“Thanks,” Alex said turning to head out the door to retrieve her luggage. “I promise I will do my best not to interrupt your life too much.”
Cassidy stopped on the bottom stair and looked at Alex. “Well, if any of those many talents you mentioned include fixing clogged sinks from action figures or clogged vacuums from Play-doh…it will be a welcome interruption,” she jested.
“Mmmm. Agent Fix-it at your service,” Alex joked.
Cassidy sighed with a smile as Dylan screamed for her, “MOM!”
“Duty calls,” Cassidy said. “Hold your horses…I am coming.”
“Yes it does,” Alex said to herself. “Yes it does.”
The door to the apartment opened slowly and the man threw the newspaper on a small card table at the center of his living space. He silently walked to a large roll top desk and picked up a pair of scissors. Then he made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a small glass of whiskey, straight up. Walking back to the table he spun the scissors around his finger while he sipped his drink. The folding chair at the table had bent legs, but he seemed unconcerned about its ability to support his weight. He set the whiskey down and spun the scissors one final time. Unexpectedly, the blade slipped and poked his palm. A small trickle of blood fell onto the paper. He frantically grabbed a napkin and wiped the blood from his hand while swiftly turning to find the photo that commanded his interest. There was a tiny, barely visible drop of blood on its corner. His face grew flushed and he pulled at the very short hairs on his head as though his world were ending. He took a deep breath, licked the napkin and dabbed the spot on the picture.
The spot became slightly darker, but in his mind it seemed to erase the evidence of any transgression. He traced the outline of the face in the picture with his finger and his breath quickened. He picked the scissors back up scolding them with his eyes. Deliberately, he looked back at the face on the paper and inhaled, closing his eyes to calm himself. His hands shook but he remained determined to cut the picture out with perfect symmetry. He slowed his pace and methodically removed the photo from the page before walking to the large wall across from him. He stood and studied his work, found the perfect place and put a small tack in either corner to secure it.
Alex paced across the living room and looked at the photos displayed on the tables and mantle in frames. There were photos everywhere. Most were photos of Dylan; Dylan with Cassidy, Dylan with Rose, Dylan with the congressman, Dylan. Alex stopped and looked at one that sat on the mantle. It was Cassidy. She was younger in the photo, Alex thought perhaps 18 or 19. She was smiling and holding a Stanford banner. Cassidy reached the large doorway to the room and stopped, taking a moment to watch the agent as she studied her new surroundings. “Yeah… hard to believe I was ever THAT young,” she acknowledged.
Alex turned and looked at the woman as Cassidy made her way into the room and plopped onto the couch. “Stanford?” The agent questioned.
“I guess I figured you would already know that,” Cassidy said.
Alex shrugged, “I did…I just wondered.”
“How a Stanford grad ends up teaching school in Harlem to at risk teenagers?” She laughed. “Well,” she said kicking the shoes off her feet and heaving them onto the coffee table. “I always hoped to write a novel, but I also wanted to teach. When we moved here…well…”
Alex sat down on a chair. “What did the congressman think?”
“Of me teaching or of me teaching in Harlem?”
“Either.”
Cassidy laughed. “We may need wine for this conversation.” Alex smirked. “Ohhh… well, as long as it worked for his image, I guess. He’s always worried about how people perceive him… you know, his ‘image’.”
“I’m sorry,” Alex said unsure of what else to say.
Cassidy chuckled. “Don’t be. It goes with the territory and that is just Chris. He’s like that guy who admires anyone who can do anything better than everyone else. Like, for example, he loves that movie The Italian Job – you know the prefect heist? That’s just the way he’s always been. Bigger is better and if you give him a lot of attention along the way, well, that’s heaven.”
Alex knew the type well. Her career had been littered with men who craved more attention, more power, more everything. “So, anyone come to mind at all?” Alex asked. “You know, that might be out of place?”
“You really think this might be something, don’t you?” Cassidy asked looking at the agent for some reassurance.
