Climax: The Publicist, Book Three

by Christina George

  “Kate Mitchell is a selfish bitch,” Stephanie said almost without thinking.

  Nick spun around. At first he wasn’t sure how to respond. His knee-jerk reaction was to defend Kate, but he was pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well. However, Stephanie had a point. It was pretty selfish of Kate not to call, but also unlike her, which is why he needed to go. Although Kate often lived in her head, she wasn’t thoughtless to anyone—especially the people she loved.

  He remembered a time, not that long ago, when he was one of those people.

  CHAPTER 98

  On the two-hour shuttle ride from the airport, Nick made his plan to find Kate. He had gotten the contact person for the house she was staying at, and the manager promised to meet him there with a key so he could see if she’d left anything behind to tell him where she may have gone. Sam had walked him through some basic police procedure: Check the trash for ticket stubs or anything else that might tell him where she’d gone—if she’d left and headed to another part of Mexico or if she’d headed home and just hadn’t told anyone. But so far, no one with Kate’s name had made any kind of flight arrangements. Sam had given him other things to look for, including signs of a struggle, in case Kate had been attacked. Nick prayed that wasn’t true.

  The van drove across the cobblestone streets of San Miguel. It wasn’t long before the driver leaned back and told him they were almost there. Nick could feel his heart beat faster in his chest. To say he had hesitations about being there was an understatement, but in the end it was the right thing to do. And come hell or high water, that’s what drove him.

  “We’re here,” the driver said in Spanish. Nick opened the doors and jumped out. The house was lovely, perched high on a hill overlooking San Miguel; it took up almost half of a block. It must have cost Mac a fortune to rent. Although this was Mexico and most things cost less than they did in the States, the people who rented these homes knew they could get a good price from tourists coming here to get away.

  Nick walked up the steps to the front door and knocked. A short, older woman with straight dark hair that fell to her shoulders—the manager, he presumed—opened the door and greeted him with a wide, genuine smile.

  In fluent Spanish he said, “Hi, I’m Nick Lavigne. We spoke on the phone.” Nick put out his hand and the woman took it in both of hers.

  “Oh, I’m so glad you are here. I’m so worried about Kate. I hope she is okay. She seemed sad.”

  Nick nodded and walked through the door and into the courtyard. The house was indeed beautiful.

  Nothing but the best for Mac.

  Part of him wished Mac were there so he could slam the man’s head into the stone walls that circled the courtyard. Unfortunately, that would have to wait.

  Nick followed the woman inside and set his bag down in the living room.

  “When was the last time you saw her?” Nick sat down on one of the chairs. The woman followed suit.

  The woman thought for a moment. “Hmm, I think three days now or so. I live on the corner and see a lot of things from my window.” She smiled sweetly, and Nick guessed that she probably used that window a lot to keep an eye on her neighbors.

  “So, you did not see her again after that, right? She left one morning and just never came back?’

  “Si,” she nodded.

  “What about the town? Do you know if anyone seen a lone female tourist matching Kate’s description?” Before he got there, Nick had asked the woman to talk to some of the folks she knew who owned restaurants and bars in San Miguel. Although it was a reasonable sized town, it was still small enough that everyone knew everyone else. The tourist areas were a pretty close-knit community.

  The woman’s eyes sparked suddenly. “Si, si. This morning, José at the Cantina San Miguel says he saw a woman matching Kate’s description.”

  Nick’s heart beat faster. “Where?”

  “She was walking with some women.”

  “So you know who they were? The women, I mean.”

  “No, they are locals but he didn’t know them really. They sell to tourists.” She smiled.

  “Sell? Sell what?”

  “All kinds of things—hats, necklaces, brooms.”

  “Brooms?” That caught Nick’s attention, for no other reason than a broom seemed like an odd thing to sell to tourists.

  The woman nodded eagerly, “Yes, brooms. They make them here out of sticks and things and the tourists love them.” Her smiled widened; tourist trade was something everyone in San Miguel knew about.

