Kate White - Hush

“He could have been visiting someone else who lives there.”

“Yes-but she’s also been unusually inquisitive lately about anything having to do with Jack and the divorce.”

“It’s worth checking out,” he said after a pause. “And we may be able to use it as a bargaining chip. Remember that I said we might want to hire an investigator? I think we should at this point.”

Lake sighed. She couldn’t believe it was coming to this. She agreed and Hotchkiss said he would have an associate make the arrangements. Then he warned her not to tip her hand.

“This isn’t going to be easy,” he said, “but you’ll have to act the same-to both of them. If they suspect you’re wise to them, they’ll alter their behavior. And there will be nothing for us to investigate.”

As soon as she disconnected the call, the phone rang in her hand. It was Hayden calling. Lake braced herself. There might be some kind of update about the case.

“What’s up?” Lake asked.

“Well, it’s not pretty,” Hayden said. “And I feel awkward as hell sharing it.”

“What is it?” she demanded.

“You’re going to be getting a letter by messenger from Levin and Sherman. They’re terminating your consulting arrangement.”

So this explained the coolness at the meeting-they were planning to can her. But maybe it had more to do with what happened in Brooklyn. They didn’t dare face her again.

“They told you that themselves?” Lake said.

“Yes-I just got off the phone with Levin. I called him to say that I thought the three of us should go over where everything stood and he broke the news. Look, I’m really sorry about all this.”

“I appreciate your giving me the heads-up.”

“What’s going on, anyway, Lake? Why’s he giving you the boot?”

“What did he tell you exactly?” Lake asked.

“Nothing-but he didn’t sound pleased. I know you felt rushed about your presentation. I take it it didn’t go over well.”

“I guess not. I don’t think we saw eye-to-eye on things.”

“Do you want me to try any damage control? It’s what people pay me the big bucks for.”

“No, but thanks.”

Lake’s heart was racing as she hung up. She’d suspected last night that something like this might be coming. They knew she was onto them and, of course, they couldn’t allow her on the premises anymore. And yet the news still felt like a hard kick in the gut.

She tried to calm herself. Everything seemed to be closing in on her-but she couldn’t let it. She would leave for the coffee shop in two hours. Her only hope at this point lay with Maggie.

AS LAKE WAS about to toss the phone down, it rang yet again. It was a cell phone number she didn’t recognize

“Lake, hi, it’s Harry Kline. Have you got a minute?”

His voice had that familiar soothing tone, but she bristled at the sound of his voice.

“What is it?” she asked. Was he calling to forewarn her about her situation and then ask how she was feeling ? she wondered bitterly.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“If it’s about me getting my walking papers, I’ve already heard.”

“No, it’s more than that. Can you meet me this morning?”

“You can’t tell me over the phone?” she said impatiently.

“No. I’m at the clinic and I’m not comfortable talking here-even with my door closed. I could just hop in a cab and meet you. Are you home now?”

That was the last place she wanted to meet.

“Um, why don’t we meet in Riverside Park? By the entrance at Eighty-third Street. That would be easiest for me.”

He said he would be there in twenty-five minutes. She threw on a skirt and a top and pinned her hair up in a loose bun. Her mind raced, trying to figure out what Harry wanted to tell her. Things must be tense at the clinic right now. Harry may have overheard a heated discussion about her. Or perhaps he picked up on something in the air and began snooping around himself.

She was at the park ten minutes early. On the walk over she’d reassured herself that nothing could happen in daylight on a busy street, but she was still hypervigilant. There weren’t many people in the park-an elderly woman tossing birdseed to pigeons, a few mommies and nannies watching toddlers in a sandbox. People were away on vacation. Like she used to be in August.

“Lake?”

She spun around in surprise at the sound of Harry’s voice. He’d also arrived early. He was dressed in his standard dark pants and cobalt-blue dress shirt.

“Thanks for meeting me,” he said. “Shall we find a bench?”

They walked farther into the park. Across the Hudson the buildings in New Jersey gleamed in the sunshine and through the trees she saw a speedboat slicing through the water, leaving a row of foam. It made her remember last night, holding on to the pylon for dear life in the deep, dark water. Harry motioned for them to take a seat on an empty bench.

“So what is it you need to talk about?” she asked. As she caught his eyes, she was shocked at how troubled they seemed.

“Look, I may be on the periphery of things at the clinic,” he said, “but I’m involved enough to know that something isn’t right.”

It was all Lake could do to keep from shaking the words out of Harry.

“What do you mean exactly?” she said.

“I don’t like what’s going on with you.”

“With me ?” she blurted out.

“The way they’ve just suddenly terminated your agreement.”

“I told you I was aware of that,” she said. “I haven’t received the letter but I hear it’s on the way.”

“But are you aware of what they’re saying?”

“No-what?” she said hoarsely.

“As soon as I heard that they’d ended things with you, I asked Levin why. He said that you’d been unprofessional. In fact, he said some of your behavior could even be categorized as unethical.”

“ What? ” Lake exclaimed in shock. “Did-did he explain what he meant?”

“He said you’d been caught going through patient records. I pointed out that part of your job is to gather information, but he said he had reason to believe that you were passing confidential details about our procedures on to another clinic.”

Lake’s eyes welled up in anger.

“That’s a lie,” she said. “I would never do something like that.”

Harry leaned back against the park bench, his face pensive. A light breeze lifted the waves of his black hair. “Do you have any idea why he’s claiming it, then?”

“I-no, I don’t,” Lake said. She wondered why Harry was sharing all this with her. Was he trolling for information of his own?

“You don’t know? Or you don’t want to share it with me?”

“Maybe I should start by asking what your role is in this,” Lake said. “Why are you being so forthcoming?”

Harry bit his lip, as if hesitant to say.

“We’ve only known each other a few weeks, but I like you, and I respect you a lot,” he said after a moment. “It’s hard for me to buy what Levin said. And I want to help you if I can.”

“Help me?” Lake asked. She could feel her anger close to the surface. “Like you helped me when you told the police things about me?”

“What are you talking about?” Harry asked, looking surprised.

“When we were having coffee last Sunday, you pointed out that I’d seemed unusually upset after the murder. And then suddenly the police are at my apartment, telling me that someone told them the same thing.”

He took a deep breath and leaned toward her.

“So that’s why you were so cool to me the other day. Lake, I give you my word-I never said anything about you to those detectives. For starters, I’m a therapist, and breaking a confidence runs against every instinct I have as a person and everything in my professional training. Secondly, I’d never do anything to hurt you.”