Slow Burn_ A Novel Part 27

Kate looked at Dylan, who had closed the door behind him and was leaning against it with his arms folded across his chest. He seemed to be taking the news in stride. She wasn't. She was flabbergasted.

She carefully placed her briefcase and her purse on the floor next to her chair, her mind racing with questions.

"What is Carl saying he's responsible for?" she asked the chief.

Drummond shifted his weight and tilted his chair back on two legs. "That's a good question. I thought I would give him a few more minutes to settle down, and then I'd try once again to get an answer out of him."

"Settle down?" Dylan asked, not understanding.

Drummond nodded. "I want to question him, I sure do, and just as soon as I can figure out a way to get him to stop crying, I'll start in."

Kate now understood why the chief looked so bewildered. He'd obviously never encountered anyone quite like Carl.

"He's . . . dramatic," she said.

"Yes, he is," the chief agreed.

"And he can be temperamental. He's an artist," she hastened to add, so Drummond wouldn't think she was criticizing her friend. "He majored in drama at the university, and he's been in several local theater productions. And as I'm sure you know, some creative artists are high-strung and . . . emotional."

"He's emotional all right."

"How do you suppose he knew you were looking for him?" she asked Dylan.

"I'm guessing his fiancee," he answered. "The police questioned her about his whereabouts. She must have gotten word to him."

"You want to take a shot at him?" Drummond asked Dylan. "He should be calming down about now."

"I'll talk to him," Kate said.

"I don't know about that," Drummond said.

Dylan was shaking his head, but she ignored him as she stood, picked up her things, straightened her skirt, and asked the chief to please take her to Carl.

When he didn't immediately hop to, she said, "Where is he waiting? In a conference room or a lounge? Chief, if I have to open every door on every floor to find him, I'll do it."

"We do have a nice conference room, and we've got a lounge with a soda machine, but Carl isn't in either one of those rooms. He's in a cell."

"You locked that dear man in a cell?"

He didn't give her time to get all worked up. "Now hold on. I didn't want to put him there. It wasn't my idea."

"Then whose idea was it?"

"His," he answered. "He insisted that I lock him up."

That didn't make any sense to her. "But why did you arrest him?" she asked.

"I didn't."

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't arrest him. He wanted me to lock him up, so I did. I figured a cell was as good a place as any for him to calm down."

"Where are the cells?"

"Upstairs."

"Will you please take me to him? He must be beside himself with worry."

"No, I'm not taking you to his cell, but here's what I will do. I'll bring Carl down to the first floor and put him in the interrogation room. You can talk to him there."

"Thank you," she said.

"Don't thank me yet. You've still got to get around him," he said, nodding at Dylan.

"I'll talk to him," Dylan said. "And I'll tell you what he had to say."

"She could stand on the other side of the two-way mirror and watch and listen," Drummond suggested. "We just had it installed," he announced proudly.

The chief was clearly on her side, and that made her like him all the more.

"Kate has something she would like to talk to you about," Dylan said. "Now would be the perfect time."

"Oh, that can wait until after I talk to Carl."

"I plan on being here all day," the chief said.

She took a step toward Dylan. "Carl and I are friends. He'll talk to me. He isn't going to hurt me, and if that's your reason for not wanting me to talk to him, then come in with me. Just don't-"

"Don't what?"

She sighed. "Scare him." He looked exasperated. "And don't intimidate him."

"How old is this guy? Ten?"

"He's sensitive," she muttered. "Unlike you."

Dylan had to move out of the way so the chief could open the door and leave. Kate seized the opportunity and slipped past Dylan on Drummond's heels.

Drummond pulled a huge round key ring with only three keys dangling from it off a wooden peg attached to the wall and headed toward the open staircase. "The interrogation room is the second door on the right. You two wait in there, and you better decide who's talking to him and who's listening, and then get on with it because, Dylan, you know you've got to call this in to Charleston and let Detective Hallinger know Carl's here. And he'll have to let the FBI know, and that means that you've got about an hour tops after you make that call before they all come tearing in here to s.n.a.t.c.h Carl away."

"They're going to have to wait," he said. "I'll make the call after I find out what Carl knows. I also want to run a couple of things past you," he explained.

"After we we talk to Carl," Kate said. talk to Carl," Kate said.

He finally relented but with conditions. "If I think he's playing you, you're out of there. Understand?" Before she could agree or disagree he continued, "And if I don't like the way he's talking to you, you're out of there." He let her go ahead of him, and when they reached the interrogation room, he added yet another condition. "And if I think he's becoming belligerent or threatening . . ."

She turned around. "Let me guess. I'm out of there?"

"That's right."

"Would you like to know what I think?"

He grinned. "Not really."

"You're going to listen anyway. If he plays me, I'll know it and I'll tell him to knock it off. And if I don't like the way he's talking to me, I'll tell him to stop. Should he threaten me, I'll threaten back."

