CHAPTER 25
Since the night before the wedding, they hadn’t heard a word from Bruce. Alex wasn’t taking any chances. After hearing about Hank’s piss breaks, he had Romero add another guy to watch Valerie. Steve was an ex-cop and supposed to be one of the best.
With Angel and Sarah honeymooning in Cabo, Alex felt it was safe to wait until they got back to talk to Angel about it. He only hoped by then he’d know enough about this guy to nail him.
In the meantime, he’d let Sofia in on Valerie’s stalker, leaving a few of the more alarming details out. He made her promise to tell him if she noticed anything unusual, no matter how insignificant she thought it was. At the moment, he didn’t feel it necessary to have anyone watch her, but if he had to, he would. The idea of Bruce coming after his family infuriated him.
He stalked out of the back room and into the restaurant. Sal was in a booth with a couple of young guys—he’d been interviewing potential employees all morning. With Sarah and Angel gone for the week and a couple of employees out sick, the restaurant was really feeling the pinch. Now that Angel and Sarah’s restaurant was projected to be up and running before the end of the year, Alex was not only losing them, they’d be taking a few of the seasoned cooks, waitresses and bartenders with them. His dad said they would need all the help they could get until they got things running smoothly.
Alex hoped to pick up a minimum of ten new employees before then, and he was glad Sal was there to help with the interviewing.
Romero walked in the front door, grinning. Alex had been expecting him. He obviously had news, finally.
“This guy’s a writer.” He said with a king-sized grin.
“A writer?”
“He likes documenting everything.” Romero took a seat at the bar and tapped the bar for service.
Alex walked behind the bar. “You wanna beer?”
“Nah, I’m still working. Just give me a soda.” Romero drummed his fingers on the bar. “So, this guy keeps journals. Online journals. Some of the entries are public but most of the ones about Valerie are not.”
Alex stopped what he was doing. “He’s writing about Valerie?”
“Oh yeah, dude the guy is obsessed.”
Alex knew that, but hearing that Bruce was writing stuff about Valerie on the Internet was still unsettling to say the least.
“If it’s not public, how do you know what he’s writing?” Alex handed Romero the soda.
Romero gave him a look before taking the glass. “Alex, I told you this guy could get into Bruce’s bank account if he wanted. An online journal is nothing.”
“So, what’s he writing about?”
“Most of it is nonsense. But Mr. X assures me that we hit a goldmine.”
“Who the hell is Mr. X?”
“The guy doing all the digging. I don’t know his real name so that’s what I call him.”
“Wait. I’m paying this guy big bucks, and you don’t even know his name? What if he’s just feeding us a bunch of crap?”
Romero stared at Alex, annoyed. “He comes highly recommended from a very reliable source. I’d never steer you wrong. What, do you think I’m an idiot or something?”
Alex attempted a smirk, but he was too wound up. “You couldn’t come up with anything better than Mr. X?”
Romero frowned. “You wanna hear the rest of this or not?”
Alex nodded leaning against the back counter of the bar, crossing his arms in front of him.
“Anyway, Mr. X says any type of documentation is the best way to get into this guy’s head. That’s why he went looking for it to begin with. Stalkers and serial killers are notorious for being compulsive planners. This will definitely help if he’s stupid enough to write down what he’s planning next. So, far he has been. The problem is he’s not that stupid.”
Romero took a long drink of his soda. Alex waited impatiently. There always had to be a damn catch.
After nearly finishing the entire glass of soda, Romero put the glass down, burped then continued. “These journals, in some cases blogs haven’t been easy to find. They’re not in his name, of course. He uses different emails to set them up. If he were writing out of one computer only, it would be easy. He’d just hack the computer and get everything he done through it. But he doesn’t. He goes from one computer to another, most in public places like libraries and computer cafés.”
“So, how do we know it’s even him writing them?”
“Trust me, Alex. Mr. X knows. He changes the password on the journals blogs often enough, but not the email he uses to get in them. Mr. X says that’s pretty cocky of him since the passwords a no-brainer to hack. With the same email address Mr. X can stay on his trail.”
“Can you please stop calling him that? It sounds so stupid.”
Romero downed the rest of the soda. “What’s stupid about Mr. X?”
Alex rolled his eyes. “Never mind, what else did he find out?”
