"Thank you," Marlene said, intruding on her thoughts. "He is my dream guy."
"Dream guy. Where have I heard that term before?" Todd looked over at Caitlin and smiled.
Caitlin cleared her throat. "It is a common term."
Todd turned into his building complex. The security guard let him through without murmur and he parked beside Marlene's car.
"Thank you." Marlene got out of the car. She smiled at Caitlin, the smile not reaching her eyes. "Have a good evening. Sorry about the function, Todd."
"No prob," Todd said. He drove out of the parking lot and then glanced over at Caitlin. "Remember you had a dream guy?"
"Yes, I remember," Caitlin said, feeling agitated and cornered. "Todd, I would very much like if we could keep our relationship professional from now on."
"Too late." Todd glanced at her. "You and I have feelings for each other."
"You can't speak for me," Caitlin said petulantly but there was no denying that she felt almost elated to hear that he had feelings for her. Though he had said it casually, his eyes had been serious.
Todd drove toward her apartment. "I wish I could rewrite my past," he said after a while, "but I can't. There are no do-overs. And I know that you can't forget about it."
"That's right," Caitlin said. "Maybe if you had gone to prison or something and paid for the crime."
Todd sighed. "Fine. Maybe I should just go to the police tomorrow and declare that I am not sure what happened at the scene of my wife's murder. My housekeeper, who was there, said I didn't do it, but Caitlin, who wasn't there, said I should pay for this crime."
"Your housekeeper is in love with you," Caitlin said hoarsely. "She'd say anything. I can't imagine us in a relationship with this hanging over our heads. I just can't!"
Todd sighed. "Okay. Fine." He drove in silence and stopped at her gate.
He looked over at Caitlin. "Okay, so maybe we can't have an intimate relationship but I don't want to lose contact with you. Can we at least be friends? Cordial friends."
"I don't think that would be a good idea," Caitlin said, looking at his handsome profile with the streetlight pouring through the car windows.
She didn't feel friendly towards him. Not one bit friendly. He was a threat to her equilibrium and her stupid dreams about him were playing havoc on her mind and her emotions, but she couldn't look past him committing a crime—worse, a crime that he had never answered for.
Looking at him now, he almost seemed vulnerable as he waited for her response. She felt her heart cracking. She wanted to say yes, they could be friends, but she shouldn't.
"It definitely would not be a good idea." Caitlin clutched the car door.
Todd nodded. "I expected that you would say that. You know in her speech at the reception Patricia Benedict did point out that you were the sister who saw things in black and white, good or bad. I must admit that that scared me a bit. I knew I should have delayed telling you from my perspective what really happened that night."
"I am sorry, Todd," Caitlin whispered. "Can you get me off writing that article about you?"
Todd shook his head. "No."
"But I can't, not now," Caitlin said. "I think you did it."
Todd gave her a bitter half-smile. "It's too bad that you think so. Goodnight, Caitlin."
Chapter Fifteen
"What are you marking off that for?" Brigid asked over Caitlin's shoulders. Caitlin jumped and turned around, sending the calendar flying. She had been steadily ticking off how many days she had not seen or heard from Todd.
"You could frighten somebody like that, you know?" She put her hand over her heart. "I didn't hear you come in."
Brigid crossed her hands and looked at her with eyebrows raised. "So you haven't heard from Todd for twenty-five days—how interesting. I wonder if he is going to send you a gift for your birthday next week."
"I am not talking about this again," Caitlin said, picking up the calendar. She had told her sisters that she was not speaking to Todd again and she didn't want them to talk about him with her either.
Hazel was the only one who had complied so far. She was preoccupied with her husband, who was on the verge of death, and Casey was still in honeymoon mode. Brigid the fiend was the only one who seemed to care to call her out on her no-Todd stance.
"Aren't you busy enough with med school and your part time job and Nick?" Caitlin picked up the calendar and closed it in a huff.
"Why are you so jumpy?" Brigid retorted.
