A Second Chance

by Edward Kendrick

  “What happened to giving us a few days of downtime?” Zach asked.

  “Shit happened, and now you have to save a woman before her stalker takes things to the next level and kills her.”

  “That would do it,” Zach admitted reluctantly. “You want me to tell Ben?”

  “I’ve already called him. He’ll be waiting when you get there.”

  * * * *

  “Not quite how I planned on the day going,” Ben said ruefully as he got into Zach’s jeep.

  “I didn’t think so,” Zach replied, patting Ben’s leg before pulling out onto the street. “But when the master calls, we obey.”

  “Apparently he didn’t get the message from Doctor Franklin that we needed a couple of days to recuperate.”

  “That or this isn’t going to be a physically active assignment. He did tell you what it was about, I hope.”

  “Not much.” Ben frowned. “Something about protecting a stalking victim.”

  “Leaving you as much in the dark as I am, and probably Ez and Hayley, too.”

  “Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

  * * * *

  “I gather we’re still waiting for Ez and Hayley,” Zach asked when he and Ben entered Durand’s office. “I didn’t see their cars in the lot.”

  “Not too surprising since I didn’t call them,” Durand replied, gesturing toward the chairs next to his desk. “This is a two-man operation. Any more people involved and it could clue in the stalker that Ms. Leyton has asked for our help.”

  “The police can’t or won’t do anything, I presume,” Zach said.

  “From what she told the man who recommended us, the police believe it’s another lover’s spat and nothing more. She and Mr. Nash, Greg Nash, were known for breaking up and then making up a week or two later, at least according to mutual friends of theirs the police spoke with.”

  “Obviously, if she needs our help, there’s more to it this time.”

  “Yes,” Durand replied. “She explained, when we talked, that she decided approximately a month ago that it was time to end things once and for all. Of course Nash didn’t believe she meant it, given their past history, but when she refused to have anything to do with him he finally got the message, or so she thought.”

  “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out she was wrong.”

  Durand flashed a brief smile. “Not at all. For the first week he kept things to phone calls, which was the norm according to her. Only this time, she didn’t answer, or return them if he left a message.”

  “Three guesses. The next step was flowers with romantic notes, followed by gifts,” Ben said.

  “Emails first,” Durand replied. He slid a folder across the desk to Zach. “All the information you need is in here including how Mr. Nash began escalating his stalking.”

  Zach scanned it quickly, handed it to Ben, and then said to Durand, “I presume you want us out there ASAP.”

  “I do. It’s a seven-hour drive so you should arrive late tonight. Noreen’s made reservations for you at one of the larger national motels.” Durand chuckled. “One of three. It’s a small city so there wasn’t much choice.”

  “I’m sure we’ll survive,” Zach replied dryly as he stood. “We’ll let you know as soon as we arrive.”

  “Please do, and good luck.”

  “Good luck?” Ben said as soon as he and Zach had left Durand’s office. “This isn’t that hard an assignment.”

  “Don’t bet on it. He wouldn’t be sending us if it was an easy one,” Zach replied. “I have the feeling that Durand thinks she didn’t tell him everything, despite asking for our help. He’s very good as sensing when someone’s holding back information.”

  “Which would be stupid.”

  “I agree, but people are people and their contact was by phone, which is different than talking face-to-face.”

  “True.”

  Zach dropped Ben off at his apartment so that he could pack for their trip, telling him he’d be back in half an hour.

  “I really need to invest in something better than my backpack,” Ben said as he got out of the jeep.

  “I’ve got an extra carry-on bag you can use until you do,” Zach replied. “Have everything ready and you can pack it when I pick you up.”

  “Will do, and thanks, but I still have to—”

  Zach laughed. “Yeah, yeah, put it on your to-do list.”

  He returned in less than half an hour with the bag. Ben quickly put everything into it with a grumbled, “I need to go clothes shopping, too.”

  “That you can do when we get there if there’s time,” Zach told him. “I’m sure even a small city has some decent clothing stores.”

