Rather than take a cab back to D.C., they decided to rent a car from the place at the edge of town, near the marina. Even though she knew they were heading back to potential tension, the drive home was spectacular, albeit pensive and quiet until she decided to make some small talk.
“I wish we never had to work again,” she said.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he said bluntly. “I make enough for both of us.”
“I want to contribute,” she said, happy to talk about anything that didn’t have to deal with the impending situation with the stalker.
“Well, there’s no rush for now, especially if you’re gonna be my wife,” he said with a wink, clearly happy to be discussing their life rather than what they were heading back to.
“That’s tempting, Thomas, but it’s not really cool with me. We’ll have to think about it,” she said. “I’m not really cut out to be just a happy little homemaker.”
“It would give you time to figure out what you really want to do or go to school or whatever.”
“Okay,” she said, still not too keen on the idea.
As they returned to D.C., she realized he was driving in the direction of his place, and her body knotted with tension. Before she could protest, though, he stopped her.
“I know you don’t like my house, and we’ll work that out, but I need to get some stuff for work. Noah had an issue, and it can’t wait. You can wait in the car if you want. I won’t be but a minute,” he said, looking at her apologetically.
“Okay,” she said, no more enthusiastically than before.
“I love you,” he said, “and we’ll get through this mess.”
“I know. One foot in front of the other,” she answered.
“I knew you were with her!” came a voice from behind.
Cheri looked up, and Thomas’s eyes darted around. As if by magic, Patricia Moore was standing right in the middle of the street, aiming a gun right at them.
“Obviously not, if she’s in the car and I’m out here,” Thomas said stiffly. “Patty, we’re in the middle of breaking up. Surely you get that we’re gonna have a few conversations about that.”
Moore shook her head.
“Come on,” Thomas pleaded. “I was telling her goodbye.”
Cheri watched, full of terror and hope that the stalker would buy his lame excuse.
“Don’t lie to me, Thomas,” Patty said, her face wrinkling up. “I just heard you say you love her. You’re supposed to love me!”
“I know, and I do,” Thomas lied. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
“Not until I finish her!” spat Patty.
“If you do that,” said Thomas coolly, “you’ll go to jail. They’ll keep us apart forever, Patty. Are you sure you want to risk that? I know I don’t.”
“There will always be a risk for us as long as she’s alive,” said Patty.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” Thomas said, sickening himself with every word. “I just didn’t realize how much you love me.”
“You’re just trying to trick me,” cried Patty.
Cheri wanted to push open the driver-side door and smack the woman with it, but she was too far away and didn’t want to make any sudden moves. She couldn’t help but notice the frustration on Thomas’s face as he switched his tactic from trying to get along with his stalker to turning on her.
“Weren’t you arrested or something?” asked Thomas icily.
“No,” replied the woman triumphantly. “And why would you ask me that? How could you call the police on me? See how you are?”
“You mean you haven’t been arrested yet,” he countered.
“And I won’t be,” she spat.
“Look, Patty, if you won’t put that gun down now, I don’t want anything to do with you. If you want me, you’ll have to do what I say. I can’t be with someone who doesn’t care about getting arrested.”
In the light of that threat, the stalker faltered. “I won’t let them get me, baby,” she said. “Even if they do catch me, they’ll understand that you and I belong together, that I’m just defending what’s mine.”
Thomas’s phone buzzed in the seat beside Cheri, and she slyly reached for it, moving her hand slowly so she wouldn’t be detected. She retrieved the phone, disconnected the incoming call, and dialed 911, then set the phone down so the operator could listen to the scene playing out in front of her, hoping that would be enough for the dispatcher to send help. She hoped like hell her plan would work, but she wasn’t sure it would do any good. Her stomach bunched painfully, and her heart beat uncontrollably, though not in the way Thomas always caused it to. She thought she might have a heart attack or a stroke, and her skull felt as if it might burst.
Minutes later, a late-model car drove slowly down the street. The driver was a little old lady, and she slowed even more when she caught sight of a woman in the middle of the street. She must not have seen the gun.
“Damn it,” Cheri cursed, but then it occurred to her that the onlooker might be just enough of a distraction for one of them to act. Thomas had the keys, so she looked over at him and pointed to the ignition, then motioned very slyly for him to toss them to her.
Thomas only shook his head, ever so slightly.
“Excuse me,” the woman said sweetly through her window, “but can either of you tell me how to get to Melrose Market from here?” Clearly, her thick glasses didn’t help the elderly driver much, because she didn’t even notice that Thomas and Cheri were being held at gunpoint.
The stalker muttered an answer without turning around.
