Anticipation

by Terri Breneman

8

  After a quick phone call, Boggs had a “date” with Dave at a local college bar. Dave was sure the kid would be there and he’d be able to point him out. This was the first break she’d gotten on this potential witness and she grinned to herself. She had located the kid on a computer online service. A bunch of frat boys had been in a chat room a few days after the rape. She’d traced all but one, and tonight she would get him. She looked at her watch. It was almost six. She gave her plants a quick drink and then went to the main office to see if the fax had come in yet.

  9

  CHAPTER 2

  Toni opened the front door of her townhouse and stepped inside. It was a small two-level place, but it was just the right size for her. It was a corner unit so she only had neighbors on one side.

  Mr. Rupert greeted her at the door. Mr. Rupert was her best companion. He purred loudly and rubbed against her leg. At twenty pounds, he had a pretty mean push. She placed her briefcase on the dining room table and went to the kitchen. Her shoes, however, stayed by the front door. Wearing high heels was not one of her favorite things.

  She poured herself a glass of white wine, fed Mr. Rupert and went upstairs to the master bedroom. Actually it was the only bedroom. A small desk in the corner held her laptop and assorted books. The queen-size waterbed with its oak headboard took up most of the room.

  She quickly stripped off her suit and hung it neatly in the closet.

  She tossed her blouse on the bed and shook her head. The dry-cleaning bills were going to get her yet. She had to find some 10

  blouses she could wash at home, that was all there was to it. She made a mental note to call her mom and add that to her Christmas list. Blouses that did not have to have an allowance of their own.

  Toni pulled out her favorite outfit from the closet, navy sweats and an old, torn, white sweatshirt. Perfect outfit for a fall evening at home with Mr. Rupert.

  She had just finished changing when Mr. Rupert came into the bedroom. It had taken him only minutes to scarf down his dinner.

  He hopped—if a twenty-pound cat could hop—onto her computer desk and looked at her. This was their usual routine and Toni began to tell him about her day. His enthusiasm was always the same. As she talked, he cleaned his face and every once in a while interjected a meow. He did seem slightly interested in her description of the elevator incident, but maybe that was because she was a bit animated. Hard to read Mr. Rupert’s feelings sometimes.

  “Come on, boy. Time for me to eat now.” Toni picked up her glass of wine and went back downstairs to the kitchen.

  Mr. Rupert followed her and watched as she picked up her carton of Chinese and went to the couch. There was a large, old, dark green sectional that curved around the far corner. A square coffee table was centered in front of the couch. Across the room stood a floor-to-ceiling bookcase made from cinder blocks and stained boards. Friends often kidded her about her garage sale/college dorm decor, but it was comfortable and suited her needs. She wasn’t one for fashion or style when it came to decorating.

  Toni had arranged her TV, mini stereo and large assortment of books on the shelves. She considered this the “livdin,” a combina-tion living room, dining room and den. There was a small table in the corner that was supposed to be a dining table, but mostly it contained various newspapers, her briefcase and mail. She always ate her meals on the couch. She had just begun eating when she noticed the light flashing on her answering machine. She leaned over and hit the play button.

  “Toni, this is Lea. A bunch of the old gang is going to O’Dooley’s tonight. We’ll be there about nine and you better show up. You have been working too much, girl. Okay, gotta go. See you there.” 11

  Toni smiled. She and Lea had been the best of friends throughout law school. They had spent many a late night guzzling coffee while studying or just bitching about school, professors and life in general. It would be good to get together for a few hours. She glanced at her watch. Almost seven. That would give her plenty of time to eat, work for a while and then go out.

  The answering machine beeped a few times and then Sam’s voice came over the speaker. “Hey, counselor. Boggs should be over pretty soon with the fax. Try not to work too hard this weekend, okay? See you on Monday.”

  Shit. She completely forgot about Boggs coming over. Toni jumped up and spilled her chicken fried rice on the floor. Mr.

