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On Tuesday morning, Vanessa walked into the mayor’s office for the first time since Kassie Talbot’s kidnapping. She’d been up literally all Sunday night, so she needed to sleep yesterday. Then, after his granddaughters had gone home with Melinda, she went to the hospital to see Chase. He’d been moved to a private room and was regaining his strength slowly, though his chest hurt a lot. Pain killers helped.

The hour was early, and Betsy wasn’t due in for a while, so Vanessa made coffee and sat down at her desk. Before she checked the stack of messages left for her, she swiveled around and stared out the window.

Nothing was the same.

Though her job and her whole career were now in jeopardy, she felt...unburdened. The constant internal conflict over her relationship with Chase was gone. Their plans weren’t concrete, but at least she knew how to deal with today. She and Chase had roughed out their stories.

Best to get to work. She had one specific thing she had to do ASAP. Turning to her desk, she picked up her phone, even though it was early. He answered on the first ring.

“Zeleny.”

“Hi, Bob. It’s Vanessa. I hope it isn’t too early to call.”

“No.” She heard a small intake of breath. “Are you calling about Chase? He isn’t...”

“Chase is fine. He’s recovering. He’s in a private room, so I think he can have visitors maybe tomorrow.”

“That was something, wasn’t it?”

“It was horrific.”

“I saw the Sentinel. You were there?”

“Long story why. I want to talk to you about something more immediate.”

“Shoot.”

“I’m not going to investigate the fire department for arson.”

“Hallelujah! What made you decide?”

“Let’s just say my professional priorities have changed.”

“This will be good for your parents, too. They can get the insurance.”

“Yeah, it will. They already filled out the forms. I have them here, but they couldn’t be filed until we closed the case. I’ll courier you the part that you have to fill out. If you could get them back today, I’d appreciate the effort.”

“I’ll sign off and courier the forms back right away.”

“Thank you so much. Goodbye, Bob.”

“For what it’s worth, Vanessa, I think this is the right thing to do.”

Smiling, she picked up her messages from yesterday.

Dane Corrigan: I need to see you about your impressions at the scene of the kidnapping.

Dawson: I want to talk to you about that little spectacle Saturday night.

Lou Barone: So, Vanessa, I have news on the state senator’s position. Call me.

Hmm, after all that went down here, would they still want her to run? Did she want to?

A couple of board members sent messages of concern.

Finally, council member and friend Jeannine Marks again: We definitely have to do lunch now. I want to be there for you.

“Vanessa?” Her assistant stood in the entrance.

“Hi. Come on in.”

Betsy walked inside and perched on the edge of the chair in front of the desk. Today, her face was pale and she wore simple white pants and a T-shirt. Very unlike her usual style. “Well, you had a busy weekend.”

“So I did.”

“What are you telling everybody?”

Her stomach lurched. “What do you mean?”

“About you and the fire chief. It’s obvious you two are involved.”

Now her gut roiled. “We’ve become friends, yes.”

“Come on, Vanessa. The coverage of the police scene made it clear to everybody that there’s a lot between you two. You can tell me everything.”

“But I am, Betsy. As I said, we’ve become friends, and besides, I have a relationship with his granddaughter, so I was concerned enough to go over to his house when she went missing.” Not exactly true. There was only that incident with the drinking at FAN.

“How on earth could that happen?”

Why was Betsy questioning her like this? Should she chide the woman for prying, or would that stir up more suspicion?

“You know the fire department has that Family Assistance Network?”

“I’ve heard of it.”

“Kassie and I met up a couple of times  and hit it off.”

“What were you doing at those events?”

“Supporting the fire department. And I also brought my daughter to a picnic put on by FAN.” Almost true. “We’ve had some issues.”

“You showed up at the scene driving him.”

Now Betsy was getting out of line with her challenging tone. Still, Vanessa figured her interrogation would be good practice. She had others to answer to.

“I did. His sister stayed with the younger girl, so I drove Chase because he was so upset. That’s how I ended up there. And Kassie turned to me when the chief got shot.”

Her nose raised and her shoulders stiffened. “It sounds like fiction to me.”

That was it. “Are you questioning my veracity, Betsy?”

Her eyes burned. “No, of course not.”

Vanessa picked up the pile of messages on her desk. “I need to call these people back.”

“You’re dismissing me?”

“No, I’m turning to another topic.” Her assistant’s eyes went cold. “Betsy, what’s wrong with you today?”

“Nothing.”

“If you say so. I’ve singled out the first few people to call from this list. Can you get them on the phone or leave messages for them to get back to me? Except for Lou Barone. I’ll do that myself.”

Betsy stood. “Of course, Madam Mayor.” She started out, but turned back when she reached the door. “Oh, I forgot to ask. When are we doing the interviews with House 8?”

“I’m not going to pursue the interviews or the arson case.”

Her whole body stiffened. “What?”

“Excuse me?”

