Close Encounters

by Kitt, Sandra

  Carol gave her brother a tired smile. Wesley had always understood her better than anyone. As the oldest sibling, he’d tried to pave the way for her and their sister, Ann. Carol knew she hadn’t made it easy for anyone.

  She sighed and leaned forward, placing the leash carefully on the table. “What did Matt tell you when he called?” she asked.

  “That you’d had an accident and Max was dead. That I should get to New York ASAP. Something about the police being involved, and that it was serious. I asked if he could be more specific. Had you been attacked? Hit by a car? Burglarized? Beyond the limit on your credit cards?”

  Carol laughed despite herself.

  “‘She’s been shot. She’s in the hospital,’ he’d said. Needless to say, those were the magic words that got my ass in gear. I was in London on a case or I’d have been here sooner.” He looked her over closely. “Okay, let’s have it.”

  Carol didn’t go into the gory details. She told Wesley about the police interviews—the official ones. And she told him about Max.

  Wesley squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry about Max.”

  He had given Max to her as a pup when she was attending the Art Institute in Chicago. Wesley had said he hoped that having to take care of a pet would teach her something about being responsible. She’d laughed at the time, but her brother had been right.

  “He was old and sick,” she said on a sad, quivering note.

  “I know how much you loved him, Carol. But if there had to be a choice between the two of you… sorry, it’s no contest.” She nodded. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “I guess so.”

  “You were crying when I came in—in a stranger’s arms, I might add.”

  She wasn’t expecting the sudden constriction in her stomach at the mention of Lee. “He was just being kind.”

  “Oh, yeah? Then they’re training cops a lot differently than when I used to butt heads with them,” Wesley observed dryly.

  “He returned Max’s leash to me and… and I just fell apart.”

  Wesley stood up and pulled Carol to her feet, murmuring to her in a soothing voice. He put his arms around her, and she was swallowed up in the warmth of his big body and his brotherly concern. “It takes a lot to bring you down, and it sounds like you’ve been through a lot this week.” He kissed her forehead. “You’re a strong woman. You were a scrappy little kid. And we won’t even talk about when you were a teenager.”

  “You know, I was always surprised that Mom and Dad didn’t want to give up on me,” she said in a muffled voice.

  “The thought never entered their minds. I, on the other hand…” Carol punched him in the stomach and he laughed. “I’m glad my baby sister toughed it out.”

  “How long are you staying?” Carol asked as Wesley let her go.

  “Want me to leave?”

  “Actually, I would like you to hang around until tomorrow, if you can. I’d like to talk to you about something.”

  “Sure, no problem. I’ll make some calls and rearrange my schedule. Anyway, I want to get in touch with the detectives who spoke with you.”

  “What for? It really was an accident, Wes.”

  “Well… maybe so. It’s not that I don’t trust them, but why should I trust them? Humor me, honey. The police do not have a great track record with African American citizens. I want to get as many facts as I can and make sure they’re not trying to hide anything.”

  Though she appreciated that her brother was acting in her best interests, she felt a great reluctance to do anything that might betray Lee’s personal confession to her. She had no doubt that he had acted entirely on his own in telling her of his role. She had no intention of using it against him, and she didn’t want anyone else to do so either. With startling clarity, she realized that she and Lee Grafton were on dangerous ground. The balance had shifted dramatically in the five minutes or so before Wesley had walked in on them. And it seemed to have happened so fast, out of nowhere.

  She was attracted to him.

  Perhaps it was a direct result of his concern, of his surprising display of integrity. Perhaps the changes of the past few days had simply overwhelmed her. But what if the attraction had nothing to do with the shooting and everything to do with a man and a woman getting to know each another?

  Carol wasn’t sure what she should do about it. So she wasn’t going to do anything.

  “Just to be on the safe side,” Wesley was saying, “I want to see what rights and compensations you have coming as a result of this incident.”

  “Spoken like a true lawyer,” Carol teased.

  He shrugged. “Every family should have one.”

  They both turned at the sound of a key once again unlocking the door. It opened and Matt walked in. His expression, at first pensive and distracted, became cautious when he spotted them.

  “Hey… Wesley. You got here.”

  “Hi, Matt. As fast as I could, once I got your call,” Wesley said.

  They clasped hands. While Matt put his sax case down and turned away to take off his coat, Wesley raised his brows at Carol as if to ask, What’s he doing here?

  “Ah… Matt is staying with me to help out, Wes. There are a few things I’m not supposed to do yet,” Carol said.

  “Good idea,” Wesley responded.

  Carol frowned at Matt. “I thought you had to work tonight.”

  “Yeah… yeah, I do,” Matt said. He held up a small brown shopping bag. “I brought dinner.”

  Carol caught a whiff of black bean sauce and roast pork and steamed dumplings.

  “Are you supposed to eat this stuff?” Wesley asked.

  “The doctors didn’t say I couldn’t, and I’m starving. Thanks, Matt.”

  “Is there enough for me?” Wes asked.

  “Sure,” Matt nodded. “But it’ll cost you.”

  “Uh-oh… what?”

