Seams of Destruction

by Alene Anderson

Looking at the packet her agent had sent her, Jade saw he had made reservations for the airporter to pick her up. No wonder other models had spoken so highly of him. He had obviously thought of everything.

  The manager had come up while she was packing and replaced the wood around the lock that Mitch had broken.

  “How did this happen?” he asked.

  She thought for a minute, at a loss as to what to tell him. She didn’t want him to know she had been arrested for murder and the real murderer had been with her in the apartment when Mitch had arrived.

  “Actually, my boyfriend knocked on the door,” she said. “We had a big fight this morning and I didn’t want to let him in. So . . . he broke the door down.”

  “Next time, I suggest you let him in. Otherwise, I will have to charge you for the repair.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said meekly.

  The airporter picked her up right on time. When the driver called to tell her he was in front of her building, he asked if she needed help with her luggage.

  “I have only one bag, so I don’t need your help,” Jade said. “I’ll be right down.”

  The traffic on the freeway was light at that time of night and the drive didn’t take long. She had hoped Mitch would come back and check on her to see if she was alright. He would have had time before she left for the airport, but he hadn’t appeared. Obviously, he didn’t care that much about her, now that he had apprehended the killer.

  The following day, Mitch went to Jade’s apartment to check on her. Her car was in its assigned space. When she didn’t answer her door, he tried calling her. It went immediately to voice mail. He tried calling Giovanni at Sorrento’s to see if she was working there, although he knew her contract had expired.

  “I know nothing,” Giovanni told him. “I understand she has agent now,” he added in his accented English. “Maybe he gave her job.”

  “Do you know his name?”

  “No.”

  Mitch thanked him and hung up. He could call her mother in Denver, but he wanted to do that only as a last resort. For the moment, he would continue to try her cell phone. But it was just possible that she was still angry at him and hadn’t wanted to talk to him. He could hardly blame her. If he had told her about the murder charges being dismissed and the Chief wanting him to continue to guard her until the real killer was arrested, he would have been inside her apartment when Bennett showed up and she wouldn’t have had such a frightening experience.

  He blew out a breath of frustration as he remembered the look of terror on Jade’s face when he had broken into her apartment. He had been frightened himself when he saw Bennett holding a knife to her throat. It was all he could do to stay cool and in control. He had wanted to shoot the man right there on the spot.

  Jade enjoyed her stay in Lima. She liked the people she worked with. They were organized and once some minor alterations had been completed, the shoot went smoothly. Every outfit was out of heavy material, very similar to the colorful saddle blankets they used on their horses.

  She was anxious to get home and see Mitch. She had decided she would show up at his house rather than calling him first. She could use the book as an excuse.

  She arrived back in LA late at night. She had trouble sleeping and was glad when dawn began to appear through the blinds on her bedroom window. She glanced at her watch and saw it was too early to go to Mitch’s house. She wondered if the chief had given him another assignment.

  She showered, blew her hair dry, and dressed. Pulling up in front of Mitch’s house mid-morning, she was surprised to see a white van in the driveway with the name Allied Movers on the side.

  What was going on? Was Mitch moving?

  Jade walked up the sidewalk and reaching the front door, she rang the doorbell. Mitch opened it almost immediately. She could tell he was surprised to see her.

  “Are you moving?” she asked.

  He nodded. Before she had a chance to say more, he turned to answer the question of the man standing nearby with a clipboard in his hand.

  “No, I don’t think I’ll take that. In fact, I plan on buying all new furniture. Most of this has been here since my parents lived in the house. In fact, if you could give me the name of a service, who would haul this stuff away, I would appreciate it.”

  “Why don’t you donate it to a women’s shelter?” the man asked. “There are several around town. They’re always happy to get furniture and they’ll come and haul it off for you.”

  “Good idea.”

  Mitch turned to Jade. “Did you want something?”

  “Just came to return the book you left at my house.”

  “You can keep it. I’ve read it. If you don’t want it, throw it away.”

  He turned back to the man with the clipboard and began pointing out things he would like to have packed. Jade made no move to leave and he turned back to her.

  “Did you want something else?” he asked in a cool voice.

  “Yes, I wanted to talk to you. I’ll just wait until you’re finished here.”

  “Suit yourself,” he said abruptly.

  Jade was surprised at his tone of voice. He had never spoken to her in such a manner. She knew she deserved it after the cruel things she had said to him. She looked around and saw a chair sitting on the veranda. She perched on the edge of it, prepared to wait, no matter how long it took.

  She went over in her mind what she was going to say to Mitch. First off, she knew she needed to apologize for the rude things she had said when she found out the charges had been dismissed against her and he hadn’t told her. Secondly, she needed to find out where he was moving.

  The moving agent finally left, but Mitch didn’t come out to talk to her. He was going to make it difficult. She waited a few minutes and when he didn’t appear, she went to the door and called his name.

  He answered and his voice came from the direction of the kitchen, so she headed that way. He was standing beside the sink drinking a glass of water. He stared at her unsmilingly when she walked into the room.

  “Mitch, I came over to apologize for the things I said the other day when I found out you hadn’t told me about the murder charges being dropped. I was upset and angry, and I said some things I shouldn’t have.”

  She saw the corners of his mouth begin to twitch. “Like saying you thought you loved me?” he asked.

  “No, I’m not sorry I said that.”

  They stared at each other but neither one of them made a move.

  “Where are you moving?” she finally asked.

  “To Colorado. My brother has asked me to become a partner in his consulting business, so I’ll be moving to Boulder. I’m interviewing property managers now, so I can keep all my rental properties. I’ve given my two weeks’ notice to the police department.”

  “Can I go with you?”

  “Go with me? Where?” he asked.

  “To Colorado.”

  “Oh, you mean to visit your folks?”

  “No, I mean to live with you in Boulder.”

  “No.”

  She was stunned by the abrupt answer. She was so sure that he cared about her. She must have read all the signals wrong.

  “You can’t live with me because we’re not married,” he said.

  “Then I’ll marry you.”

  He smiled. Setting his glass on the counter, he said, “Come here.”

  She willingly went to him and he put his arms around her.

  “You know I love you,” Mitch said.

  “When did you fall in love with me?” Jade asked.

  “Let’s see. I wasn’t particularly attracted to you when I first met you, because I thought you were a murderer. It was over in Italy that you started to grow on me. When you wrote your vows on that paper in Verona. That sealed i
t for me. I was hoping they were true.”

  “They were.”

  “And when did you fall in love with me?” Mitch asked, pulling her closer and tipping up her chin so he could look into her face.

  “Amore a prima vista,” she said.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It’s Italian for ‘love at first sight.’”