Betsy marched back inside and plopped her hands on her hips. “You can’t do that. Those firefighters are responsible, I know it. We have to go after them.”

“We? I’m afraid you misunderstand. What to do about my parents’ fire is up to me. I’m sorry if you feel otherwise, but I’ve made my decision.”

“I think you’ll regret that.”

“You know what, Betsy? Now, I am dismissing you.”

Betsy left in a huff.

Vanessa leaned back. What on earth was that all about?

Vanessa worked diligently to catch up from missing work yesterday and talked to the people who had called her. At ten a.m., Betsy buzzed her again. “You have a call from Lou Barone.”

Vanessa had tried the Republican state leader and left a message. “Fine, I’ll take it now.” She pushed line one and said, “Lou, hello. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you yesterday.”

“Ah, I thought maybe you were avoiding me.” His voice sounded far away. Or different. She couldn’t put her finger on why.

“No, I wasn’t at all. There was a bit of an emergency in my life, though. What’s up?”

“Tom Keeler is resigning this week. He’s been formally charged, and will be working on his defense.”

“That’s too bad. He’ll have a rough road. But at least he’s doing what’s good for the state.”

“Precisely. A special election will be held to fill the vacancy. He had three years left on his term. I’m pleased to say the party would like you to run for his seat.”

“This doesn’t come as a complete surprise, as we’ve talked before, but I appreciate the formal offer. Can you give me the timeline?”

“The primary is at the end of June. The special election the end of August.”

“Is that long enough for me to make myself known?”

“Vanessa, you’re already well-known in the upstate area, which is your district. You’ve even worked with the Democratic senator up there. I think you’ve got real visibility already, but you’ll have to campaign, of course.”

“Of course.” Her mind whirled. “When would I have to let you know?”

“Yesterday.”

She laughed.

“ASAP.”

“All right. I’ll decide by tomorrow.”

“Oh, by the way, how’s the fire chief doing? I read that he’d been shot.”

“He’s recovering well, but slowly.”

“I saw pictures too. Nice of you to help out.”

“Talk to you soon.”

Her head was spinning when she hung up. So many things were happening at once, she could hardly keep up with them.

Chase woke up in a private room. He had some breakfast and was sleepy again when Kassie and Colette came to visit, Melinda behind them. They hadn’t gone back to school yet.

Kassie rushed to his bedside. “Hi, Grandpa. How are you today?”

“I’m doing good, honey. I promise.” Over her shoulder, he saw Colette clinging to Melinda’s legs. He’d been out of it when they both were here yesterday. “Come on in, Colette.”

Tentatively, his granddaughter crossed to him. “Hi, baby.”

“Hi, Grandpa. You still sick?”

“Yes, but not as bad as yesterday.” He hurt like hell all over and his shoulder/chest still felt like a knife was stuck in it. “You could crawl up on the bed if you want.”

“Won’t it hurt?” Colette wanted to know.

“Some. But get up here with me gently.” He squeezed Kassie’s hand. “You, too.” She and Colette eased to sit on the side of the bed.

“I know you two were scared about all that happened, and you should have been. But I’m going to be all right.” He looked at Kassie. “All of us are.”

Colette nodded her head vigorously. “Aunt Melinda said so.”

His sister crossed to them. “I did say that, honey. Everything is going to be fine.”

They talked a little about what happened, about how it felt to get shot, about this week before school ended. Melinda took some time off work to stay with the girls, though he was hoping to get discharged tomorrow.

But some other things needed to be said first. “Colette, I’d like to talk to Kassie alone for a bit, if that’s all right.”

“Because she was kidnapped?”

“Yeah.”

Melinda kissed his cheek, grasped Colette’s hand and tugged her off the bed. “Let’s go get something to drink, sweetie.”

When his youngest was gone, Chase grasped Kassie’s hand. “Yesterday I was out of it. But we’ve gotta talk about what happened to you.”

“I know.” She waited then blurted out, “She didn’t want us, Grandpa. She wanted money.”

He refused to lie. “It’s a horrible thing.”

“She’s horrible. Randall was worse.”

He stiffened. “Did he hurt you, honey? Did he touch you inappropriately?”

“Vanessa asked me that, too. He hit me across the face once but didn’t do any of that stuff. I bet he would’ve though, sometime. He looked at me...like that. Said a few things.”

Chase let out a grateful breath. “Neither one of them will bother us again for a long time.”

“Are they in jail?”

“Yes. They’ll both be tried for kidnapping.”

“Will I have to testify?”

“I’m hoping you can get away with giving a deposition. That means attorneys will interview you at home so you don’t have to face Nancy and Randall in court.”

Kassie bit her lip. “What happened was shown on TV and the Internet. The kids at school will know.” Her face scrunched. “I was just making friends.”

“You’ve only got a few days left. You don’t have to go in if you feel uncomfortable about this.”

She nodded.

“What about that boy and those two girls you got close with? Maybe you could contact them.”

“Tommy and Sara already called me yesterday. They feel bad for me. Judy didn’t call or text.”

