1
âI HAD A great time today, thanks, Crystal.â Kendra Lonergan smiled at the attractive middle-aged widow and got a wide smile back. A first! This was good progress. Theyâd spent the past hour down on Rat Beach tossing balls into the Pacific waves for Byron, the golden retriever Kendra regularly borrowed from a friend for appointments with her dog-loving clients.
âI had fun, too.â Crystal bent and stroked Byronâs reddish fur. âIt felt good to be on the beach again. Thanks, Kendra.â
âYou are welcome. See you next week!â Kendra tugged Byronâs leash and gave Crystal a quick wave before leading the dog back down the block to the Lexus minivan that had belonged to her parents. For a while now sheâd been intending to sell the car and buy something smaller, but she didnât ever seem to have time, and wasnât sure what sheâd replace it with. In the meantime, it was a niceâif a bit toughâreminder of the family sheâd lost. âUp you get, Byron. Iâll take you home now.â
She unhooked his leash; Byron bounded into the car and settled on the towel Kendra kept on the backseat. What an amazing animalâshe never had any trouble with him. His owner, Lena, Kendraâs friend since kindergarten, worked typical lawyer hours and was delighted to have Byron out getting exercise whenever Kendra needed him. Kendra had thought about getting a dog herself, but...she hadnât done that yet either.
The Lexus swung smoothly out of its parking place on Pullman Lane in Redondo Beach; she turned it south onto Blossom Lane, heading toward the Pacific Coast Highway and her hometown of Palos Verdes Estates, a hilltop oasis overlooking the vast urban sprawl of L.A. She was back living in the house sheâd grown up in, a temporary situation that had stretched on as the weeks and months passed. The house was much too big for one person, but it was stuffed with memories Kendra wasnât yet ready to leave behind.
Climbing the steeply curving roads of Palos Verdes Estates, windows rolled down to enjoy the cool November breeze, she turned up the volume on a Mumford and Sons song she loved, âLittle Lion Man,â peeking occasionally at the view of Santa Monica Bay, which became more and more spectacular as she ascended.
She left the view behind and turned onto Via Cataluna, then into the driveway of the house where Lena lived with her husband, Paul. Her cell rang, a private caller.
âThis is Kendra.â She switched off the engine.
âKendra Lonergan? Itâs Matty Cartwright.â
Kendra blinked, taking a moment to place the name. Matty Cartwright? From Palos Verdes High School? Whom Kendra had last seen years ago? How typical of a Cartwright to think sheâd need no further introduction than her name. âHi, Matty.â
âIâm calling toâ Oh, uh, how are you? Itâs been a long time.â
Kendra pushed out of the car, rolling her eyes, not in the mood for friendly small talk. She hadnât seen Matty since her sophomore year, when Matty was a senior, and didnât think sheâd ever spoken to her. âIâm fine. What a surprise to hear from you.â
âIâm calling about Jameson.â
Jameson. Kendra grimaced, opening the carâs rear door. Mattyâs younger brother had been in Kendraâs grade from Montemalaga Elementary School through Palos Verdes High School. Not her favorite classmate.
She followed Byron to Lenaâs front entrance, where she fumbled for the borrowed keys in the pocket of her sweatshirt, not really anxious to be having this conversation. âWhat about Jameson?â
âI wondered if you could work with him.â
Kendra froze. Work with Jameson Cartwright? As in help him? After the way heâd treated her? Byron whimpered impatiently. She unlocked her friendâs door; the dog raced toward the kitchen. âWhoa, back up a second, Matty. Where is he, what happened to him and how did you hear about me and what I do?â