“He said he told you not to do something,” Jeremiah said, raising an eyebrow.
“He asked to delay the next dose of pain medication. I told him he needed rest and he needed to stay ahead of the pain. Well, now hopefully he’ll sleep through the rest of the day.”
Jeremiah’s frustration levels were mounting but he forced himself to smile at the woman. She was trying to be helpful even if she was getting in the way. She checked a few readings, wrote them down, then left the room.
Once she did Jeremiah moved over to Liam, took the phone from his hand, and put it back on the table next to the food tray. Then he sat down in a chair to wait. If Liam believed that Rebecca was being stalked and that it was important enough to call him and get him down there right away then he needed to talk to her as soon as she returned from lunch.
Fortunately he didn’t have to wait long. She arrived within five minutes. When she stepped into the room she jerked when she saw him and half turned as though about to run.
“It’s okay, it’s just me, the rabbi,” he said.
She stood for a moment, every line in her body taut. Then she relaxed slightly and stepped all the way into the room.
“I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon,” she admitted.
He raised an eyebrow. “By the looks of things you were expecting to see someone, and not a welcome visitor at that.”
“No, you just startled me,” she said. She glanced over anxiously at Liam.
“He just fell asleep,” Jeremiah said. “The nurse finished checking on him about five minutes ago.”
“Good, he needs the rest,” she said as she sat down on the edge of the chair on the opposite side of Liam from him.
The chair in which she was sitting had its back to the door and he watched as she fidgeted and glanced at least a couple of times over her shoulder in just a few seconds.
The chair he was sitting in afforded him a full view of the room, the door, and the windows even though the blinds were drawn. They hadn’t been earlier. He assumed that Rebecca had done that at some point.
“Something wrong with your chair?” he asked.
“No, it’s...fine,” she said, trying to smile and failing.
“You look uncomfortable.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the chair.”
“Then maybe it’s the location,” Jeremiah suggested calmly.
“What do you mean?” she asked, voice tightening.
“Are you cold? Is there an air conditioning vent above you?” he asked, knowing full well that there wasn’t.
“No, there’s...well, maybe I am a little cold,” she said, changing her answer in midstream.
“We can move your chair over here.”
“That would be...good,” she said, hesitating as though it were hard to admit that’s what she wanted.
“Here, I’ll move it,” he said, getting to his feet.
She hastily stood up as he walked over to grab the chair.
“I can move it,” she protested.
“I’ve got it,” he told her with a smile.
He picked up the chair and moved it around to the other side of the bed. He then angled it so it was facing Liam and him and still did not give her a good view of the door.
“There you go,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you,” she murmured as she sat down, turning her head to look at the door as she did so.
“You really didn’t get a chance to tell me how things went with the police at your shop,” Jeremiah said.
“There was just some things moved around.”
“Which things? Knowing which things were moved might help the police figure out who was in there.”
She twisted her head to glance toward the door and then turned back.
“I seriously doubt it. They moved all the teapots around. They pulled several packages of Earl Grey tea off the shelves. The worst damage was to a couple of tea cozies that were ripped up with something sharp.”
“Anything special about those particular ones?”
She shook her head vigorously. Too much so. Jeremiah was convinced there was something special about them that she didn’t want to share.
“So, not a lot of actual damage but it will require a bit of cleanup,” he said.
“Pretty much.”
“Any idea why your vandal would have turned around your closed sign so that it showed the store was open?”
“I don’t know,” she said, balling her hands into fists on the armrests of her chair.
“Did they take anything from your purse?”
“No.”
“That’s odd.”
“There’s not much in there to take,” she said.
“Still, it makes it seem like it couldn’t have been a thief. Otherwise they would have taken the purse or at least whatever money and credit cards you had in it.”
“I guess. I don’t know. Maybe whoever it was didn’t find it before they left,” she said.
Which was so unlikely as to be laughable. The first place anyone would look for something valuable would be behind the counter. Plus, he’d seen her purse and it had clearly been searched just like the rest of her shop.
“Did they think that it was the same person who attacked Liam?” he asked.
She went completely still. “They didn’t say anything about it,” she said quietly.
“Really? Given the closeness in time and proximity between the two incidents I would have thought for sure they’d be looking into connections.”
Rebecca didn’t say anything, but turned and glanced again at the door.
“Are you expecting someone?” Jeremiah asked.
“What? No. Why do you ask?”
“You keep looking at the door.”
She flushed slightly. “Oh. I guess I’m just eager for the doctor or a nurse to come in so I can ask some more questions.”
“If that’s the case, I can get a nurse right now,” he said, starting to rise from his chair.
“No, that’s not necessary. I’m sure they’ll be in when they can,” she said.
Jeremiah leaned forward in his chair and pinned her with his eyes. “Rebecca?”
“Yes?” she asked, a slight quaver in her voice.
“Stop lying to me.”