“What did you say? Sorry. I don’t hear very well, honey,” said the little old lady.
The stalker said nothing more and still didn’t bother to turn around.
Suddenly, the back window of the old woman’s car rolled down, and an officer raised a rifle and took aim through it. Cheri watched in horror to see that the old woman was an undercover agent, a ploy.
In an instant of blurry red and blue lights and loud sirens, multiple police cars scrambled into position, and several officers drew their weapons, all at close range.
“Drop it!” ordered a cop who had exited his car. He quickly rose from a squatting position to a standing one.
Patty seemed paralyzed, except to shake and shiver, as if utterly destroyed. She seemed to sink into a trance and was unable to function as an officer relieved her of her weapon.
The old woman put the car in park and ran over to Cheri. “Are you okay?” she asked, no longer disguising her voice with the elderly rasp anymore.
“I’m fine. Thank you,” Cheri said, admiring the woman’s very detailed disguise that didn’t give her young age away in the least.
Although the police had everything under control, Thomas lost it and flew into a tirade. “You dumb bitch!” he roared as he charged toward Patricia Moore. “If I ever see you again…”
It was the most rage Cheri had seen him exhibit, and it was frightening. Many of the cops had to turn their attention to Thomas, trying to restrain him from doing anything they’d have to arrest him for. When the decoy cop ordered him back onto the sidewalk, Cheri held her breath. She certainly didn’t want her groom-to-be arrested; more drama they simply did not need. She just watched silently, not saying a word, as Thomas reluctantly took his place on the sidewalk as ordered. When he turned his back, she noticed the shaking of his massive shoulders, and she heard his heavy breathing even from as far away as she was, and she knew Thomas was crying.
Tony drove up in another car and approached Cheri first. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I think so. Enough excitement to last a lifetime, though,” Cheri answered.
“How is he?” asked Tony of Thomas.
Cheri shrugged. “I’m not sure. Okay, I hope.”
“Me, too. Can you confirm that this person is the woman you saw after you discovered your tire was flat?” he asked Cheri.
“Yes, that’s her,” Cheri answered, her throat constricting with rage.
Next, Tony gingerly approached Thomas. “Hey,” he said softly. “Turn around.”
Thomas wiped his face.
“Is this your stalker?” Tony asked.
Thomas nodded and held his arms out for Cheri, inviting her in for a hug.
“He’s mine!” Patty suddenly screamed like a maniac. “Get your hands off him, or you’re dead, you skinny bitch!”
“And there’s a death threat,” said Tony casually, then proceeded to read Patricia Moore her Miranda rights and loaded her into a cruiser. Once she was secured there, ranting and raving and flailing her arms, spouting all sorts of curses and threats, he calmly walked back over to Thomas and Cheri. “I’ll let you guys have a moment, but I’m gonna need you to come down to the station ASAP so we can wrap this one up with a big, pretty bow. You’ve got nothing more to worry about. We’ve got enough on her to keep her away from everyone for a long, long time.”
Thomas could not stop sobbing. Almost blinded by his tears, he pulled Cheri closer to him, firmly holding on to her as if he didn’t ever want to let her go. In fact, his grip was so tight that Cheri couldn’t break free if she wanted to, which she didn’t. She let him hold her as he unleashed for several minutes, then finally let her go after releasing a heavy sigh.
“You know what I want?” she asked softly.
“What?”
“After we go to the station to give our reports, I wanna play house with you, just like you said. You go to work and let me do my thing. I have a wedding to plan.”
“The sooner, the better,” he rasped.
“Well, if the weather is good, we can take the bike back down to that cute little town for a practice honeymoon,” she said. “I think that’s where I want to get married. I really like it.”
“Practice?” he said, his tone lightening a bit. “How about a real one? For a small fee, I can get a pal to marry us here in D.C., with virtually no waiting. Then we could ride into that cute little town as mister and missus.”
“Only you can make me feel so good after what just happened,” she said, pressing her face into his warm body. The fall air seemed to be staying cooler longer, and he felt so comfortable that she wanted to stay close to him, cuddled up with him forever.
“We better get down to the station. I’ll let Noah know I’ll be late,” he said.
Cheri sat back in the car. “C’mon,” she said, patting the driver’s seat. “We have a past to close out.”
Thomas and Cheri were at the station for all of half an hour. As Tony took their statements, there was a moment of tension when they came to the part where the cops were asked for a guarantee. Except for possible testimony if Moore contested the charges, they hoped they would never have to face her again.
“You know how these things work,” said Tony. “All I can tell you is that we’ll do our best.”
“I guess that’s all we can ask of anyone,” Cheri said, giving Thomas’s hand a squeeze.