The next morning I was happy to report not a single dream about Nate. It was practically a miracle, one that I read as a good sign for the rest of the day.
I quickly took a shower and slipped into some jeans and one of the t-shirts Frannie bought me with a saying on it. That one said If it weren't for law enforcement & physics I would be unstoppable!!!?Most days I tried to pretend not even those two forces would stop me, at least in my own apartment I pretended that.
Feeling the need to start my day right, I decided to make a quick fruit salad with grapes, strawberries, pineapple and cantaloupe topped with a banana and sour cream dressing. Just for fun, I threw some chopped pecans in the mix. Oh yum. So many breakfasts lately were grab and go protein or granola bars.
Finishing breakfast, I quickly brushed my hair and teeth. I grabbed my wallet and phone while I stepped into my flip-flops. I walked out the door and as I turned to lock it, I found a note attached to it with my first name on it in big black blocky letters. That was a little strange.
My landlady didn't leave notes. If she had something she needed to discuss, she'd pound on my door until she could get me face-to-face. I opened the envelope and was gifted with a message that made the hairs on my arms stand up.
Avery, my sweet, I like you, so I will only warn you once. You need to mind your own business and stay away from the ball on Wednesday. It's sure to be a bang for your date.
Crap. I couldn't even get out my door and my day had already gone down the tube. I instinctively dialed Nate's number to ask what I should do. I didn't know if the note was a threat against him or Zuba. Not many people knew plans had been made and changed in the first place.
"Little butterfly, aren't you on your way to work? You couldn't wait a few more minutes to talk to me?"
"Very funny, I'm hoping you're the only one there if you're using terms of endearment. Wouldn't want anyone else overhearing and getting jealous." I hadn't asked him what was up with the butterfly comments. I figured it was best I didn't know why he'd started calling me that.
"Actually, I haven't walked inside yet. I just pulled up. What can I do for you?" he asked, and I heard a car door closing in the background.
"Well, you might want to stay next to your car. I received a little gift this morning. Sadly it wasn't a cheerful bouquet of purple daisies." I explained to him about the note and what it said.
After a string of expletives, I could make out in the background, he came back to the phone. "I'm on my way. I know you've already touched the paper, but try to not touch the door too much. If we're lucky the person may have left prints or some kind of evidence. I'll be there as quickly as I can, in this morning traffic it won't be as soon as I like, though. I need to make a couple of phone calls and see if we can get a crime scene unit out there. I'm calling Rick so he may show up before I get there."
Nate rambled on as thoughts fluttered into his mind. Even though it came across a bit chaotic, it was easy for me to picture his mind chronicling everything that needed to be done.
"Okay, I'll be in my apartment then. I don't want to stand out in the hall." I wasn't sure when the note had been dropped off, and I didn't want to meet the writer without someone else by my side, preferably someone big and strong with a gun.
After about ten minutes of staring into space, there was a knock at the door. It would've been great if I could've spent the time cleaning up my apartment, but it was already sparkling.
I looked through the peephole and saw Rick standing there. Grateful it was him and not someone I didn't know, I opened the door. I'd only known Rick for a day, but that was more than I could say about the millions of other people living in the city.
"Hey, Rick. Didn't we just see each other yesterday? I didn't know I was so irresistible." It was my first really stressful situation where I felt threatened, and I was a little surprised to find flirting worked to calm me down.
"Morning, Avery. As irresistible as you might be, I know for a fact if I wasn't here at the request of Nate, I'd be in big trouble for showing up at your door. Can you tell me what happened?" he asked. His voice was calm and I could tell he wanted to push some of that calmness my way.
"Sure," I said, pointing to the door, "I walked out my door this morning and there was an envelope taped to it with my name on it. I haven't ever received a note from the landlady like that, but I figured at first maybe she had a new way of collecting rent, so I opened it and found this." I handed the note over to let him read it.
"Interesting. I take it you understand what the person is saying?"
Rick didn't look up from the paper as he asked the question. I hadn't seen anything interesting in the paper fibers, but I also wasn't a hot shot detective.
"Yes, it has to do with the case Nate is working on, and I have gotten dragged into. I told him I should just stay behind the computer, but does he listen to me? Nope. You know, sometimes I think he speaks a different language or at least hears in a different language." I guessed since flirting didn't go over well, I'd moved on to being feisty as a method of stress relief.
"I'm guessing you're speaking about me," Nate said as he appeared in my doorway. "I've been studying your face for days now and I've only seen that look of utter frustration when I'm the subject of your thoughts."
"Great. He thinks he knows everything. Next thing you know he'll be reading my mind," I huffed and walked deeper into my apartment.
"Hey now, I thought we were getting along great. What's up with all this hostility?" He and Rick followed me into my apartment.
With the two of them in the small space, it went from a studio to a closet. If another guy showed up, we were going to need a shoe horn to get them all to fit. I'd be the first to offer to leave, not that my size was the problem.
"Yeah, that was until I figured out you dragging me into this mess would garner me a stalker," I said as I poked my finger into his chest. "I mean the guy had to have been at the deli and saw me talking to Zuba. Unless of course you have some mysterious lady friend who didn't get the memo we weren't going to the ball together anymore.
