by Rose Pressey
“I can’t stay with you every night. I have a lovely two-hundred-square-foot apartment here.” I waved my hand.
He raised an eyebrow. I sighed and then followed him outside. After locking the door, I took my tote bag because he looked ridiculous carrying it. I tossed it over my shoulder, and we walked down the courtyard and around the side of the building.
“Oh, there was one other thing,” I said.
“You’re kidding me,” he said. “What else could possibly have happened?”
“A man knocked on my door earlier. The neighbor just told me about it. The way she described him I’d expect to see someone like that in a scary movie. Plus, he was rude to her. But I just think he was here to see a neighbor and got the wrong apartment.”
“I hope that’s the case,” he said.
We’d reached his car. As he opened the door, I glanced around to make sure there was no sign of anyone.
“I’m still on edge, I suppose,” I said.
“Rightfully so,” he said.
I slipped into the car and relaxed for the first time today. At least I was with Jake and that made me feel safer. He got into the car and started it immediately. I felt sad though that I had to leave my little apartment.
“Have you had dinner?” he asked.
“Well, I had some candy bar ice cream.”
He chuckled. “That’s hardly dinner.”
“What did you have in mind?” I asked.
“How about that great place by the beach?”
“I’m not exactly dressed for that.”
“Okay, how about a hot dog on the beach?”
“That I’m dressed for,” I said.
He smiled and made a left turn so that we could head over to the beach. This was one of my favorite things to do. A couple minutes later, we had parked and gotten out of the car. There was this great little hot dog stand near the beach. They had the best hot dogs. I liked to get mine with relish and mustard.
After getting hot dogs, we headed down to the beach so that we could sit on a nearby picnic table. I hoped that after we finished eating hot dogs we would go out for a walk along the shore.
“So are you feeling better now?” Jake asked as he took a bite of the hot dog.
I finished chewing mine, and said, “Actually, yes. You know I always feel much better when we’re together.”
After we finished the hot dogs, we went for that walk on the beach. The breeze caressed my skin as it came in off the water. It was hard to believe that a short time ago I’d been in that grocery store with that crazy man following me. Now I was out here with the beauty of the sea. The water lapped up from the ocean on to the shore. I had taken off my flip-flops to sink my toes into the warm wet sand.
Jake had left his shoes at by the picnic table. He’d rolled his pant legs up so that the water would hit his ankles. I inhaled a deep breath and soaked in the ocean air, attempting to let all the stress glide from my body. Sadly, it didn’t work.
Jake smiled. “Having fun?”
“A great time,” I said around a smile.
The beach was always fun, so why did I feel so apprehensive right now?
Chapter 29
As we walked along the shoreline, I sensed someone watching us. Of course, there were other people around, but this felt different. When I glanced to the right, I spotted someone standing on the sidewalk. He was standing there with his arms straight out at his sides in a rigid stance. I couldn’t make out his features exactly because he was too far away, and it was dark. I kept looking at him though and soon the thought hit me. He looked like the man my neighbor had described at my apartment. If this was him then that meant he’d been there to see me, and he was here to see me now. That thought sent a chill down my spine. The guy continued to stare at us. I was pretty sure he knew that I saw him. It was almost as if he wanted me to see him.
“There’s a strange guy up there watching us,” I said.
“Where?” Jake asked.
“He’s up there on the sidewalk.” I gestured with a tilt of my head. “He looks like the way the neighbor described that guy who was at my apartment. I think that might be the same one. But I hope I’m just being paranoid. Which I’ve been known to be in the past.”
I sure would be embarrassed if this was just some man enjoying the beach. But he looked like some creepy serial killer out of a new scary movie standing up there like that.
“I’m going to ask him what he’s doing,” Jake said.
Confronting the guy actually made me nervous. And I didn’t get nervous about confronting people often since it was part of the job. However, this time, it was crazy. I wasn’t going to let Jake walk up to the sidewalk alone. I went with him.
When the guy noticed us coming that way he turned and walked away.
“Now he’s leaving. Oh, that isn’t suspicious at all,” I said.
“I’m going after him,” Jake said as he started walking faster.
“Not without me you’re not. I don’t want to be out here by myself in the dark.”
I didn’t know of anyone who wanted to be alone out here. It was scary. What if something happened to me? What would Dorothy do? It might be the last straw for Dorothy if she thought she might not ever see me again. Jake and I hurried to the sidewalk. The guy moved around the corner of a building.
“Hey!” Jake called out.
That did nothing though. It wasn’t as if this guy would come back and ask Jake what he wanted. He was probably out of there for good. As far as I was concerned this now confirmed that he had been watching us. When we made it to the side of the building, I spotted a car pulling away from the parking lot.
“That car over there.” I pointed. “That’s probably him.”
It was no use though. We had parked too far away, and I didn’t think we had time to get into the car fast enough. And it was dark too. I couldn’t get a good look at what kind of car had left in a hurry. Not to mention there was no way I would notice the license plate number.
“So what do you think? Was it the same guy?”
“I don’t know what to think, but it is odd,” I said.
“I have to keep a lookout for this guy,” Jake said.
