* * *
Cathee managed to re-direct her thoughts anytime Garrett intruded into them, which was less and less as the weekend passed. Monday brought real life into focus, finding Cathee busily engaged in a new audit. Christina was back to her preschool, and everything was back to the same old familiar routine.
Shortly after 10:00 Wednesday morning, Cathee looked up from the report she was reviewing to look at her ringing cell phone. It was the preschool. She furrowed her brow. They never called. She picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Is this Cathee Laurenson?”
“It is. How can I help you?”
“A Hispanic man in a black SUV showed up. He’s at the front desk demanding to see Christina. He says he’s her father.”
Cathee sunk back into her chair, stunned. She needed to take action. “Call the police. Don’t let him have her. Juan Ortiz is a dangerous man. He could be armed. Please be careful.” She didn’t wait for a response as she tucked her cell phone into her purse.
She ran out the door then jumped into her car. The tires squealed as she turned out of the parking lot. It normally took twenty minutes to get to Christina’s preschool. She made it in ten. She jumped out of the car and ran into the building, frantically searching for her daughter.
“Where is she?”
“Christina is safe. The man left. He must’ve heard us talking about the police.”
Cathee was white with fear, shaking from head to foot. “I want to take Christina home. Can you bring her to me?”
“Certainly.”
One of the desk clerks left to retrieve her daughter. Cathee addressed the other one. “Since Juan knows this is Christina’s preschool, I’m going to have to pull her out.” Tears were streaming down her face. Tears of terror and sorrow. Terror because of Juan and sorrow that her daughter would have to leave this place she loved. “Can...can you rec - com - mend another preschool?” She managed to get out around her sobs.
“Of course. Here is a list of other places in Wichita.” She looked sympathetic. “Good luck.”
Christina ran up to Cathee, and she hugged her fiercely. “Oh, Honey, I’m so glad you’re safe. Let’s go home, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.” She stepped back to examine her mother’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t worry about it, Christina. Everything will work out.”
Christina held Cathee’s hand tightly as they walked out to the car. A police cruiser was just pulling into the parking lot. Cathee hurriedly walked over to the officer. “Can I talk to you about what happened?”
He stared at the front door a moment, then nodded and followed Cathee to her car. She turned on the ignition, then turned on the air conditioning and the radio. “Wait here a minute, Honey,” she addressed Christina while buckling her into her booster seat.
Christina’s eyes were big with fear. Her voice sounded small and scared. “Okay, Mommy.”
Cathee turned to the officer after she carefully shut the door, checking to make sure the doors weren’t locked. “I didn’t want my daughter to hear.” Cathee took a steadying breath. “Her birth father is Juan Ortiz, the prison escapee from New York. He has threatened to kill me.”
The officer pulled out a notebook and started to scribble notes. He looked up expectantly.
“Juan showed up at the school to get Christina. I don’t know how he found it.”
“Do you have a Facebook account?”
She nodded.
“Most people don’t know how easy it is to access information. Did you post anything on your account about your daughter’s preschool?”
Horrified, Cathee’s eyes went wide. “I...I just posted a picture a couple of weeks ago.”
“I’d recommend you change your settings to only allow friends to see your information.”
“I...I had no idea. Thanks, Officer.” She was white, her hands clenched into tight fists. “What do I do now?”
“What’s your address?”
“Here. Let me give it to you.” She was terrified to say something aloud for fear Juan was still close and listening. She pulled out a check and ripped out the corner with her address.
“I’ll alert the office. We’ll have extra patrols run around your house until Mr. Ortiz is in custody.”
Cathee took another deep breath. She wondered if the extra patrols would make any kind of a difference. “Thanks, Officer. I appreciate your help.”
“No problem.” He shut the book and headed up the sidewalk to the preschool.
Cathee climbed into her car and headed to work. She needed to talk to her supervisor.
She walked into her office, Christina’s hand held firmly in hers. “Christina, sit here, please.” Christina settled into a cushioned chair in the front office while Cathee walked to the back to find her supervisor.
“Josh?” a graying man looked up from his computer.
“Yes?”
“Can we talk a minute?”
He sat back. “Of course. Come on in.”
She moved shakily to the cushioned chair in front of his desk, sitting carefully on the edge of the seat. “I’m having some issues with my daughter’s father.”
“Oh.”
Cathee looked down at her hands fiddling with the straps of her purse, then looked up. “He is Juan Ortiz, the man who escaped from New York.”
Shock filled his face. “What?”
“He’s trying to kill me. He found my daughter’s preschool today. I need to go into hiding until he is found. Can I take some time off?”
“You have some sick leave available, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll put it down as sick leave. How long do you think you’ll need?”
“I...I don’t know. If this is ongoing, is there any way I can get an emergency transfer?”
He looked thoughtful. “I don’t know how we could do that, but there are always positions open in Washington, DC, California and in Dallas. When you have time to open your computer, you can apply for any of those branches. I’m sure they’ll accept you in a heartbeat.”
A heartbeat. A life. It was all she had.
She took a deep breath. “Thanks. I’ll be in touch.”
He stood up to shake her hand. “I hope everything works out for you.”
“Me, too.”
“Please keep us informed.”
“I’ll do my best. Watch the news. If he gets caught, I’ll be back immediately.”
She stood up shakily and left the office, wondering if she would ever be back.