Relative Chaos by Kay Finch Read Free Book Online Page A

mind raced for an excuse to leave the house.
I couldn't concentrate on work until I'd talked to my son.
    As if Featherstone had read my mind, he said, "You have lunch
plans?"
    "Lunch? No. I mean, yes." I checked my watch. Twelve-fifteen.
Where was Kevin now?

    Featherstone eyed me curiously. "You sure you're okay?"
    "Positive, but I have to run an errand. I mean, during my lunch
break."
    "I hope this won't affect my deadline," he said.
    "Don't worry." I snatched up my purse. "I'll make your deadline.
May have to bring in a subcontractor, another professional organizer, if that's okay."
    "Whatever it takes." The concern on Featherstone's creased brow
didn't match his light tone, and I could feel his eyes on me as I headed
out. I was acting as edgy as a cat in a day-care center. No doubt I'd
aroused his curiosity.
    As soon as I left the subdivision, I pulled into a strip mall parking
lot. I dialed Kevin's cell number and got his voice mail before remembering he'd lost the phone. I tried my home number, and it rang
until the answering machine kicked in. After the beep, I pleaded for
Kevin to pick up if he was there. No response.
    Much as I wanted to avoid Kevin's girlfriend, I pulled out my organizer and found the number for the apartment they shared. I dialed, trying to come up with a plausible reason for calling when I
had never called them before. But I didn't need a reason because
that number, too, was out of service. I checked to see if information
had a listing for Grayson Sullivan or Kevin Cartwright. They didn't.
    Good grief.
    I sat there feeling like a miserable excuse for a mother because
I had no idea where Kevin spent his days. Or his nights for that
matter-up until last night. Maybe he'd gone back to my place and
crawled into bed after he dropped Millie off. Worth a shot.
    I headed home, plotting what we should do after I found Kevin.
We'd go talk to Troxell-face the problem head-on. Explain why he'd
been in the neighborhood. She'd see he had nothing to hide. Simple.
    My heart sank when I turned onto my street and saw that his truck
was nowhere in sight. I went inside anyway and erased the pleading
message I'd left for him on the machine because it was the type of
panicky message he would ignore. Instead, I'd leave him an innocuous note to call me. Throw in a bribe-free steak dinner at Outback
tonight if he called in time. I'd never known him to turn down a
meal.

    I scribbled my note with a blue Sharpie on a large piece of paper. Jett was winding through my legs, rubbing against my pants,
and purring loudly.
    "Where'd he go, Jett?" I asked. "Where the hell did he go?" The
cat answered with a yowl that told me nothing.
    I turned to stick my note under a magnet on the refrigerator door
where Kevin couldn't miss it. That's when I saw the note he'd left
there for me.
    Mom, I'll be out of town for a while. Don't worry. Kev.
    I stared at the note. Out of town where? How do I find you?
Didn't I teach you better than this?
    I ran down the hall to his room. His duffel was gone. Everything
he'd brought with him last night was gone. Even more scary, he'd
made the bed. Kevin never made the bed. I took deep, even breaths,
blew them out, told myself to stay calm. There was a perfectly reasonable explanation for everything.
    The ringing phone jolted me.
    Kevin.
    I raced back to the kitchen and grabbed the receiver. "Hello."
    "Penny, what the devil is going on?" Doug, my ex, who insisted
on aggravating me every chance he got by using the nickname I detested.
    "With what?" I said, trying to keep my voice level.
    "Kevin just went flying through town like a bat out of hell. As if
he doesn't have enough speeding tickets. Tried to call him, but his
stupid phone's not working."
    Cartwright Realty, Doug's real estate office, was located on the
main drag through Richmond, and his office window faced the street.
    "Which way was he going?" I said.
    "What difference does that make?" Doug said. "If the cops