Chapter 11
Kathryn
Wednesday and Thursday passed by, mostly uneventful. I talked to my father several times, and I felt better about that. He would be on new medication for his heart and would have to take advantage of some disability pay while he couldn’t work for a couple of months. Before he could be released from the hospital, my mother had to train with the nurses on how to take care of him and what he was allowed to do on his own.
Apparently, he was going to be quite limited until they had a good idea of his prognosis. He’d also have some physical and respiratory therapy to deal with, but he was in good spirits, even when he talked about changing his diet. My father was very much a meat and potatoes man, and he didn’t like the idea of cutting red meat from his diet. To my knowledge, I couldn’t remember a time when he’d eaten fish – crawfish boils didn’t count – and he’d eaten salad here and there but only with thick, creamy ranch dressing. I knew it was going to be difficult for him, but I made him promise to take proper care of himself from now on.
They asked how things were going, and I told them about work and updated them on the weather. I mentioned Crystal and that she was doing well. I also assured both my parents I would plan a trip to visit soon. I needed to start seeing them more often, and I vowed to myself to put aside a little money and look at the work calendar to see when there might be an opening.
I didn’t mention Zane. I hadn’t even told them about Christian, and we’d dated for months. As it turned out, that had been a good decision. I wouldn’t have felt like explaining why I’d decided to end that relationship after touting to them what a good man he was and how certain I was we were going to end up together.
My silence stemmed from my past. I didn’t like to make announcements about my love life, since that had gone so poorly with Jarrett, and I was just now starting to have faith that I wouldn’t end up in that situation again. In the grand scheme of things, I hadn’t known Zane long enough to bring him up on a phone call to my parents. And if I was honest with myself, things had been a little touch and go.
Sure, we’d had a wonderful, physically intimate night. And we’d had heartfelt conversation into the wee hours of the night when I was under duress. But overall, there had been a significant lack of communication, starting with lies that, while justified in some ways, were still enough to raise questions, and then were followed by long silences and misunderstandings.
I didn’t plan to hide him like I was ashamed of him, and I wasn’t thinking we were headed for doom and gloom. I just liked to be careful and at least have some history with a guy before I started mooning over him around my family. I did, however, tell Crystal all the details of Tuesday night’s experience, since she grilled me about why she’d come home and found Zane sitting on the couch, looking bleary eyed with my head in his lap. I had to tell her about my father anyway, and we spent most of the day talking about my dad’s health, Zane’s incredible act of valor and our heart to heart discussion, and the amazing night she’d had with her date. I got more detail than I wanted about her level of satisfaction with her date, but she was so thrilled I had to let her talk. Besides, as many times as she’d listened to me bark and moan or gush and giggle, I owed her my rapt attention.
Thursday was back to work, and I was in meetings most of the day. I actually managed to get one patient transferred from our full time care unit to a specific nursing home that had her on a waiting list and wouldn’t have gotten her in for another six months without a little push through my growing advocacy program. Her bank account would have run dry before she ever got there at our costs, and she couldn’t go home because there was no one to care for her there.
But the euphoria of the bond I thought I’d built with Zane on Tuesday had worn off by Friday when I hadn’t heard from him again. The last thing I’d heard was a text exchange Wednesday morning to make sure I was okay, and I’d thanked him for taking care of me. I hadn’t gotten a response or heard back since.
The only thing I could think was that I had scared him away. Between my need to spew words of emotional attachment to him, my obvious panic and fear, and the horrid swelling around my eyes that made me look like I’d been punched in the face while on heavy painkillers, I could understand why any man would turn tail and run. It had to have freaked him out.
But I couldn’t change things, and I told myself that, if Zane couldn’t handle that side of me – the one that fell apart when I didn’t have any control over a bad situation – then I shouldn’t want to be with him. We wouldn’t be compatible for long. I had to leave this up to him.
As I turned and started down my street on the way home from work on Friday, I scowled. There was a Lincoln Navigator parked across from my apartment, one I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t that I constantly watched the neighborhood for the cars that came and went, but after living in the same place for several years, I got used to my surroundings. Anytime the landscape changed, it seemed strange, even when I couldn’t pinpoint the reason.
I probably wouldn’t have noticed it anyway. I would have just kept going and not thought twice about it, but it was sitting there, idling, and it was directly across from my apartment. I brightened for a moment. I didn’t know what Zane drove, but I could imagine this would be his ride. It was a luxury SUV, and the black paint was glistening in the sun like it had just been polished. Had he finally come to see me and break radio silence? That would be like him.
I picked up my step and crossed the street, walking toward the Lincoln. I was eager to see Zane and find out if we were okay after my pathetic breakdown, and I hoped he was as eager to see me. But as I drew closer, I saw a face in the rearview mirror that definitely wasn’t his.
Rather, it was a woman with blond hair. From what I could see, lots of it. Something about her felt vaguely familiar, and though she wore dark sunglasses that covered half her face, I thought she very closely resembled the blonde from the pictures of Zane I’d seen before. All the publicity shots with that bright white smile and perfect breasts.
I scowled. Maybe it was just my imagination. I had been paranoid a lot lately, especially about issues related to Zane, and it didn’t help that I hadn’t talked to him in so long. But I figured there had to be a way to clear my suspicion without causing any trouble.
The woman’s head was bobbing around, and it looked like she was having some sort of conversation. She hadn’t seen me yet, as far as I could tell, so I ducked behind a large tree in the yard just behind the Lincoln.
There was a man in the passenger seat, and the window was down on his side. I could tell they were in a heated argument, but I couldn’t hear what it was about from my position. They were so close to the corner that I thought I might be able to hear them if I could pretend to be lost and looking for someone while I stood at the intersection.