Rebecca blinked at Jeremiah, clearly panicking in the wake of his question. “Wh-what do you mean?” she asked.
“I know you’re lying about whatever happened in your shop this morning. Normally I’d say it was your business, but Liam here is a friend. I’m worried about him and he’s worried about you. So much so, that he called me to come down here while you were in the cafeteria.”
“He did?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
“I was in your store this morning. The whole place was searched, including your purse. Now, you want to tell me what’s really going on?”
She turned pale. “No, I’ll handle it,” she said in a quiet voice.
“If this is you handling it,” he said, nodding toward Liam, “you’ll excuse me if I don’t think that’s good enough.”
“Honestly, it’s not your problem,” she said, cheeks turning pink.
“When you started dating my best friend’s partner it became my problem,” he said.
“I know that you’re a rabbi, but I need a lot more than a spiritual adviser,” she said.
She was scared of something or someone. The more she talked the more he could see how she was thinking, feeling. He knew she’d been in the army and done two tours in Afghanistan. Theoretically not much should scare her after that. Some did come back broken, hollowed out, but she didn’t strike him as that type.
He cleared his throat. “You’re new in our lives. I’ve done my fair share to help Mark and Liam put away some criminals.”
“This isn’t about solving a mystery,” she said.
“Then you know who’s behind all this
,” he said.
Her eyes widened and her nostrils flared slightly. She’d trapped herself, honestly, but she was staring at him like a deer in the headlights. For just a moment he thought she was going to bolt and he coiled his muscles, ready to stop her if she tried.
“Do you care for Liam?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, startled.
“Then talk to him, talk to Mark, tell them what’s really going on.”
“The police can’t help,” she said softly.
“Then let me help you.”
“I told you, I need more than a rabbi.”
He thought of the way Liam and she had looked at each other. If they both made it through this okay then he wouldn’t be surprised if there were wedding bells in their future. If that happened she’d get pulled more into the inner circle than he would like, but he couldn’t begrudge Liam telling her what he knew.
He leaned forward and let his face harden. He stopped pretending for just a moment that he was only a rabbi. “And I’m telling you, I wasn’t always a rabbi,” he growled.
He knew she could see the change and from the way she recoiled he knew she understood on some level what it was she was seeing. Most people who saw the him that he kept hidden had the impulse to get as far away as they could.
Cindy was the exception. She had stared him down and stepped closer to him.
“I met a couple of men like you when I was overseas,” Rebecca whispered.
“I very much doubt it. My kind don’t mix well,” he said, his voice still low.
He leaned back and let the mask fall back into place. He smiled and she actually shivered.
“Does Liam know?” she asked.
“He knows enough to ask me to come down here and help fix things,” Jeremiah said, still smiling as if there was nothing wrong in the entire world.
She turned and looked at Liam. “Everything is so messed up,” she whimpered.
Jeremiah heard a familiar step in the hall just outside Liam’s room.
“Cindy’s here,” he said.
Rebecca turned toward the door. Moments later Cindy appeared and stepped inside.
Jeremiah felt his heart start to beat faster just at the sight of her. He stood to his feet as though compelled and crossed the room to take her in his arms and hug her tight.
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
“I am now,” he said.
Every time he had to think about his past he needed her to pull him back out of it. He breathed her scent in deeply. She’d used strawberry shampoo on her hair. He loved it when she did that. He should probably tell her so.
Reluctantly he let her go and stepped back. She gave him a shaky smile. Her day hadn’t gone well, he could tell. That made two of them.
She turned and looked at Liam. “Is he going to be okay?”
“We’ll know for sure in forty-eight hours,” Jeremiah told her. “There was some damage to his liver and spleen so now it’s just a waiting game.”
“He’s not in a coma, is he?” she asked.
He knew she was thinking about when she’d almost lost her brother a while back. “No, Liam was awake a little bit ago, but they gave him pain medication so he could rest which is what he needs more than anything,” he hastened to tell her.
“Okay,” she said, visibly relaxing a bit.
“And this is Liam’s girlfriend, Rebecca,” Jeremiah said, turning to introduce them. “Rebecca, this is my fiancée, Cindy.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Traci has said some wonderful things about you,” Cindy said as she shook her hand.
“And Liam talks about you all the time,” Rebecca said, forcing a smile.
Jeremiah couldn’t help but compare the two women. Cindy overcame her fears all the time, thriving in adversity. Rebecca was on the verge of succumbing to hers. Given their two backgrounds it would have been logical to assume the opposite. Cindy, though, was special. She had learned to triumph even when the odds were all against her.
“So, where are we on finding out who did this?” Cindy asked.
That’s my girl, he thought proudly.
“Actually, Rebecca and I were just about to get into that,” he said.
“Please, ladies, sit,” Jeremiah said, steering Cindy toward the chair he’d vacated. “As it turns out, someone searched Rebecca’s shop while she was headed to the hospital with Liam.”