  “Is there any way that you can help me identify who she was with?”

  The woman shook her head. “José didn’t know them, but I can ask him again and call you.”

  Nick took out a pen and jotted down his Mexican cell phone number. He always kept the phone; it just made traveling easier in Mexico. Although U.S. cell carriers were now offering international service, it was still sometimes unreliable.

  Nick handed her the note. “I appreciate anything you can find out.”

  The woman took the note, thought for a moment, and then said, “You know. Something odd did happen, just the day before you left.”

  “What?” Nick could hear the anticipation in his voice.

  The woman folded the paper and put it in her pocket, “Well,” she began, “I dropped by here to, you know, clean up. The florist was here, and Kate was very upset.”

  “Florist?”

  “Yes,” the woman nodded, “for her wedding.”

  Nick felt the color drain from her face. Wedding? “What do you mean. Was she getting married?”

  “Yes,” she nodded. “The plans were made by someone. I don’t know who. The church was rented for, well, I think today. And the florist came by with some flowers and his book to see the kind of bouquet she wanted.”

  Christ, Nick thought, Grace had mentioned something about the wedding.

  The woman continued, “Kate got very upset. She practically threw the man out, and then I heard her crying. Poor girl. She seemed so nice. She told me her wedding had been canceled. She seemed so nice. Who would not want to marry her?”

  Some lowlife piece of shit, Nick thought.

  “If I may ask, were you supposed to marry Kate?”

  Yes, Nick thought, I was.

  CHAPTER 99

  After looking through the house and finding Kate’s purse left inside, her credit cards and phone intact, Nick left the house and started walking the streets of San Miguel with Kate’s picture. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it. It was one he still had from a trip they’d taken to Big Sur. Kate was smiling, sitting on a rock. They had spent a week driving through the beach communities, picnicking in the woods. At night they’d light a fire on the beach, drink wine, and talk about their future.

  The memory tore the hole in his heart even further open.

  He had to find Kate.

  Nick walked into each store, bar, and restaurant showing Kate’s picture. He had some luck with the woman at a small clothing shop.

  “Yes, she was here a few nights ago buying clothes. She left us her suit.” The woman stepped out from behind the counter, she pointed to the black, pencil skirt, which was far too tight on her.

  “She gave me this.” Then she reached behind the counter, grabbed the jacket, and put it on. “And this,” she smiled widely. The suit was at best ill-fitting, but he could see how proud the woman was to own something that expensive. It wasn’t like Kate to not respect her stuff. Although she was generous, Kate wouldn’t just hand a suit like that to a stranger.

  Nick’s eyes narrowed, “What did you sell her?”

  The woman thought for a moment. “I don’t really remember. Lots of tourists buying our clothes.” She smiled and then added, “I think a couple of skirts and some tops. She wanted colorful. I remember that. And she looked so sad. I don’t know why such a beautiful girl would have any reason to be sad.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Nick peeled off some money to pay the woman but she h
eld up her hand.

  “No, sir. I can’t take that. I wanted to help maybe get you back with your true love.”

  Nick nodded, thanked her, and left.

  Everyone is a romantic, he thought. He used to be, but like everything else good in his life, that too was a long time ago.

  CHAPTER 100

  Dusk was settling over the village and Nick had been searching for hours, walking in and out of dozens of shops and restaurants. Everyone had been really kind and promised to call him the minute they saw Kate. However, Nick could see the shadow across most of their faces. The truth was that sometimes people just want to disappear, and Mexico was a great place to do that.

  As Nick walked up the next street, he could hear laughter erupting from the various bars. He was tired from the flight and the stress of the day, but he wanted to keep looking—especially at night. Most of San Miguel came to life after dark.

  He walked into the next bar, handed the picture to the bartender, and Nick could tell by the look in his eyes that he’d seen her.

  “Si, si,” the man nodded. “She was here. Last night, I think, with Maria.”