  “Help me convince Carol that she should sue the hell out of the police department. I think somebody should pay for what happened to her.”

  “You don’t want to go there, Matt,” Carol admonished. “I’ve already told you how I feel about that. Let it alone, okay?”

  “I’m trying to help you. I’m trying to show you how to turn this thing around and come away with money.”

  “Well, I’m just glad my sister’s alive,” Wes said. “I don’t think anyone can put a price on that. On the other hand, you do have a point.”

  “It’s not like paying for her life, it’s just evening the score. The police aren’t even sorry for what happened. They keep coming around to talk to her like it was her fault.”

  “Come on, boys, give me a break. I don’t have the strength to break up a fight between the two of you,” Carol complained.

  “I just want some credit for not always thinking about myself,” Matt said.

  Wesley put up a hand to stop him. “Let’s forget about it for now. Look, we haven’t seen each other in a while. I’m sure there’s a lot of other stuff to talk about. How about you, Matt? How are you doing these days? Still playing sax?”

  Matt adjusted his glasses. “Yeah, I’m playing. Little club on Greenwich Avenue. I’m cool.”

  Wesley picked up the bag of food and headed for the kitchen. “Fine,” he muttered. “Let’s eat before this gets cold.”

  Lee sat casually watching the people around him. It was a game he played whenever he was waiting for Karen at the restaurant where she worked. He tried to figure out what all the well-heeled patrons did for a living. He was likely to be wrong, since he’d had little experience with this segment of the population—people with money, connected and smart. People who hid their crimes better than others.

  The cynical thought told Lee he’d been hanging around cops for too long.

  Scum and cops were the only people in his universe. Discounting his daughter and Karen. And Carol Taggart. She was different.

  After Beth, after a string of women since his divorce, it had been refreshing to be involved with a woman like Karen
Sorano, who didn’t make demands or try to change him. But as Lee studied the people in the restaurant, he was more conscious then ever of how little he and Karen had in common. The sex was great. Karen was playful. Yet recently he had started wondering if that was enough.

  Lee caught sight of Karen escorting a middle-aged couple to a table. He watched her gracious smile as she indicated that a waitress would be with them shortly. She glanced in his direction and gave him a lovely but, to Lee’s way of thinking, somewhat impersonal smile. She began to wind her way among the tables toward him, but was stopped by one of three men sitting over drinks.

  Karen bent a little closer to hear the man over the noise of the dining room. Her hair feathered artfully around her face. The low neckline of her black silk sweater gaped and the bottom of it rose above her waist. Her breasts jiggled beneath the top, barely contained in what Lee knew was a lacy bra, a mere token to modesty. He watched the exchange with interest, especially the other two men, who were obviously enjoying the view. Lee averted his gaze, choosing instead to read every word on the label of the Pellegrino water bottle on his table. He was feeling much more impatience than indignation. He thought about the difference as he waited.

  His beeper went off and he pulled it from his waistband, glad for the interruption. He stared at the recorded number, not recognizing it.

  “You don’t mind waiting, do you?”

  Lee looked up at Karen and was struck by the lack of concern on her face. He gestured absently at the cleared space in front of him, the used napkin and half-finished after-dinner coffee. “I thought we were going to have dinner together.”

  She shifted from one foot to the other. “Yes, but I didn’t know they were going to need me to help out this evening.”

  “You could have said no. It’s your night off.”

  Karen braced her hands on the table and leaned over to plant a kiss on his mouth, affording him the same view as the three men at the other table. He chose not to take advantage of it.

  “I couldn’t say no, Lee. They were in a real jam.”

  “If we had decided to go somewhere else and not accept a free meal because you work here, they would have had to figure something out, right?”

  Karen sighed and looked off into space. “Are you going to give me a hard time about this?”

  “I’m sorry if that’s what you think I’m doing,” he responded quietly.

  Karen moistened her lips and used her fingers to sweep tendrils of hair behind her ear. “Look, I can’t deal with this right now. The place is busy. Give me another ten minutes and I’ll see what I can work out, okay?”

  She didn’t wait for his answer. Lee watched her walk away, past the table with the three men, who openly admired her. Karen said something in passing that caused them all to laugh.

  Lee reached for his cellular and punched in the number on his beeper. The phone on the other end rang nearly four times before it was finally answered.

  “Hello…”

  The voice was oddly shaky, almost breathless.

  At first he didn’t recognize it. “This is Lieutenant Lee Grafton. I’m returning a beeper call.”

  “Yes. Hi, Lee. This… is Carol Taggart.”

  Lee was genuinely surprised. Then pleased. But he was sitting in a public space, and he felt the need to be careful. “Yes,” he acknowledged officiously.

  “I’m sorry to trouble you…”

  “No problem. How are you doing?”

  “Okay, I guess. Slow. I’m back at work,” she finished quickly, as if regretting any expression of doubt.

  “Good. I’m glad to hear that. How can I help you?”

  Carol hesitated, taken aback by his stilted tone. She decided not to take it personally. Maybe he was at work. Maybe now that she’d absolved him of his guilt he didn’t want to be bothered. That would be too bad, but she would get over it, as she had so many other disappointments. She still had questions that needed answers, and Lee Grafton was still the only person who might help her.