“Your true friends will stick by you.”

“I guess.”

“There’s something else I’m going to insist you do, though, Kass.”

“What?”

“See Dr. Shaw regularly for a while.”

“I can talk to you.”

“I hope you do. But you have to go back to see her at least weekly, honey. I’m not trained to deal with how the kidnapping and other things your mother did will affect you in the long run.”

“I guess. If you think that’s best. Besides, she’s cool.” She scooched closer and gave him a gentle hug. “I love you, Grandpa. I’m glad you’re all right.”

“Me, too. I love you and I’m glad you’re all right.”

While she lay against his chest, Chase sighed. There was another long road ahead for Kassie now. She’d have to deal with the fact that her mother wanted to essentially sell her.

He still couldn’t believe what had gone down.

After talking to Lou, Vanessa realized she hadn’t sent the insurance form to Zeleny. The papers were locked in a cabinet where she kept some personal things: correspondence she wanted to keep private, personal documents that she didn’t want to leave at home, a private address and phone log.

Pulling open the top drawer on the left side of the desk, she reached for the key. It was on a special set which held extra house and car keys for both her and her parents. But the keys weren’t in the corner of her desk. She fished in the back, and found them. Rising, she went to the file drawer, retrieved the documents and put them in a sealed envelope. As she was calling the courier, she fingered the keys. One, two, three, four. Huh. Hadn’t there been five on the ring?

The courier came on the line, she scheduled the pick-up and disconnected. Again, she counted up the keys. And gasped when she realized which one was missing. Forcing herself to stay calm, she took out her cell phone and called Dane Corrigan.

“Corrigan.” Thankfully, he was in.

“Dane, I have an emergency. I need you to come to my office right away.”

“Be right down.”

She clicked off just as Betsy came to the door. “Is something wrong?”

“Um, no, why?”

“You called the police chief. Said you had an emergency.”

“Are you listening to my calls, Betsy?”

“No, Madam Mayor, I just overhead this one.” She nodded to the phone Vanessa held. “You used your cell.”

“This is private business. Show the chief in when he comes.” When her assistant didn’t budge, Vanessa added, “That will be all.”

Betsy turned, walked to the door—and closed it. Without leaving. When she turned back, she said, “I don’t think so.” She came up flush with the desk and gestured to the keys. A brow arched and a strange look came over her face. “You found one missing.”

“That’s right. You took it, didn’t you?”

“Of course.” In the snap of a finger, her expression turned dark and dangerous. “I didn’t realize I hadn’t put it back.”

Over her shoulder, she saw Dane ease open the door. “What did you do, Betsy?”

A lifted chin. “I turned off all the alarms then set the fire at your parents’ house, of course.”

Dane went into action. He rushed up behind Betsy and gripped her shoulders. “Put your hands behind your back, Betsy. You’re under arrest.”

“I don’t care,” she said as he cuffed her. “I did what I had to do.”

Vanessa was due at the police station at three to press charges against Betsy Lucas. In the meantime, she had to see Chase. When she arrived at his room, he was asleep so she sat in the chair next to him. His long lashes rested on his cheek and his breath sounded easier than yesterday.

Taking hold of his hand, she lay back in the chair and closed her eyes. Her thoughts turned to the events of the day. Her assistant had set the fire in her parents’ house! The delusional, manic way she’d acted hours ago was more than shocking.

Apparently, Betsy had been upset with Vanessa for treating her like an underling for a year. And she’d expected to become chief of staff when Abigail went on maternity leave. She decided to set the fire at Vanessa’s parents’ house because she thought the chaos would make Vanessa turn to her. In a way, she’d been right about that, as Vanessa had confided in Betsy about her actions and even asked for advice.

But as Vanessa sat in the hospital room, she tried to get some perspective on the whole thing. Chase could have died from the gunshot wound. And she would never have had the chance to be his wife and part of the girls’ lives. At one time, she would have scoffed at the risks she was planning to take with her career. Now she knew that career wasn’t all she needed or wanted in her life. No one had the kind of time they thought they had.

 Best not to spend it on worrying about people who hated you, tried to hurt you or complicated your life.

After a bit, he came awake. He squeezed her fingers. “Hi, there.”

“Hi there yourself.”

“How long have you been here?”

“About a half hour.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You need to rest.”

He sat up, leaning on his left side. Vanessa stacked pillows behind him and gingerly he lay back in them. “Could you get me water?” The service tray was out of his reach. She handed him a cup and straw. After he drank, he asked, “What were you thinking about all that time?”

“Us.”

A frown marred his brow. “You haven’t changed your mind about marrying me.”

“No, I haven’t.”

His face was suffused with regret. “One of us will have to give up our jobs.”

She said, simply, “I will. I’ve got it all figured out.”

“Seriously?”

“Very seriously. I have a lot to tell you, Chase.”

“Okay, love, I’m listening.”

So Vanessa began to talk.