  “Maria?” Nick asked.

  “Yes, a local woman. She sells to tourists.”

  Bingo. Nick was getting warmer. Kate had made friends with a local, which of course made sense for Kate. When she lived with him in San Marino, everyone knew Kate.

  “Do you know where I can find this Maria?”

  The bartender shook his head, “I’m not sure, but she is often out at night selling in bars and such.”

  “Which bars?” Nick asked and the man smiled and shrugged, “Bars. I don’t know. These people don’t keep a regular schedule.”

  Bars. Great. Well, at least he was getting warmer.

  Nick walked outside into the cool night air and stepped into five more bars. No luck. He walked outside, turned the corner, and that’s when he heard it.

  It was Kate’s voice.

  CHAPTER 101

  It was Kate’s voice, but it was her singing voice—which, although Kate had many talents, singing wasn’t one of them. Her off-key rendition of Bonnie Tyler’s “It’s a Heartache” floated outside another crowded bar. When he walked in, he saw her dressed in her bright new wardrobe. Her hair flowed in loose waves around her head. She was holding the karaoke mic, standing on stage with a crowd of adoring fans cheering her on. She was clearly drunk, something that was pretty rare for her. Nick knew from experience that Kate didn’t hold her liquor well.

  At all.

  “Love until your arms break!” she belted out, and Nick felt his reluctant heart soar. Although the song was completely off key, it was one of the most beautiful things he’d heard in a long time. Maybe even ever.

  Kate was okay.

  As he watched her, relief flooded his knees. He grabbed his phone and texted Grace to tell her he found Kate.

  But as he slid the phone back into his pocket, the truth—a realization he hadn’t wanted to face—overwhelmed him: He still loved her.

  He thought he was over her, but the truth was that those feelings ran under his life like a subterranean river, driving him and subtly directing his life.

  She was always there, that river of dark, fast water.

  “Fuck,” he said aloud, but the words evaporated in the noise of the bar and Kate’s singing.

  Kate’s song finally ended and the crowds cheered. Nick almost laughed out loud. No wonder she loved it here. Everyone loved Kate.

  Nick stepped closer to the stage, and that’s when Kate spotted him. A glimmer of recognition fought its way through the cloud of tequila, and suddenly she smiled.

  “Nick!” she almost screamed, and all of her “friends” turned to look at him. He could hear some of the older woman mumbling something about her husband. Nick almost wanted to correct them when Kate jumped off the stage at him and fell into his arms. She swung down, almost falling, but Nick caught her.

  “Nick, oh my God. What are you doing here?” Kate hugged him tight.

  The older women in the crowd smiled at them, and Nick felt uncomfortably close to her. He pulled away and grabbed her arms from around his neck.

  Then without waiting for a response, she said, “Oh, I want you to meet my new business partner, Maria!” Kate reached into the crowd and pulled a very portly woman towards her. The woman giggled and smiled at Nick.

  “What a handsome husband,” she said in Spanish.

  Nick shook her hand. “I’m not her husband. Kate’s been missing and we’ve all been worried about her.”

  Kate blinked at him. “Worried? I told everyone I was taking a few days off.” Kate slurred her words slightly.

  “Kate, let’s talk about this later. I need to get you home. Where have you been staying?”

  “With Maria!” Kate wrapped an arm around the woman. “We’re in business together.”

  Maria, who didn’t speak or understand any English, just smiled at them both. Nick noticed that a few of her teeth were missing.

  Nick’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of business?”

  “Wait. I’ll show you!” Kate ran to a corner table and grabbed a stack of something. Nick could see it was brooms.

  Wait. Brooms?

  Kate walked over to him with a handful of stick brooms. Several of them fell apart and the sticks fell to the floor.

  Maria leaned into him and said in Spanish, “Kate is not yet good at making brooms.” She smiled.

  “Clearly,” Nick said.

  Kate approached him with a smile.

