I’m panicking and trying to get Jack to lower me when the man looks up and stares at me. Can he see me? He stalks towards the window. I scream, and he lunges forward.
Jack immediately pulls me down and into his arms. He rushes off around the house and runs down the street as fast as he can. Good thing he’s tall and in shape. We continue for a block and then he lets me down. He grabs my hand and takes off again. We don’t stop until we get to Rosemary’s house.
We stand on the porch catching our breath and waiting for the ladies to join us. After what seems like an eternity, they arrive.
“Did he see you? Did anyone follow you?” Jack shouts to Betty while she’s still on the sidewalk. She shakes her head in response. “Thank God,” Jack says and falls against the side of the house. I squeeze his hand and pull him into the house that Rosemary has now unlocked.
“What happened?” Betty asks once we are ensconced at the kitchen table.
I shiver. “Someone was in the house. He saw me and lunged at me before Jack pulled me down and we ran out of there.” I’m completely freaked out.
“Did you get a look at him?” Jack asks.
I shake my head. “No. It was too dark to see.”
“What are we going to do now?” Ally asks.
I shrug and stand. “I don’t know, but I’m going home.”
Noel isn’t home when I arrive at his house. I shrug off my jeans and sweatshirt and throw them on the floor. Too tired for pajamas, I crawl into bed in my black t-shirt and fall asleep immediately.
Chapter 32
"Enter Sandman” by Metallica
“AAAAAHHH,” I wake screaming and Noel pulls me into his arms.
“Shhh,” he murmurs as he strokes my hair.
“What’s going on? Why are you in my bed?” I’m disorientated and confused. My heart is pounding a million beats a minute.
“You were having a nightmare,” Noel whispers. “I crawled into bed with you to calm you down and fell asleep.” He shrugs and hugs me closer.
I turn in his arms to face him. “You feel asleep?” Sounds about as truthful as the ever popular, I ran out of gas ruse.
I didn’t pull the shades down when I went to bed last night and the moonlight is bright enough to illuminate Noel’s blushing face. “This is where I want to be. Shoot me for taking advantage of any opportunity that comes along.”
I sigh. “But why?”
“Why what?” He looks confused.
“Why do you want to be here? Why me?” I use my hand to indicate the connection between us.
“Didn’t we already discuss this?” I shrug. “Because I like you. Hell, I think I started falling in love with you the moment I saw you.” He laughs. “You were so gorgeous and completely embarrassed when I called you out for using your feminine wiles to get service. I was dreading that night, but one look at you and I would have suffered through hundreds of speed dates for just another look. You looked at me and made me laugh. That’s all it took.”
Wow! That’s super sweet and utterly terrifying. “I’m scared. I haven’t... you know,” I clear my throat. “…been with anyone since…”
“Sshhh.” Noel reaches up and places one finger over my lips. “That’s okay. We’ll take things slow.”
I smile and snuggle into Noel’s arms. My breathing goes back to normal and my heart is no longer in danger of jumping out of my chest. “Now, what are these nightmares about? Is it the car chase?” Noel asks before I can fall asleep.
Shit. I’m going to have to tell Noel about last night’s little adventure. He’s going to be livid. “Promise you won’t get mad.”
“I can’t promise that,” he says as he shifts back so he can look me in the eyes.
I squirm. “Can you at least promise not to go ballistic then?”
A long-suffering sigh. “Fine.”
“We kinda sorta snooped around Piers Anderson’s house tonight,” I speak softly, hoping he won’t hear me.
Noel jumps out of bed and stares me down. “You what?” I think he heard me.
I shrug my shoulders. “It wasn’t my idea. Betty started it.” I sound like a two-year-old.
“Betty should have an armed guard,” Noel mutters. “What happened?” His arms are crossed over his bare chest - which incidentally looks yummy - and his feet are planted shoulder width apart. He’s livid.