I came out from behind the tree – I didn’t think they’d notice, as heavily as they were arguing – and walked slowly to the corner, looking left and right with a frown on my face. I took out my phone and played with it, like I was looking for an address or a map or texting someone while I listened. I couldn’t catch every word, but I caught the gist of it.
“You’re acting like a coward.” The woman sounded incredibly angry, and I wondered what had her so riled up. One thing I knew for sure was that I wouldn’t want to cross her. It wasn’t that she sounded particularly intimidating, but more like she had a sense of entitlement that would coax a saint into decking her.
The guy’s voice was quieter, and I missed the first part of what he said. I strained a little harder. “…don’t know how long I can keep it up. You’re talking about a felony offense. If I got caught…”
I didn’t know if he trailed off or just got so quiet I couldn’t hear.
“I can’t do this without you!’ she hissed at him loudly. He shushed her, but she didn’t drop her volume by much. “Without you, I might as well be playing roulette. You know…” I lost her for a second as a car drove by. “…up, and you cover any suspicion by pointing me to anything that goes down but won’t cost me much. I need you if my investments are going to stay clean.”
I couldn’t be certain exactly what they were talking about, but the man was skittish, obviously worried about prison. He’d mentioned a felony crime. And it had something to do with illegal investments. From what I could gather, the guy wanted out of whatever arrangement they had, and the blond woman was bullying him into continuing to do whatever it was she needed him to do.
I didn’t want to stay on the corner forever and risk being noticed, but there weren’t a lot of options. If this was the woman I thought – the one in the pictures – I couldn’t go into my apartment. If she was some crazy ex-girlfriend, I didn’t want her stalking me. I couldn’t just go for a random walk, either. As long as I’d lived here, I didn’t really know the neighborhood well, and I didn’t know how long these people would be here. I needed to be able to watch for when they finally left. That would also give me an idea of whether or not they were waiting for me and how long they were willing to wait.
Two blocks back was where the downtown buzz started, and there was a tiny French restaurant on the corner. It wasn’t exactly ideal, since it was a bit further than I’d like to be to watch them, but it would have to do. There weren’t any other places I could hang out to wait without looking suspicious.
I didn’t want to call attention to myself, so I thought fast. I crossed the street and turned back the other way. If they had noticed me at all, they would just assume I’d gotten my wires crossed and gone back to the right place. And if they hadn’t, they wouldn’t care where I was going as long as it wasn’t to my apartment or any other place they happened to be staking out.
I watched behind me as I strode quickly back to the corner where the café was, but the car never moved. I crossed back and stood in front of the French restaurant for a moment, making sure I could sit somewhere inside that gave me a view of the SUV. There were several options, so I stepped inside.
At the counter, I ordered quickly, opting for a simple croissant and quiche appetizer with a latte. I wanted to get back into a position where I could see if the car had gone yet. I didn’t know why, but it gave me a very bad feeling, and even though I couldn’t be sure who the woman was, I suspected it was all because of Zane.
I wanted to ask Zane was if the blond woman was currently involved with him or if she was just a jealous ex. I kept hoping the SUV would just drive off as I nibbled at my food, but they sat there for nearly another hour. I watched the whole time, my mind spinning. I couldn’t make sense of it. Or maybe I didn’t want to. Either way, I couldn’t reconcile two people randomly sitting on my street just to fight. They had some other reason to be there, and I had to know if their business was related to me. I had a momentary urge to call Zane and demand to know who the woman in the pictures was and why she would be sitting outside my apartment now.
But what if he didn’t have the answers? It was possible this woman was stalking him, and he wasn’t aware of it. I’d gone straight to accusations against Zane one too many times already. If I pointed a finger at him for this, I probably wouldn’t be able to coax his forgiveness again.
I sighed and waited, and as I waited, I saw Crystal bouncing toward the apartment on her way home from work. I had this sudden fear that the two people were going to jump out of the SUV and grab her, like some television crime show. They would gag her and blindfold her and stuff her in the back, and then they’d demand some sort of ransom from Zane.
I had an urge to warn her, an irrational need to go catch her before she went into the apartment. Then it occurred to me that I could just call her, although I could never be certain she had her phone on her.
But I calmed myself. I was being ridiculous and letting my imagination run away with conspiracy theories that would make Crystal proud. It was broad daylight, and while the woman in the SUV had sounded mean and controlling, she hadn’t sounded stupid. On top of that, the guy said he was fearful of jail time. Neither of them would risk being seen capturing or hurting Crystal. There was too much traffic that went up and down the street.
Taking a deep breath, I saw Crystal reach the door to the apartment, unlock it, and go inside. She didn’t hesitate, and she didn’t even seem to notice the SUV across the road. About forty-five seconds later, the lights came on in the living room, shining out the windows where the curtains were drawn back.
I turned my gaze back to the car, holding my breath. It took about two minutes, but the tail lights brightened, and the car drove away slowly, turning right after one block. That would take them straight to the freeway that ran east and west through Houston.
I stared in shock, even though I’d had a gut feeling what I would see. Their departure came too soon after Crystal had entered the apartment, and I didn’t think it was a coincidence. Yes, something was definitely wrong with this picture, and I intended to find out what it was.
Not even bothering to finish the last few bites on my plate, I tossed a couple of dollars on the table as a tip for the busboy and grabbed my purse. I was angry, and more than a little frightened. I need to clear things up before I lost my cool. Watching from the covered entry to the restaurant just to make sure the car didn’t turn around and come back, I finally headed home at a fast clip. Wanting nothing more than to be holed up and out of sight until I felt safe again, I ducked into the apartment door, and ran up the stairs.
It was time for answers.