  “I’m going to make brooms in Mexico,” Kate said in Spanish and the crowds cheered. Clearly Kate’s fan club agreed.

  “Brooms, Kate? What about publishing?”

  Kate jutted her chin out. “I’m giving up books for brooms,” she insisted.

  Christ.

  “Why, Kate?”

  “Because brooms never ask you to be more famous. They never demand to know why they haven’t sold more books or why Oprah hasn’t called. They’re just brooms and happy to be brooms.”

  Brooms? Nick shook his head, “Right, okay. We’re done here, Kate. Let’s go.”

  “No, I can’t leave Maria!” Kate, in her enthusiasm to show her new friend how much she cared, dropped the rest of the brooms to hug her. They all scattered to the floor and broke into a million tiny sticks.

  “I’m not very good at the broom making yet, but I’m getting better!” Kate smiled. Nick could tell from her eyes that she was pretty inebriated and probably needed food and a lot of water.

  Nick grabbed her arm. “Maria, I’m sorry but we need to go. Kate will be in touch.”

  “No, Nick. I have plans. I need to finalize them with Maria.”

  “Yes, your new business partner. I get it. Now let’s go.”

  Kate looked sad and then she sort of went pale. “Nick, I-I don’t feel so good.”

  Without waiting, Nick picked her up and carried her through the crowds to the restroom. He could hear some of the people mutter again about him being her husband. Although part of him desperately wanted to correct them, he knew he needed to get Kate to the ladies’ room before she tossed her cookies all over herself or someone else.

  . . . .

  Kate did indeed get sick. Nick followed her into the bathroom and waited until he was pretty sure she was done. Then he washed her face, took her hand, and led her out through the back entrance to avoid elaborate goodbyes with Kate’s new fan club. Once outside, he hailed a cab. Within fifteen minutes, they were back at the house.

  Nick got her inside. He wanted to feed her, but she had fallen asleep in the cab. So he carried her up the stairs, through the courtyard, and into the house. Then he tucked her in and watched her for a while.

  He walked out to the courtyard and stood in the cool night air. His phone buzzed. It was another message from Grace, wanting to speak to her friend.

  Not tonight. She’s asleep. Long day. I’ll make sure she calls you in the morning, he wrote back then slipped his
phone back in his pocket. Speaking of phones, he wanted to see if Kate still had hers. He knew she had a lot of email on that phone, some of it pretty confidential given whatever books or authors she might be managing. If she no longer had it, he’d need to call the phone company and have it locked. He walked back inside and checked around the house. Nothing. Finally, he went to her purse and dumped the contents over the counter. The phone fell out, thankfully. He picked it up. It was totally dead, of course. He found the charger and plugged it in to the wall. Then he walked back into the bedroom to check on her.

  She was still fast asleep. He walked over to her bed and sat down, watching her rest peacefully. A small smile curved on his lips as he remembered seeing her sing, badly. Then something warm bloomed in the pit of his stomach. Silently, he got up and walked out.

  The faster he got out of Mexico the better, but he couldn’t leave now. He’d wait and leave the next day on the first flight out. Kate was found and she was fine. That was what mattered.

  Nick went to the guest room, closed the door, and got ready for bed.

  CHAPTER 102

  Kate woke to the pounding in her head; she pushed through the fog of whatever residual alcohol still pumped through her system. Then she realized she was back in her bed and not at Maria’s where she’d been spending the night. How did she get here?

  She rolled onto her back and tried to remember.

  Nick!

  Oh, God. Nick was here? There was no way that was true. Kate tried to sit up but fell back onto the bed. The blackout curtains were slightly parted and she could see the courtyard, and there he was, his phone in hand. By his furrowed brow, Kate could tell he was speaking intensely with someone.

  God, my head. She closed her eyes to cut out the sun. She opened them a moment later and caught Nick’s eye. He stood for a moment, just looking at her. Then he slipped the phone back into his pocket and walked into the house. A minute later he was standing in the doorway of her bedroom.