“Not much actually. We went around to his house. Which is a complete dump, by the way. Jack and I went around the back. Jack gave me a lift and I peeked into the bedroom. Guy came into the bedroom. I freaked out and screamed. Jack and I ran out of there like we had ants in our pants. End of story.”
Noel runs a hand through his hair in frustration. “Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad. Why are you having nightmares?”
I shiver. “That man scared the bejesus out of me. When he saw me, it’s like he was a hunter and I was his prey. He stalked toward me.” I shiver again. “It was freaky.”
Noel comes back to the bed and kneels in front of me. “Do you know him?”
I shrug. “I couldn’t really see him.”
“Could he be the man in the car that was chasing you?”
I shake my head. “No, I couldn’t see who was in the car. The windows were tinted.” I stop. Something’s nagging at me. Some whisper of a memory. “Huh, I wonder.”
“What?”
“There was a car in the garage at Piers Anderson’s house. It was covered with a tarp, but something about the shape looked really familiar.” I jump up and clap. “That’s it! It’s the same car.” Noel looks confused. “The car in the garage is the same car that chased us. I’m sure of it. I even asked Jack if the car was familiar. I knew it right away! Well, I knew it, but I didn’t know I knew it. You know what I mean.”
“I’ll check into it in the morning. The police report will have the description and the license plate number." He smiles and pulls me back into bed. “Now, let’s get some sleep. Unless you’re going to have another revelation.”
I shake my head and settle into his arms. A girl could get used to this.
Chapter 33
"Why Can’t This Be Love” by Van Halen
Noel’s gone when I wake in the morning. It’s still dark and I’m wondering why in the world I’m awake when I hear the beep from my phone indicating a voice mail. Man, I must have been sleeping pretty deep to miss Noel leaving and my phone ringing.
The voice mail is from Betty. I don’t bother to listen to it, but call her instead. It’s never a good sign when someone, let alone an elderly person, calls before the butt crack of dawn. “Is everything okay?” I ask without preamble.
“You’re not going to believe it!” Betty’s voice is high from excitement. What now?
“What’s that Betty?” I try not to sound like the long-suffering child.
“They’ve got Mr. Anderson in custody!”
“What?” I bolt out of bed. “How do you know that?”
“I have a police scanner, of course,” Betty’s voice sounds proud. I should have known.
“Anyway, what happened?”
“Someone was snooping around your house and the police picked him up. Turns out it was Mr. Anderson! Pick me up in ten minutes.”
“Wait – what? Why am I picking you up?”
“Because my car’s in the shop.” Now it’s Betty’s turn to sigh and sound long-suffering.
“Um, where are we going?”
“To the police station, of course!”
The woman has gone crazy. There’s no way in hell I’m going to the police and bothering them during an ongoing investigation. She’s out of her mind. And that’s exactly what I tell her. “You’re out of your mind. I’m not going to the police station.”
“Fine,” she huffs. “I’ll just call Ally.” This is going to get out of hand quickly if I don’t stop it. The merry band of old lady thieves is going to descend on the police station and cause chaos. Noel will kill me if that happens.
“I’ll call Noel and ask him
to fill us in. How’s that sound?” I offer as a compromise. Betty agrees to wait to storm the police and I immediately call Noel, but his phone goes to voicemail. Probably because he’s playing bad cop and interrogating Mr. Anderson. If I don’t do anything, he’s going to be pissed when the ladies show up at the station. I take extreme action. I text Noel 911.
The phone rings a few minutes later. Thank God. I don’t think I – or Noel’s carpet – could have survived much longer. “What’s wrong?” Noel answers sounding breathless.
“We have a problem,” I start. “Betty heard about Mr. Anderson’s arrest on her police scanner, and now she’s determined to gather the troops and head on over to the police station.”
Noel lets out a string of obscenities a sailor would be proud of. “You need to stop her.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do. Anything you can give me.”
Sigh. “Not yet. I’ll try to keep you informed though. Do you think that will hold Betty off?”
“I’ll make it sound better than that, but yeah.”