I had to look out for a lot of things. It looked as if we were pretty much done with our walk on the beach for the night.
“I’m really getting tired,” I said around a yawn.
“Yeah, we should go. Don’t worry, everything will be okay,” he said.
Now I had three stalkers. One had been bad enough. Jake and I got into the car and headed out of the parking lot toward his place. I was on the lookout for anything—a car following us, a truck, a motorcycle. I couldn’t confirm for sure what kind of car that creepy guy had been in, so now I wouldn’t know which car to even look for.
I was kind of glad to be headed back with Jake tonight. There was no telling if that guy would come back. He had obviously followed us to the beach. The thought sent a chill down my spine. I was always on the lookout, but apparently people could hide, and I wouldn’t find them.
Soon we pulled up to Jake’s condo parking lot. He lived on the sixth floor. He parked the car in his reserved parking spot. Jake draped his arm around my shoulders as we walked into his building. Relief came over me now. At least I could relax until the next morning.
***
When I woke the next morning, the sunshine was streaming across my face. It took me a moment to remember where I was. The hum of the air conditioner wasn’t making a loud noise in my ear, so I realized that I was at Jake’s place. Jake wasn’t in sight, so I got out of bed and padded across the floor toward the dresser where I spotted a piece of paper waiting for me.
Jake had left me a note saying that he had already gone to work and that I should check the kitchen because he’d left breakfast for me. I hoped it was a doughnut, but French toast would be nice too. Maybe a big stack of pancakes. Obviously, I hadn’t eaten much yesterday. Now I was famished.
I headed down the hallway of
the spacious condo toward the kitchen. His place wasn’t exactly huge, but it was bigger than mine. When I stepped into the kitchen, I couldn’t believe that he had gotten my favorite croissants. He’d remembered. Of course, I’d gotten the exact same thing every time we went to the coffee shop.
I popped a coffee pot into the maker and waited for that to brew. In the meantime, I picked up a croissant and started nibbling on it while walking over to the balcony and taking a look outside. This place had a great view of the pool. The palm trees blew in the wind. I sure wished that I could take a dip in the pool because the water looked cool and relaxing. But I had work to do and I needed to hurry up and get out of here.
I had to go by my place and get a change of clothing. The coffee had finished brewing and I was just ready to turn around to head back to the kitchen when I spotted him. The man stared up to the balcony and right up at me. It was the man from last night. He knew I was here. He had come here on purpose. How did he know exactly where I was? It was as if he was staring right at me. But I didn’t think he could see through the window at me.
Nevertheless, it was creepy. His stare never seemed to leave me. Immediately I started to panic wondering what to do. Should I go down there and try to catch him? I was just standing there staring at him and he stood there staring my way. I moved away from the window to head back and grab my shoes and bag so that I could get out of there.
After grabbing my shoes and bag, I headed back out into the living area and checked by the balcony. The guy was nowhere in sight. I’d had a feeling he would run off like that. Nevertheless, I would go down there and see if I could find him.
I slipped my feet into my flip-flops and took off out the door. I locked the door behind me and then hurried down the steps. There was no time to wait for the elevator. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to get my coffee. And I was starting to regret not taking the elevator. My legs were hurting now. That was a lot of stairs. Thank goodness I finally made it to the bottom. I headed around the side of the building toward the pool area. What would I do if I actually found this guy?
I peeked around the side of the building. No sign of the creepy guy. That was until I spotted the silver Jaguar. The creepy man was behind the wheel. Now I had to follow him.
Chapter 30
I followed the silver Jaguar. The woman in the passenger seat looked familiar. I was almost positive this was the woman who had attacked me. They obviously knew each other. I’d told no one of my plans to follow this car. Dorothy would be nervous, so I figured there was no reason to tell her, and, well, I never told Jake any of this stuff. There was no need to worry him either.
Now I just had to figure out how to get past that gated entry. Either I would have to somehow get my car back there or I would have to get out and climb the fence. Considering there was a surveillance camera pointed at the gate, it appeared that either way was going to be tricky.
I sat behind the steering wheel of my car on the side of the road, staring at the gates and contemplating my next move. I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel and hummed along with the radio. I figured my best chance of getting in was climbing the fence. Too bad my legs were short. It would take a lot more climbing that way. But I was small and maybe I would squeeze through the fence posts. No, I wasn’t that small. I spotted another car pulling onto Yacht Boulevard. Ah-ha. I would follow that car through the gate. My adrenaline was pumping as I followed the car.
The black Mercedes drove on through and I easily followed behind it. The person hadn’t even noticed that I had driven through behind him. Now that I was behind the gates, I realized that I didn’t know exactly where I was going or if I’d be able to get out of here when the time came. The black Mercedes made a left onto a street up ahead. At least now I could relax a little. I didn’t want that person to realize that I had slipped in here. For now, I’d be free to drive around and look for that Jaguar.
I looked at the driveways as I moved down the main street of the subdivision. The houses were large and fairly far apart since the yards were so big. That meant fewer houses for me to search and hopefully I’d find the car. But then I realized that most of the cars were in the garages. So with this realization, I figured I’d made a pointless trip. Unless I came up with a brilliant idea soon then I should just leave. A short time later, I arrived at the end of the road.
