Landslide Read online

  Landslide

  By Robin Mahle

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Copyright ©2014 by Robin Mahle

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design: LLPix Photography, www.llpix.com Laura Wright LaRoche

  Editor: Hercules Editing and Consulting Services

  CHAPTER 1

  THE SHEETING RAIN clouded her view of the blazing taillights ahead, but the image soon sharpened beneath the rhythmic swish of the wiper blades. Office buildings, parted by the road on which Claire was now wedged among the other commuters, had emptied out for the night. Downtown Seattle was in full rush-hour mode.

  The radio proved helpful in subduing the dissonant clamor of drivers pressing down on their horns and of the rain thumping on her car roof. A man in a BMW next to Claire appeared aggravated, as evidenced by the pounding of his fists on the steering wheel, having missed the stop light she was now approaching. He caught her momentary glance and raised the one-finger salute in her direction.

  “Nice.” Claire turned back, glancing at the clock on her dashboard; 5:15, and prepared for the long drive back to Bellevue. The upscale gated community that was home to Claire and the rest of the McKennas was a stretch financially, but, like many, they had banked on the continuing upswing in the housing market during the boom. Now, they only hoped to climb their way out from beneath the crushing weight of that speculative conclusion.

  If she were a betting woman, Claire would wager an hour, at best, before arriving home. Colin would probably beat her there by a small margin, but she knew there was little chance he’d do anything to begin preparations for the evening meal. A good father and husband, he sometimes fell short in forward-thinking ability, opting for more traditional gender roles. This was something she hadn’t noticed in him until after the children were born.

  She did the cooking and cleaning, he did the yard work and fixed things around the house when necessary. With both under full-time employ, there wasn’t much time for any of those things to actually be accomplished, and Claire eagerly awaited the day when they could afford hired help to tackle at least some of those duties. Still, she was grateful for her family and the fact that she and Colin, married fifteen years this August, could still afford small luxuries and modest family vacations once in a while.

  So for tonight, she would arrive home, greet the kids, ensure they had finished their homework, and start dinner. A wonderfully ordinary life.

  Having made her way through the labyrinth of downtown, Claire managed to make it over the bridge and through the worst of the traffic. If only the rain would let up just a little. But it was February and this was Seattle. She had lived in this city long enough to know that wasn’t likely to happen.

  The time it took to get home wasn’t a complete waste. It often allowed for reflection of the day and the ability to put the job aside until tomorrow and focus on her family. Radio up and singing along to the latest in top forty, Claire continued on.

  ***

  The intricate wrought-iron gates slowly drew open upon arrival to her little slice of heaven in the suburbs. Claire squeezed her zippy blue Acura through before they had finished parting. She realized she’d have won her bet, as it had just turned 6:15 when the garage door of their two-story cookie-cutter house opened. Bonus points for beating Colin home.

  Already pushing open the car door, a muffled sound emerged from the depths of her handbag. With an outstretched hand, she reached over to the passenger seat and inside the bag, fishing around until finally retrieving her cell phone. The name on the caller id caused a furrowed brow to form. “Hi, Beth. Are you still at work?”

  Beth and Claire were more than just colleagues, they were close friends and each other’s sounding boards when it came to work issues or just general complaints about life. The after-hours call wasn’t unusual, but the fact that it had come from Beth’s office line was reason for concern.

  “Unfortunately, yes. I’m so sorry to bother you. Are you at home yet?”

  “I just got here.”

  “I won’t keep you long. I was just closing out the hourly reports for the month and I noticed that the Sea-Tech account had more time posted than what’s shown on your report. Did you have a chance to review the timesheets before approving them?”

  Claire searched her thoughts for a moment, trying to recall the hours she and Lucas had spent at Sea-Tech’s office this month. They were one of her biggest clients and much of their time was posted to that account. “You know what, Beth, there could be some additional hours from Lucas. He went with me several times when we initiated their audit. Have you looked at his report?”

  “No, I haven’t. But that must be what it is. Thanks, Claire. I’ll let you get back to your family. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “No problem. Sorry you’re having to work late tonight. You should’ve said something. Who’s looking after the kids?”

  A single mom, it wasn’t always easy for Beth to arrange care for her three kids and she often left it to the oldest one, thirteen-year-old Zach, to babysit the younger two, if it was only to be for a short time.

  “I asked my mom to pick them up today. It’s okay, really. I’m almost finished here anyway. Have a good night, Claire. Bye.”

  “Okay, goodbye.”

  Sometimes perspective is only gained by witnessing the difficulties in others’ lives and Claire was always amazed by what Beth managed to accomplish on her own. But the discrepancies did give her pause. Likely a simple error, be it hers or Lucas’. The two didn’t always see eye to eye, especially where the clients were concerned.

  Lucas was a twenty-something, egocentric kid with a degree in finance who wouldn’t hesitate to use Claire’s back as a stepping stone. Single and no kids, he had time to cozy up to senior management. But so far, it hadn’t led him to anything greater than holding the junior title to her, account manager. Of course, Claire was more than ten years his senior; a fact of which he often liked to remind her.

