On A Night Like This (Callaways #1)

breath. "But I shouldn't have listened to Ray, because I know Kyle was not a big fan of Ray's brother, Dave." Her gaze filled with guilt and regret. "Your leadership wasn't a negative for Kyle. He told me many times that you inspired him to be better than he ever thought he could be. When people would criticize you in his presence, he would jump to your defense. He would tell them that nobody was better, and they were lucky to work with you."
    His heart ripped apart at her words. The past few months he'd felt a break in his friendship with Kyle, and he'd thought it might have had something to do with Kyle having to work under his command.
    "I know that you wouldn't have let Kyle die if you could have prevented it," Vicky continued. "I know how much you loved him. I never should have blamed you. I wish I could take it back. It wasn't fair to you."
    Hearing Vicky say the words meant more to him than anything. "Nothing about this situation is fair. Kyle should be alive right now." He gazed down at Robbie, who was drifting asleep. He didn’t want just answers for himself but also for Robbie, because some day this little boy would grow up and want to know what happened to his father.
    "So you said you had something important to tell me," Vicky said.
    "Not to tell you, but to ask you. I have some questions, and I feel like you're the only one who might be able to answer them."
    "I'll try."
    "I need to know what was going on in Kyle's head the day of the fire," he said, hoping she was more in a mood to help now. "I told you before that he was distracted, that he had been for weeks. I thought it was the fact that you were gone, that he was missing you, but I think there may have been something else going on." He paused, wondering how to ask the question, but this was no time to be vague. He looked her straight in the eye, wanting to see her reaction when he said, "Was Kyle sick?"
    Her jaw dropped and he saw nothing but genuine surprise in her expression. "No, he wasn't sick. What are you talking about?"
    "He was seeing a doctor in Redding. Her name is Sandra Ellingston. He was also in communication with a woman named Becky Saunders, who is a nurse. In addition, about six weeks ago, he went to L.A. and spent time at a holistic healing center."
    "I don't understand," she said in confusion. "Kyle wouldn't have gone to Los Angeles without telling me. And it was fire season. He didn't have that kind of time off."
    "He took a long weekend. He told me he was helping you get settled."
    "He wasn't here, Aiden."
    "And he never mentioned not feeling well?"
    "No." She tilted her head, lost in thought for a moment. "There was so much going on, it's possible I wasn't paying close enough attention."
    "I wonder if Kyle's computer would be helpful," Sara said.
    He turned his head. She'd been so quiet, he'd almost forgotten she was there.
    "There might be clues in his email," she added. "Or receipts in his files."
    "Do you have Kyle's computer?" he asked Vicky.
    "It's in a box in the closet. Our former landlord shipped me Kyle's stuff after his death."
    "Would you mind if I took a look, Vicky?"
    "I guess not," she said slowly. Her brows knit into a frown. "I don't want to think my husband had any secrets, Aiden. He didn't seem like that kind of a man."
    "Not to me either, but things aren't adding up, and I can't stop looking for answers, Vicky. I can't sleep at night. I have dreams of Kyle walking into the fire. I just have to know if I missed something."
    "All right. Follow me." She led them into the hall and opened a closet where several boxes were stacked up. "It should be in the top box," she said, taking a now sleepy Robbie out of Aiden's arms. "His email is through Yahoo, his ID is kdunne and his password is sexyguy12; that damn tattoo strikes again," she said dryly. "I'm going to put Robbie down for a nap."
    As Vicky left the room, Aiden opened the box, relieved to see Kyle's laptop computer. He took it into the living room and set it up on the coffee table. Sara sat down next to him and gave him an encouraging look.
    "Here goes," he said, as he turned on the computer and opened Kyle's email.
    He didn't know what he was looking for and the first few emails seemed to be nothing important. In fact, there was a lot of junk mail that had come in since Kyle's death. But as he went back a few weeks, he found an email from Becky. "I hope you found the clinic helpful," he read aloud. "If you didn't, I have some other recommendations. I think