Chapter 14
Dirk, Marion and Puck seemed to be playing a game of “who can stay the longest” at Liza’s house. Finally Dirk, who was an early riser, couldn’t take it anymore. He said goodbye to Marion and Puck and took Liza’s hand to lead her to the door.
“We haven’t had much time alone together lately,” he noted.
Liza didn’t point out that he had never seemed to care about alone time before. “No,” she said instead.
He put his arms around her and pulled her close. “Some day very soon we’re going to have to talk.”
“We are?” she croaked. Did he know the truth about Link and the investigation? “About what?”
“Us.”
“Us,” she echoed. “What about us?” Was he breaking up with her?
“Our future.”
“Our future,” she said.
He lightly tapped her forehead. “Are you stuck on repeat? You keep saying everything I just said.”
“I’m surprised,” she told him.
“Why? We’ve been together five years, Liza. It’s time we made some decisions about our future. Don’t you think?”
She nodded dumbly. He laughed, most likely at her star-struck look, and then he kissed her goodbye and let himself out.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Marion
asked as soon as Liza walked back into her living room.
She shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about Dirk in front of Puck.
“I liked him,” Puck announced as if the two women had been waiting on his judgment with baited breath. “He’s a little too obsessed with money for my tastes, but otherwise I thought he was a straight shooter.”
“A straight shooter?”
Marion
said. “You’ve been listening to my rat pack CD’s again.”
“What do you mean he’s obsessed with money?” Liza asked. She sprawled on the couch, hoping Puck and
Marion
would get the hint and go home soon. They were both night owls. She was an early bird, like Dirk.
“All that talk about what I’m going to do with my life,” Puck said. “He produced job statistics for every major I’ve ever had.”
Liza hadn’t been paying much attention to what Puck and Dirk were talking about, but now she remembered their conversation about Puck’s future. In retrospect it sounded almost parental on Dirk’s part, but that was nothing new. He was a responsible, conscientious person who couldn’t stand to see people fritter their lives away. He had probably been unable to stop himself from trying to give Puck advice. But what was most surprising was Puck’s reaction to it. He sat back and bit his cuticles, looking deep in thought. Liza had never seen him so quiet for so long before. Had Dirk gotten through to him when he tried to explain about the interest on Puck’s school loans? He didn’t actually say that Puck would be paying off his loans the rest of his life, but he had hinted at it.
Marion
must have noticed Puck’s worried frown, too. “Are you okay?” She laid a gentle hand on his arm.
He nodded, but he didn’t smile. “It’s just a lot to take in, you know? How did I get to be thirty with no future and nothing to my name but a sound system and fifteen year old car?”
This wasn’t a discussion Liza wanted to be a part of. Thankfully
Marion
rescued her.
“Let’s go home,” she said. She stood and held out her hand to Puck. “Thanks for the night, Liza. Talk to you later.”
“Later,” Liza called. Normally she would have followed them to the door, but she sensed they needed to be alone right now. After they let themselves out she carried their glasses to the kitchen, rinsed them in the sink, and got ready for bed.
She wanted to think about what Dirk had said, to replay the words in her head and search for possible meanings, but she was too tired. As soon as she closed her eyes she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Three hours later she woke and stared at the clock. What was she doing awake at three in the morning? Her eyes drifted closed again and then she remembered what woke her in the first place. A sound. She searched her fuzzy mental memory until she recalled the sound. It was the same sound her nightstand made once when she bumped it and sent her lamp tumbling to the floor. Had someone bumped her nightstand?
She opened her eyes again, slowly this time, and allowed them to travel around the room. She didn’t really expect to see anything. Certainly the sound had been the product of her overactive imagination. Only it wasn’t. There, standing at the foot of her bed, was a man. The only light in the room came from the moon filtering in through her window, but it was enough to see that he was wearing night vision goggles. She opened her mouth, to scream maybe, but before any sound could come out he put his finger to his lips, shook his head, and then he was gone.
She waited until the front door closed, and then she fumbled for her cell phone on her nightstand. Thankfully her practical nature had prompted her to put Link on speed dial. She pressed the button for his number, but when he answered she couldn’t speak.
“Liza, Liza are you there?” he said. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Say something.”
