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Kitt’s head was spinning as she sat down on the living room sofa with her laptop. Thoughts of Rob were beginning to interweave with Sug’s surprising past. Add the Terewsky case and the newspaper articles, and Kitt was going to turn into a nut case.
She might inherit money she never knew Auntie had. Hopefully not soon. She’d rather have the feisty old broad in her life than any amount of money. When her test results came back, they’d all know for sure. Kitt suspected her mother was worried too but she hadn’t called to inquire what Kitt thought about her sister’s health.
Did Auntie tell Kitt’s dad she might have cancer to scare her sister? Or was she trying to bring Kitt to Summerville to get her together with Rob? Sug wouldn’t lie but she might milk her health problems to attain a goal.
Kitt shook her head to clear it. I’m distrusting everyone with little cause.
Was her detective work making her paranoid? So, Terewski was a fortune hunter. That didn’t make him a kille
r. And just because Sug seemed perky, it didn’t mean she wasn’t ill. Rob was in the Navy and worked as a chef after that, so he could have saved his money to live a more comfortable life. He was charming enough to become a gigolo as she’d once predicted, but that wasn’t saying he’d done so. Maybe she was too imaginative for this kind of work.
Stop it, Kitt.
It was time to get down to business and she should go about her manhunt in a logical manner. She had a description for Jason but she’d like to see a picture so she could make a positive identification if she found him inside The Silver Spoon.
She started a search on the internet. Finding a newspaper photo of him at a Cruise-In with his Porsche, Kitt bounced in excitement on the cushioned couch, then stopped as she took a closer look.
Terewski, wearing what appeared to be dress pants incongruously paired with a white T-shirt with the sleeve rolled up, obviously around a pack of cigarettes, Jason looked like… “Rob,” she gasped.
“No.” Kitt shook her head. The guy in the picture was taller. Wasn’t he? And he wasn’t wearing blue jeans. His pants were belted and cuffed. Rob never wore slacks like that and she’d never seen him with a belt. It was the way he carried his cigarettes that rang a bell. That and the white tee were what made her think they were lookalikes. Right?
She zeroed in farther and saw Jason did have hair that curled tightly. The way Rob’s used to. “But his head is shaved now,” she whispered to herself. In a black and white shot, there was no way to determine the colour of Jason’s locks or eyes. They both appeared dark but who could tell? She wiped her sweaty palms together.
Was she going crazy? Everyone and everything brought her long time idol to mind. Was it her imagination…? How long ago did Rob shave his head? Was it him a while back? The picture was dated August twentieth of last year.
Kitt buried her head in her hands. The man in the picture couldn’t be him. Why would she even think such a thing? Rob Harrison wouldn’t steal from a woman. He wouldn’t hurt one in any way. He respected females.
She upped the resolution of the photo and zoomed in on the man to look for identifying marks. Rob had a scar under his left eye. A boy in their class once grabbed his girlfriend’s arm so hard that she screamed and Rob blacked his eye. The kid he socked had retaliated wearing a bulky class ring. The school nurse applied a butterfly Band-Aid and told Rob his parents needed to take him to the doctor for stitches. But they didn’t have the means for doctors. Or gold class rings. He said he wouldn’t wear it anyhow. Jewellery was for girls. And the resulting scar added character to his face.
Rob’s scar was less noticeable but could still be seen, plus he now had a gold edge lining his front tooth. She studied Jason Terewski’s face. He wasn’t smiling so she couldn’t see his teeth and she couldn’t spot any telltale marks. However, the picture was grainy and she couldn’t be certain.
The resemblance was striking. She tapped a fingernail against her teeth. Had Rob refused to take her to The Silver Spoon because it was the business his current flame owned? Kitt couldn’t bear the thought of him living off a wealthy widow, and even worse, sleeping with a restaurant owner so glamorous she could have been a model.
If Rob and Jason are the same man… Kitt burst into tears.
Kitt had just finished dousing her red eyes with cold water and was drying them when her cell phone rang. She’d taken refuge in her bedroom so Sug wouldn’t see her crying, and Kitt was now trying to make herself presentable to join her aunt in front of the TV.
Remembering it couldn’t be Rob because he didn’t have her number, Kitt picked up gingerly. Dan wasn’t likely to call at eight o’clock at night, and Lionel should be attending his genealogy class. “Hello?”
“I didn’t think you were going to pick up.”
Lionel. She’d hoped by some miracle Rob had gotten her number. He and Jason couldn’t be the same person. Hearing his voice would make everything all right. She just knew it. She pressed her hand to her pounding heart. “I was…er…in the other room.” She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
“…thinking about driving to Summerville to see you,” Lionel was saying.
Kitt nearly dropped her phone. “Wh…what?” She’d better start paying attention. “I…I didn’t think you could get away. With work and your classes and all.”
“My genealogy class took a break and I’ve been thinking of you all night.” He cleared his throat. “I want to see you, Kitt.”
She swallowed against the lump in her throat. Did he miss her? She was surprised he felt that way. “I…uh…when were you thinking of coming?”
“This weekend unless you’re coming back before then.”
“No. I mean, no, I can’t possibly come back that soon.”
“I didn’t think so. That’s why I’ve made plans to take off Friday, drive over and stay till Sunday. We need to talk about…us.”
Oh, no. He was going to push for engagement and a wedding date. Kitt could feel it in her gut.
