Ghostwriter

Chapter 2

Kate waited an entire week to call Angela. That was after receiving Gina's redlines and sending them back to her, along with a second chapter. "Just thirty chapters left to go," Kate said to herself.

Across town, Angela's phone rang, and she looked at the caller ID. "Hi, Kate."

"I called to find out if this was a good time." Kate hoped it was.

"Oh, yes. All I'm doing is a whole lot of nothing."

Kate relaxed. "Great! I'll come to you. Give me about half an hour.".

"Perfect. I'll be ready. See you soon." Angela hung up and hurried to clean up a little so her apartment wasn't such a mess.

Kate took a taxi to reach her apartment. After paying the cabbie, she got out and looked up at the building. 548 E 183rd St, Bronx, New York. It was five stories tall with business on the ground floor. Angela said she took the train.

She rode the elevator to Angela's floor and walked down the hallway, looking for her apartment number. After finding it, she knocked. Angels answered it. "Hey, Kate, come in." Angela stepped aside and so she could enter.

Kate stepped inside and looked around. Her place was nicer than Angela's was. She saw a sofa with a bed next to it, a very neatly made bed. The kitchen was tiny like hers, but she had something Kate envied: a dishwasher. She also had a little 2-person table with two chairs and a TV.

"This is nice, Angela."

"It's just a studio apartment, but I like it. Come sit down while I get you something to drink."

"Thanks, but no. I came to ask you out to lunch. Dutch." Meaning that she paid for her meal, and Angela paid for hers.

"I accept. Let me get my purse, and we can go." Angela looked around for her purse, and after finding it, she was ready to leave. "I know just the place. It serves pizza if that's okay, and we'll need to take a taxi to get to it."

"Pizza will work," Kate agreed. "And I'll split the taxi with you." With that, they went downstairs and flagged down a taxi.

"No Fork, please," Angela told the driver, and he took them there.

They served oven-baked New York-style pizza. It looked like a pizza place.

"Do you trust me?" Angela asked.

"Sure." What could she order that she didn't like?

"We'll have a large Fork-Et About It," Angela told their server. "And two Cokes." She had just placed an order without even looking at the menu.

"So tell me what you're writing about," Angela asked her.

"It's about this guy named Derrick Storm. He's an independent Investigator, and his present client is the CIA. I've only gotten two chapters into it, so I haven't fleshed him out much yet. I think of him as being a big, handsome, square-jawed guy."

"Interesting. That sounds more exciting than what I do all day," Angela told her.

"Oh, I don't know about that. You get to hack cell phones and computers, you know. Do you have a current case?" Kate inquired.

"Not right now, no. I just finished working on a case, but I can't tell you about it. It's classified."

Kate shook her head. "Pity."

"Sorry, much of what I do is classified, Kate."

Their server brought the pizza to their table with a flourish. "It's beef sausage and mushrooms," Angela told her, hoping that it really was all right.

"It looks good." Then Kate sighed. "But it may be more than I can handle."

"That's not a problem. You can get a doggie bag."

~oo0oo~

They parted ways after lunch and agreed to meet tomorrow for dinner. Kate would come to her place, and then they would go together. Angela worried she wouldn't get another day off for a week

Kate went home and didn't give another thought about their meet-up. It wasn't a date, it was a meet-up. She got back to work and began typing. She wanted to get another chapter to Gina by the time she left to meet Angela for dinner.

She finished a chapter just after lunch and sent it to Gina, hoping she would like it. Then Kate did laundry, which meant going out to a laundromat. It was tedious, and she hated it. That was another reason to get a better apartment, but she decided to wait even though the list of things she wanted was piling up. A dishwasher and in-house laundry were at the top of her list.

She used her laptop to look for a new apartment. She was only going to look. There was no harm in looking. Right?

Kate found a few that looked promising, but right about then, she noticed it was time to get ready to go to Angela's place and meet her for dinner. She applied a little makeup since it was dinner, and she wanted to look nice. She put her hair up and put on the same dress she wore to Black Pawn's office.