Before she could gather herself to speak, he was standing in her room. He took the phone from her frozen hand and sat down on her bed. And then she burst into tears and threw herself into his outstretched arms.
“What happened?” he asked.
“There was a man, and he was in my room, and I woke up. I think he bumped the nightstand, and there were goggles, and I wanted to scream, and he said no, and then he left and I called you.” She said it all in one breath, so of course he didn’t understand most of it.
“A man was in your room?”
She nodded. He pushed her away from him and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?”
She shook her head. “He was wearing night vision goggles. I opened my mouth to scream, but he shook his head at me, and then he was gone.”
“Stay here,” he commanded. He ran out of her room and only then did she notice the gun in his hand. He was gone for what felt like a very long time but in reality was only a few minutes.
“He’s gone. I’m going to have to search your room,” he said.
She nodded. He stood and turned on the light. She felt like she should probably do something, anything besides lie in bed and watch him rifle through her drawers, but she was incapable of movement. The shock and fright had left her weak. He finished and turned to her.
“Everything is a mess. It’s almost like he didn’t know what he was looking for or where to look.” He perched on the edge of her bed again. She should protest, but she lacked the energy. “Are you okay?”
“Sure,” she said unconvincingly.
He patted her hand. “Well, at least you’re not having hysterics. That’s a step up from my last case.” He stood. “I’m going to sleep on your couch.”
At that she finally sat up. “You can’t. What will…?”
He cut her off. “If you’re going to ask what your boyfriend would say, you can save it.” He exited her room, turning off the light as he left.
Amazingly she slept again. Maybe it was exhaustion, or maybe it was because an armed federal agent slept twenty feet away and she felt safe. When she woke again it was daylight and she wasn’t sure what to expect. Would Link still be there?
Even though he had seen her in her pajamas the night before, she put on a robe before peeking around the corner of her bedroom. The couch was empty. Her hand pressed to her chest in relief. Of course she would have to contact him and thank him for coming to her rescue last night, but there would be time for that later. Right now she was thankful to be spared the awkwardness of a morning encounter.
A knock sounded on the door. She contemplated going back into her room to change, but she guessed it was probably Link coming to check on her. He had already seen her at her worst. She opened the door with a welcoming smile that soon faded.
“Sal,” she said.
He greeted her with his usual amused smile as he took in her bathrobe, sleep-rumpled hair and glasses. “Hi, Liza.”
She was too shocked to put up a polite pretense. “What are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “I came to make amends. I’ve been thinking about our last couple of meetings, and I realized I may have come off rude. I wanted to apologize.”
“Liza, where do you keep your coffee?”
Please let this be a nightmare,
Liza thought. She turned to see Link exiting her kitchen wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and nothing else. Hadn’t he been wearing a shirt last night? She couldn’t remember.
“Uh, hi,” Sal said. The amusement in his tone was unmistakable.
“Sal, this is my neighbor, Link.” Liza tried to sound nonchalant. “Link, this is Dirk’s cousin, Sal.”
“He knows about Dirk?” Sal asked. He quirked an eyebrow at Liza.
She knew she was blushing, but she couldn’t help it. What could she possibly say to explain the situation? She couldn’t tell him the truth, and she had never been a convincing liar. She looked to Link for help, but he seemed to be as amused by the situation as Sal was. He came up beside her and reached out an arm as if he was going to put it around her, but then he caught the look on her face and thought better of it. He cleared his throat and dropped his arm.
“It looks like now isn’t a good time to talk,” Sal said. “I’ll catch up with you later.” He turned and walked to his car before Liza could begin to think up anything to say.
She retreated to the living room and sank into the sofa with a groan.
Link sat down beside her.
“Why is this happening to me?” she asked. She put her hands over her face.
“Maybe he won’t tell your boyfriend,” Link said. He sounded bored by the whole situation.
“Of course he will. They’re best friends. They tell each other everything.”
“Really?” Link sat up. “So you think he knows all your boyfriend’s secrets?”
“There are no secrets,” Liza snapped. She felt like crying. Everything was going to be mixed up. She stood. “This is a nightmare. I have to go see Dirk.”
“And say what?” Link asked. He grabbed her hand to stop her from leaving the room.
“I’ll think of that later,” she said. She shook him off and went to her room to take a shower. By the time she dressed and exited her room Link was gone.