"I don't know." Caitlin got up from the chair and sprawled on her bed. "This is going to sound funny but I think that somebody is following me."
"Following you?" Brigid sat down beside her. "How? I mean where?"
"It's just a feeling," Caitlin said. "Like the other day. I went to a car launch at Luxury Motors and I felt like somebody was watching me. I went to the supermarket last week and I could swear that somebody was behind me but when I spun around they disappeared."
"Maybe it's Todd checking up on you," Brigid said, "in a creepy, weird way."
Caitlin shook her head. "I can sense when Todd is near, don't ask me how. I just know."
Brigid rolled her eyes.
"I don't think it is him," Caitlin continued. She turned around and looked up in the ceiling. "Maybe I am just paranoid."
"Maybe," Brigid said contemplatively. "By the way, I read your article on Thomas Kellier. How did you manage to make him sound so good?"
Caitlin chuckled. "Everybody has a good side. I found out that he had a charity that he regularly contributes to. I found this out by mistake; the guy loves to brag about the wrong things.
"Anyway, I played that up to our target market and they liked that. That and the fact that he loved cats and dogs and had a few pets. You saw that picture with him and the cat on his desk?"
"Yup," Brigid said dryly. "Priceless. Even though the cat looked sick of him."
Caitlin chuckled. "So how is the job going? You and I hardly talk these days. I don't get to see you anymore."
"Job is fine. Classes are fine so far." Brigid lay on the bed beside her. "Nick thinks Helen will be available for an interview soon."
"Oh yes." Caitlin nodded. "That would be great. I was thinking of doing a piece on mental health and independence. Helen Benedict beating the odds or something like that. I have the questions all ready."
Brigid nodded. "Great. I told you you could make it work." And then she looked at Caitlin slyly. "So about Todd..."
"No." Caitlin shook her head. "Todd is a no go zone."
"Okay, okay," Brigid said, "just making sure that Todd is not in the picture. There is this doctor at sunrise Medical Associates, they call him Dr. Miracle. He is the one that worked on Casey's vocal chords..."
"No," Caitlin said, before Brigid could continue. "I don't want to be set up with anyone."
"It's just one date. We are going to the art show at Liguanea Mall this Sunday. We could double date."
"Not interested," Caitlin said through gritted teeth.
"But you love art," Brigid insisted, "and Dr. Miracle was married before and both of his ex-wives are still alive."
Caitlin groaned. "Is this a joke, Brigid Manderson?"
"No joke." Brigid shook her head. "I just thought that having no murdered wives was a very important criteria for you."
"Get out of my room!" Caitlin growled. "You are too much!"
Brigid got up from the bed and looked at Caitlin in confusion. "You didn't date before you met Todd because he was your dream guy and you were waiting for him; now that you have met him and concluded that your dreams about him were fake you are still not dating.
"You are twenty-two. All of us are pairing off. Pretty soon we'll all get married and have babies and what-not and you will be left alone, an old spinster still thinking about your dream guy. It doesn't make sense."
"Out!" Caitlin pointed to the door.
*****
Caitlin was definitely sure that she was being watched. She wasn't paranoi
d. She was on her way to the Wendy's Restaurant across the road from the office with Jenny when she felt eyes on her, like they were boring into her back.
"What's wrong?" Jenny asked, looking around too.
"I am not sure," Caitlin said, "but I think somebody is following me or I am being watched."
"Maybe it's nothing," Jenny said as they went into the restaurant.
But it wasn't nothing when she went into her car that evening and she was driving home from work and the brake on the car wouldn't engage when she was near a stoplight that was on red.
It was a miracle that nobody was in front of her. And like vivid Technicolor images she remembered a conversation from the car show that Howard had forced her to go to. Two gentlemen had been talking to her about car brakes.
If your brakes fail, put your vehicle into low gear and slowly apply the hand brake. Don't panic.
The conversation was in her head now as loudly as if they were talking to her. She did as they said.