She took a taxi to Angela's, went up the elevator, walked to her door, and knocked. "COMING," she heard her say through the door. Then Angela opened it, and Kate's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Angela was gorgeous, absolutely drop dead gorgeous, and way better than she looked. "This place must be pretty fancy," Kate commented.

Angela shrugged. "It's just Roberto's. It's Italian. I hope that's okay."

"That's fine. I like Italian."

"My clutch! I'll be right with you. Come in if you want." Angela left the door open and went to get her clutch.

Kate stepped inside and closed the door. The place looked the same as ever. Neat and tidy and just one big room.

"All set," Angela called out. "You look nice, Kate."

"And you look nicer. It makes me want to go out and buy a new dress."

Angela blushed. "Thank you. We can go now." Together, they rode the elevator to the ground floor, flagged down a taxi, and went to Roberto's for dinner.

~oo0oo~

"This is very nice," Kate noted as she looked around. She saw most, if not all, of the servers were men wearing black pants, black shoes, white shirts, and black ties. "Do you come here often?"

"Once in a while," Angela replied. "It's the nicest restaurant close to me."

They were interrupted by a server asking if they wanted any drinks. Angela looked up at him. "We'll take a bottle of your La Merlina Gavi Di Gavi, please."

"Very good." And he left them.

"So, tell me more about what you're writing."

"Derrick Storm is an adventurer, a risk-taker, an excellent fighter. He's also somewhat old-fashioned, none of this Kung Fu stuff. He's ruggedly handsome and will wear just about anything to get the job done.

"Presently, he just accepted an assignment for the CIA. I haven't gotten much further than that. I did finish a chapter earlier today and sent it to Gina, though. She's my editor."

"Sounds exciting. I guess I better decide what I'm going to eat." She picked up her menu as did Kate. There was a lot to choose from. Maybe too much.

Their server returned. "Are you ready to order, or do you need another minute?"

Angela closed her menu. "I'll take the Orecchiette con Salsiccia e Broccoli Di Rapa, please."

"And I'll have the Maffalde in Cartoccio, please,"Kate told him, and he wrote it all down.

"Very good. Your salads will be out momentarily." He took their menus and left.

"Now, where were we? Oh yes. What gave you the idea for Derrick Storm?" Angela asked.

"I used to write children's mystery books. I didn't make much money doing it, but it was enough. One of my characters was similar to Derrick, so I used him and gave him a new name, a new look, and a new job. That way, my old publisher doesn't sue me."

"That would be bad," Angela agreed. "How many chapters have you completed, and when did you start?"

"I started about three days ago, and I've completed three chapters so far. I have about thirty chapters to go still. But I have a year to accomplish the task. They're, ah, they're paying me 1.5 million dollars to finish it," Kate mentioned.

Angela nearly choked on her wine. "Did you say 1.5 million? Dollars?" She was stunned. She was in the wrong line of work if she did. She watched as Kate nodded. "You're RICH! Forget about us going Dutch, you're buying," she laughed.

"I put all but a hundred thousand in a money-making portfolio offered by my CFP. So I'm not that rich."

"I was only joking with you. We'll still go Dutch, but that's amazing, Kate."

"I was shocked, just like you, Angela. I didn't believe it until the check showed up, and I cashed it the very first thing. I still don't believe it. I started looking at better apartments. Just looking, mind you."

"Apartment nothing, girl! You should buy a mansion with that kind of money."

Kate shook her head. "No, I just want a better apartment than the one I live in now."

"Okay, suit yourself. I know you could buy a Ferrari with that kind of money."

"A Ferrari? What would I do with a Ferrari?" Kate stared at her. "I crawl around town in taxis as it is now."

"Good point. No Ferrari," Angela agreed. Then she changed subjects. "Does your book have a name yet?"

"No, not yet. I haven't figured that out yet. But I will."

