Finally, she decided that maybe the car wasn’t quite the same blue as the one the day before. Accepting that perhaps she’d jumped to conclusions again, she turned off the engine and got out. One step at a time got her to the door of the drycleaner’s.
“Hello, Miss Carwell, you left your ticket.” The woman picked it up from the lip of her register. “I’ll go get your bedding.”
Kacy watched the window and the street outside. None of the cars came remotely close to being light blue. A silver one made her do a double-take when she heard the woman coming back with her comforter.
“Are you all right, Miss Carwell? You didn’t look so well yesterday. Is it a cold or something?” She reached over the counter and took the money from Kacy.
“No.” Kacy put the change the woman handed her into her pocket instead of her purse. “Yesterday, there was a man that came in right after me.”
“I almost forgot.” She reached under her counter. “The man said you dropped this.”
Kacy looked at the black knit. She didn’t have to take it to know it was a ski mask.
“I didn’t drop that.” She gathered up the comforter. “I don’t know where it came from, but it’s not mine.”
“I thought it strange since it’s the middle of summer. Only skiers and crooks would wear such a thing. Maybe it was already on the street and he just thought you dropped it.”
“Throw it away,” Kacy ordered. “Just throw it away.”
She looked outside and then darted out the door to get to her car. The comforter had no real chance at staying clean. It began to fall from the plastic bag and drag along the pavement. She stuffed it in the backseat and climbed in to lock the door. Home was her safe place. However, she knew nowhere would really be secure.
Kacy’s gaze lifted to the rearview mirror and found no signs of the car, the man, or danger.
“Get a grip,” she whispered to herself.
She continued on to finish her errands, anxious to prove she could. Then she’d meet Gulliver at the house. He was right. Her demon needed caught if just for her peace of mind.
She clutched the steering wheel tight and drove. The sounds of cars, people and other things caught her attention to the point she swiveled her gaze continuously as if she were some bobblehead on the dashboard.
This was the town of her attack. It seemed that her moving to the far side, which was no more than five miles away, wasn’t enough. The idea to relocate even further was almost staggering in concept, but a real possibility. If only she didn’t have family to miss.
An added hitch in the plan was Gulliver. She fell in love with him more every time he said her name. So generous with his time and his patience…how could she leave him? She didn’t have the strength to walk away from the security she felt with him and yet she wanted more than ever to prove she could make it on her own.
One way was to take charge of her life with a little more initiative. The man was out there. He had found her again and she had to deal with that. No one could help her combat the battle within. Ginny, Peter, Gulliver and even her reclusive existence had become her shields, and it had to stop.
Once she parked in her driveway, Kacy sat thinking about what she had to do. She took the note out from Gulliver with his phone number.
The tap on her window startled her.
“Kacy?” Peter stared at her from outside.
She opened the door and got out of her car. “Hello, Peter. I thought you would be at work.” As she reached in to grab her purse, Gulliver’s note fell to the ground.
“Took the day off.” He touched her arm and she jumped.
“Sorry.” She lowered her gaze.
“You know I’ve gotten quite used to you doing that.” He bent down and retrieved the orange slip of paper.
“I at least don’t trip over myself to get away. Gulliver has—” She let the comment trail off unfinished. Peter’s jealousy was too much to deal with.
“I just finished shopping for Andy’s birthday present,” he said, more cheerfully. “You want to go get something to eat?”
She tried to see manly features in his face. His skin was smooth, almost as if he didn’t ever have to shave. He had no laugh lines at his mouth or his eyes like Gulliver did. Peter’s complexion was youthful and pale. Then again, she wasn’t a tanned goddess either, staying indoors all the time. His skin, though, seemed somehow too pale and she wondered about his age. It never came into question and she didn’t think it mattered. Gulliver, she could tell, had to be older than she was. A wild stab in the dark, she pegged him as thirty-two. If he was younger, she’d apologize; if older, she’d be surprised.
“I can’t. I have something to do. How did you remember it was Andy’s birthday this week?” She walked toward her porch.
“I was invited to the party.”
“Ginny hadn’t said anything to me about asking you.”
“Andy asked. I never thought it might have been without his mother’s permission. You don’t think she’d mind, do you? I mean if it’ll be a problem, I could send my gift along with you.”
“Oh don’t be silly, Peter. You’ve been to all his baseball games and he likes you. If Andy asked, Ginny won’t mind. I doubt she even knows who else Andy may have invited.”
He glanced at the orange paper in his hand with Gulliver’s name and number.
“Are you taking the new neighbor with you?” It was clear he wanted her to say “no”.
“I haven’t asked him.” She took the note and tucked it back in her pocket. “Though with his niece going, it might be nice for him. I know Allen doesn’t have family so Allen’s wife must be Gulliver’s sister.”
“You don’t know?” He sounded more sarcastic than surprised. “Seems since you spend such a lot of time together you would know that sort of thing.”
She considered his comment. She barely mentioned her sister, so she had no reason to think Gulliver should have told her about his family.