  When Ben put the bag in the back of the jeep he wasn’t too surprised to see a weapons case as well as Zach’s bag.

  “Preparing for every contingency?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Zach replied as they took off. “Durand wouldn’t have agreed to help her if he didn’t think she could be in real danger from Mr. Nash.”

  “I guess we’ll find out when we get there. As you said, what she told him about the stalking seems to be lacking a lot of details.”

  “My laptop’s in back. It’s charged so get online and see what you can find out about Mr. Nash.”

  Ben did, once Zach gave him the needed passwords to get into it, and then to access his browser which, Ben discovered, was not one he’d ever heard of. “Vanguard’s?” he asked, although the name didn’t say as much.

  “Yep, and so secure it would take a superior hacker to break into it.”

  “I guess I could have figured that.” A while later he said, “All right, Greg Nash owns Nash Fine Furniture and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce.”

  “So probably well-respected.”

  “That would be my thought. Okay, this is interesting. He was divorced three months ago. No children involved.” Ben checked the file Durand had given them. “According to Ms. Leyton, they began dating soon after that.”

  “Does it say how they met?” Zach asked.

  “She was one of his administrative assistants, which is probably a fancy name for a secretary.”

  “I wonder if she was the reason for his divorce.”

  Ben shrugged. “If she was, she didn’t tell Durand.” Ben continued his online search. “No money problems, owns his house and the furniture store building free and clear.”

  “How the hell old is he?”

  “Forty-six. I’d say he’s a go-getter who got what he wanted.”

  Zach snorted. “Except for Ms. Leyton.”

  “He’s definitely trying to get her back, although I’m not sure stalking her is the best way.”

  “No shit. Did you find anything else about him, or her as far as that goes.”

  “Haven’t checked her out. Hang on. Okay, according to her Facebook page she’s thirty-two, single, which we knew, grew up and went to college there. Got a degree in interior design.”

  “Then why was she working as a secretary?”

  “Hell if I know. Something to ask when we talk to her. She’s relatively good-looking.” Ben turned the laptop so Zach could see. “No pictures of him on her page, but then if there were, I’m sure she’s deleted them.”

  “Did you find any of him anywhere else?”

  “Several. He attends a lot of social events, as well as having his photo on the store’s website. I can see why she might have taken up with him to begin with, despite the age difference. He looks closer to forty than forty-six. His wife, however…” Ben shook his head. “Botox is her?”

  “Damn, Ben.”

  “Hey, I call it as I see it. In this case I’m looking at online photos. She appears to be older than Nash in a couple of the earlier ones, and then, suddenly, she comes across as in her late thirties.”

  “Probably trying to hold his interest.”

  “Yeah. Okay, that’s all I’m coming up with at the moment.” Ben shut down the laptop, putting it back where he’d gotten i
t. “We have to decide how we’re going to handle this.”

  “Let’s wait until we’ve met Ms. Leyton. What she adds to what little we already know could color any plans we made.”

  “Good point. Leaving us with what do we talk about, now? We don’t have Ez and Hayley for entertainment.”

  “They do that well,” Zach agreed as he turned on the radio. “What’s your preference? Music, a talk show, endless news?”

  “Not the news. It’s too damned depressing.” Ben went down the dial muttering, “No, no, definitely no.” Then he paused at one of the stations. “Can you handle jazz?”

  “Hell yes!”

  For the next hour they listened while debating who the greatest jazz masters were. It was turning dark when Zach pulled off the highway into a restaurant lot.

  “You okay with this place?” he asked.

  “If it’s got food, I’m good.”

  Zach shook his head as he parked. “That’s generally what you find in a restaurant.”

  “Okay, let me modify that,” Ben replied as they got out of the jeep. “Given how I used to eat, even a fast-food burger tastes like ambrosia.”

  “Got it.”