“That’s terrible! Same guy? That’s too big a coincidence otherwise,” Cindy said.
“That’s what I thought. Rebecca, care to tell us anything?” he asked pointedly.
“No,” she said.
“Okay,” he said. He turned to Cindy. “Liam thinks someone is stalking her.”
“That’s terrible! Have you told the police?” Cindy asked.
“I’m guessing she hasn’t. Liam actually asked me not to tell the police,” Jeremiah said.
“Even Mark? That makes no sense.”
Jeremiah shrugged. “Not at the moment.”
He turned back to Rebecca and narrowed his eyes. “Well?”
She dropped her eyes. “I don’t know. I think it’s possible, that someone might be stalking me. I pray I’m wrong. I have to be wrong,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Why is that?” Cindy asked.
Rebecca looked up with haunted eyes. She gestured slowly to Liam. “Because if I’m right, this is just the beginning.”
13
Cindy’s heart went out to Rebecca. The other woman was clearly terrified. “You have to tell us what you know so that we can stop him,” she urged.
“There’s no stopping him,” Rebecca said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
“Yes, there is. There’s not a man alive who can stand up to Jeremiah,” Cindy said fervently.
She saw Jeremiah wince at that.
“You don’t understand. He’s former army, special forces.”
“Tell me about him,” Jeremiah said, his voice low and dangerous sounding.
Chills danced up Cindy’s spine. She’d seen firsthand what Jeremiah could do and she didn’t give the stalker even three seconds to survive a fight with him.
Rebecca just turned pale and shook her head. She clearly didn’t want to talk although why Cindy didn’t know. Was she protecting him? That seemed unlikely given how afraid of him she was and given what he’d done to Liam.
She was about to press the matter when Jeremiah abruptly stood. Rebecca looked as startled as she felt.
“Cindy, I think it’s time you and I got something to eat. We can finish discussing this afterward,” he said.
She wanted to protest but she was hungry and certain that he must have a good reason for delaying the rest of the conversation.
“I could eat,” she said, standing up.
Jeremiah scooped a phone up off Liam’s bedside table and tossed it to Rebecca who caught it. “We’re going to be downstairs in the cafeteria. Call if anything happens,” he said.
Rebecca nodded mutely and Jeremiah grabbed Cindy’s arm and steered her out of the room. They headed down the hallway outside and got on an elevator. Once the doors had closed she turned to him.
“What was that?”
“We weren’t going to get anything more out of her at the moment. She’s more scared to talk than she is to stay quiet at this point. I’m hoping that some time alone with Liam in that hospital room will flip that.”
“Why do you think she’s too scared to talk?” Cindy asked.
“I don’t know, but figuring that out might help.”
The doors opened and they stepped out into another corridor and headed for the cafeteria.
“Liam called me to come down here and told me not to bring any cops.”
“That’s weird, why?”
“I don’t know. The nurse had just given him something to sleep when I got here. All he had time to tell me was that he thought Rebecca was being stalked.”
“It’s weird
. Why call you instead of Mark?”
“I don’t know,” Jeremiah admitted as they reached the cafeteria.
“Well, it’s a lot crazier than my imagined work mystery,” Cindy said.
Jeremiah turned to gaze quizzically at her. “What imagined work mystery?”
“I’ll tell you once we sit down,” she said.
~
Ten minutes later Jeremiah and Cindy were sitting down with their food selections at a table in the back corner. The food was bland but at least it was fuel.
“So, what happened at work today?” he asked as Cindy picked up a piece of fried chicken.
“I’m pretty sure I invented an entire mystery surrounding the woman who worked at my desk before I did.”
“Oh? How so?” he asked, taking a bite of his meatloaf.
“I was asked to pack up all her personal items that she left behind. There was a lot of it, too. Pictures, articles of clothing, a necklace. You name it, and she left it.”
“That’s a bit odd.”
“More than a bit,” Cindy said. “Apparently Friday after work she was all smiles, but then she never showed up for work yesterday.”
“Ah, strange, but weirder things have happened.”
“True, but I ran into a coworker who was just as shocked as I was and very determined to find out what had happened to her. He was sure she hadn’t quit and insisted that something had happened to her.”
“Did this coworker have her contact information?”
“Unfortunately not. He was hoping I did.”
“Okay, and did you?”
“No! I still don’t. Can you believe my boss insisted on mailing it personally rather than giving me the address?”
“That is weird.”
“Yeah, and on top of being a jerk he’s lazy. So it doesn’t make sense that he wanted to take care of that or anything else.”
Jeremiah took a swig of soda. “So, not liking your new boss much?”
“You can say that again. The whole place just gives me the creeps,” she admitted.
“Fortunately you don’t have to stay very long.”
“So, what do you think?”
“About the disappearing secretary? I don’t know,” Jeremiah admitted.
“Me either. Well, maybe tomorrow will make everything clearer.”
Comfort Me Page 10