Angela offered some options off the top of her head. "You could call it Storm Warning. Or maybe Storm Front."

Kate turned it over in her mind. "I kinda like Storm Front."

Angela's face lit up. "It's yours. Glad I could help."

They were served dinner, sank into silence, and ate.

~oo0oo~

They split the check, each paying for their meal, and took a taxi back to Angela's place. "Are you coming up? I could make coffee."

"Who can say no to coffee?" Kate was addicted to the stuff and followed her up to her place.

Kate sat on the sofa since there wasn't anywhere else to sit. However, she noticed the TV was front and center over the bed, which seemed odd.

"What do we talk about?" Angela asked as she handed Kate her cup of coffee and sat on the opposite end of the sofa. It was more of a loveseat than a sofa, so she was still pretty close.

"Tell me about yourself since you can't talk about work." Kate smiled at her while she sipped her coffee. "Maybe who was your first kiss with? Who you lost your virginity to?"

"Getting pretty personal there, but all right. My full name is Angela Elle Lansbury. And no, we're not related. I'm 25 years old. I was born in a small town in Kansas, so small you've never heard of it. My parents are Robert and Lucille Lansbury. I moved to New York City when I was just 20 years old. I found a job with the FBI quite by accident.

"They realized I had a penchant for computers, so they hired me. I've been with them ever since. Now, I work downtown behind locked doors. A pass and a pass key are necessary to get in. And that's after you get past security." Angela rolled her eyes at that.

"I've worked for the department I'm in for about two years. Let's see, the first boy I ever kissed. His name was Guy something or other. It was an okay kiss, I guess." Remembering, she made a face. "I didn't like it much."

"I lost my virginity to a guy whose first name was Bruce. That's all I remember about him. And that's about it. Now tell me about you."

"My full name is Katherine Houghton Beckett, and I'm 25. My parents were Jim and Johanna Beckett." That was all the further Kate got with her story when Angela interrupted her.

"Were?"

"They're both dead now."

That got Angela to move in closer, and she put an arm around her. "Oh, Kate, I'm so sorry. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Dad and I were waiting at a restaurant for her to show up, but she never did. So we went home and found a policeman waiting for us. He told us Mom was found stabbed in an alley and that she died there.

"Dad took her death hard and started drinking. I couldn't get him to stop, and he eventually drank himself to death." Kate no longer had tears; those were long gone. "I was only 19 at the time."

"That's terrible. I can't imagine the pain you had to go through." She put her cup of coffee on the coffee table and hugged her.

"I won't lie; it was bad at first. But I resolved to pick myself up and get on with my life."

"Good for you. I'm not sure I would have your strength," Angela told her while hugging her still.

"Let's see, where was I? I was born in New York City, lived here all my life. I don't think I've ever left it. Except for a trip to Montreal when I was a teenager. Oh, I went to Kyiv and spent a semester there. I speak Russian."

"Really?" Angela was surprised to hear that. She still hugged her.

Kate turned her head to look at her, and her lips were right there, begging to be kissed. She almost did. "I should get going. You have work tomorrow." Kate escaped her arms, which she missed almost instantly.

"I do, and I should get to bed. Same time next week? We could do lunch. Someplace other than a pizzeria." Angela got up with her and missed holding her. There was just something she couldn't quite place.

"I'd like that. I'll call you, and we can arrange something." Kate nodded her goodbye and headed for the door.

"Yes, you do that." Angela watched her leave. She closed the door, and both felt like something was happening between them. The farther away Kate got, the more she missed her, missed having her arms around her.

~oo0oo~

Kate got two more chapters completed and sent them to Gina, who sent back redlines on the second of those two chapters. She was working on those when she called Angela.

"Hi, Kate." Angela's inner voice sang when she talked to her. "Caller ID, you know."

"Are you on for going to lunch again?" Kate asked.