“I’ve never met Allen’s wife, but I’ve seen her a few times. It’s not as if I’m very social. What’s so odd that Gulliver hasn’t said anything?”
“I just thought you’d know more about Knight besides that he goes around a lot without his shoes.”
Peter’s chastisement was irritating. She could have argued on the subject more, except she didn’t want to lose a friendship over his jealousies.
“His shoes? Oh, you mean the other day when he had them off in the house.”
“No last night, when he paced back and forth on your front lawn. He only had his pants on and he looked angry.”
Kacy let out a giggle. The smile left her face when Peter’s expression showed his hurt. She could well image Gulliver in his bare feet, bare chest and pants. She’d had that lovely vision locked in her head all night.
“If you ask me, the guy is creepy. He’s always at your house. If not inside, then he’s outside lurking around in the dark.” Peter took her elbow at the door. “Kacy, you shouldn’t get involved with him. You don’t know anything about him.”
“That’s true. However, if I don’t spend any time with him how will I find anything out?” She reached for the doorknob. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
His expression grew hard and resentful. “Sure. See you later.”
She went in the house and the slip of paper on the floor made her smile. It was funny how another note from Gulliver, on that same bright orange notepaper, could make her happy. She stooped to pick it up, but paused within inches of grasping the four-inch square. Even her heart stalled. She fell back on her haunches as if the paper were diseased. Kicking her feet against the floor to get away, her gaze remained fixed on the words “I’ll be back”.
It could have been a message from Gulliver. She expected him. But not even he would have drawn the detailed illustration of a knife.
Chapter Twelve
Kacy gazed around the room. She rose off the floor with the immediate plan to leave. Then, shaking her hands nervously near the doorkn
ob, she turned back and glanced at the note again. She had unlocked the door to get in the house. No one was there. Locking the deadbolt, she barred herself from whoever was outside waiting for her to try to leave.
Scrutinizing the placement of objects in the living room, she hunted out the slightest clue to offer her a reason to get out of the house. Not even the little porcelain figurine had moved.
Frantically, she dug a hand in her pocket to get out Gulliver’s cell phone number on the other orange piece of paper. Her fingers flew over the buttons on the ivory cordless phone. She stalked the living room, listening to the static buzz. Her patience grew thinner with each step she made on the silver carpet.
When it rang once, she didn’t think she was going to be able to wait for the next ring.
“Yeah, this is Knight.”
Kacy’s mouth opened and the sound froze in her throat.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” he asked. “Damn cell phones.”
“Gulliver…”
Her small sound was enough.
“Kacy?”
“He’s been here.” She covered the phone and her mouth with a cupped hand. “Gulliver, I’m scared.”
“Where are you…exactly?”
“In the living room of my house,” she whispered. “He left a note.”
She never stopped moving to keep alert. Every sound, the tick of the clock on the kitchen wall, the hum of the computer with its starry night screen saver, each click or creak in the house had her full attention.
“Stay on the phone with me, Kacy. You have the cordless, right?”
“Yes.”
“Go in your bathroom and lock the door.”
She wanted to hurry, but she moved her feet cautiously.
“What was that?” she asked when she thought he said something to her.
“Nothing, honey. I’m giving directions to an officer. A patrol car can get to you before I can.”
Kacy’s steps took her closer to the bathroom. She looked at the window, void of concealment. In her mind, shadows lurked, watching and waiting to get to her. She wished the curtain were back in place. So much had happened since Gulliver’s dive had torn it down. She sprinted across the carpeted room and dove into the bathroom, pushing the door shut.
She wasn’t safe. The door wouldn’t offer the kind of protection she needed. The lock was a flimsy button that pushed in on the handle. She had considered getting a locksmith to put deadbolts on everything. Though, considering it now, the bathroom wouldn’t have been one of the doors she’d have added hardware to as if it were a panic room.
“Gulliver?”
“I’m still here, honey. Remain in the bathroom. I told them you would stay there, okay?”
“All right.”
It was easy for him to say. He was free to sit, stand or walk anywhere he pleased. No one was after him. She looked at the white room and wondered why she never put some color to the walls. She stared at the white towels. Gulliver had noticed the lack of color as well. Or was it the blood he’d added?
“I’m in my car and headed home.” His voice garbled and cleared.
“Home” and “Gulliver” rang together like milk and cookies. It made her heart thump. Something strange about what he said also made her heart skip beats.
“Gulliver, how can you talk to police in a patrol car?”
“I was at work.”
She felt so safe with him in charge. He knew everything to do and never panicked. It was how she wanted to be for herself.
When the doorbell rang, she clutched the phone tighter.
“Gulliver, someone’s at the door. I can’t stay in here unless I want them breaking into my house.”
“All right, but go slow. Look out the window and make sure you see the patrol lights flashing.”
His instructions continued as she tiptoed through the house. She didn’t need to go to the window to see the bright blue light alerting everyone in the neighborhood that crazy Kacy was at it again.
She started turning the deadbolts. “I’m unlocking the door,” she called, thinking of all the horror stories of victims shot by startled police.