“Love you,” he says and hangs up the phone. Wait! What? Did he just use the L-word for the first time? On the phone? And as a secondary thought? I don’t have time to think about it as my phone is already blowing up. It’s Jack.
“What’s going on, Iz? Betty’s calling me telling me I need to take her to the police station. Is everything okay?”
I slump into a chair. “Everything’s fine. The police arrested Mr. Anderson for snooping around my house this morning, and of course, Betty heard about it on the police scanner and wants to invade the police station and question him herself.”
Jack chuckles. “Noel would love that.”
“I just talked to him. He basically begged me to do everything in my power to stop her and the troops.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“I’ll invite everyone over here. Noel will keep us as informed as much as possible. Hopefully, that will satisfy the gang.”
Before I even manage to hang up with Jack, the doorbell is ringing. I open the door and to my not-so-great surprise find Betty, Rosemary, Ally, Martha, and Rose on the stoop. I usher everyone into the kitchen. Ally’s carrying grocery bags. At least I’m going to get fed.
The ladies make a breakfast buffet that would make a Michelin-starred restaurant jealous – sausage, pancakes, fluffy eggs. There’s even cinnamon buns with homemade icing. Jack arrives during the preparations. He’s no dummy.
While we eat, the ladies speculate about Mr. Anderson and what he’s up to. Rose is convinced he’s a serial killer – although she’s not certain why cereal is involved. Martha thinks he’s obsessed with me. Ally and Rosemary agree. Betty is still working the angles on why Piers would kill Grandma. Needless to say, breakfast is freaking exhausting, even if it is super yummy.
“Why haven’t we heard anything from Noel yet?” Betty inquires while looking at her watch. “It’s been two hours now.”
I don’t think two hours is enough time to interrogate someone, but what do I know? To keep the old lady brigade calm, I text Noel for some information.
The natives are getting restless. Update?
It only takes a minute for Noel to respond.
Charging Anderson w/B&E of your place. That enough?
I relay the information to the ladies before another text comes through.
Please tell me that’s enough.
I respond: Natives under control. Out.
Ally, Rosemary, and Martha are convinced this news corroborates their theory that Anderson is obsessed with me while Betty and Rose are unconvinced. It’s exhausting listening to them. I wonder if Matlock or Murder, She wrote are on Netflix. Wait, better not encourage their amateur sleuthing.
While the ladies are distracted with cleaning up, I grab Jack and head to my bedroom. I shut the door before turning to him.
“What’s going on?” He asks with one eyebrow raised.
I can barely breathe, but I’ve got to tell Jack. “Noel said the L-word,” I whisper.
Jack jumps up and down and claps. “Yeah,” he shouts.
“Shhhh,” I hush him before the ladies invade my bedroom.
“He just said it as an afterthought when we hung up on the phone. Does that count?” I chew on my nail as I stare at him, waiting for an answer.
“Of course it counts.” He rolls his eyes at me.
“Do you think he loves me?” I stare at the floor, afraid to look into Jack’s eyes.
Jack grabs my cheeks between his hands and tilts my head to face him. “Everyone can see he loves you, but you. He looks at you like you hang the moon. For him, you do.”
A wide smile breaks out on my face and I jump into Jack’s arms. “Thanks,” I murmur into his shoulder.
“Izzy,” I hear shouted from the kitchen.
“Come on,” Jack lets me go and opens the bedroom door. “The troops are getting antsy.”
Chapter 34
“Guilty” by Joe Cocker
I manage to find some Columbo episodes on Netflix but, after two episodes, the ladies have just about had it with waiting. Betty is threatening to go to the police station when I hear a knock. I jump up and run to the door in time to beat Betty.
I’m shocked to see a police officer on Noel’s porch when I open the door. “Can I help you? Detective Blackburn isn’t here.”
The cop smiles. “Detective Blackburn sent me.” I raise my eyebrows in question. “He wanted me to give you a ride to the station.” I gasp in shock, but the cop winks and leans closer to me to whisper, “He also said something about you coming alone and not bringing your posse with you.”