  The place was busy, but they still were able to find a table away from families with rambunctious children. The menu was basic—burgers, meatloaf, fried chicken, and the like—which Ben said suited him. “This way I know what I’m getting.”

  “Not big on fancy food with unpronounceable names?”

  “If it’s a steak, they should call it that. My ex thought she was a cordon bleu cook so I ate some really strange things. Not bad, mind you, but not what I’d have chosen if she’d asked.” They paused to order when the waitress came over, telling her they wanted their coffee now. She returned immediately with a pot and filled their cups. When she left, Ben said, “It might have been more fun if I kept regular hours but that wasn’t always possible. Reheated whatever didn’t usually work, which pissed her off.”

  “How long were you married?” Zach asked.

  “Almost ten years. Before you ask, it wasn’t a bad marriage. We just didn’t have anything in common.”

  “More convenience, from what you said, than out of love.”

  “Exactly,” Ben replied. “We both accepted it and if things hadn’t played out the way they did, we might still be married.”

  “And you’d still be hiding behind it rather than admitting you’re gay.”

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Ben admitted.

  “So all the shit with your partner and getting kicked off the force might have been the best thing that happened to you.”

  Ben took a moment to think about what Zach had said before replying, “You’re right. I’d have debated it when it happened, of course. I missed the job, when I was sober enough to think about it. I don’t miss her. I feel sorry for her because she got a raw deal, but that’s it.”

  The waitress appeared with their meals, which they ate mostly in silence. Zach paid with his Vanguard credit card, and they returned to the jeep. As they continued toward their destination, they avoided talking about anything personal until Ben asked, “What about you?”

  “Meaning?”

  “I get the impression you’ve never been in a committed relationship.”

  “Not in the past several years,” Zach replied. “I tried it once, when I was fresh out of college. I went straight from there, meaning school, to working for one of the Vanguard Security agencies. He worked there, too, and we hit it off.” He smiled briefly. “Or so we thought. After six months we decided it wasn’t working. Since then, I figured why bother. When Durand recruited me I didn’t have time for anything long term, which was fine with me.”

  “Love ‘em and leave ‘em?”

  “Pretty much, though the love part doesn’t exist. Sex? Yeah. I’m fine with that. The rest is too much bother.”

  “So I shouldn’t get my hopes up that you’ll do more that show me what’s what in bed.”

  “No, Ben, you shouldn’t.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Does it bother you?”

  Ben shrugged. “Why would it? If we do it more than once, I guess we’ll be the dreaded ‘friends with benefits.’ I can deal with that.”

  “Good,” Zach replied before turning the radio up, saying, “Now this man plays a really wicked sax.”

  And that’s that, even if I wanted more, which I don’t, I don’t think. Ben nodded in agreement. “But not a good as Coltrane.”

  “Who’s still not as good as Bird.”

  “Says you,” Ben retorted, and they resumed their debate about who were some of the greatest jazz musicians until they reached the edge of the city. At that point, Zach checked to see where their motel was, and a few minutes later they’d parked in the lot, gone inside to let the desk clerk know they had reservations, and after paying they headed up to their rooms.

  * * * *

  Ben and Zach met for breakfast early the following morning in the small restaurant off the motel’s lobby. When they finished eating, Ben said he was going to make use of the fitness center. “With all the sitting driving out here, my knee’s acting up.”

  “Badly?” Zach asked.

  “No, just stiff. If I don’t loosen it up some I’ll be limping worse than normal.”

  “Maybe I’ll join you.”

  “Baby-sitting, Zach?” Ben replied.

  “At this point I know better, but you’re not the only one who spent most of yesterday sitting on their ass, and it’s still too early to call Ms. Leyton.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you there in a few, after I change into something not so—” Ben rolled his eyes, “—dressy.”

  Zach grinned. “I hardly think jeans and a work shirt are dressy, but whatever.”

  “It’s all relative. It’s the best I have so for me it is dressy.”

