“Well, of course I did. All secretaries do it.”
No, they don’t. And the only reason you did it is to give yourself a good evaluation.
Soft answer. Soft answer. With a weak smile pasted on her face, Trudy said, “Ethel, it’s against the rules for anyone but me to fill out that form.”
Ethel waved her hand as if the rules were a pesky fly buzzing around her head. “I’m just saving you from doing the chore.”
It’s the first chore you ever saved me from, you old…
Trudy breathed in and out. She wasn’t usually this short tempered. Somehow it seemed right to blame Ben, although getting attacked might be the cause.
While she fished for a soft answer, Ethel went on as chipper as a song bird. “I put myself in for a raise. I’ve been with the university for two years now and I’m due. I’ve been with five professors in my years here, so I’m really experienced. I deserve some recognition for all my hard work.”
“Five professors in two years?” Trudy remembered when Ethel had been assigned to her. The dean had failed to meet her eyes squarely. Now she knew why.
Trudy took a second to figure out whose aunt Ethel was. “Have you always gotten good evaluations?”
“What kind of question is that?” Ethel bristled.
What I want to know is have you forged all your evaluations and is that the only reason you’re still here?
“I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just asking.” Trudy wished she could retract the question because she knew Ethel wouldn’t let it drop.
“I work hard for you every day. I come in here, maybe not always before you, but eventually. Not everybody has such a faithful secretary. Why, I know people who have jobs and just plain don’t show up. How’d you like to have someone like that working here?”
And exactly how would that be different?
Trudy wasn’t sure why she was having a sudden attack of sarcasm of the brain. She was only sure it was wrong and she was failing. God, I’m sorry. Help me come up with a soft answer here. The best she could manage was, “I wouldn’t like that at all.”
Ethel’s blue-tinged gray hair quivered with anger. “That’s right, you wouldn’t, and don’t you forget it. I can’t believe how ungrateful you’re being.” She slapped her purse under her arm and whirled to leave.
“Wait,” Trudy said.
Ethel whirled back around. The song bird had turned into a little gray-haired bull, and Trudy wanted to wave a red cape.
“Don’t go away angry, please.” She braced herself for whatever Ethel had to say. She’d turn the other cheek. She’d take whatever slings and arrows Ethel sent flying her way.
Don’t go away angry, just go away.
Trudy shook her head to clear it of this strange new sarcastic attitude. “The evaluation is fine this time, and so is the signature. I didn’t think of discussing it with you, and I apologize for that. If all the other secretaries do it, I can imagine how you’d think I wouldn’t mind.”
Trudy kept her voice calm but she couldn’t quite roll over so far as to give Ethel permission to commit forgery. “I do mind, though. From now on, in this office, I’ll sign things myself.”
“Well, all you had to do was say so,” Ethel said with a huff. “If you want to put up with all the tedious forms in this office, it’s nothing to me.”
I’m already doing them myself. This is the first time you’ve ever…
“If that’s all you had to say, I’ll be going now.” Ethel walked away as if she were a queen who had granted a commoner an audience.
Trudy watched her leave, wondering how many ways her secretary was going to find to punish her for this over the next few months.
When the door clicked shut, it echoed in the empty hallways.
Most classes ended at four. Trudy wondered if there were any people left in the building. She hurried to the door Ethel had exited through and looked outside. Even her faithful bodyguard Gordan was gone.
Trudy glanced quickly at her watch. Four-fifteen. Ben would be here in fifteen minutes.
If she hadn’t promised to wait for him, she’d run out of the building and race for home.
Instead, she went into her own office and pulled some notes together for the next day. That finished, she phoned a local grocery store to order supplies for tonight, glanced at her watch, and decided she had time before Ben arrived to clean out her email.
“Give me what I want.”
The subject line popped up on the screen. The words hit her like a fist. She didn’t have to open it to know what it would say.
“Give me what I want, or I’ll take it.”
