“And I thank you, too,” Ivy added. “He built it—I decorated it.”
Kate turned to Jack. “You arenotto make a hole in those bookcases! You do that and the floor will open up and the devil will grab you by the ankle.”
When he laughed, Ivy looked from one to the other, wide-eyed. “It’ll be all right. You’ll see. Our dad taught him well.”
Kate wasn’t convinced, but when Jack finished, she was in awe. In the hallway it looked like an old shrine had been inserted into the wall. Jack hadn’t mentioned that the moldings he was using were antique. There was no evidence that there was a camera hidden at the top.
Inside the little library, there seemed to be no change. When Jack pushed a book, a door—camouflaged by more books—swung open to reveal the back of the newly installed niche.
“Do I hear an apology?” His hand was behind his ear.
“Not from me.” Kate walked away. “I expected perfection.”
Behind her, he smiled at her compliment.
In the afternoon, the women worked on organizing what was needed to feed the people. Caterers, bartenders, more security. There was already too much interest in the event. Jack had brought in half a dozen boxes of Sara’s books from the garage and she would autograph them.
At six, Kate escaped to her bedroom to begin to get ready for an evening out with Alastair. She was looking forward to thinking about something besides a murder scene.
She took time with her hair and makeup, then looked at her clothes, trying to decide what to wear. Not too formal, not evening wear. Casual but nice. She settled on a pair of black wide-legged pants and a white silk blouse with a band of sparkling beads at the shoulder. She pulled back one side of her hair, clipped it with a silver barrette, grabbed her clutch and left her rooms.
Jack and his sister were on the couch, Sara and Heather in the kitchen. They all stopped to stare.
“Do I look okay?”
“Gorgeous,” Sara said.
“I agree,” Heather said.
“Can I hire your mother to sew for me?” Ivy asked.
Jack said, “Glad to see you took a shower.”
Sara and Heather insisted on driving her to the restaurant Alastair had chosen.
“That way you can drink. Later, you can call us to come get you.”
Kate protested. She wasn’t a teenager with a curfew, and if she drank too much, she could call a cab.
Sara looked at her in horror. “Somewhere, there’s a murderer who I’m sure knows that we’re investigating the case. No, you’re not driving around after dark alone.”
“Alastair will probably take me home.”
“No!” Heather said, sounding almost near to panic. “I mean, he might drink, too.” No one needed to mention the recent crash that had taken a life.
Jack was sitting on the couch and she called goodbye to him. “Have fun with your old man,” he said.
Laughing, she got into the car with Sara.
Alastair was waiting for her at the restaurant, and he held out her chair. “Did I see that you were dropped off?”
“Yes. They worry about drinking and driving.”
“Considering what the Wyatt family has been through, I can understand that.” He poured her a glass of wine. “I hope it’s all right that I ordered a bottle of white to start with.”
She took a sip. “Lovely.” She picked up her menu. “What’s good here?” When he didn’t answer, she looked at him. He was staring at her. “Is something wrong?”
“You’re just beautiful, that’s all. I keep thinking of the luck of meeting you. And then finding out that you’re a mover and a shaker. You’re turning little ol’ Lachlan on its ear.”
