Night Watch (Kendra Michaels #4)(26)

Dianne folded the newspaper in her hands and placed it on the table. The headline read. BRITISH RESEARCHER MISSING, along with a photo of Waldridge.

Kendra stiffened in her seat. Not good. Her mother had been an integral part of both her operation and her relationship with Waldridge. She had a right to know what was going on. Kendra had just hoped to delay it until she had a more concrete idea herself.

“I can see from your expression that this isn’t news to you.”

“No, it’s all I’ve been thinking about for the past twenty-four hours or so. I saw him the night before last.”

“And you didn’t tell me? I would have loved to be able to see him and—”

“He surprised me. He just showed up at my Malibu lecture. We had dinner afterward. I could tell something was wrong. He was … different.”

“What do you mean?”

Kendra brought her mother up to speed on Waldridge, his disappearance, and her visit to Big Bear.

Dianne shook her head. “I should have known you’d be in the middle of this.”

“You think I should just sit back and wait for the police to give me progress reports?”

“Believe it or not, that’s the way it usually works.”

“Not with me. Not when it concerns Waldridge. And you should be happy that I’m not going it alone.”

“Maybe I should take some comfort in that.” She grimaced. “But there’s something about Mr. Lynch that frightens me.”

“I can see that. He can be intimidating. Lucky for me, I’m on his good side.”

Dianne looked away for a moment. “I know that. It’s obvious he cares for you. He’s very protective of you.”

“So what’s the problem?”

Dianne paused to put her thoughts into words. “I guess the problem is that I’m protective of you, too. Kendra … He’s a dangerous man. Just in your experience with him, you know that. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone he thinks might be a threat.”

“He wouldn’t be alive otherwise. I might not be either.”

“But don’t you think he helps create the dangerous situations he finds himself in? The man comes on strong like a Mack truck. That kind of force practically demands a forceful response. I just don’t want you standing next to him when that response comes.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“That’s exactly the attitude that makes me worry so much about you.”

“Hey, I’m your daughter.” She smiled gently. “You taught me to take care of myself. Mostly by example.”

“Well, now it’s come back to bite me. The man has to live in an armored fortress. That should tell you something about him.”

“It tells me that he knows how to take care of himself.”

Dianne placed her hands on Kendra’s. “Let’s get the hell out of town. I’m done for the semester. My teaching assistant can administer the final exams. I was supposed to attend a seminar in Denver in a few days, but I’ll cancel. Let’s go someplace nice. Hawaii. I know what Dr. Waldridge means to you, and you’ve made sure he’s on everyone’s radar. Now it’s time to let them do their jobs.”

“I’ll let them do their jobs. But I still need to do everything for him I can. You should know that more than anyone, Mom. You’re the one who took me to him because you still believed in miracles. Well, he gave me that miracle. Now I have to do everything I can to give back. And I’m telling you, Lynch is valuable, an asset. He’s already been a big help.”

“Glad you think so,” a familiar voice said. “I can but try.”

Kendra and Dianne looked up to see Lynch walking toward the table, smiling broadly. “Good morning, Dianne. Wonderful to see you again.” He leaned close and kissed her on the cheek.

Dianne shook off her look of surprise. “Mr. Lynch … Kendra didn’t tell me that she invited you here.”

“She didn’t,” Lynch said. “I was on my way for a visit, and I glimpsed her dashing across the street. It just took me awhile to find a parking spot.” He turned to Kendra. “Well rested?”

“Ha. Very funny.”

He shrugged. “When I first saw you on the street, I thought it was a young woman on her walk of shame.”

“Flatterer. But when you got closer and saw it was me, you realized…?”

“No, I quickly realized it couldn’t be a walk of shame. Not with that sloppy look you’re sporting.”

“Right,” Dianne said.

Kendra rolled her eyes. “Okay, enough about my clothes. This is what I slept in.”

“Obviously,” Lynch said.

Diane smiled and motioned toward an empty chair. “Mr. Lynch, would you care—”

Before she could finish her thought, Lynch dropped down in the chair and began scooping food onto an empty plate. “Smells delicious. Are these waffles as good as they look?”

“Better,” Kendra said, watching him with an amused look. “By all means, help yourself. Don’t worry about leaving me any. I’m not very—”

“Okay.” He deposited the rest of the waffles on his plate. He looked up. “I take it Kendra has brought you up to speed on the disappearance of Dr. Waldridge?”