"You bet. I'll come to you this time. Where do you live?" Angela waited while Kate gave her the address. "Perfect. I'll see you in about half an hour." She hung up, and Kate looked around at her mess of a place.

She did some quick cleaning but stopped when there was a knock on her door. She looked out the spy hole and saw it was Angela, so she unlocked the door and opened it. Kate stepped aside. "Come on in."

Angela entered and looked around. "I think I see why you want to move."

"Yeah, it's not much. I don't have a dishwasher, and there's no in-house laundry, but at least I have a bedroom and a claw foot tub. It's home for now."

Angela nodded. "Those are all good solid points in its favor. So, are you ready to go to lunch?"

"I'll be right with you after I collect my cell phone, some money, and my ID."

"Since we're on your end of town, Kate, where do we eat?"

"I know a place that serves Chinese. It's more of a hole in the wall, but they serve good food."

"Lead the way, woman! I'm starving."

They walked since it was close to where Kate lived. "I think I see your point. It's a hole in the wall, all right." Angela agreed with her there.

"I think their food is great, so just give it a chance, Angela."

They ordered and sat at a metal table on metal chairs. "Have you made any progress on your book," Angela asked out of curiosity.

"I've got two entire chapters done. I would have had three, but I didn't like the third one, and deleted it."

Angela thought for a minute. "Let's see, that leaves you with twenty-seven chapters to write, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Kate sighed. "My children's books would be just about done by now."

Angela reached over and placed a hand on hers. "You'll get there. You said you had a year to finish it."

"That's true." Kate turned her hand over, took her hand, and squeezed it.

"Tomorrow, we go looking for a new apartment for you. You make far too much money to live in that place."

"I don't know." Kate was hesitant to spend any money. She had gotten used to being frugal with her money.

"I only said look, Kate, not get you a new place."

"I suppose we could do that," Kate agreed slowly.

A young woman brought their lunch to them, and Angela taste-tested hers. "You're right. It's delicious."

"I told you so," Kate said and took a bite. "That was my mother's most favorite saying, 'Katie, I told you so.'"

"Katie, huh? I like it. May I call you that?" Angela hoped she would.

"Sure, no one else calls me that." Kate tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. "Just so long as I get to call you Elle."

Angela grinned at her. "Knock yourself out."

"Then Elle it is."

~oo0oo~

They finished their lunch and went back to Kate's place. "You have a laptop." Angela sat down and picked it up.

"Be careful with that, please. I use it for all my writing."

"Don't worry, Kate. Do you have a router and access to the Internet?"

"Yes to both questions." Kate sat so close to her that they touched and looked at what she was typing.

"Write this down." Angela waited for Kate to come back with paper and pen. "310 Coles Street #5L. It's a one-bedroom apartment with a massive kitchen, and it looks like it's a loft-style based on the exposed A/C ductwork. The complex comes with a library, a pool, a kids' playroom, an exercise room, and a pool table. Can't beat that."

"Next: 166 East 34th Street #1108. It has a one-bedroom; the complex comes with an exercise room and an outdoor space. It doesn't have a pool, and the kitchen isn't as large." Angela shook her head. "Never mind, skip that one." Kate drew a line through that address.

"How about this one – 674 Monmouth Street #216. It has one bedroom and laundry in the unit; the kitchen is nice. The complex has a pool, an exercise room, and an outdoor space. Keep that one," Angela advised.

"Last one: 41-17 Crescent Street #B10. There's one bedroom, and the kitchen is pretty nice. It has laundry in the unit. This complex also has a pool, an exercise room, a pool table, and a large common area.

"There, I've done my job. All we have to do is take a look at them. We don't have to get you one just yet if you're not ready, Kate. I'll be over here first thing in the morning."

Kate kissed her cheek. "Thanks, Angela. I would procrastinate until I was blue before doing this."

"I'm happy to help. Remember, first thing in the morning. Be ready." Angela pointed at her, then got up and showed herself out. She left smiling. Kate had kissed her. It was only on her cheek, but it was a start.