Free The Legacy: A Kimberly & Sykes Mystery Novel by Kasey Mulligan Page A

at this,” she said pointing to him, “you’re sitting in my bedroom as though this is totally normal yet I only met you a few hours ago. This is just not like me. I don’t do this sort of thing. I feel out of control.”
    “If it’s any consolation, this isn’t what my normal assignments look like either.” Sykes smiled as he tried to introduce some lightheartedness. “It’s usually big ugly guys that I have to deal with.” They both laughed.
    Lauren stretched her legs and settled back against the headboard adjusting the throw around her. She had so much she wanted to say but didn’t know where to begin. She was aware of the soft feel of the throw still held gently in her hands and of the comfort provided by the oversized pillows the enveloped her back. She cleared her throat.
    Sykes had watched all this activity with a smile on his face. The small creases at the sides of his eyes softened his face and Lauren felt herself relaxing.
    With a tentative smile, Lauren closed her eyes slowly began to talk about her father; the man he was, and the man he could have been. When she was a child, Mike Kimberly had been physically present much of the time, but mentally and emotionally absent. He was so consumed with his latest ideas he had no time for Lauren, or her mother. When she went to her father for anything, he would simply send her off to her mother. When Lauren performed in school plays, or competed in sports events, it was always her mother who came to watch, never her father. Her mother helped her with her homework, tended her scrapes and bruises, and generally was her rock. When Lauren’s mother died suddenly, she had left two souls without a rudder. 
    Mike Kimberly did the best he could and Lauren and her father did become a little closer, but it was a closeness brought, not of love or caring, but by need. Mike Kimberly was ill equipped to raise a child, never mind a daughter, and Lauren, at twelve years old, didn’t have the maturity to handle her father’s creative genius and inevitable failures and disappointments.
    As her story unwound, at times Lauren cried softly, at others, she sobbed so deeply she could barely breathe. During these moments, Sykes would pass her tissues and water.
    As the tissues piled up on her quilt and as the darkness began to welcome the light, Lauren still told her story. Sykes had moved from the chair to the edge of the bed where he sat holding Lauren’s hand. She felt safe and comforted. Sykes’ hands were softer than she could have imagined and Lauren could feel the strength running through his fingers. Eventually, she stopped talking. She was aware of Sykes’ thumb stroking the back of her hand. She looked at him through swollen eyes and saw that his eyes were closed. For a while he was unaware she had stopped talking.
    Lauren allowed herself to dwell on Sykes’ face. She was examining the cleft in his chin when he opened his eyes. Lauren felt her heart catch and quicken under his gaze. Removing one of her hands from his grip she reached up and stroked his cheek feeling the stubble beneath her fingers. Sykes covered her hand with his own. They sat like that until Sykes gently removed his hand, taking hers with it. His lips creased in the smallest of smiles and he got up from the bed.
    “There’s still a couple of hours of night left, time for you to get some sleep.” he said with a thick voice. He looked over his shoulder once as he walked out of the room.
     

Chapter 12
     
    Lauren woke at 8:00a.m. to the smell of fresh coffee. Damn. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now, she thought. First things first, she had to call in to work and let them know she was taking time off. Barry, her supervisor, usually arrived at the office at 8:30a.m. and Lauren knew if she spoke to him she would get the third degree. She decided the best course of action was to leave him a message before he arrived.
    She has a large amount of accrued vacation and suspected Barry would be pleased