“So now what do I do?” Cassie asked.
“Well,” Megan said. “We answered one thing. He likes you. That’s good. Right?”
“For all the good it does me,” Cassie said. “It’s been three days. He picks me up, we talk, but we don’t. We’re both afraid to bring it up. I almost feel like he wants to, but he won’t. And then there are those other women. They keep calling and texting. He keeps running. He won’t talk about them except to say that they’re friends of the family or like family. No details.”
“I’ve got an Aunt Dee Dee,” Brady said. “She’s my mom’s best friend since they were little kids. In fact, she introduced my mom and dad. She’s not really my aunt, but I call her that all the time.”
“And I already know more about your Aunt Dee Dee than I do Diana, or Amber or Paige or Pamela. The only thing I know is that Diana is a lawyer, Paige needed some heavy things moved, Amber makes great fried chicken, and Pamela makes him sad whenever her name pops up on his caller ID.”
“You sure you even want to be with him?” Megan asked. “I mean, I know he’s hot. And he saved your life, but is he worth the trouble?”
Cassie nodded. “I think he is.”
Brady sighed. “You sure you don’t want to follow him?”
“Yes,” Cassie said. “No.”
Megan and Brady smiled.
“I don’t know,” Cassie said. “No. It’s wrong. I’ve got to go, guys. I’ll see you later.”
As she walked away, Brady and Megan exchanged glances. Brady had made friends with all of Ben’s friends, but Megan was the one he related to the most.
* * * *
“What do you think?” Megan asked as Cassie walked away.
Brady looked at his watch. “Let the record show that at ten twenty-two AM, we began Operation Noah Hunt.”
He and Megan fist-bumped. Brady smiled. College life was getting interesting.
* * * *
Two days later, Noah told Cassie that he could bring her home after school, but he needed to leave right away. Megan overheard and had texted Brady.
“That’s our chance,” Brady said. “We’ll have to be ready.”
That afternoon, they followed Noah’s Mustang at a discreet distance. Brady sat next to Megan in her old Camaro. “If he spots us,” Megan said, “we’re just hanging out.”
“Where are we going?” Brady asked.
“Clothes shopping.”
“But we don’t have any clothes here.”
“Tell him we’re looking for my sister’s wedding,” Megan said. “Now shut up. He’s pulling over.”
They watched as Noah pulled into a driveway of a small home. He got out and went to the backyard. A few minutes later, he came out front with a rake and some heavy duty paper bags. He went to work on the leaves in the front yard.
“Well,” Megan said. “This is exciting. So how are things with you and Ben?”
“Good,” Brady said. “I think. I don’t know. He was off the last night when we were together. Or maybe it was me.”
“Did you ask him?”
“Not yet. I’ll see how he is tonight.”
They watched as he systematically worked through the entire front lawn. After a short time, a woman opened the front door.
“That’s the one named Paige,” Megan said. “I recognize her from his phone.”
Paige was in her late twenties. She was pretty, with dark long hair. She wore a pair of jeans and a pink blouse. She smiled as she waved to Noah, who waved back. She stepped outside toward him. In one hand she had a tall glass of lemonade. The other hand was firmly gripped to a black metallic cane that she leaned on as she walked. She winced in pain as she took each step.
Noah dropped the rake and quickly ran to her side. Together they sat. Brady couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he didn’t see anything that looked like flirtation. He considered himself to be good at judging body language. He knew when someone looked at another person and sparks went off. There were no sparks that Brady could see. Warmth, but no heat. If anything, the contact seemed maternal. At one point, he could see Noah start to close down. Something they were talking about was making him feel uncomfortable.
Paige seemed to try and soothe him. They talked for a few moments longer and suddenly Paige seemed excited. She smiled, rubbed Noah’s arm and tapped her feet.
Noah drew out his phone, but he didn’t answer it. Instead, he showed something to Paige.
Handing the phone back to Noah, Paige beamed at Noah who shook his head, baffled by her reaction. He helped Paige back up and into the house and followed her in.
“Let’s go,” Megan said. “Before he comes out to finish.”
“Yeah,” Brady said. “She’s not about to jump his bones.”
“Not this one,” Megan said. “Let’s keep this to ourselves until we learn a little more. Deal?”
“Deal.”
* * * *
“Cassie!”
Cassie turned to look for who was calling her. He was a large guy who was just a touch awkward that looked familiar to her as he made his way through the crowd. Cassie remembered that he was the guy that Megan had hooked up with at the party. Cassie hadn’t heard much about him since that night, so she assumed they had fizzled out quickly. Which wasn’t at all unusual for Megan. She struggled to remember his name. Connor. She was pretty sure it was Connor. More or less.
It was hard to keep track. The fact was that Megan usually got tired of boys fairly easily. Sometimes it would take a few months, sometimes just a few weeks.
Now he was making his way toward her between classes. Most guys Megan hooked up with were fine when things cooled off. They often wanted to keep on her good side in case they found themselves in her orbit again, but there were always exceptions.