  Rupert was a mere flash of fur as he dove for the food. Anything on the floor was fair game in his mind. She knew she didn’t have much time. In a near panic she looked around the room for possible incriminating evidence. She pushed Mr. Rupert aside while scoop-ing the food back into the carton, then threw the carton into the kitchen sink and ran to the bookcase. She scanned the titles and quickly removed any book or magazine that might give her away.

  After piling them all in the closet—how appropriate, she thought—

  she smiled and looked around again. There. Good old Boggs would never suspect a thing. At that moment Toni heard a car door slam shut. She also noticed the small painting that hung above her dining table. She dearly loved that picture, but why would a woman have a painting of that nature in her home? It was tasteful, to be sure, but it did show a woman in a rather revealing outfit. She was putting the picture in her closet when the doorbell rang.

  She looked out the peephole of her front door. The face staring at her was a bit distorted, but there could be no mistake. Standing in front of her door was that woman. Toni’s heart began racing and her mind was flying. What was this woman doing at her front door? Did she follow her home? Was she able to see through her and had come to give her a piece of her mind? Toni couldn’t think clearly. The doorbell rang again.

  She attempted to calm down. She remembered what her father 12

  always told her. “Never open the door to strangers, Toni. Ask who it is first.” Dad was always giving clichéd advice.

  Toni gulped hard several times and then heard herself say,

  “Who is it?” Her voice sounded weak and far away. She waited for a response.

  “It’s Boggs from the office. I brought your fax.” Toni could not believe her ears. This was Boggs? Hard-nosed old Boggs? The investigator assigned to her? This wasn’t a leather-faced man. Shit. Okay, she told herself, just open the door, take the fax and say thank you. If she didn’t make eye contact, Boggs wouldn’t suspect a thing. Anyway . . . it was probably just an overreaction today. Just stay calm, Toni, and act like a normal person. She opened the door and smiled.

  Both women stood silently for a moment before Boggs looked down at the fax in her hand. “I’m Boggs, uh, your investigator.

  Um, here you go. I hope you didn’t have to wait too long.” She thrust the papers at Toni.

  Toni took the fax but was unable to break the eye contact. She had promised herself not to meet this woman’s eyes, but that was a hard habit to break. Before she could even think of a response—

  “thank you” didn’t even enter her mind—the phone rang.

  On the third ring, Toni broke free and turned toward the phone. Boggs remained in the open doorway and Toni could feel her watching her.

  “Hey, counselor. This is Sam. Has Boggs come by yet? I got a message for her, but her cell phone doesn’t seem to be working. Or else she’s ignoring me.” He was chuckling.

  The sound of Sam’s voice snapped her back to reality. “She just got here, Sam. Here . . . I’ll let you tell her.” She turned to Boggs and motioned to the phone. “It’s Sam.”

  As she handed the phone to Boggs, she felt the electricity between them and her face began to get hot. She turned away quickly, then noticed that Mr. Rupert was ambling toward the opened door. She cut him off in the nick of time.

  “No, boy, you are not going out tonight.” Mr. Rupert looked 13

  up at her, protested mildly and went to check out the visitor. Toni shook her head. Mr. Rupert was strictly an indoor cat, but that wasn’t from a lack of trying on his part.

  Toni looked at Boggs whil
e she was talking on the phone to Sam. She felt her gaze drift down and she smiled to herself. When her gaze trailed back up, she was met with a smile. Toni’s face instantly flushed and she turned toward the kitchen. She picked up her glass of wine and took a long swallow.

  Boggs hung up the phone and turned to her. “My God. That cat is huge!”

  Toni grinned. “Boggs, I would like you to meet Mr. Rupert.

  And he’s not huge, just big-boned.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Rupert,” Boggs said as she gently rubbed his head. Mr. Rupert took to her immediately. She clearly gave him the respect he deserved. “I’m glad I finally met you.” Boggs was looking at Toni but continued to pet Mr. Rupert. “Sam’s been talking about you. How do you like the office so far?” Toni stepped farther back into the kitchen. “Good. It’s really great.” Oh, that was intelligent, Toni. Duh. A real conversationalist here. She could not believe what she had just said. She was having difficulty thinking clearly and it was obviously showing. She was making a fool of herself again, just like at the elevator.