  But there was a Lucas in every office and Claire had grown accustomed to handling him, although she wondered if the day would come that he would be promoted over her. That might be the last day she would work for Winters Financial Consultants, a thought that brought just a hint of a smile to Claire’s face as she stepped inside the house.

  “I’m home.” The lights were off in the kitchen, although it had already grown very dark, thanks to the storm she’d spent the last hour trudging through. The winter season was being pushed aside to make way for spring, but in this part of the Pacific Northwest, the constant rain sometimes made it difficult to tell the seasons apart. The days grew only marginally warmer and a little longer once March arrived. The only way to be sure of spring was the break in the kids’ school schedule.

  Robbie was old enough now, at fourteen, to keep an eye on his eleven-year-old sister, Anna, after school, which at first caused some distress for Claire, but Colin convinced her she had to let them grow up. A difficult undertaking for any parent.

  “Robbie, Anna?”

  “In the living room,” Robbie replied.

  Claire hung her keys on the small wooden hanger Robbie built in shop class in the seventh grade and set her purse on the kitchen island as she moved towards the sound of Robbie’s voice.

  She placed her hands on her hips and glared at her son as he sat in near-darkness with only the glow of the latest techno-warfare video game flashing before him. “Where’s your sister?”

  “In her room.” Robbie eyes didn’t move from the screen.

  “Your homework better be finished.” Claire walked towards the staircase and looked up. “Anna, I’m home.”

  “Okay
.”

  She immediately heard a bedroom door open and soon watched Anna rush down the stairs to greet her.

  “Hi, Mom.” Anna wrapped her arms around Claire’s waist.

  She hardly had to bend down any more to hug the girl. Anna had a huge growth spurt this year. And Robbie, well, he surpassed Claire’s height when he was twelve. Fortunately for them, Colin was six-foot-three and both children had clearly taken after him in that regard. Claire’s slight, five-foot-five frame was dwarfed in comparison.

  “I see your dad’s not home yet. Has he called either of you?”

  “No. I don’t think so,” Anna replied.

  “Nope,” Robbie’s blunted tone echoed from the family room.

  “Okay, well, I guess I’d better get dinner going then.” Claire ran her fingers through Anna’s long black hair with a content smile, and headed back into the kitchen.

  She noticed the rain growing heavy again from the view out of the kitchen window above the sink. Their house overlooked the community lake; a premium view by any standards, and the vista of the lake was almost completely obscured. Accident? I should call him.

  No sooner had that thought crossed her mind did Claire see headlights approaching through the bay window in the breakfast nook. A mild sigh of relief swept through her, knowing that Colin was home safe.

  She opened a cabinet and retrieved a skillet and a saucepan, setting each on the stainless steel cooktop. A wet and miserable Colin soon entered. “What happened to you?”

  “I got a flat on my way home. I’m sorry; I should’ve called, but I thought it would be a quick change and then I’d be back on my way.”

  “So how’d that work out for you?” Claire attempted to lighten his mood.

  “Let’s just say that you should never leave the lug nuts on a downhill slope. One of them rolled down and I had trouble finding it. Hence, the now-saturated clothes that are clinging to my body.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. Why don’t you go get some dry clothes on? I’m just starting dinner.”

  Colin sloshed over towards her and kissed her cheek. “Okay. I’ll be down in a minute.”

  Claire almost insisted he take off his shoes and socks before going upstairs so as not to track water everywhere, but he’d been through enough and so she cut him a little slack.

  “Hi, kids.” Colin waved to Anna, who was on the couch, playing with her phone, and glanced down at Robbie, still engrossed in his video game.

  A grunt was all he got from his son, but Anna looked up and smiled before dropping her head back down.

  By the time Colin returned to the kitchen, it already smelled of sautéed chicken and boiling rice. Claire had set out a bottle of beer on the counter, opened and ready for him.

  “Thanks, babe.” He swallowed nearly half of it down in a single gulp. “Is that your phone?”

  A muted vibration was coming from Claire’s purse once again. “I guess so.” She stepped away from the cooktop and reached for her phone. It was Beth again.

  “Beth, it’s a quarter to seven. What on earth are you still doing at the office?”

  “I know, I know. I thought I was almost finished, but I just can’t work this out on the Sea-Tech account. Do you have a minute?”

  “Well, not exactly.” Claire glanced at the steaming pots on her stove. “Look, why don’t you email the files? I’ll go through them tonight and have an answer for you later. I can come in early tomorrow if need be to finish it up for you. You really should go home. This storm isn’t letting up.”

  “Okay. I’ll send them over, but can you get them back to me by eight tomorrow? I’ve got to get them into billing first thing in the morning.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Thanks, Claire. I really appreciate it. I can’t look at these numbers anymore and this is the last account. I’ll send everything over, but call me if you need to. I’m going to shut down and head home in a minute. Otherwise, I’ll touch base with you first thing in the morning.”

  “Sounds good. Have a good night, Beth.”

  “You too.”

