Page 43 of Shadows of Before

“I guess we are.” She rolled to her feet. Headed to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to my place.”

“You gotta be kidding me. We have a fight and you’re leaving?” His gaze narrowed on her. “This has gotten to be too much for you, hasn’t it? We’re too close. You care too much about me so you’re running away.”

“Go ahead and rationalize why I’m leaving if it makes you feel better.”

“Katie…”

“Goodbye, Will.” And she walked out.

He didn’t stop her. He was hurt and furious with her.

Chapter 7

As Katie got off the exit in Syracuse, she wondered where Will was setting up his office in town. She wondered how he decided on a place. And she wondered how he was doing after their split. Because she was miserable.

So miserable, she asked if she could visit Mary today. This heartache was like a brick in her chest.

Mary and Henry’s house was in an older neighborhood in Manlius, on Glencliff Road. They bought a house built on the side of a hill, with a swimming pool in the backyard. She drove around to the garage entrance, got out, and opened the door to the house. “Hey, Mar. I’m here.” Then she walked inside.

Her friend came into a lovely kitchen, remodeled to their tastes. “Hey, sweetie.” She crossed to Kate and hugged her. Kate prolonged the contact. When Mary drew back she said, “Come over to the table and we’ll talk before we eat.”

Kate nodded. They sat and Mary grasped her hands. “Tell me what’s going on.”

She cleared her throat. “Will and I broke up. That sounds so high-schoolish but I don’t know what else to call it.”

“Why?”

“He did something I can’t accept. And he’s fine with what he did. He wouldn’t even say he was wrong when I told him I was mad that he did it. I left him.”

“Ah. So you broke with him.”

“I can’t stay with a man who wants to control my life.”

“I wouldn’t be able to do that either. What’d he do?”

She explained about PI stuff. “And his first act after he got his license was to go to my boss and demand to see all the documentation of what those two assholes have done to me.”

“I know about the knife fight and the slashed tire. That all?”

“Um, that’s not all. The ceiling fell on me.”

“What the hell?”

She explained the bizarre occurrence. “Will’s trying to find out if they engineered that somehow.”

“That’s a crime, Katie.”

“I know.”

“Are you all right physically?”

“Miraculously. I still have some bruises. I would have been badly injured if the damn desk that was up there had fallen on me. It got stuck in the rafters.”

“I can’t believe this.” She hesitated. “You’re mad that Will wants to investigate the situation.”

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