Turning Point (The Kathleen Turner Series) (12 page)

I hugged her again. “Absolutely. I’m so thrilled for you.”

I glanced at Blane’s closed door. “Is Blane in his office?”

She nodded. “Yes, he’s meeting with that new lawyer he and Derrick just hired.”

“Do you think he’d mind if I popped in real quick?”

“Don’t be silly,” she said. “You’re probably the one person he wishes would interrupt him more.” She winked.

Clarice had been privy to many of Blane’s dating escapades. The duty of a farewell gift usually fell to her. But she was a die-hard romantic, and I thought she was hoping Blane and I were going to be a long-term thing.

So was I.

I tapped lightly on the door to Blane’s office. When he called out to come in, I pushed open the heavy wooden door.

Blane sat behind his paper-strewn desk talking to the new hire. What I hadn’t even considered was that the lawyer sitting opposite him would be a woman. I didn’t know why I had assumed it would be a man, I just had. They both turned to look at me.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” I said, recovering from my surprise.

“It’s fine,” Blane said. “I’m glad you stopped by. Kathleen, this is our newest attorney, Charlotte Page.” He motioned to
the woman. “Charlotte, this is Kathleen Turner, one of the firm’s investigators.”

Charlotte stood, stretching her hand toward me with a smile. I shook it, forcing my lips into an answering smile.

She was really pretty. Not that pretty was the best way to describe her. More like striking. She had jet-black hair and olive skin, deep-brown eyes, and full, inviting lips. Clad in a navy pinstripe suit and skirt with a white silk blouse and heels, she topped me by several inches. Her figure made my stomach sink. Perfectly hourglass, her narrow waist rounded into hips that tapered to sculpted legs.

Well, at least I was better endowed, I thought snottily.

Then she spoke.

“Kathleen, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She had an accent—Spanish maybe. Combined with her exotic looks, it was the proverbial icing.

“Nice to meet you, too,” I lied. My self-esteem wasn’t such that I could gladly welcome her working side by side with Blane.

“Charlotte graduated top of her class at Columbia,” Blane elaborated. “She clerked for Justice Thomas.”

“That’s really great,” I said. She was the personification of everything I’d wanted to be when I was eighteen.

“Mr. Kirk exaggerates my accomplishments,” Charlotte said modestly.

“It’s Blane, not Mr. Kirk, and I’m not. If anything, I’m underrepresenting your outstanding record, Charlotte.” He gave her a genuine smile.

If people actually turned green with jealousy, I knew I had to be rivaling the Hulk in skin tone. While my logical
side knew I was being irrational, it was pointless to try to tell that to my emotional side.

“Well, I’ll just leave you two alone, shall I?” I tried hard for a pleasant tone but must not have wholly succeeded. Blane gave me a slightly quizzical look.

“Did you need anything else?” he asked me as Charlotte resumed her seat.

“Oh, yes.” I’d nearly forgotten Kade. Again. I directed my words at Blane. “I wanted to remind you to call Kade.”

Blane’s expression shuttered. “Of course. Thank you.” He looked back down at his desk, effectively dismissing me.

Wondering what that was about, and with a last nod to Charlotte, I left the room. I stood outside the door, lost in thought, and more than a little depressed.

“What’s wrong?” Clarice asked.

I flopped down in the chair by her desk. “Why didn’t you tell me he’d hired Penélope Cruz?”

She grinned. “You mean Charlotte?”

I rolled my eyes.

“She’s really nice,” Clarice said, “and has excellent qualifications.”

“And she’s drop-dead gorgeous,” I said sourly.

“Kathleen, you have to stop this.” Clarice sounded exasperated. “Blane loves you. I’m sure of it. You can’t go thinking that every woman that walks by is going to be the one to take your place.”

I thought about what she said. She was right. Blane did love me. My initial reaction to Charlotte wasn’t something I could control, but I didn’t have to let her presence throw me into a tailspin.

“You’re right,” I said with a sigh. “It’s just sometimes I realize how mismatched we are, and I wonder when Blane’s going to realize it, too”

“Mismatched how?”

“Well, let’s see. Blane is successful, rich, gorgeous, smart.” I ticked the accolades off on my fingers. “Whereas I’m…” My voice trailed off.