  Boggs seemed determined to stretch this conversation as long as possible. “Hell of a crash by the elevator today.” She smiled broadly, as if this would encourage Toni to speak.

  Toni was getting even more nervous. She took one more drink and told herself that this was all in her imagination. Boggs had no idea what she was thinking. And if she could keep the conversation focused on work, she would never know. She nodded to herself and smiled at Boggs. “No kidding! I can’t believe I crashed into her like that. I don’t think she even saw me!” Both women laughed. “Hey, thanks so much for dropping this by. I want to go over some details this weekend before the prelim. I hope it wasn’t too much out of your way.” She smiled again and glanced at her watch in what she hoped was a hint. She was way too nervous to keep this up.

  “Not at all,” Boggs replied. She took her cue and turned to the 14

  door. “Okay, Ms. Barston. If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know.” Boggs had her hand on the doorknob when Toni responded.

  “Call me Toni,” she said. “Please. And thanks again.” Toni looked straight into those green eyes and smiled.

  Instead of replying, Boggs simply nodded and went out the door.

  When the front door closed, Toni sighed. God, that woman was absolutely incredible. She closed her eyes until the picture formed in her mind. Hmm. Okay, kid. That’s where it is going to stay—in your mind. At least she had until Monday to compose herself. She picked up her Chinese once again and headed for the couch. “Well, I guess this is still edible.” She curled herself into the corner section and flipped on the TV. Mr. Rupert crawled up next to her and began to purr. “Okay, boy. We have about an hour of relaxing before one of us goes out, and it’s not you. What shall we watch?” Mr. Rupert responded as usual. Toni nodded and turned to the comedy channel. It wasn’t until several minutes later that she realized she hadn’t even offered Boggs a glass of wine or really even invited her inside. She shook her head in disbelief. She’d have to apologize on Monday.

  On the other side of Fairfield the man sat on the edge of his bed. His eyes were closed tightly and he was slowly nodding head.

  It was dark. Both inside his room and inside his soul. After several minutes the nodding stopped and he sat motionless. Inside his mind he was reliving every glorious detail of his last conquest. His hand moved slightly when he envisioned crushing the woman’s hand. When the memory reached its end, a small smile crept onto his face and a deep sigh escaped.

  He was proud of his accomplishments. Very proud, but he had more to do. The smile on his face grew larger. There was no doubt in his mind that he would continue. Soon. Very soon.

  15

  CHAPTER 3

  Boggs entered her apartment and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 7:45. She wasn’t supposed to meet Dave until about 9:15. She smiled to herself. So far this had been a good day. She met a gorgeous woman and found a lead on this college kid. She wasn’t thrilled with the idea of hanging out at a college bar, but it would be good to have a couple beers with Dave while they waited.

  She and Dave had been in the Air Force together and had remained close ever since. She was sure he would have liked to have been closer, but he understood her.

  Both of them had become investigators when they got out of the Air Force. Dave had chosen the private sector and was doing pretty well. They often swapped ideas and stories over a few beers.

  Boggs peered into her refrigerator. Not much to choose from, but there never was. She had never really gotten the hang of cooking. The refrigerator held several bottles of beer, fruit juices, water, yogurt, grapes, three oranges, a cheesecake and leftover 16

  pizza. There was one frozen dinner in the freezer. It was impossible to tell how long it had been there. She grabbed some water and a slice of cold pizza and headed down the hall to the living room.

  Her one-level apartment was small, but the living room was the size of all the other rooms combined. It held a large couch and recliner with a beautiful glass coffee table she’d bought while stationed in Germany. The opposite wall was filled with an elaborate entertainment center, including a 48-inch flat-screen television surrounded by a stereo system. She flipped on her reel-to-reel and music filled the room. She didn’t think anyone else in the world still owned a reel-to-reel, but it was a relic she cherished from her days in the Air Force.

  She loved all music. Tonight she had on a sensuous blend of R&B and jazz. She closed her eyes and imagined dancing slowly with Toni. The music seemed to engulf her. It was several minutes before she pulled herself from this fantasy.