“Hi Connor,” she said, suppressing a wince. She hoped she was right and she wasn’t mixing his name up with one of the other guys Megan had been with, like Patrick or Sean or maybe even Liam. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good,” he replied as he fell into step beside her. She took it as a good sign that he didn’t correct her on his name. “I should really be asking you that. I heard about what happened the other day with that bitch Lisa. Geeze, you just can’t catch a break can you?”
“I’m fine.”
Connor stepped in front of her. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I just want to say that you shouldn’t have to worry about somebody like Lisa. Nobody gives a shit what she says. Everyone knows that she was fucking Tom.”
Cassie forced a smile. He was really quite large, but she was okay. So far, at least. Still, her chest tightened.
“I’m just making things worse,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone. Besides, I think your boyfriend is coming.”
Cassie looked over her shoulder and spotted Noah. She felt herself relax.
“We’re not exactly boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“Whatever,” Connor said. “Let me know if there’s anything you need.”
“Okay, thanks,” Cassie said. “You want me to say anything to Megan for you?”
Connor blushed. “Um… Maybe. Tell her I said hi.”
Cassie watched Connor go as Noah approached.
“Hey,” Noah said. “What were you talking to Connor about?”
“He was just trying to be nice. Heard what happened with Lisa the other day.”
Noah’s eyes followed Connor down the hall.
“I thought you told me he’d hooked up with Megan?”
“She’s moved on,” Cassie said. “But maybe he hasn’t yet. Besides, he wasn’t asking me out. I told you he was just being nice. He even thought you were my boyfriend.”
“Oh?”
“Don’t worry,” Cassie said. “I set him straight.”
Noah nodded. “Right.”
“Here’s my history class,” Cassie said. “I’ll see you later?”
Noah nodded and slowly walked away. She took a seat and started to replay th
e last few minutes in her head.
Ben walked in and sat next to her.
“Hey Cass,” he said. “What’s up?”
“I’m not sure,” Cassie said. “But I think that Noah just got a little jealous.”
As class started, she continued to think about it.
And she smiled.
* * * *
Brady listened to Megan’s phone conversation and tried to figure out what they were talking about.
“Yeah,” Megan said. “It sure sounds like he was jealous to me.”
Megan was sitting in the passenger seat of Brady’s secondhand Toyota. They were parked across the street from a diner. They had just watched Noah go in.
“We can work with that,” Megan said. “Listen, I’ve got to go. Can I call you later? Okay? Bye.”
“Well, this sucks,” Brady said. “We can’t see what’s happening. He could be meeting another woman for all we know.”
“We could go in,” Megan said. “We’re just in the neighborhood and decided to grab a bite to eat.”
Brady considered it. “Nah, what the hell would we be doing in this part of town. Mostly court houses, businesses.”
“Maybe he won’t see us.”
“He will,” Brady said. “Haven’t you noticed that he always sits facing the door? He likes to see who comes in.”
“Crap.”
“Yeah,” Brady agreed. “Unless…”
“What?”
“C’mon.”
They got out of the car and ran across the street. Brady peeked into the side window and sure enough, there was Noah sitting at a table. He had a textbook out and was facing the door. He looked up every now and then, as if he were expecting someone.
Brady led Megan toward the back and found the employee’s entrance. There were people coming in and out.
“Change of shift,” Brady said. “Let’s go.”
They managed to slip through the door and enter the main diner. The place wasn’t very crowded, so they were able to snag a table in the perfect position to spy on Noah.
“So did you ever talk to Ben?” Megan asked. “Was he upset over something?”
Brady rolled his eyes. “Yeah. We were hanging at my place the other night. I was in the bathroom and my cell rang. He saw it was my mom, so he answered it and said hello.”
“So?”
“So when I got out there,” Brady said. “My mom asked who that was. She knew it wasn’t my roommate. So I said it was a friend of mine named Ben.”
Megan just raised her eyebrows.
“Look, my parents don’t know about me,” Brady said. “And I could probably tell my mom. She’s cool, but she can’t lie for shit. She won’t keep anything from my dad. And Dad’s the strong, silent type. He and I don’t really talk.”
“So what did you do throughout high school?” Megan asked. “Not date?”
“Not really,” Brady said. “Not much. I’m adjusting. I’m just learning to be open about it. Where it’s not a secret. It doesn’t look like it’s a big deal for Ben.”
“It’s not now,” Megan said. “It doesn’t mean it never was. That’s something you should talk to Ben about.”
Brady nodded. He knew he’d have to.
“Look,” Brady said. “Someone’s coming.”
Brady watched a beautiful woman walk in. She was tall, with auburn hair. She wore a grey business suit and carried a stylish briefcase. As she approached Noah, he stood to greet her. They hugged before sitting down.
Again, they were too far away to hear anything, so they had to rely on what they saw. Both Noah and the woman were clearly pleased to see each other, but Brady didn’t get any sexual attraction vibe from them.
The woman reached out and touched Noah’s face, tenderly. He blushed at the contact and she laughed at his reaction. They sat and she opened her briefcase. She pulled out some papers and passed them to Noah.
“That must be the lawyer,” Megan said. “What was her name?”
“Diana.”
“That’s it,” Megan whispered. “Hard to keep track.”