“You are the one he’s chosen,” Clarice said firmly. “Everything else is just stuff that doesn’t really matter. It’s how you feel about each other that counts.”

I could hear in her voice the hope and joy of someone in the throes of love, still on the high of her engagement. I certainly didn’t want to burst her bubble.

“Forget I said anything, Clarice,” I said with a wave of my hand. “I’m probably just PMSing or something. So are the kids going to be in the wedding? And what colors have you chosen, because I look awful in yellow.”

I distracted her with wedding talk for a while before heading back to my cube. I had a stack of files waiting for background checks and two requests to follow a supposedly cheating spouse to catch him in the act. With a sigh, I got to work.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that something out of the ordinary happened. I got a phone call from Charlotte’s secretary requesting my presence.

I went up to the third floor, where half the firm’s lawyers had their offices. Every two lawyers shared a secretary, but I was unfamiliar with Charlotte’s. Maybe she was new as well. She was young, with oversized glasses that made her eyes seem quite large for her thin and narrow face.

“Hi,” I said to her. “I’m Kathleen.”

“Oh, hi,” she replied, shuffling a stack of papers into a pile. “I’m Jessie. You can go on in.”

I approached Charlotte’s open office door, hesitantly poking my head in. It was a bit of a shambles, and I could tell she hadn’t fully moved in. Stacks of file boxes stood in the corner, and she’d discarded her jacket on an elegant Princess Anne chair.

“You called for me?” I said by way of greeting.

Charlotte looked up from where she’d been bent over a box. Her shirt was sleeveless, showcasing her toned arms, and her hair was pulled up into the kind of messy bun I could never master.

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” she said, again with the friendly smile. Standing, she put some of the books she’d unearthed from the box onto a nearby bookshelf. They looked like weighty tomes of knowledge. I wondered if she’d actually read them.

“Sure,” I replied. “What can I do for you?”

With a small sigh, she moved to sit behind her desk and motioned me to the chair opposite her. “Have a seat. Please.”

Obediently I perched on the edge of the chair and waited for her to speak. She eyed me for a moment.

“Blane mentioned you might have some suggestions on apartments, places I might be able to rent for a while, until I get settled,” she said. “I’m living in a rent-by-the-week hotel at the moment, and am anxious to get a place of my own.”

Good Lord, why in the world would Blane have her ask me, of all people? The thought of Charlotte living in an apartment complex like mine was laughable. Kade’s upper-class loft apartment came to mind, then I immediately
dismissed the thought. I didn’t want her anywhere near Kade.

“Um, I’m probably not the best person to ask,” I finally said. “I live in a small place close to downtown. Not the greatest of neighborhoods. There are lots of nice places close to here, though. Maybe you should look in Carmel.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll do that. Thank you.”

“No problem.” I forced a stiff smile and made to rise.

“Wait. One more thing.”

I sank back into my chair, looking expectantly at her.

“I have the feeling,” she began, “that you don’t like me much.” A small smile played about her lips, but her eyes were serious.

“That’s not true,” I said, though I was taken aback at her insight. “I don’t even know you. How could I possibly know whether or not I like you?”

“Exactly.”

I pressed my lips together tightly, waiting for her to make the next move. I grudgingly admitted to myself that she’d made her point.

“I don’t have many female friends,” Charlotte said. “Women tend to find me… threatening.”

Really? I couldn’t imagine why.

“I’d really like it if you and I could be friends,” she continued.

I had no idea what to say. Now I felt all kinds of bad for immediately hating her. She’d been nothing but nice to me so far and I hadn’t really given her a chance.

“Um… yeah… sure… okay,” I stammered.

She beamed a dazzling smile at me. Being with Blane had done wonders for my self-esteem. I knew I was pretty,
even really pretty given the right clothes and makeup, but Charlotte was simply stunning. The kind of woman who could wear overalls and no makeup, and men would still stop to stare.

I returned her smile with a weak one of my own.

“If you don’t mind”—she grabbed a folder from one of the piles on her desk—“since you’re one of the investigators for the firm, I’d like you to look through this.”

I flipped open the folder and gasped, not expecting the lurid photos inside.

Charlotte grimaced. “I know. Those are the photos of the victim. Her name is Julie Vale.”

