Chapter 1

How’s it going?” Kenzie asked Zachary, poking her head into the bedroom to see whether he had finished packing.

Zachary was sitting on the bed looking at his duffel bag. It didn’t look as if he had made much progress since the last time she had seen him. She cocked her head to the side.

“Tired?” she asked sympathetically.

Zachary raised his head to look at her. His face was painfully thin, eyes dark hollows. He attempted to hide how sunken his cheeks were with the dark stubble, but she could still tell. The antiviral protocol that the two of them had been through had been much harder on him. Kenzie was feeling pretty much her old self. She just tired a little faster than usual. But Zachary had already been sinking into his annual depression and didn’t sleep or eat well, so it had really taken its toll on him.

But better thin and tired than dead.

“I just don’t know if I can do this,” Zachary said.

Kenzie had already taken care of everything else. The only thing left for Zachary to do was to pick out the clothes he wanted to wear for the holiday and throw anything else he wanted to take along into the bag. Once they were at the resort, he could rest and sleep as much as he needed to. They had a cabin to retreat to that was separate from anyone else, so they didn’t have to worry about thin walls or people being aware of their comings and goings. They would have both the privacy they needed and socialization activities to boost their spirits.

Rather than criticizing him or telling him to just focus and get it done, Kenzie entered the bedroom to see if there were anything she could do to help.

“Do you know what you want to wear?”

He looked at his flat bag listlessly. “No.”

“Does that mean you don’t care? Can I just pick some stuff out for you?”

Zachary rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. Sure.”

Kenzie went through Zachary’s drawers and his side of the closet to pick out a few outfits, folded them neatly, and set the piles into his bag. “There. What else? Do you have your meds?”

“Yes.”

Kenzie opened the toiletries case to see what was in it. Comb, toothbrush, razor, and a few bottles of pills. She checked the names on the sides of each, and didn’t think he had everything he needed. She left the bedroom and went down the hall to the main bathroom, which was the one that Zachary usually used, leaving the ensuite bathroom to Kenzie. She opened up the medicine cabinet and looked through the remaining pill bottles, picking out a couple more that Zachary probably couldn’t go without for a week. She grabbed his deodorant and toothpaste and glanced over his toiletries for anything else he might need that the resort wouldn’t have on hand.

She returned to the bathroom and added the items she had picked out to his toiletries bag. Zachary watched her and didn’t comment.

“What else are you taking? Your computer and phone? Anything else?”

“Computer,” Zachary echoed.

“It’s in the living room? Let’s go grab it and you can tell me if there is anything else you need.”

She picked up the duffel bag. Zachary took a few extra seconds to consider this, then pushed himself to his feet. He took the bag from her as they walked to the doorway, and Kenzie let him. She didn’t know whether he was being chivalrous or just didn’t want someone else touching his stuff, but it didn’t matter. It was good he was taking some part in the preparations, however small.

In the living room, he put his bag down on the couch and picked up his laptop computer, which was sitting closed on his mobile desk, and put it into his soft-sided briefcase beside the couch. He picked up the cord, unplugged it from the wall, and carefully coiled it up to add to his gear. Kenzie stayed back and watched him gather the peripherals he wanted. An external drive and mouse. A couple of notepads. He stood there looking at his desk, again grinding to a stop.

“Is that it?” Kenzie prompted.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Zachary said again.

“Do what?” Kenzie had assumed that he meant he couldn’t do the packing on his own, but since he was now packed, she wasn’t sure what he meant.

“Just… this whole thing. Going to this place. Being around other people. Leaving my business behind when I’ve already been neglecting it because of this virus protocol…”

“You wouldn’t be able to do it if you were here anyway. You still need more time to recover. Just because you’re out of the hospital, that doesn’t mean that you are one hundred percent better. What about after your car accident? You couldn’t go right back to work a couple of weeks after that, could you?”

“No. But that was different. I had a lot of rehab to do… I couldn’t physically do the work.”

“And how is that different from now? You’re not being weak or lazy. You’re recovering from a virus and treatment protocol that could have killed you. Just like that car accident. Your clients will understand that you can’t service them right now. They will wait, or go to another private investigator, or Heather will help them out with what they need. And when you’re feeling better, you can get back to it.”

“Heather can’t do everything. She’s not trained. She doesn’t do field work.”

“I know. I said that they could go to another PI if they need to. If they just need backgrounds or skip tracing or other computer stuff, Heather can do that.”

He scratched his head. “Yeah.”

“You can’t work like this. And if you’re out of town, people will get that. Everyone takes a vacation now and then. It’s not healthy to work all the time. Most jobs will wait a couple more weeks, until you’re ready.”

“I thought this vacation was only a week.”

“Yes, the vacation is only a week. But I don’t think that’s going to be enough time for you to recover enough to work cases again.”

“I can do some. Maybe not everything, but I can start doing some work, can’t I?”

“I’m not the one dictating it. That will depend on your body.”