When the car came to a stop at the stoplight, her heart was racing like she had just run a marathon. The brakes on the car were as soft as putty.
She tremblingly crawled all the way to her apartment and stopped in front of the house.
Thank you, Jesus, she kept repeating in her head. Thank you, God.
She got out of the car and sat on the steps of the apartment. Her heart was still racing. She could have just died but God spared her. She looked at the car through a sheen of tears. It was a relatively new car, just two years old. It had belonged to Hazel and then Casey. She had had the thing serviced three weeks ago.
She got up, her limbs still trembling and she went inside and called Tyrone. He was also a mechanic, wasn't he? She didn't even know any mechanics.
When Tyrone answered the phone she could hear his shock when she told him it was her.
"You told me once that you were a mechanic," Caitlin said. Her voice still had a tremor.
"Yes, I do dabble in it along with the restaurant," Tyrone drawled. "I must say that it is a pleasure to hear from you, Caitlin."
"I barely got home alive," Caitlin said shakily. "My brakes stopped working."
"Oh." Tyrone's tone shifted to one of alarm. "Where are you now? I can come and check it out for you."
Caitlin gave him her address and sat on the step waiting for him. She was still reeling from the aftereffects of what happened. Her parents had died from a car crash. Suppose she had died that way too.
She remembered vaguely that the person who had crashed into them had been tipsy but lost control of their car when the brakes stopped working.
She rubbed her hand along her arms, goose bumps were forming on her hand. Tyrone didn't take long to show up. He came with a guy in blue overalls who he introduced as Junior. He greeted her warmly.
He didn't chitchat and Caitlin was glad for that. He went under her car and then came out from under there frowning.
"Say, Caitlin," Junior held up a tube, "somebody cut your brakes."
"It's a clean cut too. If they had cut the handbrake cable you wouldn't have had any brakes at all," Tyrone added.
Caitlin's body went cold all over. "Are you sure that my brakes were cut?"
"Yes. Sure." Junior said beside Tyrone. "They accessed the tube from one of the wheel wells. It is pretty easy to do and your alarm wouldn't even go off."
"But why would somebody want to do that?" Caitlin asked, confused.
Junior shrugged. "Maybe it was somebody who wants you gone. Dead. Kaput. If you were driving fast, or not driving moderately in a line of traffic, or if you didn't know how to do the emergency thing, you could have been in a serious accident."
"Stop it, Junior. She’s scared already," Tyrone hissed. "You want to report this to the police, Caitlin?"
Caitlin stood there, petrified. Who would want her dead?
"Yes, er...thanks. I... thanks, Tyrone."
"Anytime," Tyrone said. "Want me to stay with you till the police get here?"
"No." Caitlin shook her head. "I am fine. Brigid will be home soon."
"Okay." Tyrone reluctantly went into the car with Junior. "I'll come by and fix the brake for you later."
"Yes, thanks," Caitlin said. "Thanks so much, Tyrone."
*****
"I think it's him," Brigid said later that evening as Caitlin once again repeated the story for Casey's benefit.
"But why him?" Casey asked. "I don't get why you would conclude that Todd Taylor would try to kill her. He loves her. He has been looking out for her since she was little; he wouldn't try to kill her now."
"Maybe he snapped again," Brigid said with a determined set to her chin, "because she told him that she can't accept the whole murdering of his wife thing and then he tries to murder her in a fit of passion."
"Oh for heaven's sake," Casey said. "Brigid, you are paranoid."
"No, I am not," Brigid said. "Caity's dream guy is living up to his past."
"No, stop saying that." Caitlin massaged her head slowly.
The police had just left after taking her statement, and Tyrone and Junior were outside fixing the brakes.
Casey and Brigid were on either side of her on the settee. They were equally as frightened as her about what almost happened, and their fear was adding to her own apprehension.
The smooth rubbing of her temples was not giving her any relief. She was just as tense as before, even more so since Brigid started coming up with theories.