I grin and step outside, shutting the door behind me. “Let’s go.” I should have known it wasn’t going to be that easy. As the cop car backs out of the driveway, I turn to look at Noel’s house and see the front door fly open. Betty rushes out with Jack close on her heels.
We’re halfway to the police station before the cop notices anything amiss. He looks into the rearview mirror and startles. “What the…”
I look around and see Jack driving Ally’s car behind us. Apparently there wasn’t any time to find another vehicle as the entire gang is piled into Ally’s boat of a car. I laugh and wave to Ally and Betty, who are sharing the front bench seat with Jack. They wave back with huge smiles on their faces, their eyes bright with excitement.
My escort and I slip into the station via the back entry before Jack manages to find a parking place. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the ladies assault the station, though. I’m ushered into an interrogation room where Noel is waiting for me.
I’m nervous and a bit tongue-tied when I look at him. This is the first time I’ve cast my eyes on him since he said he loved me. It becomes clear that now is not the time to get into lovey-dovey questions when Noel stands and ushers me to take a seat. He’s all business.
“Piers Anderson has admitted to ransacking your house.” He looks up at me to gauge my reaction. I just nod for him to continue. “We don’t know why, but we think he’s obsessed with you.” I gasp, but Noel doesn’t slow down. “There’s obviously more to the story. We need to find a way to pressure him. To break him. Find his weak points.”
I have no idea where Noel is going with this. “What do you want from me?”
Noel takes a deep breath before answering. “We want you to point him out in a line-up.”
I scrunch my nose in confusion. “For what?”
Noel stares into my eyes as he answers. “I’m just putting the pieces together myself, but I think he’s been following you for some time.” I continue to stare at Noel in confusion. Wouldn’t I know if someone was following me? Wouldn’t I notice him? The only time I felt like someone was following me was after the will reading.
Noel grabs my hands. “Think, Izzy. Your house trashed, the car chase, the snooping around Anderson’s house. What did you see every time?”
I just continue to stare at Noel. Something is nudging at my subconscio
us, but I can’t bring the thought forward into my consciousness.
Noel waits. “Come on. Maybe when you see him, the final piece of the puzzle will fit in place.”
I stare at Noel a moment longer before I reach for his hand. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Noel leads me to another room with a large mirror covering one wall and no furniture. He points to the mirror and I can see into another room. “Five men will file into the room. I need you to pick out the one who has been following you.” He squeezes my shoulder. “They can’t see you, so don’t worry.” I nearly laugh. Of course, they can’t see me.
Noel nods to the other officer in the room. The officer leans forward and flips an intercom switch. “We’re ready,” he says, and I can hear the words echoed in the interrogation room where yet another officer is standing. He opens the door and the first man files into the room.
He has dirty blond hair and I immediately recognize him as another police officer. I turn to Noel and smile at him. He shrugs and whispers into my ear. “We need five men to make a line-up so…”
I turn away from Noel as another man enters the interrogation room. He has blond hair like his predecessor, but it’s a lighter color and when the two men stand together I notice they’re nearly the same height as well. I have no idea who this man is. I shake my head.
The third man enters and my breath leaves me. Shocking white hair – I know this man. I walk closer to the mirror and stare at him. His eyes bore into me as if he can see through the two-way mirror. Eyes so dark they look like pure evil. I can’t look away, mesmerized by the devil himself. Noel shakes my shoulder to get my attention.
“Do you know him?”
I nod. “Yeah. I bumped into him at the law firm.” I try to think back to other times I felt eyes upon me. “I think he may have been following me since the first time I went to the law firm.” I close my eyes and think of the other incidents. I gasp as I remember the blur of white hair in the car outside my house after I came home to find my door open. The car was a Chevy Impala, the same car that followed us from Ajax Mining. I nearly collapse, but Noel steadies me.
The Gray-Haired Knitting Detective Series: (Books 1 - 3) Page 14