Now what should I do? I could search up and down every street of the subdivision. There weren’t that many streets, but I was wondering if it was really worth it since I assumed now upon further reflection that all cars would be in garages. Nevertheless, I supposed there was a small chance I might see the car in a driveway or parked along the road.
I went through the hassle of going up and down each street in the subdivision. But as I suspected, there was no sign of the silver Jaguar. I sat at the stop sign and released a deep breath. This was a bummer. I guessed it was time for me to leave. I supposed the silver Jaguar would always be a mystery.
I made a left turn and then to my surprise spotted the silver Jaguar. I couldn’t believe it. This was my lucky day. But now what? I had to follow it. And in order to do that I couldn’t let them get away. The speed limit along this road was only twenty-five. It certainly seemed as if the silver Jaguar was going much faster than that. Now I had to punch it in order to catch up. And up ahead was a speed bump that slowed me down even more. I wanted to get out of that gate at the same time as the silver Jaguar. Otherwise, I would have to wait until the gate opened again and possibly lose the car.
I wanted to make sure that the driver didn’t see that it was me behind him. He had followed me once before and if he discovered I was behind him now there was no telling what might happen.
He had reached the gate now and it was opening for him. I just had to get up there in time to squeeze through before it closed. Once the gate was open, he drove straight through. It didn’t seem as if he was aware that I was behind him. I was still a bit back but closing the distance now. I thought for sure I would make it on time.
I’d almost reached the gate now. Slowly it was inching its way closed. I wasn’t going to make it in time. Should I punch the gas and try to get through? As sure as I did that it would trap me and slam onto the side of my car. I stopped short and hit the steering wheel with my hands. Maybe it wasn’t my lucky day after all. The car had turned to the right. I watched as it drove down the street. Now I had to sit there and wait for the gate to open for me. I hoped I could catch up with the Jaguar. Unfortunately, there was another problem. The gate wasn’t opening for me. What was taking so long?
The gate wasn’t moving. Maybe there was some sort of special code that I needed after all. But once I was inside, I’d assumed the gate would just open and I wouldn’t need a secret way to get out. Just my luck. Now I had to be stuck in here and that Jaguar was long gone. I couldn’t sit here forever.
I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that a car had pulled up behind me. Soon he would lose his patience. And I had no idea how to get the gate open. I looked back and saw that the man was getting out of his car. Oh, great, now he was coming to yell at me. Then I would get angry and yell back at him. It would be a whole big scene. I’d try to be as polite as possible.
“Is everything all right with your car?” the man asked.
“Just waiting for the gate to open,” I said. “I think it might be broken.”
I hoped he didn’t ask if I lived here and why I was in this area. I just had to lie and say I was visiting a friend. And hope that he didn’t ask who this friend was. But would he really go to all that trouble? This was like being in an FBI building or something.
He smiled. “Oh, sometimes it gets stuck. I’ve had it happen to me.”
“What do we do to get it unstuck?” I asked.
Now I was feeling a bit panicked. I wanted out of here. This had been a bad idea.
“Sometimes it just takes a minute or two to reset. I wish they’d get it fixed. Looks like I’ll have to complain again,” he said.
“Yes,” I said with a smile.
I tried to act casual as if I totally belonged here. Was he going to hang out by my car while we waited for the gate to open? This would be awkward, and it would give him time to ask where I lived in the subdivision. Maybe I should start the conversation and steer it in the direction I wanted it to go. Maybe I could ask if he knew about the silver Jaguar. But how would I segue into that topic? That was kind of a weird thing to ask about. But then I had an idea.
“A car was driving erratically and maybe sped out of here too fast, Maybe the gate malfunctioned because of that car.”
“What car was that?” he asked with a frown.
“A silver Jaguar. Have you seen it in the subdivision?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, the guy lives on my street. He does drive like a lunatic.”
Now how would I ask for this man’s name?
“I thought I recognized him,” I said.
“Which street do you live on?” he asked.
I’d known that question would come eventually. “I live on Yacht Boulevard.”
It was the only street name I remembered. He looked at me as if maybe he was a bit skeptical but then he smiled.
“Do you know that guy’s name?” I asked.
There was no easy way to ask that question. I just had to come out with it.
“His name is Arlington Diedrich. Ostentatious guy,” he said.
The developer who had met Jessica at the time of her death. I’d seen the signs all over town for different property developments. To my surprise, the man didn’t ask why I wanted to know.
“That’s right. I thought that was him,” I said with a smile.
“You know, if you back up just a little bit and pull forward the gate will probably open now.”
Thank goodness I was getting out of this situation.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll give it a try,” I said.
He smiled and then headed back to his car. When he put his in reverse and moved backward, I did the same and then drove toward the gate. Suddenly it opened. What a glorious sight. Now I could get out of there. I pushed through the gate and headed out onto the street, making a right turn in the same direction as Mr. Diedrich. The chances of finding him now were slim. At least I had his name though. Maybe now I could find out why he had followed me.