Zachary started to sit down on the couch. Kenzie stepped forward and picked up the duffel bag. “Don’t get comfortable. Let’s get the car loaded up.”

He took the bag away from her firmly, then bent down and picked up the laptop bag as well. “Which car are we taking?”

It was always a fight to see who got to drive. Zachary enjoyed driving, especially on the highway, where he was able to zone out and let go of his usual anxieties. Kenzie loved getting out in her baby, a sporty red convertible. But she had decided they would take Zachary’s nondescript white compact instead. It was better in the fall weather in Vermont, which was supposed to be taking a turn for the worse in the next few days. And she wanted to give Zachary that time to drive, to get out of himself and be in the zone for a while. It would help him as much as any vacation. She also preferred not to have her baby sitting outside unprotected when they were at the resort. It was safer in her garage.

“Yours. But you have to watch the speed limit.”

Which meant that he’d better not go more than ten miles or so above the speed limit. Zachary preferred to drive way too fast for Kenzie’s comfort. At least, when they weren’t racing against time to stop a viral outbreak.

Zachary brightened a little at this news. He hefted his bags higher and headed to the front door. Kenzie grabbed the food bags from the kitchen and her suitcase from the hall and followed him out to his car.

Zachary had the trunk open and carefully stowed his bags, then took Kenzie’s from her and fit them in.

“You aren’t taking a computer?” he noted.

“I’m on vacation. I’ve got my phone and tablet for simple emails or looking things up, I’ve got some books I intend to read, and I’m going to participate in some of the group activities and spend time with you. No work.”

He considered this. “They do have Wi-Fi, right?”

“Yes, they have Wi-Fi. I don’t know how fast their internet service is, being up in the mountains like they are, but there is internet. And you could always hotspot to your phone.”

“Maybe I should have bought some extra data…”

“You can do that later if you need to. You don’t have to be home to do that. Now, is there anything else? Last chance.”

Zachary gazed back at the house, but his eyes were far away. She didn’t know what he was seeing or remembering. “Yeah. I’m fine. Got everything.”

Chapter 2

Kenzie kept an eye on Zachary as he drove out of the city and settled into highway driving. He gradually became more relaxed, the lines in his face softening and his hands loosening on the steering wheel. Kenzie gave him a while to enjoy the drive before trying to start a conversation.

“Now are you happy to get out of town?”

Zachary nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. Some time away from work will be a good thing, even if I have already been off for a couple of weeks. There’s money in the bank and I don’t think I would be able to do much in the shape that I’m in right now.”

“I think you’ll feel a lot better once you’ve been able to relax for a while. Lorne says this resort is really nice.”

“Did Pat take him there?”

Kenzie grinned. Patrick Parker had previously taken his partner, Lorne Peterson, to a day spa as a Christmas gift. While Lorne had said that he enjoyed it, it really wasn’t his type of thing. Pat was far more concerned about healthy living and taking care of his body. Lorne was more of a pizza and beer guy. Zachary was clearly trying to set his expectations of the resort based on which of the men had first suggested it.

“No. It’s run by an old friend of Lorne’s.”

Zachary nodded, understanding it was more of an indulgence than a health spa. Somewhere he wouldn’t be expected to be fit or to eat clean.

“Sounds nice… Do you think…” Zachary trailed off.

Kenzie gave him some time to rethink his question and tell her what he wanted to know, but he fell silent and didn’t finish the question.

“Do I think what?”

“It’s just stupid.”

“It’s not really fair, deciding you know my answer without asking the question. How do you know what I’m going to say?”

“I don’t. I just decided it was a stupid question and I don’t want to ask it.”

“Ask me anyway.”

Zachary pulled out to pass a few cars. Kenzie watched the speedometer to make sure that it settled back into place once he pulled back into the right-hand lane.

“Okay. But it is stupid. I was just wondering if we could not tell people what I do for a living. People find out I’m a private investigator, and suddenly they’re telling me their whole life story and asking my opinion about cheating spouses and Poirot and Monk and if I could help them find a long-lost family member…”

Kenzie laughed and nodded. “Like when people find out I’m a doctor and want to know what I think of their mole or if there really are untraceable poisons.”

Zachary smiled. “Exactly like that.”

“Well, I’m game. What do we want to tell people we do instead?”

“I can be unemployed. Then no one will ask me any questions requiring my expertise in any other area.”

“Okay. Then I’d better be something that makes money. But something really boring. How about… an accountant. Hmm… not just an accountant…”

“How about an IRS agent?” Zachary suggested. “No one will ask you for your opinion on any creative accounting if they think you might turn around and audit them.”

Kenzie nodded, pleased. “Great! I’m an IRS agent. An auditor. If anyone starts a conversation, I don’t want to be a part of, I’ll just start asking them questions about their income and whether they have ever been the subject of a detailed audit.”

Zachary chuckled. “You are evil.”

“It was your idea. I’m putting the blame on you.”