A second message appeared.
“Give me what I want.”
Messages kept appearing. Seconds ticked by as the number rose to five, then ten, then twenty—all of them with the same subject line.
“Give me what I want.”
She began opening them by rote, hoping one of them would say something else. Fearing one of them would say something else. Her stomach twisted as each message appeared.
“Give me what I want, or I’ll take it.”
Watson’s words. It was him. It had to be. There was no other message. If he’d have asked her a question, or given her a contact number, she’d have done her best to help the man.
“Give me what I want.”
Each time a new e-mail popped into view, her nerves wound tighter.
“Give me what I want.”
Her breath caught in her throat and her heart pounded harder as the number climbed to 25, 26, 27.
“Give me what I want.”
She should contact him.
“Give me what I want.”
She should scream for help.
“Give me what I want.”
She should try and help the poor man.
“Give me what I want.”
She should hire a full-time bodyguard, a meaner one than Gordan.
“Give me what I want.”
There was a sharp rap on her office door.
She shrieked and whacked her knees on the bottom of her desk when she jumped and cried out in pain.
The door slammed open and Ben rushed in, his gun drawn. He wheeled around the room, gun extended.
“What happened?” He kept the gun drawn but raised it to the ceiling, beside one ear. His eyes narrowed when he looked at her and crossed her small office in a couple of fast steps.
“What was it? What made you scream?”
Trudy realized she had goosebumps everywhere.
“Did he show up here today? Did he hurt you again?” Ben rubbed her arm.
He’d noticed her crawling skin. He seemed to notice everything. She appreciated the comforting touch.
His gentleness pulled her out of the sick fascination she’d felt for the blitz of e-mails.
She raised her hands to cover her cheeks, wondering what he’d seen on her face to send him across the room so quickly.
“No, he didn’t hurt me.” She wondered why she had this knee jerk desire to protect poor, mixed up Ralph Watson. “It’s just these e-mails. I’m on edge and when you knocked I was startled.”
Startled…the understatement of the century so far.
Ben reached past her, crowding her sideways a little. He read the screen, scrolling through the remaining letters. “How many of these did you get?”
Trudy shrugged. “This isn’t the first batch.”
Ben rested a hand on her back. “They’re from Watson, aren’t they?”
“They’re not signed.”
“What’s the e-mail address?”
“They’re all different.” She knew she should move aside. Get up and let Ben have the computer. But for right now, she needed the support of his warmth and strength.
Ben shook his head. “Anyone can get dozens of e-mail addresses. They’re all those freebie kind. Look at these [email protected], [email protected]. They’re all like that. It’s the same guy.”
“I know that.”
Ben looked away from the screen to stare down at her. His eyes were fierce, but they softened as she looked at him.
“I’m sorry, Tru-Blue. I’m sorry this sick-o scared you.”
Trudy nodded. “Me, too.”
Ben lifted his hand and brushed wisps of hair off her forehead. “You know it’s Watson.
Trudy nodded, shrugged, nodded again. “Just one more thing we can’t prove, right?”
“We could prove it with a search warrant.”
“Could you get a search warrant with what happened last night?”
Ben’s jaw tightened. His mouth formed a straight line. “Maybe.”
“And what if it’s just some other whack-o fan? Somebody who thinks it’s funny to send harassing e-mails to the poor, stupid, pacifist author.”
“Then we’ll get him, too.”
“And I’ll have destroyed any chance I had of helping Ralph Watson.”
Ben was silent for a long minute. “You know it’s him. He hasn’t tried to approach you today, has he?”
Tru hesitated a second too long.
Ben’s eyes zeroed in on Trudy until she felt like they were boring into her skull. “He came here? Did he threaten you? Did he put his hands on you?”
“No, no he didn’t come here. At least…well, once I thought I saw him at a distance, but it could have been somebody else.”
“Were you alone?”
“I haven’t been alone all day. My own private security guard was with me.”
