue.”
“You know who might have been able to help with that?” Hale shouted. “Me!”
“Hale,” Kat said, reaching for him; but he pulled away. “I wanted to tell you, but—”
“But what, Kat? But I couldn’t be trusted? But I’m too immature to keep a secret? Maybe you think I’m a screw-up, too.”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
“I saw him destroy those papers, Hale,” Kat countered.
“Yeah. Exactly. Papers. They could have been anything. This proves nothing.” He stormed toward the door, then stopped short. “No. Wait. It proves I don’t have a girlfriend anymore.”
Chapter 19
Sleep every chance you get. Eat every chance you get. These were two of many lessons that Kat had learned at her father’s knee and her uncle’s table, but on the long flight over the Atlantic, she couldn’t manage to doze. She wanted to blame it on her coach-class ticket, but every time she closed her eyes, she heard Hale’s words and the slamming door. It felt like a dream on a constant loop inside her head, and as much as she wanted to press pause, it just kept playing over and over, and the scene never changed.
Not on the walk through the airport. Not during the long ride in the back of the cab. Even standing on Uncle Eddie’s stoop, Kat still saw the look on Hale’s face, and for once she had absolutely no idea how to steal the thing she really wanted.
“Don’t worry,” Gabrielle said. “He’ll get over it.”
Kat put her key in the lock and looked out over the sleepy street. Newspapers lay waiting for owners; the bakery on the corner had hot bagels and warm coffee. Gabrielle gave a full-body stretch and never once complained about the discomfort of the flight. There are some things even worse than flying coach internationally, and Gab knew it.
“He’ll come around,” she said. “Trust me, boys always come around.”
But that wasn’t it, so Kat shifted. “I’m not worried. I’m scared.”
“Hale will be fine. He’s just got to—”
“Not about Hale. Garrett. There was this moment in London… It was like…” She trailed off, unable to say the words aloud.
“What?”
“It was almost like he knew I was there. Or he was expecting me to be there or something.”
“You’re getting paranoid in your old age,” Gabrielle teased, but Kat didn’t think it was funny.
“Remember what Marianne said? About Garrett?”
“You mean how she was surprised that Hazel never got around to firing him?”
“Well, looks like that’s not exactly correct.” Kat handed Gabrielle the piece of carbon paper that she had found in the desk.
“How old is this?” Gabrielle asked with a laugh, but then her eyes scanned over the copy.
“Hazel typed that letter four days before her coma—two days before she arrived in New York.”
Gabrielle stopped reading. “So Hazel was old-fashioned? What does that…”
“Read the first line. Right there.” Kat pointed to the words. “It’s a termination letter. Hazel did fire Garrett. And five days later, she died.”
Neither Kat nor Gabrielle mentioned those facts again as they let themselves into their uncle’s house and made their way toward the kitchen. They didn’t reach for a light. They didn’t have to. Even without their particular skill sets, the walk was one they both knew well.
“And…?” Eddie said just before they reached the kitchen.
When Gabrielle shook her head, Eddie hung his and gave each niece a pat on the back. “It was a good thing you did for your young man, Katarina.”
Kat was fairly certain that Uncle Eddie was the smartest person she’d ever known, but right then she was equally certain he was wrong. He hadn’t seen the look in Hale’s eyes. He hadn’t heard the fury in his voice. Eddie didn’t know what Kat had spent the past twelve hours fearing—that she had flown all the way to London only to lose something she could never, ever steal back.
Kat wanted to tell him, beg him to explain to her exactly how she could go back in time and do it all differently. But she didn’t bother. Even Uncle Eddie couldn’t con the clock.
She just sat quietly as her uncle headed upstairs; but when he reached the door, he gave one last backward wave toward the table.
“Something came for you, Katarina.”
There was a letter on the table. As soon as Kat touched it, she knew it was important. The paper was heavy cotton, and her name was printed on the front in gold embossment. She turned over the envelope and ran her hand along the raised letters that read GENESIS.
Kat took a paring knife and slit the envelope open in one smooth gesture, then pulled out a card and looked down at the words You are cordially invited to witness the beginning.
There was the address of Hale Industries and a date and time for the following afternoon. But the thing that made her heart beat faster was the handwritten line at the bottom of the card.
Please come. Use the back door.
“What is it?” her cousin asked.
“I’m not sure,” Kat said, turning the card over and over in her hands. “Some kind of invitation.”
But to what, she didn’t have a clue.
Chapter 20
At half past noon the next day, Kat found herself in the narrow alley behind Hale Industries’ world headquarters, staring at a locked door. It seemed utterly wrong to stand at the service entrance with an invitation and not a tool belt, and part of Kat wanted to flee the scene. Run. Disappear into the midtown traffic. But before she could move, a shadow appeared on the wall just over her shoulder, and a vaguely familiar voice said, “Well, hello there.”
Kat looked at the man coming up the alley behind her. Immediately, she recognized the white hair and bulging belly. But there was something different about the man whom she’d met at the funeral. This time, he wasn’t in mourning. This time, he was…nervous.
“Hi, Mr. Foster,” Kat said.
Silas nodded, impressed. “That’s a good memory you have there.”
“Thank you,” Kat said. “I try.”
“Allow me.” Silas swiped his ID badge across an electronic pad beside the door, and Kat gave a soft sigh.