“I'm sorry,” I said quickly. “I didn't mean to catch you off-guard. I just...I recognized your name.”

“How did you know my name?

I hesitated for a moment. “Delilah mentioned it.”

Jake's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, then closed it. I knew what he was thinking: why on earth was I bringing this up?

She stiffened and the expression on her face soured. “I'll bet she did.”

“It wasn't in a bad way,” I said quickly. “I just didn't know anything about your son and—”

“She kept him there,” Kat said, seething. “She kept him at Windy Vista.”

Jake stared into his empty beer, almost as if he'd been hypnotized.

“I specifically asked her to help me get him out of this place.” Kat's jaw quivered. “So he wouldn't be stuck here like the rest of us. But she wouldn't listen to me. She hired him and he never left. And look where it got him.” Tears bloomed in her eyes. “Look where it got him.”

I caught Jake's almost imperceptible nod and nudged him under the table. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything.”

If she heard me, she didn't indicate it. A rush of words escaped her, like a dam that had burst. “I hadn't spoken to my son in a couple of years,” she said, wiping hard at her eyes. “Sure, I saw him at the gas station and around town, but we never talked.” She stifled a sob. “He wouldn't talk to me anymore.”

Jake was still staring into his empty glass, but his expression had changed. He was probably wishing we were anywhere else. Or maybe he was just wishing he was somewhere else. Maybe he'd be content to leave me behind.

“And it was all her fault,” she said, tears streaming freely down her face. “All Delilah's fault. She  wouldn't listen to me and she just used him for her stupid resort.”

“Did he want to be there?” I asked, remembering what Delilah had told me.

Jake shot me a look over the glass, like he was wondering why I was encouraging her. Or sticking my nose where it didn't belong. Or a combination of those two things.

I chose to ignore him and focused on Kat.

“Of course he wanted to be there,” she snapped. “She paid him well. She let him act like he ran the place. My God, he was trying to save her from going under.” She shook her head. “He did everything there for her. Everything.” She paused, took a deep breath, then exhaled. “I always knew that if he had a job here, he'd never leave. And end up just like me.” She glanced at the table. “I should probably have brought you a couple more beers instead of water.”

Before we could object, she left the table and headed for the bar.

“Here's where I remind you that you are not a private eye,” Jake said pointedly.

“Here's where I remind you that I'm well aware of that.”

“Then why are you questioning her?” he asked. The half-eaten slice of pizza he was holding hung limply from his fingertips. “Why are you digging?”

“I'm making conversation,” I argued.

He snorted. “Please. You're interrogating.”

“I'm curious,” I said firmly. “And friendly.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don't I know it.”

“Hey. That doesn't sound like a compliment. At all.”

“You have a guilty conscience.”

“You just want me stop talking.”

“That might be a good idea right about now.”

Before I could argue further, Kat returned with two beers. They were darker than what we'd ordered earlier. She ran a hand over her hair, adjusted the pseudo-bun on the top of her head and exhaled again.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “I didn't mean to stand here and just rant at you. Your experience here hasn't been the greatest.”

“It's okay,” I said. And I meant it. “We're fine. And I'm sorry for bringing it up.”

Jake said nothing and grabbed his beer.

Kat nodded. “I'm just...I'm just out of sorts.”

“I'm sorry,” I said. I thought she had every reason to be out of sorts. Thinking of any child of mine dying brought an overwhelming surge of grief and panic. I couldn't believe she was actually at work, going through the motions so soon after her son's death. Even though they'd been estranged and even though they apparently hadn't spoken in years. Harvey was still her son. “I'm very sorry.”

The tears blossomed again. “Thank you. Me, too. I hate that he's gone and we never...we just never got it figured out between us.” She sniffed and took another deep breath. “And if I wasn't so damn broke, I sure wouldn't be here working the day after my son died.” She shook her head. “But I don't have any choice. I'm sure everyone thinks I'm some heartless old lady, but they don't know my life. I can't afford to stay home and grieve.”

I nodded. I wasn't sure what I expected Kat to be like after talking with Delilah, but this wasn't it. She was a sad woman who'd lost her son and didn't seem to be catching many breaks in life. I felt for her.

“You know, even though I didn't like him working there, I was proud of what he was trying to do,” she said, wiping again at her eyes. “I was proud of him trying to help. That probably doesn't make much sense.”

I offered her a smile. “I think it makes a lot of sense.”

She nodded, like she appreciated hearing it. “He had a good heart, Harvey did. And as much as I look at that place and hate it, he loved it. I know he was doing everything he could to save it. He even went and met with ol' Davis to try and work something out. I doubt anything came of it, but he was looking everywhere he could.”

I took a sip from the beer. “Who's Davis?”

Jake made a loud coughing sound that sounded a lot like “detective.” I glared at him over the beer.

He pointed at his throat. “Choking,” he gasped.

I narrowed my eyes at him and said nothing.

“Davis Ellington,” Kat said. She pulled a rag from her pocket and rubbed at a spot on the table. “He's kind of the big, local wheeler and dealer in real estate. I don't know if Harvey wanted him to invest or buy or what. But I don't know much more than that.” She pocketed the rag and stared at the table. “Like I said, Harvey and I hadn't spoken in a long time.”

I nodded again, thinking about how hard it must've been to have been in such close proximity to her son and not be a part of his life. I was suddenly overwhelmed with missing the kids and wished we'd brought them. I knew it would pass, but in the moment, I missed them terribly and regretted leaving them at home.

“I'm going to let you finish your meal and drinks,” Kat said, lifting her hand from the table. “Again. I do apologize for earlier and if I can get you anything else before you leave, please let me know. I'll be your server for the rest of the night.” She excused herself and walked away.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes, finishing our beers and the pizza. The dark beer tasted surprisingly good, the pizza was more than big enough for the both of us and the poor service we'd received seemed like it had occurred days ago. Kat had provided a little bit of perspective on a less than perfect restaurant experience.

“You ready?” Jake asked, tossing his napkin on the table.

“Yeah,” I said, doing the same. “But, hey. Will you—”

“Already on it,” he said, pulling out his wallet. He opened it and dropped a twenty dollar bill on the table. “Even I'm not that heartless.”

SEVENTEEN

The next morning, Jake went for a run and I took the car back into town to load up on groceries. If the other restaurants in town were anything like The Landing, I didn't want to visit them. I preferred to stay in and make food, anyway. It was cheaper, it was quicker and I didn't have to put on makeup to go out.

Win-win.

I found the little convenience store near the lake that masqueraded as a grocery store, and after about forty-five minutes, I had a trunk full of food that I was confident would last us through the week. I took an extra few minutes to drive through the small lakeside village, which consisted of a couple of T-shirt shops, a shoe store, a bait shop and a small A-frame cabin with a big sign that read “Davis Ellington Real Estate.”