“I’ve learned to be careful, Cassidy. Some people might accuse me of being too careful.”
“Well, I just can’t understand why anyone would want to hurt Chris…or us.”
Alex looked at the woman and shrugged slightly. “Unfortunately, there are some people in this world that just… well they can be dangerous. You are all in the public eye. That increases your risk.”
“Yeah…great,” Cassidy chimed.
“You didn’t want a public life?” The agent inquired.
Cassidy rubbed her face and then answered. “Well, it’s not that so much, but I don’t want to change who I am for that life.” Alex looked at the woman intently as she continued. “You know, I just am not good at pretending to… Saying one thing and thinking another… or…if you ask Chris, saying nothing at all. Be ‘seen not heard’. I don’t want Dylan growing up with that model of his mother.”
“Sounds like the military a bit,” Alex said in jest.
“Maybe,” Cassidy confessed. “What about you? West Point, runner, Iraq…FBI? No one special in your life?” Cassidy choked slightly at her need to ask the last question. She was curious about this woman, and it was certainly personal.
“No…not really.”
“Never?” Cassidy asked curiously.
Alex shrugged, “I lead kind of a fast paced life… always have.”
“So,” Cassidy asked now, “did you like the military?”
“I liked the challenge. Just like the FBI….And I liked the travel.”
“Nomad, huh?”
Alex laughed at the analogy. “A bit, I suppose.”
“So then this must be culture shock,” Cassidy looked around the room.
“Well, let’s just say it’s a lot bigger than what I am used to.”
Cassidy shook her head with obvious agreement. “It’s too big for two people… it’s too big for 5 people, who am I kidding?”
“It’s nice,” Alex complimented.
“It’s ginormous,” Cassidy conceded with a giggle. “Seriously, it’s ridiculous. I work with kids who are lucky if they have a bed to sleep in some nights. I come home to THIS. Not me.”
“Do you think you’ll stay here…I mean for a long time, then?”
“It works for right now,” Cassidy said. “Another argument for us. Chris wants Dylan to have everything. I guess we have different ideas about what that word means.” Alex watched as the woman pulled herself off the couch and gathered her shoes. She was amazed by Cassidy. She expected a privileged snob. Cassidy was the opposite. It was refreshing to Alex. “I’m going to turn in,” Cassidy smiled. “5:30 am comes quickly. You help yourself to whatever you need,” she offered as she started out of the room.
“Cassidy?”
“Yes?” The woman turned back.
“I will figure out what this is.”
Cassidy squinted and curled her lip into the hint of the smile. “I know you will,” she said.
Alex watched the woman walk away. She looked around the room and took a deep breath. Somehow she would put these pieces together. It had been years since she had felt so at ease with another person so quickly. And, she was determined that she would protect this family no matter who sought to do them harm. Whatever the reason, Cassidy O’Brien seemed to stir something within the agent. “What is it about you, Cassidy O’Brien?” She asked herself out loud.
assidy stood at the kitchen island sipping a coffee and leafing through the morning paper. The sky was still dark, just beginning to transition from black to indi
go as the sun started its journey back to light another day. She heard the door close and looked up, “Mom?”
In what seemed like an instant Alex was in the kitchen. She bent over with her hands on her knees. “Morning.”
“I thought it was early for my mother,” Cassidy laughed. “You were out early.”
“Yeah,” Alex stretched her back a little and winced. “Force of habit.” Cassidy caught the grimace and realized that her own face must have expressed some concern.” Yeah… gets stiff when I run now. Not getting any younger, I guess,” Alex joked.
“Want some coffee?” Cassidy offered.
“Coffee is great.”
Cassidy went about the task of getting the agent some coffee. “You always up this early?” Alex asked taking a seat on a bar stool.
Cassidy snickered a bit, “unfortunately, yes.”
“Not a morning person?”
