Stretching gingerly, she looked around and realized she’d fallen asleep on the floor. The tears had been cathartic. She felt drained and empty but oddly peaceful.
Pulling herself up to her knees, then her feet, she walked like an old woman into the master bedroom. Everything ached. First, a hot, steamy shower and then…? She didn’t know. For right now, she could think only about five minutes ahead. At some point, she’d think about the future. But not today.
Chapter Six
Kennedy stood in front of the dresser and dried her hair. The hot, bracing shower had helped. The physical aches had eased…the emotional ones remained but were thankfully numb. The bed called to her, inviting her into its warmth. She couldn’t. If she lay down, she had the strangest feeling she’d never get up.
Determined to not become mired in grief again, she pulled on a pair of jeans and a fleece sweatshirt. And because it was something mundane and normal, she applied makeup to her exhausted face. She still looked tired and way too pale, but at least she could almost convince herself she looked like the Kennedy she was used to seeing in the mirror and not like a woman whose perfect life had been ripped away from her.
Turning away from her reflection, she gazed about the room. What to do now? A laundry basket with freshly folded clothes caught her eye. She had done laundry a few days ago but never got the chance to put the clothes away.
Though the task would take only a few minutes, at least it was something. She opened drawers and placed the folded clothes in the correct drawers, ignoring the fact that half the clothes were Thomas’s. Don’t think…just do.
She dropped an armload of socks into Thomas’s drawer, was about to close it when the top of her hand touched something. Puzzled, her fingers felt around. A small object was taped to the bottom of the drawer above. Carefully ripping the tape away, she removed the object and was shocked to see a small key in her palm. A safe-deposit box key.
Somewhat disturbed, she closed the drawer, stepped back, and stared at the object for several seconds. Not usually one to look for signs or believe in premonitions, the more she stared at the key, the more she felt the need to know the reason Thomas had hidden it. Why would he even have a safe-deposit box anyway? They had shared a bank account, and as far as she knew, he’d had no valuables that would require him to lock them away. To her mind, that meant one thing—he had valued something he didn’t want anyone else to know about.
Without giving herself time to think…to wonder if she truly wanted to know what Thomas had hidden from her, Kennedy grabbed her purse and ran out the door. Even though there was no bank name on the key, it made sense that Thomas would rent a box at their bank. The main branch was downtown, which was where the safe-deposit boxes would be. The traffic would be heavy at this time of day, but she couldn’t wait another minute to see what was inside the box.
Cyrus Denton tried to ignore the trembling of his hands as he made the call. His people had never messed up so badly before. His men wouldn’t get the blame, though. This was on his head alone.
When the phone rang on the other end, he swallowed and forced strength into his voice he didn’t feel. “She’s headed to the bank. She found a key to a safe-deposit box. That must be where he hid the papers.”
“I thought you searched the house. How did you miss a key?”
“We did a thorough search. Looks like he taped it to the bottom of a drawer.”
“I don’t want excuses. I want the problem handled. If there’s anything in that box that incriminates the family…”
The threat remained unspoken but was clearly understood. Wouldn’t do any good to mention that none of this would’ve been screwed up if Cyrus had been given the green light to act weeks ago. What was done was done. They’d all learned a lesson.
This Slater wasn’t
Pulling herself up to her knees, then her feet, she walked like an old woman into the master bedroom. Everything ached. First, a hot, steamy shower and then…? She didn’t know. For right now, she could think only about five minutes ahead. At some point, she’d think about the future. But not today.
Chapter Six
Kennedy stood in front of the dresser and dried her hair. The hot, bracing shower had helped. The physical aches had eased…the emotional ones remained but were thankfully numb. The bed called to her, inviting her into its warmth. She couldn’t. If she lay down, she had the strangest feeling she’d never get up.
Determined to not become mired in grief again, she pulled on a pair of jeans and a fleece sweatshirt. And because it was something mundane and normal, she applied makeup to her exhausted face. She still looked tired and way too pale, but at least she could almost convince herself she looked like the Kennedy she was used to seeing in the mirror and not like a woman whose perfect life had been ripped away from her.
Turning away from her reflection, she gazed about the room. What to do now? A laundry basket with freshly folded clothes caught her eye. She had done laundry a few days ago but never got the chance to put the clothes away.
Though the task would take only a few minutes, at least it was something. She opened drawers and placed the folded clothes in the correct drawers, ignoring the fact that half the clothes were Thomas’s. Don’t think…just do.
She dropped an armload of socks into Thomas’s drawer, was about to close it when the top of her hand touched something. Puzzled, her fingers felt around. A small object was taped to the bottom of the drawer above. Carefully ripping the tape away, she removed the object and was shocked to see a small key in her palm. A safe-deposit box key.
Somewhat disturbed, she closed the drawer, stepped back, and stared at the object for several seconds. Not usually one to look for signs or believe in premonitions, the more she stared at the key, the more she felt the need to know the reason Thomas had hidden it. Why would he even have a safe-deposit box anyway? They had shared a bank account, and as far as she knew, he’d had no valuables that would require him to lock them away. To her mind, that meant one thing—he had valued something he didn’t want anyone else to know about.
Without giving herself time to think…to wonder if she truly wanted to know what Thomas had hidden from her, Kennedy grabbed her purse and ran out the door. Even though there was no bank name on the key, it made sense that Thomas would rent a box at their bank. The main branch was downtown, which was where the safe-deposit boxes would be. The traffic would be heavy at this time of day, but she couldn’t wait another minute to see what was inside the box.
Cyrus Denton tried to ignore the trembling of his hands as he made the call. His people had never messed up so badly before. His men wouldn’t get the blame, though. This was on his head alone.
When the phone rang on the other end, he swallowed and forced strength into his voice he didn’t feel. “She’s headed to the bank. She found a key to a safe-deposit box. That must be where he hid the papers.”
“I thought you searched the house. How did you miss a key?”
“We did a thorough search. Looks like he taped it to the bottom of a drawer.”
“I don’t want excuses. I want the problem handled. If there’s anything in that box that incriminates the family…”
The threat remained unspoken but was clearly understood. Wouldn’t do any good to mention that none of this would’ve been screwed up if Cyrus had been given the green light to act weeks ago. What was done was done. They’d all learned a lesson.
This Slater wasn’t
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