In the Fullness of Time

by Sabra Brown Steinsiek

Laura, Taylor,

  A wonderful party as always! Thanks for sharing so much with me.

  Love-

  Elodie

  Taking a deep breath, Laura tore the card to shreds before she turned back to her novel. She’d be damned if she would shed any more tears over Elodie Nee.

  * * *

  The phone rang in Elodie’s Westside apartment. She had a feeling she knew who it would be and she answered with a smile he could hear in her voice. “Good morning! And Happy New Year!” How could she sound so unconcerned, Taylor wondered. Didn’t she know what kind of chaos she had caused in his life?

  “It’s Taylor, Elodie.”

  “Taylor! Wonderful party! I had such a good time. Just the perfect way to kick off the New Year.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it, Elodie—even if you enjoyed it a little too much.”

  “Taylor?”

  “Oh, stop it, El. You’re not fooling me. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  “Oh,” she said contritely even as she grinned at herself in the mirror. Laura must have been really upset at what she saw. Served her right. “Oh…my little indiscretion at the elevator. I was hoping you’d forgotten.”

  “You wrapped yourself around me like a boa constrictor! What the hell were you thinking?”

  “That’s just it, Taylor. I wasn’t thinking. I’d had too much champagne, it was all so romantic…I am so sorry. Was Laura terribly upset?”

  “You might say that,” he answered.

  “I will have to apologize to the dear girl. What can I do to make it up to her?”

  “Nothing, Elodie. In fact, other than fan club functions, you won’t be seeing Laura—or me—socially again. The fallout from your little performance is that you’re not welcome in our home anymore, not if I want to keep my wife.”

  She was stunned. She’d never considered that Taylor would ban her from his life! It was all the doing of that red-haired bitch!

  “Did you hear me, Elodie?”

  “Of course I heard you!” she snapped before she regained control. “I…I just don’t know what to say,” she continued with a quaver in her voice. “Isn’t there something…”

  “Nothing. Look, El, we’ve been friends for a long time. I don’t want to lose that. But you pushed Laura too far this time. She’s got a right to want you out of our life. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it’s going to be. I’ll talk to you in a few days so we can get the last pieces in place to announce the baby. Take care.”

  She was left with a dial tone. Taylor had hung up on her. Slowly, she replaced the receiver. Laura would regret this—Elodie would make sure of it.

  Chapter 14

  Laura woke from a nap just before the girls were due home from school. Napping was becoming a part of her daily routine. The naps were wonderful but they were taking up her afternoons; there wasn’t a lot of time left to do her work. She’d gotten a little writing time in before lunch but the afternoon was a total waste.

  As she walked into her study, she saw the box of letters from the fan club. They still needed sorting through and now was as good a time as any. Pulling out a handful of envelopes she began to open them and skim the contents looking for the ones that Taylor needed to answer.

  Most of the letters came on fancy stationery; some scented with perfume, some calligraphed, some with cute little designs on the envelopes. She always tried to find the ones that were from the children—Taylor particularly enjoyed answering those, she thought with a smile as she lightly ran her fingers over her stomach before a plain white envelope caught her eye. There was nothing impressive about it, which was why it was so noticeable. In the rainbow of colors in the box, it stood out like a wallflower at a dance.

  The address was typewritten or computer-generated. The envelope had been sent through the fan club, marked personal, with the required member number on the back flap.

  She slit the envelope open with the letter opener Taylor had bought for her in Venice on their honeymoon. Even though the handle was made of beautiful Murano glass, it had been a sturdy tool for the last five years. She put the opener in her lap as she pulled out a sheet of cheap white paper. When she read what it said, she dropped it on her desk and stood up as if to move away from it. The opener fell from her lap and shattered on the edge of the wastebasket but she never noticed.

  “Laura? Are you all right?” Meg had come to tell her dinner was ready and was surprised at how white Laura was.

  “What? Oh, I’m fine. I just dropped my letter opener and I’m afraid it’s shattered.”

  “I’ll go get a broom. Be careful, those slippers aren’t going to be much protection.”

  Laura sat down and picked up the letter again. It was every bit as awful as she’d first thought. It described in graphic detail a sexual encounter between the writer and Taylor after he got “rid of that red-haired demon you married.” Taylor had had his share of odd fans, some blatantly pursued him sexually, or sent him trinkets and pictures. But never something like this! This was downright pornographic. Quickly, she folded it back into the envelope and hid it at the back of a drawer until she decided what to do.

  When Meg came back into the room, she had moved the chair away from the desk so that they could sweep up the glass from the shattered handle of her letter opener. Her unpredictable emotions threatened to make her cry over the loss—and the letter that had led to its destruction.

  She was startled when the phone rang and nearly dropped it as she picked it up. “Hello?”

  “Laura? You sound strange. Is something wrong?” Taylor’s voice surrounded her with his love.

  “Hello, darling,” she said.

  “Hello, Taylor,” Meg called as she headed out the door with the broom and dustpan.

  “She sounds pretty cheery,” Taylor commented.

  “Why wouldn’t she? She’s eighteen, pretty, and has a date to the Valentine’s dance with the best looking boy in the school!”