Ben nodded, his eyes squinting. “I noticed there wasn’t anyone in your outer office just now. Did Watson contact your colleague?”
Ethel chose that moment to poke her head in the door and say with an irritable temper, “I forgot my sweater. You distracted me when I was leaving.” She ducked back out.
“Get back here.” Ben grabbed the door and opened it.
Ethel arched her eyebrows. “What’s the problem?”
“Weren’t you told that Dr. Jennings wasn’t to be left alone?” Ben stood with his back to Trudy, but she could see the annoyance in the set of his shoulders. “I asked security to make that clear to the people who work with her.”
“Sure, I heard that, but I’m always done for the day at four. I can’t wait around.”
“You’ve got a child to pick up at day care?” Ben asked.
Trudy rolled her eyes behind his back. No way did he think blue-haired, sixty-something Ethel had a child in day care.
“No,” Ethel sniffed. She bent sideways to look past Ben’s shoulder and glare at Trudy. Ethel held a grudge for weeks when she got annoyed. “I don’t have any children in day care.”
“You have a husband stranded somewhere, waiting for you to pick him up from work?”
“No, I just like to beat rush hour traffic. If I wait around after four, I might as well crawl home.”
“So, Dr. Jennings’ safety and a request from campus security mean less to you than avoiding a traffic jam?”
“Trudy, tell this wise-guy that I always go home at four.”
Trudy heard the threat. She winced when she thought of the cold shoulder she’d have to endure if she thwarted Ethel twice in one day. Besides it was true. “She always goes home at four.”
Ben was silent. He faced away from Trudy. Ethel looked away from Trudy with a satisfied smirk.
Whatever Ethel saw in Ben’s expression, the smirk faded.
Ben crossed his arms. “You also weren’t at your desk when I arrived. So, you came in here, saw her with a strange man, and said good-bye without giving it a second thought.”
With a sullen shrug, Ethel said, “I’ll wait until Trudy leaves the building.”
“As it happens, now that I’m here, it will be fine if you leave.”
“Then why’d you make such a big deal about it?”
“I didn’t,” Ben said.
Trudy noticed his tense neck muscles didn’t match the mild tone of his voice. She wondered what would happen if Ben decided to make a big deal out of something.
“I just asked if you were aware of the security request so I’d know if you hadn’t been informed or if you were deliberately ignoring the order.”
“Okay, tomorrow I stay until you show up or she leaves. Satisfied?” Ethel swung the door shut with a sharp snap.
Ben reached for it.
“Let her go.” Trudy jumped up and rounded her desk. “Please, Ben.”
Ben turned to her and shook his head in disgust. “So, yet another person who bullies you. Do you see a trend here, Tru-Blue?”
Trudy wrinkled her nose at him.
“Let’s get out of here. We’re going to the police station to swear out a complaint against Watson. Then, I’m going to make sure you get home safe. Once you’re locked down for the night, I’ll have a squad car…”
“I’ve got church tonight.” Trudy glanced at her watch. “Yikes, I’m supposed to be there by five. I’ve got to get going.”
Grabbing her briefcase and purse, she dodged Ben and reached for the door.
He caught her arm. “You’re not going to church. You’re going to the precinct. We’re going to get a line on this guy once and for all.”
“I’m the chairman of the Casserole Committee. I’ve got to go and make twenty pans of lasagna tonight. The committee depends on me. I’ve already ordered the groceries and I need to pick them up. If I don’t move right now, I’ll be late.”
Ben let her go and plunked his fists on his hips. “Call someone and tell them you can’t make it.”
“Better yet,” Tru snipped. “Get yourself into gear, and come with me. I could use the help. We’re always short-handed. We’ll deal with the police later.”
Tru stormed out of her office.
Ben growled at her heels like a junkyard dog. “The longer you wait to press charges, the weaker your case becomes. It’s already been close to twenty-four hours. The bruises on your face will go a long way toward convincing a judge to issue a warrant for his arrest.”