  Damn. She had to get this woman off her mind. She’d never get any work done this way. She flipped off the reel-to-reel. She searched for one of her favorite “working” CDs, popped it in and hit play. The room filled with the sound of 1940s big band. Now she was ready to work. Next to the entertainment center was a 55-gallon aquarium filled with a variety of fish, including a red-tailed shark and an albino frog, her favorite, named Horace. “So, did you pick up any clues for me today?” She fed Horace and the rest their dinner. Probably more appetizing than her own, she thought.

  On the far side of the room, there was an L-shaped corner desk.

  The computer was the latest in technology complete with a video cam. The computer allowed her to tap into various resources, some of which were not quite aboveboard. She also spent many hours entertaining herself with the chat rooms. Above the computer desk there was an alarm clock because she had the habit of getting on the computer and losing all track of time. As she sat down at the desk, she set the alarm for 8:45.

  The alarm went off before Boggs had even finished reading her e-mail. Frustrated, she glanced down at her notes. She had some 17

  new information about a couple of pending cases and had caught up with a few friends from around the U.S. Not bad for a Friday night. She pulled herself away from the screen and went into her bedroom.

  Now, what should she wear to a college bar? She opened the doors to her walk-in closet and stepped inside. Jeans would be good. And a sweater. Anyone who knew Boggs would have picked out the same thing. It was her normal attire for fall. She pulled off her sweatpants and unfastened her ankle holster. It took her about five minutes to change clothes. She switched holsters and placed a pancake holster in her waistband and pulled her sweater over it.

  She looked in the mirror. Perfect.

  Toni and Mr. Rupert had finished watching a standup comedy show when she started up the stairs. She looked in her closet for about ten minutes. She always had a hard time deciding what to wear. She finally settled on jeans, a white brushed denim blouse and her favorite brown Italian boots. She looked in the mirror as she put on her earrings. Shaking her head, she stripped off the blouse and replaced it with an old faded workshirt. Much better.

  “Okay, Mr. Rupert. You’re in charge of the house tonight. No parties and no Home Shopping Network.” Mr. Rupert was not amused. He meow
ed loudly. It was a cool evening and he had clearly hoped she would stay home. There was nothing like a night spent lying in her lap while the two of them watched TV and ate popcorn.

  Toni grabbed her car keys and headed out the door. As she drove toward campus, her mind was again on Boggs. Whew! She would have to tell Lea all about this woman. Although Lea would listen politely and smile, she was never very enthusiastic about Toni’s dates—or wishful dates. Lea and Toni were very much alike, but this was one thing they did not have in common.

  At O’Dooley’s Toni headed toward the familiar table by the dartboards. No one in the group ever played darts, but they had adopted the table years ago. It was one of those high round tables 18

  surrounded by barstools. Lea was already seated, sharing a pitcher of beer with several of their law school friends. Toni quickly joined them and soon the five of them were exchanging bits of news and gossip. If it hadn’t been for law school, Toni doubted whether they would have become friends. Something had drawn them together their first year, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what that was.

  She sat back and listened to her friends talk about their families and careers. The topic turned to babies and Toni let herself drift into her own world. She couldn’t seem to get Boggs out of her mind. She wracked her brain for any information she might have heard around the office. All she could remember was “a hard-nosed investigator.” She smiled to herself. No one had ever mentioned a boyfriend, and Boggs wore no wedding ring. Could it be possible? Toni tried to shake this notion from her mind. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. But still . . .

  She was rudely brought back to reality when Jake Hamilton tapped her on the shoulder. She and Jake had known each other for years, but it had been months since they had seen each other.

  They hugged as only old friends could and Jake kissed her lightly on the cheek. An architect with a promising career ahead of him, he’d inherited a great deal of money and was considered a very eligible bachelor. He had accompanied her to several gatherings during her law school days and it was rumored early on that the two would get married. Both Toni and Jake knew that couldn’t be further from the truth, but they enjoyed all the rumors.