Chapter 15
Despite her pressing need to see Dirk as soon as possible she took her time getting ready. After all, she would not only have to face him she would have to get by Heidi. Today wasn’t the day to feel inferior to his secretary.
When she arrived, she had to marshal all her reserves to face the overbearing woman.
“Did you have an appointment?” Heidi asked.
“No.”
Heidi smiled triumphantly. “Dirk’s very busy today.”
This was Liza’s deciding moment. Should she cower under the woman’s totalitarianism or stake her claim on Dirk? “If he doesn’t want to see me, he’ll tell me to go away.” She waited for Heidi to buzz him. Heidi made no move toward the phone. Liza gave her a sweet smile, stalked past her, and opened Dirk’s door.
Her smile fled as soon as he looked up and saw her. She leaned against the door after closing it on Heidi’s angry face. Dirk sat back and templed his fingers under his chin.
“So I guess you talked to Sal,” she said.
He didn’t reply.
“It wasn’t what it looked like.”
“Really? Because Sal said a man exited your kitchen shirtless while you were still in your pajamas.”
“Okay, that sounds bad, but you know nothing happened.”
“Do I?”
“Dirk,” she exclaimed. “When have I ever given you reason not to trust me?”
“This morning,” he said. He threw down his pen and sat forward. “Are you going to explain?”
“I woke up to a noise in my room.”
“You sleep like the dead,” he interrupted.
“It was a loud noise. And there was someone standing at the foot of my bed.”
“What?” He gripped the sides of his chair and leaned forward. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. “I woke up and he ran out of the house. I found my phone and called Link.”
“You called Link,” Dirk repeated. His tone dripped disapproval and disdain. “You found a guy in your room in the middle of the night and you called a stranger instead of me. Great, Liza, just great.”
“He was right next door,” she said. “He was there in thirty seconds. He checked the house for me and insisted on sleeping on the couch.”
He studied her, either trying to decide if he believed her or if he was still angry. She couldn’t believe he was actually jealous of Link. He had never displayed jealousy over her before. She decided to take advantage of the moment. She left the safety of the door and slowly walked across the room to him. He watched while she sat in his lap and pressed her palms to his cheeks.
“Dirk, do you really think I would cheat on you? Don’t you know you’re my world?”
He blinked at her in surprise. She wasn’t usually so bold. “I am?”
She nodded. She tipped her face up for a kiss, but his hands tightened on her biceps and stopped her. “I don’t trust that guy.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because the whole situation is suspicious. We didn’t even know Mrs. Jenkins had a family and now suddenly he’s your new best friend.”
“He’s a nice guy.” She grasped his collar to try and kiss him, but he spoke again.
“Did you ever think maybe it was him in your bedroom last night?”
“What?”
“Think about it. You know nothing about him, and I can tell he’s trying to worm his way into your life. There’s something creepy about the way he watches you. Then you find a guy in your room and suddenly thirty seconds later your neighbor is there. Maybe it was him all along.”
“It wasn’t,” she insisted.
“Liza, you’re too trusting. This guy could be a serial killer for all you know.”
“He’s not.”
“But,” he started, but she interrupted him.
“Are we going to kiss and make up, or are you going to keep talking?”
“I don’t know what has gotten into you lately. But I like it.” He smiled and kissed her.
“Dirk, I need your signature on these.”
Liza’s eyes squeezed shut in irritation. Of course Heidi would find a way to interrupt them. Liza sat up straighter so Dirk could see around her, but she didn’t move away. Moving would have felt like letting Heidi win, and Liza vowed she would never give in to the other woman again. To her satisfaction, Dirk made no move to push her away.
“Leave them, Heidi. I’ll get them later,” he said. His dismissive tone sent Heidi back out the door.
“Apparently knocking isn’t in her job description,” Liza said. She frowned at the door.
“Being jealous of my secretary is a cliché,” Dirk chided. He playfully pinched her side.
“Having a pretty secretary who wants you is, too,” Liza replied.
“She doesn’t want me; she wants my money,” he replied. “Girls like Heidi are a dime a dozen.”
“How do you know I don’t want you for your money?” Liza asked.
“Because you’re not shallow.”
“I am,” Liza argued. “But you’re right. I don’t want you for your money. I want you for your body.” She squeezed his bicep and he smiled.
