I hurried down the steps to Patrick's room. His pajamas were flung on the bed, which meant he was already dressed. I returned to my room, pulled on my clothes, and arrived on the first floor in time to hear a motor rumbling in the driveway. Peering through the hall window, I saw Emily buckling Patrick into the back of Roger's Jeep. She was keeping him away from me.
"Good morning."
The greeting was cold, and I took my time turning from the window.
"Good morning, Mrs. Hopewell. Why was my alarm clock turned off?".
"Mrs. Westbrook said that she was tending to Patrick today. I saw no reason for you to rise."
"Thank you, but I'll make my own decision about rising."
"Breakfast is being served," she went on, without a trace of emotion on her face or in her voice.
"I'm not hungry."
"Mr. Westbrook has asked that you see him in the office-after you breakfast," she added.
"I'll see him now."
"He is not prepared to see you until after you breakfast."
"Fine," I said. "Shall you prepare him for a change in plans, or shall I?"
She pressed her lips together, then walked stiffly toward the office door and knocked.
"Yes, Louise."
"Miss Venerelli has refused breakfast and insists on seeing you now."
"Come in, Kate," he called.
I took a deep breath and entered. I knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. Adrian rose and nodded at Mrs. Hopewell, who, for once, departed willingly, closing the door behind her.
Adrian gestured for me to sit down. "How are you this morning?" he asked.
"Fine." I folded my hands tightly in my lap.
He chose the chair nearest to me. "Kate, I am not going to beat around the bush, except to say you don't know how much I hate doing this."
I met his eyes. "That's all right. I can take correction."
His hands opened and closed with frustration. "There is nothing about your work to correct. Nevertheless, I have to let you go."
"Let me go? You mean fire me?" I should have seen it coming, but I didn't.
"In business," he said, "we call it resigning. You resign before I terminate your position. It looks better on your record."
I thought about it for a moment. "The problem is, I'm not resigning."
He raised an eyebrow.
"If you want me to leave, you will have to fire me," I said.
He leaned forward in his chair, moving his head closer to mine, as if we were friends discussing a problem. "I am counting on you to understand. This isn't my choice. You have done a wonderful job with Patrick. Unfortunately, on some issues, I need to defer to Patrick's mother, and this is one of them. I have stood up for you against Robyn, Trent, and Mrs. Hopewell, as I'm sure you know. But too many things have happened now-things that are not your fault, of course. Still, for the sake of family cooperation and my wife's peace of mind, I need to let you go."
"Who is going to look out for Patrick?"
"I will. I promise you I will take a more active role. I should have done so long ago."
I don't trust any of them," I said. "Robyn, Brook, Trent, Mrs. Hopewell-l don't trust anyone with him but Emily."
"I understand what you are saying," Adrian replied, "and I will heed your warning." Then he offered me a preposterously large amount of money for only a week's worth of work, calling it severance pay.
I rejected the offer. "I'm not resigning."
So he fired me, handing me the large check anyway, and promising to write a stellar recommendation for whatever job I wanted in the future. Roger would drive me where I needed to go; I was to let him know when I was packed.
"What are you going to tell Patrick?" I asked.
"I'm not sure yet."
"May I stay till he comes home from school?" I saw in Adrian's eyes that the answer was no. I felt tears in my own. "Can't I say good-bye to him?"
"His mother is going to pick him up from school today and take him to Easton. They will have dinner there, which will give me some time to talk to the rest of the family. I am afraid that Emily doesn't want you to have further contact with him. I'm sorry, Kate. I can see that this is painful for you."
I stood up shakily, grasping the check, feeling it crinkle in my hand. I would keep it until I had transferred bank funds from England to insure that I could get by for several weeks more. Then I'd return the check to Adrian, just as I had returned the ring my father took.
Roger dropped me at Tea Leaves Cafe, as I requested. After two cheese pastries, I decided to call Amelia Sutter, who was kind enough to pick up me and my luggage, though returning to the Strawberry Bed and Breakfast may not have been the wisest of moves.
Amelia was bursting with curiosity about the Westbrooks. Fortunately the weather that day was mild, only a tattered blanket of snow remaining on the small lawns of the town, its sidewalks clear and dry. I escaped her questions and spent the afternoon wandering the back streets of Wisteria, avoiding Joseph's shop, feeling too raw to talk.
I left a message on Sam's home phone telling him that I had been fired and asking him to keep an eye on Patrick. I didn't mention where I was staying, for I was even less ready to talk to him. I knew he might go to Mason's Choice that evening to ask where I had gone, but I decided that was a good thing because he would check on Patrick while he was there. And perhaps Joseph, curious to know if I had learned anything at the pond and unable to reach me by cell phone, would call the estate. All the better. Attention from outsiders might persuade those at Mason's Choice that it would be risky to harm Patrick.
I wanted to think that Patrick was safe and that Sam was right: The real goal of the recent events was to get rid of me. I, with my interest in Ashley's death, was the true threat, and all that had happened to Patrick was staged to make me seem irresponsible, to frame me so that I would be fired. But each time I reached that logical conclusion, my gut told me that much more was going on.
I awoke Saturday morning ready to deal with what had occurred. I waited till ten o'clock, when the week-end guests at the Strawberry had left on their excursions, then called Joseph from the tiny room equipped with the B&B's guest phone. I found him at his mother's house.
"Katie!" He breathed into the phone. "Thank God! Where are you? I've been worried. Why didn't you tell me you resigned from Mason's Choice?"
"I'm calling to tell you now. And I didn't resign, I was fired."
"Yes, yes, but where are you? Adrian has been trying to reach you. And Sam Koscinski, both last night and this morning…." Joseph blew hard into the phone. "I know you like him, Katie, but he's a lunatic."
"I won't argue that. Why is Adrian looking for me?"
"Patrick's missing."