Page 19 of Immortal Unveiled

7

Kim attached the file to the email and pressed send. She was sure her editor wasn’t too happy about her being late on yet another article, but she couldn’t help it. Besides, what did it matter if her exposé on corruption in the city’s utility department ran a day later than anticipated? The online news outlet she’d been working for during the last few months wasn’t exactly on the cutting edge of journalism, but the job afforded her more flexibility. Of course, now that her mother’s murder was solved, she could try to get a real job with a newspaper or a TV station again—if somebody hired her.

However, today, she didn’t really want to have to think too hard. While she didn’t have a hangover, she wasn’t exactly on top of her game. Just thinking of how the previous evening had ended made her cringe with embarrassment. She’d thrown herself at Manus, a total stranger, and he’d rejected her. She should be glad that he hadn’t taken her up on her offer of sex. Instead, she felt embarrassed. She’d acted like a hussy, like a two-bit floozy who slept with anything on two legs.

This wasn’t like her at all. Why had she acted that way? Certainly, the wine had lowered her inhibitions, but that wasn’t everything. Too much had happened in the last three months, and the knowledge that she wasn’t going to see true justice done because her mother’s murderer was already dead, had been the last straw. Everything she’d done in the last few months had been for nothing. All it had served was to delay the inevitable: to deal with her mother’s estate, to sieve through the memories in her mother’s house and feel the grief crashing over her.

Maybe that’s why she’d thrown herself at Manus, to delay even further. But she couldn’t shirk her responsibilities any longer. It was time to deal with reality. And forget the handsome private investigator once and for all.

When the intercom buzzed, Kim rose from her chair. She wasn’t expecting anybody. Maybe a delivery? She walked to the entrance door and pressed the speaker button.

“Yes?”

“Kim, it’s Todd.”

She took a breath and stalled for a moment. Should she tell him that she was busy? “Yes, Todd?”

“Can I come up for a moment?”

“Uh…”

“It won’t take long.”

“Okay.” Against her better judgment, she pressed the button to open the door to the building.

Moments later, Todd stood at the entrance to her apartment, a hesitant smile on his face. “Hey, mind if I come in?”

Kim stepped aside and let him enter, then closed the door and followed him into the living room. “What’s so important that you couldn’t call?”

Todd turned to her. “I heard that they found the guy. That it was a burglary after all.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I found out only yesterday. How did you—” She stopped herself. “Of course…”

He shrugged. “Too many contacts in the police department. Comes with the territory.”

Kim nodded. Working for the district attorney’s office did have its perks, such as getting police officers to share information that wasn’t public yet. “They connected the guy to Mom’s murder. He had her bracelet on him. And her address. But you probably already knew that.”

His facial expression confirmed that he did. “I thought I’d come by, see if you wanted to talk or something.”

“There was no need to come.”

“I thought you might need someone now, since it’s all over.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other while tilting his head to the side, a slow smile playing around his lips. She’d once fallen for that smile, thought it charming and non-threatening. But it wasn’t working on her anymore. She knew what was behind it, an attempt to get her to come back to him now that her mother’s murder was solved.

“I mean now that you realize you were wrong about all that supernatural stuff, I figured I could—”

“You could do what? Rub it in?”

His smile vanished, defense moving into its place. “No, of course not. You know I’m not like that. I just thought that now that this thing isn’t between us anymore, we could mend things. Get back together.”

“This thing?” Kim shook her head. “You think that me believing that my mother’s murder had a supernatural explanation was the only thing that drove us apart?”

“Well, yeah, of course. I mean… wasn’t it?” Todd stared at her, confused.

“If you have to ask that, then you’re more clueless than I thought.” She sighed. “We weren’t meant to be a couple, Todd. We tried, but it didn’t work out. Mom always knew it.”

He gasped. “What? I thought your mother liked me. Did she turn you against me before she died?”