The interrogation room was tiny. There was a small oblong table and four chairs, two on either side. The two-way mirror was on the wall opposite the door. Dylan pulled out a chair for Kate, but he remained standing as they waited.

Carl turned out to be a surprise. Dylan had made a couple of snap judgments about the man, but as soon as Carl walked into the room, he knew he was wrong.

Carl was extremely happy to see Kate, and before Dylan could stop him, he hugged her.

"Thank G.o.d you're safe. This is all my fault, darling. I'm so sorry."

She quickly disengaged herself and made the introductions. Once the formality was dispensed with, she sat down, and Carl took the seat across from her. She put her hand out and he clasped it.

"You look tired," she said.

"I am tired. That's why I went away. I need to rest and rejuvenate, but I've been so worried."

Kate was sympathetic. "It must have been upsetting for you to find out that the police were looking for you."

"Yes, it was most distressing." His eyes welled up with tears. "But not nearly as upsetting as it was for Delilah. My fiancee worries about me, you see," he added. "I should call her. I'm allowed one phone call, aren't I?"

Dylan pulled out a chair next to Kate and sat down. "You can make as many phone calls as you want. You're not under arrest."

"Am I a suspect?"

"Yes."

"No," Kate said at the same time.

"Depends on what you have to tell me," Dylan explained.

"I should be arrested. I'm responsible for everything that's happened to Kate." He looked at her and summoned a weak smile. "It's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too," she said. "Would you like something to drink?" Oh my, she was sounding like Isabel again.

"A decaf latte would be lovely, but I don't suppose there's a Starbucks close by."

"No, sorry, not yet."

Dylan had had enough of the chitchat. "Tell me why you think you're responsible."

"Because it was my idea."

"What was your idea?" His voice took on a sharp edge. He wanted some answers now.

"It was my idea to display Kate's products at the event I was hosting. All of Charleston's elite were going to be there. They wouldn't dare miss," he explained. "And I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to present her."

"Present her?"

"Launch her."

"Still not getting it."

"Though I know this is going to sound egotistical, it's a simple truth that if I endorse a product, it skyrockets."

He was right. It did sound egotistical.

"That makes you a very powerful man, doesn't it? You can make or break a career."

Carl shook his head. "I have never tried to destroy anyone. It would be vulgar. If I don't approve of a product or a person, I keep silent."

So he only used his power for good? Did he think he was Superman? Dylan suppressed a laugh.

"And what did you have to gain from this?"

"Satisfaction," he said.

"What about the warehouse? Why didn't you want Kate to know you owned it?"

"I'm only one of the owners," he corrected. "But I do have controlling interest."

"Answer the question." Dylan was tired of being accommodating. He was about to tell Kate to leave, but Carl surprised him by beating him to the punch.

"Kate, darling, would you please give us a moment alone?"

She didn't want to leave; she wanted to stay to make sure Dylan didn't tromp all over Carl's feelings, but she knew it would be rude to refuse. "Yes, of course."

Both men stood when she did, and Dylan opened the door for her. She gave him a warning look as she walked past and whispered, "Be patient with him."

The audio control for the interrogation room was on the wall in front of him. Dylan decided to turn it off.

Carl had resumed his seat and arrogantly gestured for Dylan to do the same.

"If Kate knew what I was about to tell you, she would be embarra.s.sed, and so I would appreciate your discretion. In return I shall be completely frank with you. Now then, I didn't want her to know that I owned the warehouse because I was going to offer it-through a Realtor, of course-at a substantially reduced price. I was trying to help Kate," he explained. "She is the dearest lady, and what I have seen happening to her this past year has been heart-wrenching. She was on the fast track, you know, and she had such grand plans. She was going to move her company to Boston. She has so many connections there. Within a year, I guarantee you, her company would have become a giant in the industry. Within five years, her products would have been sold all over the world. She could have accomplished unparalleled success."

He carefully adjusted the collar of his white shirt before continuing. "She won't move her company now. She's responsible, you see. Always responsible. Everyone comes before Kate. She will stay in Silver Springs because that's the responsible thing to do. For a long while she stayed for her mother, and now she'll stay for her sister. Isabel is the youngest, but of course you know that, don't you? Kate will stay here for at least another two, perhaps three, years.

"I would love it if she stayed permanently and expanded her company from here. She could put Silver Springs on the map. It would probably take her longer to achieve international success from here, but with her drive and her determination I have no doubt she'll get it . . . if that is what she wants. She'll do magnificent things wherever she is, but this is where Kate belongs."

"How did the other owners feel about reducing the price of the warehouse?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask them. I have controlling interest," he explained. "And the others will do whatever I want them to do. Together we own several blocks, and now that the renovation is under way and the rebirth has begun, they know they'll make a fortune. Silver Springs is a small community, and because it offers people a slower pace and a safer environment, it's becoming the place to live and play. We want to attract local business, so helping Kate by reducing the price will be seen as goodwill."

"I'll need the names of the other owners."