how it felt to be truly loved. But if he loved her, how could he keep this secret from her? This “WTF” situation, as Molly called it, was serious. Kat felt her impatience flare again—to get it out in the open, get it resolved, and get back to where they were before he ever found that note tucked under the wiper.
10
Katherine was startled when Philippe walked in from work the next afternoon, clearly agitated and angry. This was the second time in a few weeks she had witnessed this uncharacteristic behavior, the first being when the SUV had tried to force them off the road on the way to Entrevaux.
“The investigators from Nice were back again this morning with their portable lab. They wanted to confirm some findings they reached over the weekend. They arrived at a different conclusion than the local police. Apparently the blast was deliberately set and had nothing to do with the electrical wiring in the storage area. They found traces of plastic explosives that could only have been left by a handmade device.”
Kat was shocked. “But who would do this on purpose?” she asked. “And why would they, for heaven’s sake? Competitors? Surely not!”
Philippe shook his head. “ Malheureusement , I have a very good idea,” he said.
Then the light went on for Katherine. “ Mon Dieu! Tell me this isn’t connected to your problem, please.”
“I have to think it is,” he said. “But it could turn out to be a good thing, because some incriminating evidence was left. It’s being checked out now in Nice and may be sent to Paris. I had to tell them about the note and the threats.”
Katherine was perplexed. She stared at him. “Threats? Plural?”
He nodded sheepishly and looked away.
Kat waited till he looked back. Her gaze was unwavering. “I’ve been good about trying to put this out of my mind. In fact, I had almost convinced myself that the car chase was a case of mistaken identity. I really had. But this is something else again. You have to tell me what’s going on.”
“Soon. I promise.”
There was a long silence between them. There was nothing more either of them could say. Then Philippe’s phone rang, and he left the room.
Kat put on some warm biking clothes and headed out on her own. She needed time to work through this—again. She wasn’t certain she could. Keeping secrets held hurtful memories for her, and she thought she had made that clear to him, more than once.
“I’m going for a ride. Back in an hour or so,” she called as she opened the front door.
She heard him say good-bye on the phone and then he called back, “ Attends-moi! Wait a few minutes and I’ll go with you.”
“To be honest, I want to be alone.”
She took one of her favorite routes across the Cap and through a few backstreets until suddenly she was riding through the quiet forest. For the first while she let the rhythm of her movement calm her and focused only on that. Then she pulled her bike up against a stone wall and climbed up a short slope to a small clearing that gave her a clear view down to the sea.
This was the vista she loved most and had seen from so many vantage points on the rides they had taken. She felt it belonged just to her. It was part of why she was so in love with the Côte d’Azur. At this moment she was searching for something from it—peace, strength, guidance? Something.
For the first time since that fateful night at the airport, she was feeling unsure of herself. Questions that had been nagging her for days raised themselves again, and she knew she had to answer them. She closed her eyes while she thought them through.
Was she where she truly belonged? She thought she was.
Could she completely change her life like this? She thought she could.
Was six months enough time to know everything she needed to about Philippe? Apparently not.
Should this worry her? This was the stumbling block. She had once thought she knew everything about James and had been blindsided after twenty-two
10
Katherine was startled when Philippe walked in from work the next afternoon, clearly agitated and angry. This was the second time in a few weeks she had witnessed this uncharacteristic behavior, the first being when the SUV had tried to force them off the road on the way to Entrevaux.
“The investigators from Nice were back again this morning with their portable lab. They wanted to confirm some findings they reached over the weekend. They arrived at a different conclusion than the local police. Apparently the blast was deliberately set and had nothing to do with the electrical wiring in the storage area. They found traces of plastic explosives that could only have been left by a handmade device.”
Kat was shocked. “But who would do this on purpose?” she asked. “And why would they, for heaven’s sake? Competitors? Surely not!”
Philippe shook his head. “ Malheureusement , I have a very good idea,” he said.
Then the light went on for Katherine. “ Mon Dieu! Tell me this isn’t connected to your problem, please.”
“I have to think it is,” he said. “But it could turn out to be a good thing, because some incriminating evidence was left. It’s being checked out now in Nice and may be sent to Paris. I had to tell them about the note and the threats.”
Katherine was perplexed. She stared at him. “Threats? Plural?”
He nodded sheepishly and looked away.
Kat waited till he looked back. Her gaze was unwavering. “I’ve been good about trying to put this out of my mind. In fact, I had almost convinced myself that the car chase was a case of mistaken identity. I really had. But this is something else again. You have to tell me what’s going on.”
“Soon. I promise.”
There was a long silence between them. There was nothing more either of them could say. Then Philippe’s phone rang, and he left the room.
Kat put on some warm biking clothes and headed out on her own. She needed time to work through this—again. She wasn’t certain she could. Keeping secrets held hurtful memories for her, and she thought she had made that clear to him, more than once.
“I’m going for a ride. Back in an hour or so,” she called as she opened the front door.
She heard him say good-bye on the phone and then he called back, “ Attends-moi! Wait a few minutes and I’ll go with you.”
“To be honest, I want to be alone.”
She took one of her favorite routes across the Cap and through a few backstreets until suddenly she was riding through the quiet forest. For the first while she let the rhythm of her movement calm her and focused only on that. Then she pulled her bike up against a stone wall and climbed up a short slope to a small clearing that gave her a clear view down to the sea.
This was the vista she loved most and had seen from so many vantage points on the rides they had taken. She felt it belonged just to her. It was part of why she was so in love with the Côte d’Azur. At this moment she was searching for something from it—peace, strength, guidance? Something.
For the first time since that fateful night at the airport, she was feeling unsure of herself. Questions that had been nagging her for days raised themselves again, and she knew she had to answer them. She closed her eyes while she thought them through.
Was she where she truly belonged? She thought she was.
Could she completely change her life like this? She thought she could.
Was six months enough time to know everything she needed to about Philippe? Apparently not.
Should this worry her? This was the stumbling block. She had once thought she knew everything about James and had been blindsided after twenty-two
Similar Books