  Colin’s spirits seemed to have raised now that he was dry and had a beer warming his belly. “The office?”

  “Yep. Sounds like Beth’s having some trouble reconciling one of my accounts. I’m going to have to work on it later, if that’s all right.”

  “Of course. Whatever you gotta do.”

  “Dinner’s just about ready. You wanna call the kids in and have them get washed up?” Claire asked.

  “Kids, dinner’s ready. Come wash your hands,” Colin shouted.

  “Well, I could have done that.”

  ***

  The house had finally grown quiet except for the pounding rain that continued to fall, leaving no indication that it would let up any time soon. Robbie and Anna were in their rooms; Anna getting ready for bed and Robbie finishing up the homework he said had already been completed.

  With Colin seeming content to unwind in front of the television, she would take her leave. “I’m going to go take a look at the files Beth sent over. Would you mind keeping an eye on the time and make sure the kids get to bed at a decent hour?”

  “No problem, hon. I got it,” Colin replied, popping open another beer as he switched the channel on the TV.

  Claire headed towards the den, just beyond the family room and across the short corridor that led to the main floor bathroom. She pulled open the glass French doors, closing them behind her, and had to feel her way along the wall for the light switch. In an instant, the room flooded with the soft glow from the mini-can lights tucked away in the coffered ceiling. They’d spent a great deal of money on making the den into an elaborate library, with custom built-in shelving made of alder wood. They were sure that the investment would return to them tenfold when they decided to sell. What was it that they said about hindsight?

  Claire booted up the desktop and logged into her work email. As she waited for the files to download, a flash of lightning appeared through the window, followed by a startling clap of thunder. Sleep would be elusive for her tonight if this storm continued. A light sleeper anyway, Claire would be hard pressed to block out the noise.

  The desk drawer below contained her reading glasses that were a necessary evil, although she was only thirty-seven. Most likely the result of spending much of her time staring at computer screens. Sliding them onto her face, she clicked on the email attachments and began reviewing the reports Beth had sent over.

  Claire began to see a pattern that had not presented itself prior to this month’s figures as she scrolled through the file. Comparing her hours with that of her junior colleague’s, it wasn’t adding up.

  It was her responsibility to review the timesheets and expense reports for Sea-Tech each month before handing them over to Beth, which she had already done a few days ago as per usual. So why were these reports showing additional hours posted against her client? Was it possible she’d missed something in Lucas’ submittal? Anything was possible, but this error would have been a serious one had Beth not brought it to her attention. Sea-Tech wouldn’t have been happy about an additional several thousand dollars in consulting fees.

  A final attempt to make sense out of the numbers came when she accessed the main server and retrieved the original account files, comparing her notes and timesheets against Beth’s report.

  What the hell?

  “Mom?” Anna pushed the doors open just enough to poke her head through.

  The reading glasses distorted Anna’s appearance until Claire pushed them down to her nose. “What is it, baby?”

  “Dad’s asleep on the couch and it’s time for me to go to bed. I came to kiss you goodnight.”

  Claire pushed away from the desk and walked towards the door, placing her arm around Anna. “Come on, sweetie. I’ll tuck you in.”

  They walked past the family room where, sure enough, Colin had his head back, feet up, and was snoring away while the television blared. Claire glanced at the clock on the fireplace man
tle. “It’s nine thirty already? I didn’t realize I’d been in the office for so long. I’m sorry, honey.” Claire did her best to spend time with the kids, especially Anna, who was still young enough to appreciate it. Robbie was another story—Teenagers. But the night had gotten away from her and it tugged at her heart a little.

  “It’s okay, Mom.”

  Claire shook her head in wonderment at her daughter’s innate ability to release her of blame. “Where’s Robbie?”

  “In his room. I knocked on his door to tell him it was almost bedtime, but he ignored me.”

  “Okay. I’ll take care of your brother.”

  They reached the top of the stairs and turned left at the end of the hall towards Anna’s room.

  “All right; hop in.” Claire pulled the covers up to Anna’s chin. “I hope this storm doesn’t keep you up.”

  “I like the sound of the rain. It helps me sleep,” she replied.

  “Well, that makes one of us. Have a good night, sweetheart, and I’ll see you in the morning.” She brushed the hair away from Anna’s forehead and pressed her lips against her still baby-soft skin. “I love you.”

  “Love you too, Mom. Goodnight.”

  Claire switched off the light and pulled the door until it almost touched the threshold. Anna didn’t like it to be shut all the way.

  The glow of light from beneath Robbie’s bedroom door suggested he was still awake. Claire gently tapped her knuckles on it. “Robbie?” She waited for a moment, but there was no answer. No surprise, really. He was probably wearing his headphones, playing video games. “Robbie?” she asked a final time before opening his door.

  He was perched on the end of his bed, headphones on, the television flashing images of urban warzones and soldiers taking fire. She despised those types of games, but lost the battle on that one when Colin insisted it was fine. The compromise was that he could not play the rated M games, although she was sure he played them at his friends’ houses on occasion. “Robbie?”