“Ma’am, are you all right in there?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.”
A noise made her turn and put her back to the door. She didn’t see anybody.
“Miss Carwell?” the man said from outside.
“I thought I heard something,” she answered, afraid to move.
“Miss Carwell, open the door.”
The handle jiggled against her spine. She spun around and hurried to get the door open. Footsteps from behind sent her over the edge. Her hand latched onto her marble statue of David and she swung it at the intruder.
“Whoa there!” Luck on his side, the police officer ducked just in time.
She stared at him in her living room and could only think how terrible it would have been if she hit him with the heavy figurine. The front door opened and another officer came in the house.
The note…” She breathed heavily. “Over there on the table.”
She paced back and forth. A caged animal could not be as agitated as she was.
“Ma’am, I don’t see anything,” the officer that had crept into her house said.
“It’s right where I left it when I called.” She lifted the phone. “Gulliver?”
A dial tone answered her and she set the phone on the table.
“I left it right here,” Kacy got down on her knees and crawled along the edge of the couch. “I swear there was a message on a small, square bright orange piece of paper.”
“Like this?” The officer held it up in front of him.
“Yes, yes that’s it.” She snatched it from his hands while still on her knees.
He gave her a hard glare and then shook his head as if she was crazy. She looked at the paper. Her heart sank. It was Gulliver’s note.
“This isn’t it.” She lifted her gaze solemnly. “The paper was the same, but it said something different.”
She sat back on her heels and stared at Gulliver’s message. Everything had been so clear. She’d come home and there was another note on her floor. She couldn’t have imagined it. She couldn’t have lost her mind that badly.
“Kacy.” Gulliver stopped at the door and showed the officer some form of I.D.
She stared at him, wondering what Gulliver saw in her. The identification got him in the door, but she couldn’t fling herself at him with a big “hello” and “I missed you”. She could hardly look him in the eye as he listened to the officer tell him, in not-so-whispered tones, she was losing it. Or at least she thought that was what he said, because it sounded more realistic than “she lost the note”. Who would receive a handwritten threat against their life and lose it?
Gulliver came toward her. She saw his gaze shift from the officer to her several times.
“Are you all right?” He squatted in front of her.
“Obviously not—the note vanished. The officer over there by the door tried to discreetly suggest to his partner I should be taken to a hospital and I think he might be right.”
“Really?” His head tilted sideways to look at her.
“I don’t know. There was a note. It was on the same kind of paper you used to leave me your phone number.”
“Do you think you can sit here a few minutes with those two standing guard while I go to my house?” His stroke to her cheek was calming.
She forced a smile. “I can stay here for as long as you need me to, or until I forget and wander off.”
“That’s my girl.”
She reached for his leg and gripped his knee.
“Sorry.” His face wrinkled with worry.
“Say it again. I don’t want to be afraid of words. I’m already frightened by so much.” She lifted her face. “I especially want you to be able to say anything to me.”
“That’s my girl,” he repeated.
His wide hand held her head and slipped gently to cup her chin. He brushed a light
kiss over her lips, a tender reminder of the passion he held back because they weren’t alone.
It curled her toes to contemplate Gulliver as a boyfriend instead of a devoted neighbor.
She loved the way he sighed before his kisses. It was as if he couldn’t wait to give them. With her eyes closed, she felt Gulliver’s affection. She knew him and his tone. It was nowhere near the same as her tormentor’s voice. She smiled and opened her eyes to his sparkling gaze, always happy for her.
“I’ll be all right.”
Kacy watched him tell the officer at the door to stay with her. The man flashed her a look of complete boredom. He clearly didn’t want to be her babysitter.
Gulliver was only gone a few minutes.
“Is this what the note looked like?” he asked when he returned. He held an orange notepad on the edges.
She looked at the light pencil brushes highlighting the indentions of the message she’d read.
“That’s it.”
He put a hand under her arm and pulled her from the floor. “I doubt the police will get any prints, but it won’t hurt to try. Do you have a sandwich bag or something we can put this in for them to take?”
“He was in your house?” Kacy went straight to the drawer in the kitchen with the kitchen wraps and baggies.
“Unless you’re going to think I had something to do with this.” He dropped the notepad in the baggie she held open for him.
She shook her head with an adamantly firm “no”. If there was one thing she had to trust, it was her heart. How would she survive if she couldn’t believe in him?
“Come here and give a man a hug.”
She didn’t need to be asked again. His arms were her home. For how long would remain a mystery she’d not look into solving for the time being. As long as he asked, she’d be willing.
“Okay honey, let up for a minute and I’ll see if there is anything else these men need.”
She trembled as she watched him talk to the officers and give them the bagged evidence. She had no hopes at all in the pad being useful. It still disturbed her that the actual note had been missing from her house. She walked back to her bathroom, retracing her steps to see if she had dropped it. She distinctly recalled setting it on the table. The one fact she tried not to dwell on was that someone really had been in the house.
A Desperate Longing Page 12