“Liza, what has gotten into you lately?”
“I could ask you the same question,” she said.
“And I could give you a really good answer,” he said, but he didn’t. Instead he kissed her until they were interrupted again.
“Looks like you two made up,” Sal said. He dropped a folder on Dirk’s desk with a smirk and backed out of the room. “If I were you, I would lock this next time.” He tapped the door and closed it behind him.
“It’s like Grand Central,” Liza said.
“It’s almost like I work here or something.” Dirk gave her one more perfunctory kiss and let her go. She stood and righted her skirt.
“Will I see you later?” she asked.
“I can’t tonight.” He picked up the folder Sal had dropped on his desk and began to leaf through it.
“Oh.” She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. “I guess I’ll go.” He gave no indication that he heard her until she reached the door.
“Liza.” She stopped and turned to look at him. “We still need to have that talk. The sooner the better.”
She nodded. She had no idea what he was talking about, but the sooner she found out the better she would feel. “I couldn’t agree more,” she said. She waved at him. He winked, and she let herself out the door.
From his car a couple of blocks away
Lincoln
Stone listened to the conversation with a sneer of disgust. As soon as Liza let herself out the door he ripped off his earpiece and threw it on the seat beside him.
Dirk Xavier was a lying murderer, and Link knew it even if Liza didn’t. Why
didn’t
she see it, though? Were all women so easily led by a few kisses and empty words? All his life Link had been dealing with guys like Dirk. He was one of the chosen ones--the tall, handsome, and athletically endowed guys who always got the girl. In high school it had been Brian Drake who all the girls adored. He had been the star forward on their basketball team while Link, a passable player in his own right, had to sit on the bench and watch Brian get all the glory, game after game. In college it had been a guy named
Chad
, only that had been worse because he had been Link’s roommate. If there was anything worse than having to stand in someone else’s shadow, it was having to do it up close. And, worse, he had liked
Chad
. How was it possible to resent someone who was also his friend?
It wasn’t that Link was insecure; he wasn’t. He was smart, physically fit, moderately attractive, and good at his job. But somehow even with all those amenities he never quite measured up to the perfection of guys like Dirk Xavier. Most of the time it didn’t matter. He was an adult now; there was no need to subject himself to second place. But then he met Liza and all the old bitterness rose to the surface again. She was the epitome of the girl next door: sweet, cute, and innocent. She didn’t deserve to get hurt by this loser. If Link didn’t do something to stop it, she was on the express train to heartbreak, and possibly even physical pain. After all, the dirtbag had tried to kill a weak and innocent old lady. What would stop him from killing Liza?
Link didn’t kid himself that Dirk was in love with her. And not because Liza wasn’t lovable. She was pretty in a fresh and wholesome sort of way, the kind of way you might think your cherished little sister was pretty. And her quirky sense of humor was unexpectedly funny. Her figure was trim, indicating that she took good care of herself. Most importantly she could cook. He smiled as he thought of how she had looked in the middle of the night. Her hazel eyes behind her askew square-framed glasses had been huge with fear, but she had tried to put on a brave face and keep it together, even though her lower lip trembled a few times. Her prim, neck to knee nightgown had little sock monkeys printed all over it, and he was sure if she hadn’t been in such a panic, she would have died before she let anyone see her in it.
But even more than being attractive physically, she was a decent person. In his line of work, he didn’t encounter a lot of good people. In fact, the lowlifes who encompassed his bread and butter had made him cynical about human nature. Most people he encountered were rotten and liars, and rotten liars. But Liza was different. She was genuinely good, and she didn’t deserve the circus her life had become.
As it was now he felt a certain responsibility to look out for her. She was an innocent who was in over her head in this deadly game of cat and mouse. For whatever sick purpose her boyfriend had decided to involve her in his little scheme, but Link was about to remove her. He flexed his hand on the steering wheel and shifted in his seat. An idea he had been debating suddenly rose to the forefront of his mind again. Sometimes it was necessary to cause a small wound to prevent a larger one. The time had come to do that for Liza. He was going to hurt her, and he didn’t enjoy the thought, but in time it would prevent a larger wound or possibly even death. Somehow over the last few weeks he had come to think of himself as her protector, maybe because she needed one so badly. Whatever the reason, he was going to do what needed to be done--the sooner the better.