"He knows where you work, he knows where you live. He could get you at anytime," Brigid whispered. "He might even have the place bugged. He is rich enough to do something like that. Why did you have to get involved with this guy, Caity?"
"I didn't get involved," Caitlin said, feeling slightly exasperated. "He's my boss."
"Who wants to kill you," Brigid said. "I know what. You can go stay with Nick's parents in the hills. I am going to call him and ask."
"No," Caitlin said, frowning. "I don't want to stay with Nick's parents. I don't even know them that well."
"You can come and stay with us then." Casey chipped in. "It is a gated community."
"Double no." Caitlin got up and started pacing. "I don't want to stay with newlyweds."
"Then you are going to get killed," Brigid said fatalistically, "and I can't deal with it if you get killed. I won't be able to function. I couldn't handle it. I just couldn't."
Caitlin smiled in the midst of Brigid's speech. "It’s not about you, Brigid. Besides, I have God. He protected me today and he will protect me in the future."
Casey nodded. "That's good, Caity, but God wants us to be wise. You work for Todd and if he was the one who did this..."
"I refuse to believe that he did," Caitlin said. "I just can't think that. Don't let Brigid poison you with her theories."
"You better listen to me," Brigid said passionately. "You love the guy; you have him in your head as this dream guy when obviously he is not. He killed his wife and now he is obsessed over you and because you don't feel the same way he is out to get you. Wake up and smell the coffee, Caity! Quit the job."
"No!" Caitlin said harshly. She didn't want Tyrone and Junior to overhear the conversation.
They were just outside in the driveway but Brigid was determined to make her see sense as she called it, and she was speaking too loudly.
"Argh!" Brigid threw her hands up in frustration. "You are so stubborn."
"And you are jumping to conclusions," Caitlin said. "We don't know if it is Todd."
"Who else would want you dead, then?" Brigid asked.
"It has to be somebody who knows where you work and has access to your car," Casey said thoughtfully.
"That could be anybody at work," Caitlin said. "I don't know. I just got a promotion. Maybe somebody thought it was unfair."
"And they choose now to bump you off a couple of weeks after you got the job and broke it off with Todd. How convenient. How coincidental." Brigid added, "I don't buy it. You know what? It would have been better for
all concerned if Tyrone had been your dream guy."
Caitlin walked to the front door and looked out. "He's not. Let's get over it."
Tyrone and Junior were finished.
"Done," Tyrone said to Caitlin. He gave her one of his boyish grins. He looked very cute when he did it. "Want me to pick you up and drop you off at work tomorrow? Just to be on the safe side."
Caitlin smiled half-heartedly. "Thank you very much for your concern, Tyrone, but I am okay."
Tyrone threw her a flirtatious grin. "You can call me anytime. I'll help you; you know that."
Chapter Sixteen
"Advertisers’ dinner. Next week Monday!" Howard popped his head around Caitlin's door. "I sent an email to all the editors but this is important so I am personally delivering the message. Show up or else..."
She nodded mutely.
Four days later she was as jumpy as a nervous criminal. She was treading carefully around her co-workers, looking at each of them and wondering who could possibly be the culprit.
It could be Howard. It could be her friend Jenny, who she had known from university. It could be Charles the photographer or any of the Lux Women team. The janitor. The guy who washed the cars.
It could be Todd, as Brigid had so readily predicted, though she couldn't quite force her mind to believe it.
"Are you hearing me, Caitlin?" Howard said, frowning.
"Yes," Caitlin nodded. "Advertisers’ dinner. I have never been to one of those."
"And you will get the opportunity," Howard said. "As a features editor you are invited. This quarter we will be having it at the boss' house."
Caitlin looked up and gasped. "Todd Taylor?"
Howard had turned around and was on his way again. He didn't hear her question and he didn't seem as if he would care if she had questions.
Her phone beeped with a text.
She refused to look at it, maybe it was Tyrone. Since the accident he had been very concerned about her, as were her sisters. They had taken to texting her at all hours of the day.
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