Noah examined the papers. For the next twenty minutes, he barely looked up. Even as they spoke, his eyes remained glued to the paper.
“This is boring,” Brady said. “He’s meeting with all these mysterious women to do what? Rake leaves and go over taxes?”
Finally, the papers got put away. Diana placed her briefcase on the chair beside her. She reached forward and took Noah’s hand. Thing’s just got far more interesting.
Brady watched as Noah stiffened. He seemed embarrassed. As if he were confessing some great sin. Yet, whatever Noah was saying seemed to please Diana. Like with Paige, he showed her his cell phone. Whatever Noah had shown her, she approved.
Noah shook his head and her smile fell away.They talked for a few minutes. Brady could swear she was trying to be reassuring. Noah looked shaken and unsure when her cell rang. She answered it, nodded and hung up.
“She’s leaving,” Brady said.
They said goodbye, and Diana headed out. They watched as Noah started to pack his things, and was interrupted when his own cell phone rang. He answered it and his expression changed again.
“I’ll bet he’s talking to that Pamela woman,” Megan said. “Cassie said he gets upset whenever she calls.”
Noah hung up and continued to leave, moving faster than he did before.
“Let’s go,” Brady said.
* * * *
It was still light out, not even six-thirty yet, as they followed Noah through town. They passed by some of the cheaper motels in the area. There were a few small homes crammed between them. Noah finally pulled up in front of one of the shabbier looking ones.
Megan and Brady kept their distance, but watched as he approached the home. There was another car there. Whoever parked it in the driveway had done so at an odd angle and knocked over the garbage cans. Noah picked them up and tossed the contents back inside. Even from their distance, Brady could hear the clink of several bottles hitting into one another. While Noah cleaned up the mess, someone came to the door.
“Well hello, Pamela,” Brady said.
Pamela might have been pretty once, but now she just looked worn out. Her dark hair was a mess. She wore a white bathrobe that had seen better days. She held a glass in her one hand that she drained while waiting for Noah.
When he approached, Pamela smiled at him.
Noah took the empty glass out of her hand.
Pamela slapped him across the face.
Brady flinched. He could hear the smack from across the street.
What was more shocking to him was Noah’s reaction. Or rather, lack thereof.
Noah didn’t act surprised and he didn’t back away. If anything, he accepted the slap as if it were justified. For a moment, he looked like a small child being scolded by a parent.
Suddenly, Pamela burst into tears and fell into Noah’s arms. Gently, Noah held her and guided her inside.
“Holy shit,” Megan said. “What the fuck was that.”
“I know. On one hand, I don’t think Cassie has anything to worry about. None of these women seem to be love interests. Mind you, we still don’t know about the one named Amber. I’m guessing that was her place the other day.”
Two days earlier, they had followed Noah to a different home. All they saw was him delivering groceries that he had bought earlier. They never got a look at who ever lived inside.
“I’ve gotta tell you,” Megan said. “I don’t feel so great about this anymore.”
“Me neither,” Brady said. “Noah seems like a good guy. We really shouldn’t be invading his privacy like this. We should stop. This was a bad idea.”
“Let’s go,” Megan said. “And let’s not say anything to Cassie if we can avoid it.”
Chapter 8
“I suppose you’re going to try and blame this on Tom too, you bitch.”
Cassie rolled her eyes as she turned around to find Lisa approaching her. She didn’t
have time for this. She was supposed to meet up with everyone in the cafeteria. They had a plan all worked out. One that wouldn’t work if she wasn’t there.
“I don’t know what you’re even talking about,” Cassie said. “And I don’t care.”
Cassie tried to walk away, but Lisa jumped in front of her.
“Get out of my way, Lisa.”
“Not until you tell everyone that you’re lying about Tom,” she said. “They found another girl last night raped and with her head smashed. The police came to see me this morning. They think Tom did it.”
“Well, maybe he did,” Cassie said. “What did the girl say?”
“She ain’t sayin’ nothing,” Lisa said. “Yet. She got beat pretty bad.”
Cassie sighed. “I hope she recovers.”
“So do I, because if she wakes up, she can tell everyone that it wasn’t my Tom who did it.”
“Whatever,” Cassie said. “I’ve got to go.”
Cassie tried to get past her, but once again, Lisa blocked her way.
“Ease up there, Lisa,” said a male voice.
Cassie looked over and saw Trent Wilkins. He had been the quarterback in high school and was on the college football team now, and known as a pretty party hardy kind of guy. He had graduated back when Cassie was a sophomore.
“Cassie Shaw?” Trent said. “I’m…”
“I know who you are,” Cassie said. “And I don’t really care. I was just leaving.”
“Look,” Trent said. “Let me talk to you a minute.”
He grabbed Cassie’s arm and pulled her to the side. He pointed at Lisa, telling her to stay where she was. Cassie tried to pull her arm away, but Trent’s grip was too tight. She tried to ignore the tightness in her chest. He had her backed against a wall.
“I know Tom,” Trent said. “I’m sure he got a little out of hand that night. He’d been drinking and he and Lisa had a fight, but he’d never brutalize these women this way.”
Just Breathe Page 8