“So, far that’s the main thing. But he seems to think it’s pretty significant. He’s gonna go back all the way to when Valerie first met the guy. You said this was about a year ago, right?”
The same irritation he’d felt with himself when he first heard that Valerie had met the guy weeks after breaking things off with him sunk in. He felt completely responsible now for her ever meeting this psycho.
“So, he’s digging into that. He says it helps to find out what motivated this guy to come after her the way he has in the first place. Also, he’s mentions friends and acquaintances in the entries. That could lead us to where he might be staying.”
Alex chewed on everything Romero had just laid on him, his arms still tightly crossed over his chest. “How long is it going to take before we know any more?”
“He’s real close. I tell you he’s good. But there’s a lot he says he has to sift through. For every clue he finds there’s a ton of useless garbage he has to read through.” Romero stood up. “As soon as I know more I’ll let you know.” Romero tapped the top of the bar. “I gotta go.”
He started to walk away. Alex nodded lost in thought. Romero stopped and turned around. “Did you ever find out what was up with Valerie meeting Luke the morning of the rehearsal dinner?”
Alex came out of his stupor. “Yeah, she had to give him keys to some properties he was showing, but that’s all she said.”
“Did she mention anything about him being at her apartment?”
He’d tried pushing both incidents to the back of his mind, but the truth was it still gnawed at him. “He dropped by to take a look at a painting. Why?”
Romero studied him for a moment. “Hank wasn’t sure if it was worth mentioning, so he said he’d leave it up to me. Did you know she had breakfast with Luke yesterday and this morning?”
His arms still crossed in front of him, Alex squeezed them even tighter. Valerie had rushed out of the house both mornings claiming she didn’t have time for breakfast. “No. I didn’t.”
Romero didn’t say anything for a moment, then shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe it’s just me. If Izzy was having breakfast with an ex two days in row and didn’t tell me about it, I’d have a problem with it. But Valerie works with the guy, so… whatever. Just thought I’d mention it.”
He started for the door. Alex could feel the drumming of his pulse in his ears as he watched Romero walk out. The image of Valerie and Luke hugging and holding hands the morning of the rehearsal assaulted him. Add that to the fact that she’d chosen him, of all people to show the painting to, this really brought a serious question to mind. Was it possible she’d played down her relationship with Luke and her feelings for him ran deeper than she was admitting?
*
When Luke called Valerie earlier in the week to tell her he wanted to talk to her about something very important, Valerie almost turned him down. He wanted to do it away from the office to avoid anyone overhearing or starting to speculate. She had no idea what he wanted to talk to her about—he only said it was completely work related. She knew how Alex felt about Luke. He’d most certainly have an issue with her getting together with him outside of the office, but if it was really work related he’d just have to understand.
After having breakfast with him the first time, she was glad she had. Corporate was looking into opening another office in the La Jolla area. They asked Luke if there was anyone he could recommend to manage it, and he said the only one he’d even consider was Valerie. While there were quite a few with more experience than Valerie in the office, he said none had the drive and dedication but most importantly, the stamina she did. There was no one else he could recommend that he truly believed could handle an entire office, nor did he think any of them would want to.
This didn’t mean she would get it for sure. Luke wasn’t the only one being asked for recommendations. But she had to let him know ASAP, because they’d be starting the interview process soon. There would be others considered as well. Valerie told him she’d sleep on it and get back to him. By the next morning, and after mulling it over with her dad and Isabel, she was convinced it would definitely be a good career move. She’d met him again, certain that when she told Alex that she might not be working with Luke anymore he’d be willing to overlook her meeting up with him outside of the office.
She wouldn’t bring it up just yet. They’d be interviewing all the recommended candidates soon. Luke mentioned he could coach her. That would definitely mean more time alone with him, and she didn’t need Alex obsessing about that.
Just the night before, Alex brought up Luke out of nowhere. Obviously, the fact that she saw Luke everyday still bothered him. Like she always did when Alex brought up Luke, she tried to change the subject. But last night Alex probed a little more than usual. She’d make sure any coaching would be done in the office. She didn’t need to add anymore fuel to the fire.
Valerie sat at her desk feeling exhausted. Deciding to call it in early today and head home, she began to pack things up. Luke leaned into her cubicle as she pushed her laptop into her briefcase.
“You out already?”