“Hardly,” Cassidy said pouring the coffee into a tall mug. “Black, right?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Cassidy sat down. “When I was in college Chris used to joke that he was surprised I made it to class. I’ve always been a bit of a night owl…and a noon sleeper. But, with this job, well I’ve got to drive to the train station, catch the train and walk 8 blocks….so…”
“Ahhh…what about Dylan?”
“Mom usually gets here just about 6:30 and gets him ready. I swear she should just move in here, but she likes her ‘space’,” she laughed. Alex sipped her coffee and glanced at the paper. Cassidy had apparently been reading the calendar section for the weekend. She wondered what the congressman’s ex-wife was contemplating for her free days. “So… what will you do today… as a press advisor?” Cassidy asked.
“I actually am going to check out both schools.”
“You mean Dylan’s?”
“Yes, but I will be careful. Don’t worry. Just going to talk to the principal,” Alex explained.
“As an agent?”
“No. Just to advise him that the congressman’s staff is aware of the increased attention surrounding the family and that I am assigned to help liaise with the press and arrange security should the press become overly intrusive.”
“I see,” Cassidy said.
Alex noted the apprehension in the woman’s voice. “He may offer something without even knowing it. That’s often how we get information. And… I will have a chance to look at the building from a security standpoint; get a feel before I have to start looking at personnel profiles.”
“What do you mean? Are you telling me you are looking into the teachers?” Cassidy was clearly becoming frustrated by the conversation.
“Yes,” the agent answered plainly.
“Teachers?” Cassidy put her mug in the sink with some force. “This is insane.” Alex pinched the bridge of her nose as Cassidy continued. “Isn’t anyone above suspicion in this world? What’s next, my mother for God’s sake?” Alex just looked at her and remained silent. “I know it’s your job, but… so you will be looking into the teachers I work with? My friends?”
“Yes.” Alex was direct and firm in her answer. It was strange to the agent but this felt somehow very familiar; like an episode of déjà vu. Something instinctively told her that no rational argument she could make would fully satisfy Cassidy.
Cassidy stood across the counter practically glaring at the agent. She was frustrated by the entire situation. The door opened again and Rose entered. She immediately noticed the tension in the glance that was exchanged between her daughter and the agent. “Good morning?” She phrased her greeting as a question.
Cassidy just shook her head with irritation at the agent. “I’ll get Dylan up,” she said still looking directly at Alex who did not avert her glare. “Should I arm him first? It is the first grade after all?” She asked the agent sarcastically. Alex’s unflinching demeanor frustrated Cassidy. She looked briefly at her mother. “I hope you have your passport with you,” she said as she left the room. Alex let go a sigh and pressed her thumbs to her temples.
“What was that all about?” Rose asked. “I thought you two were getting along fine.”
Alex took a sip of her coffee and folded the paper. “Well, she sees the best in people. I have to look for the worst.”
Rose grinned. “I see. Cassie can be…Well, she has always been very idealistic.”
Alex nodded. “I got that.”
“She’ll get over it.”
Alex looked toward the hallway and shook her head. There were things about her job she truly hated and this was one of them. Cassidy was right and Cassidy was wrong at the same time. Sometimes the people you trusted the most could be the people you should trust the least. Experience taught Alex that. And, it was her job to make sure nothing happened to Cassidy or Dylan; to find out what exactly these letters were all about. Whatever that took, that was her job. “I should go get ready,” Alex said turning her attention back to Rose.
“Alex,” Rose called after her, prompting Alex’s turn. “Do whatever you need to. Just keep them safe.” Alex nodded and made her way up the stairs.
Cassidy waited until she heard Alex’s door shut to make her way back down the stairs. Dylan ran into the kitchen and gave his grandmother a hug. The teacher gathered her things in silence, her temper still simmering, while Rose set a bowl of cereal in front of Dylan. Silently, the younger woman began walking toward the foyer. “Eat your cereal, Dylan,” Rose instructed following Cassidy to the door.
Feeling her mother’s presence Cassidy piped up. “Don’t even say it.”
