Solitude Creek (Kathryn Dance 4)

erybody in for brunch or an early supper.

Hotel or inn... Yes.

Some ideas began to form. Good, a solid plan.

But he'd pursue it only after he completed his immediate task--the errand that had been interrupted by his trip to Orange County after the Bay View incident.

The task of slowing down, if not stopping completely, his pursuers.

Well, one pursuer. Singular.

He smiled. Yes, truly singular.

What better word to describe Kathryn Dance, of whom he'd dreamed at glorious length last night?

Chapter 57

The Kathryn Dance Situation.

That's how Jon Boling had come to think of it. The phrase could have a negative connotation but he didn't mean it like that. Boling, a product of academia, and someone who made his living in the world of computers, was analytical by nature.

This drab, gray Sunday he was bicycling down Ocean Avenue in Carmel, the main shopping drag, while his partner at the college, Lily, chipped away at Stanley Prescott's and his killer's passcodes. There was nothing more for him to do until she finished, and so he'd taken a ride. Besides, he had an errand that needed attending to.

He was not paying much attention to the pretty scenery but was, instead, reflecting on the nature of the K.D. Situation.

Yes, he loved her. No question about that. That tug in his gut whenever he saw her. He could, always, call up the smell of her hair as they lay together. He could see the sparkle in her green eyes, hear her breezy laugh. They gave to each other, didn't hesitate to speak about their vulnerabilities. He remembered feeling her pain when the worst--to her--happened: She'd fail to catch a perp. He'd wrap his arms around her at moments like that and she'd yield to the comfort. Not completely. But to a degree. This was love.

He continued downhill. Don't fail me here, he thought to the brakes. It was a long, fast stretch straight down to the rocks and traffic at the beach. He eased to a stop at an intersection and then continued.

And the children, he loved them too. Wes and Maggie... He'd always wanted to be a father, but that hadn't worked out. No dark angst there but it was a gap he was determined to fill and fill soon. Boling admitted he wasn't a natural parent but he worked hard at the role. And he could see that the effort had paid off. When he'd first met Kathryn, the children were moody, depressed from time to time, Wes more but Maggie too. After all, they hadn't been without their father for all that long. They still grew morose or attitudinal at times.

But wasn't that just life?

So, a lyrical comfort with Kathryn, a rapport with the children...and even the formidable Edie Dance liked him--enough. Stuart, of course, and Boling had become solid friends.

But something wasn't quite right. Hence, the Kathryn Dance "situation."

Suggesting issues requiring consideration. Formulation. Adjustment. Solution.

Jon Boling hardly knew kinesics but he'd learned enough from Kathryn to be aware of tension. And when was it most in evidence? Not when she was entangled in a case. Not when one of the kids was sick. But when she and Boling and Michael O'Neil were in the same room together.

Computer code, the language Jon Boling spoke most fluently, is written according to the laws of logic. The parameters are clear and allow for not a single misplaced character. He wished he could write out a program on the Kathryn Dance Situation, compile it and find the solution pulsing on a monitor in front of him.

The Kathryn Dance Situation

Love her.

Love the children.

It works, many, many ways.

Jon Boling liked Michael O'Neil a great deal. He was a solid, decent man. A good father who'd kept his path during a divorce from a faithless and frivolous wife. And to hear Kathryn tell it he was one hell of a law enforcer. But there was another factor in the code Boling was now writing.

Michael O'Neil loves Kathryn.

A stretch of flat surface and Boling pulled off to the sidewalk. He texted the college's computer science department, where Lily was hard at work on cracking the computer or phone.

Lily, quite a beauty she was. Smart as could be.