  “The thing is,” Carol said, “I’m not sure you can help. I’m not sure you’ll even want to.”

  “Yes?” Lee encouraged.

  “I’ve been thinking. About what happened and I… I need to talk to you about it.”

  Lee caught a glimpse of Karen working her charm on another table of customers. “Is something wrong?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I’m going off the deep end. Finally going out of my mind.” She laughed lightly.

  Lee liked the sound. A little throaty. Weary. “I seriously doubt that. Did you remember something else?”

  “Not exactly. Well… sort of. I think. Look, I know I’m not making much sense, but… I’ve just been having these thoughts. These… memories.”

  Lee became more alert. “Really?”

  “Just bits and pieces, but maybe they’re important. I really need to understand more right now.”

  “Any particular reason?”

  “A few. But I can explain better if I see you.”

  “Okay… you want to suggest a time and place?”

  “At your convenience. I’m generally home in the evenings.”

  “Are you there now?”

  “Actually I’m still on campus. I had a lot of paperwork to catch up on. I’m headed home in a few minutes.”

  Lee glanced at his watch. It was almost eight o’clock. “It’s late…” he murmured, more to himself than to her.

  “Oh… am I interrupting anything? Did I catch you at a bad time? I should have asked right away.”

  Lee smiled grimly, aware that Karen’s ten minutes were almost up and there was no indication that she would be returning anytime soon.

  “No, this is okay,” he answered. “Why don’t I come and pick you up?”

  “Thank you, but I didn’t mean for you to just drop everything and—”

  “I can be there in about twenty minutes,” he interrupted her.

  “Are you sure? I can wait until—”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Lee said. He didn’t bother looking up again to see where Karen was.

  “Well… okay. That’s fine. Thanks.”

  “Where should I meet you?”

  Carol gave Lee the street location outside of the art building. He hung up and put his phone away. He calculated what a mesclun salad with balsamic vinaigrette, veal piccata with capers, and a glass of beer had cost with tip, placed several bills under his saucer, got up, and left.

  Chapter Seven

  SUDDENLY CAROL REGRETTED MAKING THE call to Lee Grafton.

  It had seemed like a good idea at the time. The thought had come to her in the middle of her last class of the day that perhaps she was remembering more than she’d originally thought she would about the night she’d been shot. It wasn’t until she was turning out the lights in the large studio and heading down the corridor toward the stairwell that doubts began to assail her. By the time she was on the first floor of the now nearly deserted building she had become belatedly concerned with what Lee might make of the call. Now, it seemed to her that she’d grabbed onto the idea with unseemly haste.

  What if Lee thought she’d changed her mind about not suing?

  Wesley had made a compelling case for doing just that. He had argued that filing suit against the city and the police department was both appropriate and expected. And it wasn’t personal.

  But she hadn’t changed her mind.

  Carol stopped in the first-floor ladies’ room and examined herself in the mirror, noticing that her eyes seemed unusually bright and her expression a bit tense. She buttoned her coat properly, put her hat and gloves on. She certainly looked a lot more herself than even a week ago, when Lee had last seen her. As she took a deep breath and left the bathroom, she wondered if he would notice the difference.

  It was not lost on Carol that Lee was probably breaking the rules again by agreeing to meet with her. She was taking an equally dangerous risk in keeping his confession to herself. It was bizarre, almost surreal, that they cou
ld trust each other when they had the means to destroy one another. Some people might accuse her of consorting with the enemy. But when she cut through the rhetoric and the propaganda, Carol felt she was really dealing only with Lee. One on one.

  Worst of all, she decided as she signed the time sheet in the administrative office and headed toward the exit, was her startling admission that she wanted to see him again. Something akin to both guilt and curiosity spurred her on.

  The peculiar experience of near death and resurrection notwithstanding, she felt as if there was no one who could possibly understand what she had gone through… except perhaps Lee. Her father would say that God had been merciful in sparing her life. Carol couldn’t agree more. But she now believed there was a reason for her survival. And somehow Lee Grafton was part of it.

  The thing was, Carol realized, it would have been so easy for him not to do anything after that night. He didn’t have to show up at the hospital. His identity would have remained a secret forever. His confession had not only stunned her but had gained her attention as nothing else would have.

  Carol stopped at the door, feeling the need to catch her breath. She felt giddy and foolish and scared to death with the newness of her attraction to Lee. She had felt this way at the very beginning with Matt, and then not seriously again until now. She wasn’t going to hide her feelings. Nothing could have shown her more clearly than the events of the past two weeks that there was no point in wasting time. Why put off until tomorrow what you might not ever get a chance to do again?

  Carol hesitated before finally pushing the crash bar on the door to open it. It was already dark outside. And cold. She expected to see Lee right away, just beyond the door to the building, or in a car in front. She didn’t know what to think when she found herself standing there alone.

  Lee didn’t know why he felt the need to watch her unobserved through the windshield of his parked car. It was the first time he was seeing Carol Taggart at some distance from the events that had originally brought them together. Quite simply, he liked what he saw.