  “What about you?”

  “I don’t want to go to the Valentine’s dance, but thanks for asking.”

  “You’d be the prettiest girl there,” he said, smiling at her teasing.

  “Don’t you have a show to do, Mr. Morgan?”

  “I do. But I thought I’d check in before everything started happening. What was wrong when you answered the phone?”

  “Nothing important. I managed to knock my letter opener off the desk and it hit the wastebasket and shattered. Meg and I were cleaning up the mess.”

  She was entirely too calm about it, Taylor thought. Something else was bothering her—he knew her well enough to tell that. Maybe it was just some pregnancy thing.

  “I’m sorry. I guess we’ll just have to go back to Venice to buy you a new one.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  “Just say when.”

  “Maybe when the baby goes to college?” She laughed but he wasn’t sure that she was kidding.

  “I’m sure we can find a babysitter before then,” he said.

  “Go do your show, Taylor—I love you.”

  “I love you. See you in the morning.”

  “Maybe I’ll surprise you and be awake,” she said in a throaty whisper that never failed to have an effect on him.

  “Laura…”

  All he heard was her giggle before she hung up the phone.

  Chapter 15

  After hanging up the phone, Laura sat in the desk chair and stared at the drawer that held the letter. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as she had thought on first reading. Maybe she was overreacting. But she knew she wasn’t.

  She unlocked another desk drawer and took out an envelope and dumped the contents onto her desk. The plain white envelopes lay scattered across the surface. She didn’t need to read them to know what they contained.

  The first one had arrived when they returned from Italy after their honeymoon. Taylor had tried to hide it from her but she’d found it crumpled in the trash. Now she picked it up and read it again…


  Darling Taylor,

  I can’t tell you how devastated I was to hear of your recent wedding. It was too soon, Taylor, you haven’t had enough time to recover from Annie’s tragic death, not enough time to explore the possibilities…not enough time to let me show you how I feel about you.

  But it’s not too late, my love. We can still be together when you leave that redheaded Delilah who’s seduced you in your grief.

  I’ll be waiting…

  Your TRUE love

  It had only been the beginning. The letters had continued coming, never regularly, but always through the fan mail. Always in a plain white envelope with a printed address, sometimes on a label, sometimes directly on the envelope. As required, a membership number was always on the back of the envelope, but the same number had never been used twice. Tracing the numbers would have required working with Elodie and she was not known for being particularly cooperative when Laura made a request, so Laura had never tried. Besides, it was obvious all the letters were the work of one person—the sender had never tried to disguise it.

  But none of the letters had been as blatant as this latest. Reluctantly, she opened the drawer and took it out. Forcing herself to read it slowly, she realized that it was as bad as she had remembered.

  She’d never discussed the additional letters with Taylor. But this new one scared her. The writer seemed to be dangerously close to the edge that separated fan from stalker. Looking at the letters fanned out across her desk, she made a decision.

  Pierce Albright was a local F.B.I. agent. He’d helped Laura out on some background information for an article she had written and had acted as her advisor when she decided to write her novel. They’d become friends and, as much as she hated to impose on that friendship, she knew he was the one person in her life that could advise her on these letters.

  She dialed and waited for his answering machine to pick up. He always screened his calls, never answering until he was sure who was on the other end. He was fiercely protective of his privacy and that of his newly pregnant wife. She knew that he had reason to be and waited patiently through his message before she said, “Hi, Pierce, Annette. It’s Laura Morgan. Pierce, could you give me a call when you get a chance, I have…”

  “Hey, Laura. Happy New Year!”

  “To you, too, Pierce. Did you all have a good holiday?”

  “A good one. Telling our parents about the baby was the highlight, of course…but you know all about that,” he said with a laugh.

  “Excited were they?”

  “That doesn’t even come close. We were sorry to miss your New Year’s party, though. Was it as good as usual?”

  “Better. My mom and Rosina tried to outdo each other on the cooking. I must have gained ten pounds.”

  “Oh, man! What I wouldn’t give for some of your mom’s carne adovada!”

  “You’re in luck. There’s some in the freezer. Any chance you’re available for a late lunch in the next few days?”

  Pierce heard the note of tension that crept into her voice. “Something wrong, Laura?”

  “Maybe…I’m probably just over-reacting. But I would like the chance to pick your brain.”

  “How about tomorrow? I can be there about two.”

  “That would be perfect, Pierce. Thanks. I’ll see you then.”

  After saying goodbye, she hung up the phone. Her eyes were once again drawn back to the letters. So much passion! An obsession like that couldn’t be healthy! She gathered them back into the manila envelope and locked them into her drawer. If Pierce said there was something to worry about, then that would be soon enough to bring Taylor into the picture.

  Chapter 16

  Taylor looked up from reading the paper as Laura came into the dining room. He knew that she felt she looked terrible but there was a glow about her and a softness from the pregnancy that suited her. He smiled at her as he folded the paper before standing to give her a good morning kiss.

  “How are you this morning?”

  “Barefoot and pregnant…stop smirking, Taylor.”

