Chapter 5
(Tuesday, 5 p.m., Fairchild house in the U District)
Mac usually called ahead, but he’d been told it wasn’t necessary. So why was he sitting out in his car with a sense of dread? He sighed, got out and went across the street. Kate answered the door, and her smile was welcoming. Mac relaxed a bit.
“I didn’t expect you!” she said. “Come in! Can you stay for dinner?”
She led him out to the back courtyard, one of Mac’s favorite places. It had brick walls, although you could barely see them with all of the vines and shrubs that crawled up them. A big evergreen magnolia provided shade over the patio table and chairs. Since it was late April, Kate — or her mother — had pulled the table out into the center of the space where people could soak up some sun. He liked sitting there, just