“Yeah,” She leaned back in her chair. “It’s been a pretty productive, but boring contract-writing day. I’m done.”
Luke was about to say something when her phone rang. She read the caller ID and lifted her finger to gesture Luke to hold on. Her step-mom didn’t call her very often, and when she did, it was usually about her father. “Hi Norma.”
“Valerie, your father collapsed.” She was frantic. “The paramedics are on their way.”
Valerie’s heart nearly gave out, and her hand immediately shot to her mouth. “Oh my God, is he breathing?”
“Yes, but barely,” Valerie heard voices and then heard Norma yell out. “In here! Come quickly!”
A devastating weight pushed against Valerie’s chest. It was happening all over again. Her dad would be in the hospital. She could barely catch her own breath. Her hand shook now. She stood up, fumbling around her desk for her keys. “What hospital are they taking him to?” she cried.
She threw her phone on the desk as soon as she hung up and continued to search for her keys.
“What is it, Valerie?” Luke demanded. “Who’s going to the hospital?”
“My dad,” she sobbed, trying desperately to hold it together. “Where are my damn keys?”
“Probably in your purse, but you can’t drive like this, Val.”
“I have to!” Valerie grabbed her purse and fished for her keys.
After a few of the other people in the office who had heard Valerie insisted she not drive, Luke rushed to grab his own keys. “Let’s go. I’ll take you.”
They both rushed out into the parking lot. It wasn’t until they were halfway there that she realized she’d left her phone on her desk. “Damn it.”
“What?” Luke drove fast, swerving at times.
“I left my phone at the office.”
Luke pulled his off his from his belt holster. “Here, use mine.”
She took it and called her step-mom. “How is he?”
“They just took him in.” Norma sounded as emotional as Valerie felt. “Oh honey,” her voice broke and she sobbed. “They think he may have suffered a stroke.”
“No!” Valerie gasped feeling as if her heart had stopped.
“Get here fast, honey. I’m so scared.” Valerie had never heard her like this.
When she hung up she buried her face in her hands.
“It’s gonna be okay, Val.”
“No.” She didn’t care that she was crying like a baby now. “They think he had a stroke.”
Luke said nothing, just pressed down on the accelerator. Valerie dropped the phone on her lap and cried helplessly into her hands. “Please God, let him be okay,” she repeated over and over.
Luke dropped her off at the entrance to the emergency room. She’d already pulled off her shoes in the car so that she could run as soon as she was out the door. Sprinting through the doors, she searched for Norma and immediately spotted the red-eyed woman.
They rushed to each other and hugged. “His breathing is stable, and they’re putting him in the ICU.”
“Oh thank God.” She cried even more now squeezing Norma tight.
“But he’s not out of the dark yet. They’re watching him really close. He’s still unconscious.”
Valerie’s entire body shook. That’s when she felt it. Her stomach churned. She looked around. “Where’s the restroom?”
“Why, what’s wrong?” Norma asked, concerned.
“I’m gonna be sick.”
Expecting the dry heaves again, Valerie was surprised to throw up her entire lunch and breakfast. She stood breathlessly against the bathroom stall. She hated how her body reacted to her emotions. After washing up she went back to the waiting room. Luke was there now. She caught him up on her fathers’ condition and then turned to Norma. “When can we see him?”
Norma shook her head explaining, “They said as soon as they settle him into his room, but that may be a while.”
Valerie checked her watch. It was almost six. Alex would be home early tonight. He’d told her that this morning.
“Did you want to go back and get your things from the office?” Luke checked his watch also.
“No, I’m not leaving, until I see him.” She thought about calling Alex from Norma’s phone, but she knew he’d rush down, and she didn’t want Luke to be here. She’d been under enough stress being in the same room with them the night of the wine tasting. The last thing she needed was to go through that again, especially right now. “You can go if you want, Luke. I may be here all night.”
“No, I’ll stay for a while. I want to make sure he’s okay too. You’re okay…” Their eyes locked for a moment. Valerie glanced away, annoyed. Was he ever going to stop doing that?
Norma took a seat in the waiting room. There was no way Valerie could sit when she was worried. So, she paced, and Luke paced with her, at times rubbing her back for comfort.
***
Finally done with the payroll, Alex texted Valerie.
Can you talk?