Rose gave her daughter a motherly look of caution. “I understand, Cassie, but she is here to keep you SAFE. I don’t care if she literally goes through my dirty laundry. Whatever that takes.”
Cassidy sighed and smiled. Her mother was right. She looked up the stairs and sighed again. “I’ll talk to her later,” she said. The fact was that she could not help how she felt. She knew this was what the FBI agent was here for. Their conversations had flowed more like that of friends until this morning and she found the new reality that was now surrounding her unsettling. She smiled at her mother, “I have to go.”
Rose nodded as she watched Cassidy walk through the door. “Oh Cassie,” she mumbled to herself.
Alex sat quietly on a chair in the hallway looking at the bulletin boards that lined the walls. She examined every detail, where the doors were, where most of the people entered, the closets, lockers and the people, even who entered which room and when. “Ms. Toles?” A woman’s voice beckoned. “Principal Scott will see you now.”
Alex stood, offering a cordial smile and followed the woman through double doors into a large office area. She stepped through the thick oak door and was immediately greeted by a strong hand. “Ms. Toles.”
She accepted the hand and returned its grasp. “Thank you for taking the time to see me,” she greeted the principal.
“Not at all,” the principal answered. He was fairly young, she surmised in his mid-thirties. “So, what is it that we can do for the congressman’s office?” He asked motioning for her to take a seat.
Alex nodded her appreciation and sat across from his desk. “Actually,” she began, “I am really here to assure you of the congressman’s commitment to keeping the press at bay from the school. I know that the attention to the family has been quite high of late. I will be helping Mrs. O’Brien navigate this time. I am also here to help with Dylan’s exposure to the press and I am available to you at any time as well.”
The man smiled. “I appreciate that,” he answered. “So far we haven’t had any issues dealing with the press effectively, but it is certainly nice to know we have an actual face to reach out to if needed.” Alex watched him as he spoke. She studied his mannerisms and searched for signs as to whether he might be single or married. If Cassidy was somehow the center of these letters, a single, younger man would fit the profile. He continued his thoughts. “You know…it’s hard enough for children and teachers,” he said. “And it has b
een hard enough on Dylan already.” Alex looked at him curiously.
“I don’t mean to speak out of turn,” he continued, “I realize you work for the congressman.”
“No…please…I assure you, my goal is to keep the family protected from the press…sometimes the strangest things can matter….please continue,” she urged.
“Divorce is hard… but you know, as a congressman he was not home much anyway and when he was it was always with a lot of attention from the press. We did have a brief time when there were reporters outside waiting for Mrs. O’Brien to pick Dylan up. He used to go to the afterschool program, but the press seemed to unsettle him so Mrs. O’Brien began having Mrs. McCollum pick him up after school. Anything you can do to keep the press away would certainly help Dylan.”
Alex could hear his genuine concern for the boy and her heart sank as the morning tension with Cassidy entered her mind. Here she was sizing him up, just as Cassidy had suggested, mistrusting everyone. That was just the nature of the beast. She tried to quiet the thoughts in her mind now. “You say that there were reporters waiting for Mrs. O’Brien. Was that during the divorce?”
“Yes, but there have been quite a few photographers on and off all along.”
“Recently?” Alex asked, trying to keep her questions light and avoid her agent tendencies.
“As a matter of fact, yes… but not for a few weeks now… three or four. Our assistant principal had some words with them one afternoon and it has been fairly quiet since.”
“Well, that’s encouraging,” Alex said. “I will make certain that I speak with the powers that be at the papers to be sure they understand their boundaries.” She handed him a mock business card, “but please feel free to call me anytime.”
“Thank you…You know…Ms. Toles….”
“Yes?” Alex answered.
“I hope you can get this all quieted down. Mrs. O’Brien is a terrific lady and a great teacher. Her students, well… people talk, those kids love her. She deserves some peace.”
Alex smiled. The principal’s compliment of Cassidy was clearly heartfelt. “Yes, she does.”
Intersection Page 3