Tru marched out of the building and came to an abrupt stop. “My car’s been stolen.”
“No, it hasn’t. I had a uniformed officer drive it to your home earlier today.” Ben drew even with her.
Tru whirled and crossed her arms. “How did you get my keys?”
“I didn’t have to get them. You left them in the ignition. Stop doing that, by the way. Haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘Don’t help a good boy go bad?’”
Ben pointed at his truck parked nearby.
She glared at the truck, then at Ben.
“You said you’d let me give you a ride home, Tru-Blue.”
When he used that wheedling voice on her, she just melted. She had to get a backbone. “I’ve got to go to church. We use those casseroles to feed people just home from the hospital and families who have a new baby. We also deliver them when there’s a death in the family. If I don’t do this, the need is going to be felt right away.”
She rested her hand on his arm. “Please, Ben? This is important. It’s got to take priority over having Ralph arrested. And you’re here with me, so I’m safe.” Trudy was amazed to hear wheedling coming from her own lips. She didn’t think of herself as a wheedling kind of gal.
Ben sighed and dropped his head until his chin rested on his chest. “We need to get this guy, Tru. You’re not safe while he’s on the street.”
Trudy tightened her grip on his arm. “Is my safety more important than a hungry family? Is it more important than letting grieving people know their church family loves them?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Ben shook his head as if he were exhausted. “Okay, Tru-Blue. Turn off the violins. I’ll go with you, and I’ll stay and help cook up a bunch of casseroles with your church group. When’s your first class in the morning?”
“I don’t have to be in until eleven.”
“Can we please file a complaint against this guy first thing in the morning?”
Tru thought of Liz and Ethel bullying
her. Ben was as strong-willed as Liz and Ethel combined, yet he was going to let her decide this issue. It was a heady experience. It also occurred to her than she didn’t demand anything from Liz and Ethel. She wondered what would happen if she laid down the law.
“Thanks.” She smiled up at her personal bodyguard. “Thanks for letting the decision be mine. I think I should file charges against him. It might protect the next woman he decides to hurt.”
“No, Tru, thank you for agreeing to go in.” Ben took her arm and led her to his truck. “Let’s go get those groceries.”
8
“Where’s the committee?” Ben staggered under the weight of the groceries. He looked around the empty parking lot. “I was hoping a dozen ladies would all come rushing out to meet us and help us haul this stuff in.”
Tru came along beside him, carrying three grocery bags. “Five of us are on the committee. They must be late.”
“Five would help,” Ben said.
Tru hefted the case of spaghetti sauce jars and Ben relieved her of them. They weighed a ton. He took plastic grocery bags in each hand, too. “We’ll be lucky to make it in another two trips if we load ourselves down this much every time.”
“Ben, don’t whine. It isn’t attractive.” Trudy pulled the heavy church door open with one finger. One of his bags was slipping, but he just held on tighter and didn’t complain. Not after that whining crack. “Lead the way for your humble pack mule, Dr. Tru.” He clung to the bags.
They made it to the kitchen. “I’ll get the rest of it. You start cooking.” Ben headed for the door.
“No, I insist on helping. You’ll be in and out several times if you have to do it alone.”
“I’m fine, Tru. Just get busy.”
Tru caught the sleeve of his white button-down shirt.
He was a big strong man. He turned to her, to reassure her of that. Furrows across her brow stopped him. “What’s the matter?”
Tru shrugged and dropped her hand. Speaking to the floor, she said, “It’s just that…when we got here, the church wasn’t locked and I don’t know if I want to…to stay in here.” She looked up at him. “All alone.”
Ben’s heart melted. “Come on. I didn’t want to do it by myself anyway. I just didn’t want to whine anymore.”
A bright smile lit up her face. “Trying to cut back on the whining is admirable.”
Loving the Texas Lawman_A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense Page 7