Betrayal - Fern Michaels [92]
“Absolutely not! After what Alex did to my daughter, why, they’re the last people on earth I’d want to stay in contact with. Pardon me for asking, Mr. Fitzpatrick, but aren’t you an attorney? Don’t you have an investigator to do your dirty work?”
“Yes, I am an attorney, and yes, I do have an investigator to do, as you put it, my ‘dirty work.’ We were unable to locate Mrs. Rocket. That was my reason for the call. As I said, I had hoped there was a chance you or Mr. Winter would know how to reach her.”
Debbie’s brain was spinning in circles. Something was up.
“I have no reason to stay in touch with Kate. We never liked one another in the first place. Mind if I ask why you want to get in touch with Kate after all these years?”
“It’s personal, Mrs. Winter, I’m sure you understand. Thank you for taking the time to return my call.”
Dial tone.
He’d hung up on her. Well, she still had a few contacts and more than a few tricks up her sleeve. She would find out exactly why Coleman Fitzpatrick wanted to contact Kate. She’d bet anything it had something to do with Alex’s estate. This Fitzpatrick might hold the key to Alex’s protected fortune.
She’d been around Naples long enough to earn a few favors. Debbie would spend the rest of the day on the phone calling them in.
“Melanie, can you come back to my office?” Debbie called over her intercom. Melanie, she thought, that was the girl’s name.
“Yes, Mrs. Winter?” Melanie said. “What can I do for you?”
Debbie liked this girl. “I’m going to be in the office the rest of the afternoon. I’ll be on the phone. Hold all of my calls, reschedule any appointments for the day. And more than anything, I do not want to be disturbed unless the place is on fire. Do you think you can do this for me?”
“Of course, Mrs. Winter. Is there anything else?”
“No, now go on. Get back to the reception desk. And remember, don’t bother me unless it’s life or death.”
“Of course, Mrs. Winter.”
Debbie thought her new receptionist might be a bit of an airhead. But if she followed the rules, she’d see to it that she kept her job for a while. She had no tolerance for laziness and stupidity. Some of the girls she hired to man the phones didn’t have a clue how to put a call on hold. God, what was this world coming to?
She remembered her days at the deli in New York. She’d been in high school. She practically ran the business, from placing all the food orders to planning the menus. She’d never really learned to cook, but she could make a mean hoagie when she wanted to. She’d had to work in order to eat. Her mother was drunk most of the time. Her father had left when she was young. She didn’t remember that much about him. Her goal in life had been to leave New York and marry a rich man. She’d met half her goal. And while she wasn’t rich, she didn’t have to roll change to eat.
She got up from her desk and closed the door. Melanie had forgotten to close the damn thing when she left. Maybe she was stupid after all. Oh, well, Debbie had more important things to occupy her time.
Coleman was tired. He wasn’t getting any younger either. He’d spent the first half of his day on the telephone, something he wasn’t very fond of, but he knew it was necessary. He was going to retire. He’d sold his house three months ago. He had six months before the new owners moved in. Halfway there, he thought. Time flies.
He had made a promise that he’d yet to fulfill. If he didn’t do this before he formally took off for the mountains, his retirement would consist of nothing but looking for Kate Rocket so that he could make good on his promise to Alex. He’d tried numerous times to get Kate on the phone after Alex’s death. Twice he’d flown his plane to North Carolina, thinking that if he were at her doorstep, she wouldn’t be able to turn him away. She surprised him when she refused to see him. He’d thought they were friends.
He’d never opened the large manila envelope Alex had entrusted to him. It was for Kate’s eyes only. He respected that. As far as he was concerned, he had three months to find Kate.
His investigator