  Once they had changed into sweats, they spent the next hour making use of what the fitness center had to offer. When they finished, they went to their rooms to shower and dress before Ben joined Zach in his room—which was actually a two room suite, with a sofa, two armchairs, and a small table in one, and the bed and dresser in the other.

  “Let’s see if she answers,” Zach said as he dialed Ms. Leyton’s phone. Because his number would come up as ‘Unknown,’ he figured it was possible she wouldn’t. He was right, she didn’t, but he did get her voicemail so he left a message—“This is Mr. Turner. Mr. Durand asked me to call to tell you he would be running late,”—and his number.

  It took ten minutes before she returned his call—from a different number than the one he had for her. Because he didn’t recognize it, he almost didn’t answer, but did, knowing no one would know the number unless he or Durand gave it out—Or it’s a damned robocall…

  “Mr. Turner, this is Irene Leyton. To be honest, I’d forgotten all about my meeting with your boss. Hell, I don’t even remember where it was going to be.”

  Zach gave her the address for the motel, without mentioning that’s what it was. “His office is on the fifth floor, number five-o-six.”

  “Thank you. I should be there in approximately fifteen minutes.”

  After hanging up, Zach said, “She called Durand to make certain I was legit. My guess is, he told her to get a burner phone before calling me back.”

  “Let’s hope Nash hasn’t tagged her car or he’ll know she came here.”

  “It doesn’t matter. He’d hardly follow her inside and take the chance she’d see him.” Zach grinned. “If he does, maybe he’ll think she’s having a nooner with a new boyfriend. That’ll frost his ass.”

  “There is that.”

  Several minutes later there was a light rap on the door. Zach opened it, after disarming the security he’d added, and stepped aside to let her in.

  Instead of entering, she said, “I’d like to see some ID, please.”

  “Smart woman,” Zach replied as he took out his wallet to show her his Vanguard ID.

  She checked
it then smiled, coming into the room. “I knew who you were when I saw you, Mr. Turner. Mr. Durand sent me your photo, and his.” She nodded toward Ben.

  “So you were pulling my chain, Ms. Leyton?” Zach asked, gesturing to the sofa.

  “More like double checking to be sure.” As she sat she said, “Please call me Irene.”

  “As long as you call me Zach, and that’s Ben.”

  “A pleasure,” she said, smiling at Ben who was seated in one of the armchairs.

  “First things first,” Zach said, taking a seat at the other end of the sofa. “Did you have any feeling that you were being followed on your way here?”

  “No, but I know he’s around. As soon as I step out of my townhouse I get the creepy sensation he’s watching because he’s been doing that. No, I didn’t see his car anywhere on the drive over, but he could have a rental or a motorcycle or hell maybe he was in a cab, who knows.” She spread her hands.

  “I understand. All right, let’s start at the beginning. How did you get mixed up with him?”

  “Mixed up is right,” she replied, grimacing. “I worked for him, as one of his secretaries. I don’t know if you’ve seen any pictures of him, but he’s fairly handsome and doesn’t look nearly as old as he is. He’s also charismatic. He’d have to be to make his company as successful as it is.”

  Ben frowned. “I’m not sure that follows.”

  She gave him a small smile. “I suppose you’re right. Anyway, I knew he was married, although he was getting a divorce. We all did, of course. He made no secret that it was a very bitter one. It didn’t stop me from feeling special when he’d compliment me on something I’d done, or tell me the blouse I was wearing was extremely flattering, or, you know. We became friends although it never went beyond that until about a week after the divorce was finalized and he asked me out. I was hesitant at first. I was afraid it was a rebound thing on his part. He convinced me it wasn’t and we began dating.”

  “How did that go?” Zach asked.

  “For a while it was fine. Then he became too controlling. You know, like telling me what I should wear or how to fix my hair. Little things that he said would show I wanted to please him. I’m not a person who likes being put down, which is what it amounted to as far as I was concerned, so I broke it off.” Irene smiled ruefully. “It made for a few tense days at work.”