"Of course, if a woman is calling me 'my sweet' I'm not a happy camper either." Taping my head like I just had a revelation I added, "Maybe it was a mysterious girlfriend who was jealous of our 'work relationship' that tends to look nothing like a work relationship when we aren't in the office building.
"What is up with that anyway? You're hot and then you're cold. I'm going to have to invest in layers so I can take things off or put them on depending on your mood. ?And hey, get your mind out of the gutter, I wasn't taking off that many layers. The only good thing I can think of coming out of this is that I get out of going to that stupid ball."
"Wow, you get a little wordy when you're upset don't you?" Nate looked like he'd need his eyeballs put back in his skull he was so surprised by my speech.
Frankly, I was surprised I babbled as much as I had. I wished my babbling was even a smidge as coherent as Nate's when he started planning out what to do about the note.
"Whatever." I waved my hand in his direction and turned to Rick. "Rick, what do you need me to do? I should probably get to work sometime today."
"Since the action appears to have all happened outside your apartment, I can wait here for the CSU to get here and keep an eye on them while they see if there's any evidence to find. You've already given me the note, so just lock up and I can wait outside. They shouldn't be much longer."
"You're a lifesaver, Rick. Thanks. I'll just grab my phone and get out of your hair." I didn't remember putting my phone down, but it wasn't in my hand. Ushering them outside, I locked the door and headed out.
It felt a little rude leaving like that, but sticking around only made me wonder how safe my apartment was. It was my sanctuary from the rest of the world, so I didn't want to think about it being violated, even with the assault only happening to the exterior.
"Avery, come on, we're going the same way, why don't I give you a lift?" Nate tried to direct me towards the Impala.
/> Logic wasn't something I felt was going to be high on my list of important attributes when it came to myself. Everyone else needed to fill in the gaps where I was sure I wouldn't be able to. If it wasn't for the fact that I didn't want to be in my apartment when it was being combed over, I probably would've stayed home.
That would've allowed any bad decisions I made to be contained to a small space. As far as I knew, they weren't technically going to be inside of my apartment, but I would've been able to hear them in the hallway.
Looking his way, I gave him my evil eye. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea. After all, I'm not sure if the note meant Zuba as my date or you. We might be driving them to act."
"This has to do with Zuba. That was just yesterday and no one except Carl even knew about me taking you to the ball. I didn't even give your name to my boss when I asked him to get the tickets. I don't know Carl well enough to determine whether he'd leave that kind of note on your door. "
I felt like laughing. Carl hadn't seriously hit on me once in all the years we'd been working together. I wasn't aware of a certain type he had, but I was pretty sure it wasn't me.
"It wasn't Carl. I'm fairly certain his way of dealing with a romantic rival would include getting the other person put on a government watch list and then sending a few emails from said person's account."
"I see. The old get them locked up somewhere without a key move. A little passive aggressive for my taste, but I can see how it'd be a convenient way to get rid of a rival. You're positive nothing has ever happened with him? He's not the one guy you mentioned yesterday, right?"
I couldn't believe Nate asked me that, or that I'd been stupid enough to talk about my love life. The fact that I was comfortable enough with Nate to do something like that meant I needed to remember to keep embarrassing information to myself.
"It was most definitely not Carl, and he hasn't shown any interest in me, aside from my brains."
We'd stopped and were just standing next to the rental car. I felt a little uncomfortable being out in the open, whether we were talking about my personal life or the weather. I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching us.
"Your brains are pretty sexy, Avery. I need to ask about the other guy. You said you broke it off. Are you sure there weren't any lingering feelings on his side of things?"
"Do we really have to talk about this right now? The note didn't come from someone out there pining for me. I don't incite that kind of emotion from guys. One boyfriend my whole life proves that point very clearly, and it isn't him. He moved a few months after we broke up. And no it wasn't because of the break up; he got a promotion."
"You obviously don't know how much I want to wrap you in my arms right now and show you what kind of emotion you're making me feel. I don't think you'd enjoy a little public display of affection, so for now you'll just have to use your imagination."
I threw my hands up in the air exasperated with the lunatic standing in front of me. I had to keep myself from taking out a knife and stabbing him a few times. I wouldn't cause any permanent damage, but he needed something to counteract whatever craziness he had going in his mind.
"I need to get to work, and at this point, I'm contemplating just walking." Changing the subject seemed like my best bet to get to work without being arrested for attempted murder.
"And you think I'd allow that? Get in the car and we'll go together. We still have plenty to talk about and I'm sure you don't want Carl and Liz hearing every detail."
"Fine, but just because I'd feel watched if I took public transportation or decided to walk. I don't want to talk anymore about my personal life, because I'm sure it has nothing to do with the note."
"I can't promise I won't talk about your personal life, but I'll refrain from any more questions about the men in your personal life, at least the two we've covered."
I was fairly sure that was the best I was going to get, so I walked around and got into the vehicle, sulking the whole way. Prior to Nate, I didn't believe I'd huffed or giggled as many times as I had in the last few days. The man was going to drive me insane before his mission found its conclusion and he got on a plane back to Chicago. That day couldn't come fast enough for me.
CHAPTER 12
Okay really, why did I get out of bed?