  “And beautiful.”

  She shook her head at him with a small smile. Taylor had always been a morning person, awake early, ready to face the day no matter how late the night had been. She had never been a morning person but he could still make her laugh.

  “Keep telling me that and I’ll keep pretending to believe you.”

  She disappeared into the kitchen returning a few minutes later with a bowl of fruit and some toast.

  “How’s our son going to grow up to be a football player if you feed him that sissy food?” Taylor asked.

  “Your daughter doesn’t need to enter the world looking like a blimp like her mother. Anything interesting in the paper?”

  “The usual murder and mayhem. Speaking of mayhem, how are you this morning?”

  “What?”

  “When I called last night, you sounded upset.”

  “Just hormones and the loss of my letter opener. You worry too much.”

  “Probably. But I’m not going to stop.”

  “When will you be going in today?” Laura said, changing the subject.

  “I need to be in around noon. We want to run a tech rehearsal on act two. There have been some problems this week. What about your plans?”

  “Pierce Albright is coming over for lunch. I had to ask him a technical question last night and he was whining about missing Mom’s carne adovada so I took pity on him. He can help me with my research while he eats.” She hoped Taylor didn’t notice the tremor in her voice; she wasn’t in the habit of lying to him.

  “Tell him hello for me. Annette’s feeling all right?”

  “He says she’s fine and their parents are thrilled about the baby.”

  “Good. We’ll have to have them over for dinner before you get too uncomfortable to entertain.”

  “Too late for that, Taylor.”

  “I’ll leave you to the paper, my darling grump. I’m going to go shower. Want to join me?”

  “Only if we’re using the tank at Sea World…the shower’s not big enough for all three of us.”

  Laughing, he kissed her on the top of the head and went down the hallway to their room.

  * * *

  “You know, I might divorce Annette and marry your mother if she’d cook this for me all the time,” Pierce said as he mopped up the last of the red chile sauce with a tortilla.

  “Fine prospective father you are! Mom left you the recipe this time. But she said that you’re the one who has to learn to cook it. No pawning it off on Annette.”

  “I can live with that.” Taking a last swallow of iced tea, Pierce continued. “So, what’s the problem, Laura?"

  A frown creased the space between her brows. “Maybe it’s nothing but I’d like you to look at something.”

  He followed her down the hall to her study where she unlocked the desk and took out the envelope that held the letters. He sat beside her at her worktable as she took them out and spread them across the surface.

  “These have been coming off and on ever since Taylor and I got married. The first one was waiting when we got back from our honeymoon. The last one arrived in this week’s fan mail.”

  Albright picked up the first letter and skimmed over it then read the rest in progression. He saw a pattern that he didn’t like…the letter writer had a real obsession with Taylor and an equally real grudge against Laura. From the first letter with its scolding tone to the lasciviousness of the newest one, the writer was showing signs of a seriously deteriorating mind.

  “Five years, ten letters. That’s a lot, Laura. Indications of stalking include more than ten letters to a celebrity, especially written over a space of time. And this feeling the writer seems to have that she and Taylor are fated to be together…another real trouble sign. She obviously has met him, has plans to meet him again and seems to be getting pretty specific with those plans. This could be nothing, Laura, but I’d be more inclined to take it seriously.”

 
Laura sighed. “That’s what I was afraid you would say. Looking at them again last night, I could see that she’s becoming more unstable.”

  “What does Taylor have to say about these?”

  “He doesn’t know.”

  “Doesn’t know?”

  “I sort his mail. I’ve never passed these along to him. I didn’t want to worry him and I kept hoping she’d just give it up if she never heard from him.”

  Pierce looked back at the letters, catching phrases and words that rang alarm bells for him… “destiny”…“mine”… “us”…“together”…and the epithets aimed at Laura.

  “Did it occur to you that, rather than protecting Taylor, you might be putting him in serious danger?”

  Laura’s face went white and Pierce kicked himself for the stark pronouncement.

  “Do you really think he’s in danger?” she whispered.

  “Maybe not yet but I don’t like the sound of these. And he’s not the only one who could be in danger. What about you? And the baby?”

  Laura’s hands instinctively caressed the baby. “I’d never thought of that. Oh, Pierce, I’ve been so stupid.”

  “Not stupid. You just want to believe people are intrinsically good. I’m trained to look at it the other way. Now, take a deep breath and tell me more about how these have arrived.”

  * * *

  An hour later, Pierce picked up the envelope containing all of the letters. “I can’t make any promises, Laura. It’s good you kept the envelopes with the letters but they’ve been handled a lot, going through the mail then sorting by the fan club. I don’t think we’ll find fingerprints but we might get lucky. I’ll have someone start on these right away. And I’ll be here at ten tomorrow morning to talk to Taylor with you.”

  Silently she let him out of the apartment and watched until the elevator doors closed. Fear clutched at her heart as she closed and locked the door. Pierce had succeeded in confirming all of her unspoken thoughts. There was someone who wanted to hurt them. A shiver passed over her as she opened the door to the sunny nursery that was usually so full of dreams. Right now it was filled with shadows.