I slowly paged through the photos. The girl was lovely. Long blonde hair. Petite with a curvy figure. I looked closer. A figure marred and disfigured with bruises and lacerations.

“Are these rope burns?” I asked, pointing to her wrists and ankles.

Charlotte nodded. “It’s not a pretty sight. Whoever raped her was a sadistic bastard.”

I swallowed, closing the folder and looking up at Charlotte. “So what do you want me to do?”

“As ugly as it is,” she said with a sigh, “we need to know more about her. I thought you could look into it, maybe go by her work, talk to people. See what you can find out.”

“And this is to help get Matt Summers off,” I retorted. “The bastard deserves to go to jail.”

“It’s our job to defend, not play judge and jury,” Charlotte replied evenly.

I nodded, getting to my feet. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Charlotte thanked me and I left her office, taking the folder to my desk and studying the girl who’d done nothing to deserve what had happened to her.

That night, Blane took me to dinner at the restaurant we’d come to view as our usual place. It was where he’d taken me the night my car had broken down. The first time there I’d just had soup, but tonight Blane ordered the shrimp cocktail for us to share, then ordered me the special.

“So,” I said once the waiter had cleared our plates. “Charlotte seems very… capable.”

“She’s perfect for this case,” Blane said, taking another drink of the cabernet he’d ordered. “On a rape case, it’s essential to have a female lawyer in front of the jury.”

His words made the food in my stomach turn sour. I knew he was just doing his job, being pragmatic about trying the case, but I still hated the thought of him getting a rapist off.

When I didn’t say anything, Blane reached over and took my hand. “I know how you feel, Kat, and I’m sorry. But I have to try this case. Please trust me.”

It seemed I didn’t really have any choice in the matter. He wouldn’t tell me his reasons and he wasn’t going to drop the case, no matter my objections.

“Let’s talk about something else,” I said, easing my hand out from under his. “Did you call Kade?”

I’d been worrying in the back of my mind about Kade. He was quite capable of taking care of himself, but it would only take a moment of not being quick enough, not seeing the danger, and it would be over.

Blane stiffened, his expression turning unreadable. “I did” was all he said.

“And?” I prompted. “Is he all right? What did he want?”

“You seem awfully concerned with Kade’s well-being,” Blane noted.

“Of course I am, he’s your brother. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“He’s fine,” Blane said curtly. “Had some business to discuss. That’s all.”

Blane’s easy dismissal made me angry. “Did he tell you that someone’s trying to kill him?” I asked.

Blane’s eyes snapped to mine. “What are you talking about?”

Looks like he hadn’t. “Kade said he was close to finding out who was pulling the strings on Sheffield, so we went to Denver to investigate. But somebody knew he was coming. They sent two guys to kill us, and I’m sure Kade’s still on their hit list.”

Blane’s expression had grown more forbidding with each word out of my mouth. “What happened to the guys?” he asked.

I swallowed, remembering the sickening crack of the man’s neck. “Kade got to them first.”

“And where were you while this was going on?”

“Watching.”

Blane cursed, tossed some money on the table to cover the bill, took me by the elbow, and led me to his car. When we were on the road, he hit the Bluetooth button on his cell. After a moment, I could hear ringing over the car speakers.

It rang a few times, then a familiar voice answered. “Yeah,” Kade said.

The relief I felt at hearing him, knowing he was alive, rushed through me. I bowed my head to keep my composure, taken aback at the strength of my feelings.

“You didn’t tell me that someone’s trying to kill you over this Sheffield thing,” Blane accused.

“Someone’s been chatty,” Kade replied, unaffected by Blane’s anger.

“Of course Kat told me. Why wouldn’t she? What I want to know is why you didn’t.”

“It’s not related to Summers, it was a lead I was pursuing on my own. Nothing you needed to know about.”

“I told you to let the Sheffield thing go. It’s not worth it. You not only ignored that, you pulled Kathleen into the mess, too.”

That got a reaction. “Don’t go there, Blane,” Kade shot back. “Kathleen was never in any danger. I sent her home once I knew what was going on.”

“I don’t want her involved in this.”

I felt like the worst sort of voyeur, listening to their conversation when I knew Kade didn’t have a clue that I was there. And I really didn’t like the rising level of tension between Blane and Kade as they continued to argue.