He was feeling a little guilty about the night before. He’d been a little short with her after trying to get her to talk about Luke when she still didn’t mention anything about having had breakfast with him. They’d almost gone to sleep without making love. Almost.
Romero rushed into the office, closing the door behind him and pulling up a chair. He had a small pad of paper in his hand. “This is way worse than we were thinking.”
Alex tensed up at once. He hadn’t been expecting Romero today. This had to be bad.
“I haven’t had a chance to go through everything he sent me, but there are a few key things I think you should know right away.” He opened up the pad in his hand. “First of all, Valerie thinks she met this guy, and then he got all obsessed with her right?”
Alex nodded not understanding, and Romero continued, “Bruce set it up. He’s been following her way before that. He worked in the computer lab at her college. That’s where he first saw her. He was there, Alex, the night she caught you with the tutor. Saw the whole thing. Then he waited to approach her and woo her. He knew she was vulnerable and used it to his advantage.”
Every hair on Alex’s body went on alert. Bruce had been stalking Valerie for years? Romero looked down at his pad again, “His entries are especially vicious when he writes about you guys doing it. Like the night you left the bonfire with Valerie, that was your first night you were back with her right? He was furious.”
“He watched us?”
Romero lifted his eyes from his pad. “I guess. He doesn’t actually write what he saw but he definitely knew you had done it. This one might piss you off a little but it’s important. The only time he actually wrote and I quote ‘I almost killed her today’ was the morning after the first time she slept with Luke. He stayed the whole night outside of Luke’s house and followed her home the next morning. He was so pissed that he dated her for almost a month and never slept with her then she starts going out with Luke and week two, he nails her.”
Romero may as well have given him a flying kick to the gut because that’s what it felt like. He felt the air literally sucked out of him. He wasn’t sure what was worse, that Bruce had actually considered killing her, or the visual of her sleeping with Luke.
He gulped hard. The pulse in his ears throbbed. He blinked, thankful he was sitting, because he thought he might actually be lightheaded. Romero had never been one to pussy foot anything. He sure hadn’t this time. Alex’s mind was still stuck on those last five words. Week two he nails her.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“No,” Alex barked.
“He’s more hung up on Luke than he is you.”
“And why would that be?” Alex almost didn’t want, to know but he had to now.
“Because you cheated on her, and Valerie told him she was in love with Luke. This was just before you two got back together. She may have told him that just to get him to back off. He keeps trying to figure out why she’s with you now. But he’s noticed Valerie’s inconspicuous meetings with Luke and he’s getting frantic about it.”
Alex clenched his teeth. That made two of them. His phone rang. It was Hank. The only time Hank ever called was if…
Alex grabbed it and stood up. “What’s up, Hank?”
Romero was on his feet next to Alex the second he heard Hank’s name.
“Have you talked to Valerie?”
“No why?”
“Well, I don’t think anything’s happened to her, but I just thought you might want to know she’s in the emergency room.”
His murderous mood, quickly replaced with dread, then annoyance. “What do you mean you don’t think? Weren’t you watching her?”
“Yeah, I was. I was right outside her office. So, was Steve. She walked out with that Luke guy, and they got in his car. So, we followed them. He dropped her off at the emergency room, and she ran in.”
Ran in? “This happened right now?”
“About fifteen minutes ago.”
“And you’re just now calling me?” Alex’s voice thundered.
“Well, Luke parked and didn’t seem too worried when he strolled in. So, I didn’t know what to think.”
Alex squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. “What hospital, Hank?”
After getting off the phone with Hank, Alex filled Romero in on what was going on. He called Valerie a few times. Each time it went to her voicemail. Feeling even more annoyed, he grabbed his keys and headed out.
“Are you telling her about Hank and Steve?” Romero knew Alex well enough to know where he was headed.
“If I have to.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?”
Alex wasn’t, but he was done with the guessing games. He’d get to the bottom of this today. Why was Valerie in the emergency room not answering her phone? And more importantly why the fuck was Luke with her?
“I better go with you.” Romero hurried along side of him.
Alex passed Sal on his way out. Sal followed him out the back door as Alex explained he was gone for the day and got in his truck. Romero jumped in the passenger side.
The more he thought about Valerie and Luke the more he felt like punching something or someone. Maybe it was a good thing Luke was in an emergency room. It might come in handy.