“First of all, are you feeling all right?” Reese asked quietly.
She gave him a weak smile. “I’ve been better.”
“I would think so.” He looked out the window across the square at the police cars lining the curb near the parking lot. “You have no idea what time it could have happened?”
“I really don’t. I got to work at about a quarter to eight this morning. I didn’t go out to pick up lunch or to the post office, so it really could have happened any time after I arrived this morning.”
“Any idea who would want to do that?”
Bri looked out the window not wanting to meet his eyes. “I really don’t.” She knew that she should mention Curtis, but she just didn’t want to stir all of that up again. Nothing had helped before; she couldn’t see that anything had changed.
“I was on the Chicago Police Department for several years before coming to Sampson’s Quarry. I saw some crazy stuff, but the only time I ever saw all four tires slashed on a person’s car was in downtown Chicago. A woman had discovered her husband cheating and she had taken a diving knife to the tires on his Porsche.
“Yikes,” Bri said. “Not that I could really blame her.”
“Yeah, me neither. Her name was still on the title for the car so I didn’t even ticket her. It helped with the divorce case though. His soon to be ex-wife had the proof she needed. The paperwork from the towing company showed that his car had to be towed from the hotel where he had met up with his new girlfriend.”
“Well, good for her. Cheaters are horrible. If you aren’t happy just end the relationship.” She glanced back across to the parking lot where she could see a police officer running yellow police tape across the driveway. “I will never understand why some people can’t learn to let go.”
“I think some people are simply incapable of it,” Reese said. “Whether it is fear or jealousy, I don’t know.”
“Narcissism,” she said. Reese was looking at her and she added, “Some people just think it’s always all about them. They think the rest of us should realize how wonderful they are and do whatever they want.”
“Very true,” Reese agreed. “So, what do you think we’re dealing with here?”
“I don’t know.” Bri took a steadying breath, realizing she was on the verge of tears. She did not want to cry in front Reese. She liked him and trusted him an incredible amount, but she didn’t want to cry in front of him.
Judi saved the day for her though, appearing with a large tray with the massive amount of food that Reese had ordered. “Here you go. BLT sandwiches, two orders of extra-large fries, onion rings and two large cokes.”
“Thank you,” Bri told her with a smile.
“Oh, you’re welcome, honey. You’re going to love that BLT. Barney makes them with Swiss cheese. They’re so good, it’s the mayor’s favorite.”
“Barney? There’s actually a Barney at Barney’s Coffee Shop?” Bri knew she must sound crazy. She had no idea there was an actual Barney.
“Of course, there is a Barney!” Judi said with a loud laugh. “Who do you think I have been married to for the last thirty-six years?”
“Judi, I had no idea,” Bri answered laughing herself.
“Thirty-six years, that’s a long time,” Reese remarked. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, hon. It hasn’t always been easy but it’s sure been worth it.”
“I bet. That’s amazing.” Bri found herself wanting to tear up again. This time though it was because of how touched she was by Judi’s admission. “It’s sure nice to know that there are happily ever afters out there.”
“Of course, there are. Sometimes you just gotta trust your gut.” Judi hefted up the large tray. “Enjoy your dinner. I’ll be back around in a little bit, but holler if you need me.”
“You okay?” Reese asked her again when Judi had walked away.
Bri nodded and then suddenly blurted out, “I think I might have a stalker.”
8
The glass door to the office opened, and Bri looked up to see long-haired man dressed in coveralls.
“Conor, hello. What are you doing here?” She had seen him the night before when he had come to tow her car. Reese had arranged for Galloway Auto to pick up her car and get it repaired.
“Good morning, Bri,” he said, standing just inside the door, shifting hesitantly as though he was worried that he might get something dirty. He gestured toward the door. “Your car is ready.”
“Oh?” He had called her earlier saying he planned on having it ready by the end of the day. “I was going to stop by on my way home from work. Nancy was going to drop me off.”
"Detective Reese and I thought it would be better if I brought the car to you?"
"Oh gosh, Conor, you didn't have to do that."
"It wasn't a problem at all. We got everything done early and one of my guys just followed me down." He pulled a set of keys from his pocket. "Here you go. I parked it on the curb where you can keep an eye on it. Let me know if you have any problems."
"Okay, thank you.” Bri stood up, calling out to him, “Oh! How much do I owe you."
"Don't worry about it."
"What do you mean, don't worry about it?" she asked thoroughly confused.
"I wanted to do a full check on your car anyway after the whole brake line problem."
"What about the new tires?"
Conor looked uncomfortable and started to slowly move toward the door. "You can stop by some time; we'll figure something out."
"Figure something out?" she repeated. Conor was already halfway out the door so she just called out, "Thank you so very much. I'll stop by next week."
Conor waved and jumped into a white truck with the Galloway Auto Repair logo emblazoned on the side.
She probably would have stayed there for a moment looking out at her car on the curb, but the phone started ringing.
"Good afternoon, Redmond Realty; how may I help you?"
"Hey, Bri. I might be a little bit late getting back to the office. I hope that doesn't cause a problem with you getting to Galloway Auto."
"It’s not a problem at all. They just stopped by with my car." Bri walked around the outer office, straightening up.
"They brought it to you?"
"Yes, although I believe that Detective Reese had something to do with that."
"Oh, yes. I would imagine so," Nancy said and giggled a little.
Bri ignored her boss’s teasing. "So, I guess you are off the hook since it's already here."
"Well, I'm glad that you have your car, but I have to admit I was looking forward to stopping by Galloway Auto so I could drool over Conor Galloway."
"Oh really?" Bri asked her. "Although I suppose I can’t really blame you."
Nancy laughed. "I saw him in the grocery store about a month ago. He was in jeans and a T-shirt. I almost knocked down a whole display of canned corn because I wasn’t watching where I was going."
"Oh no! What did he do?"
"Nothing!" Nancy said with a loud laugh. "He didn't even see me standing there, which I'm thinking now was probably a very good thing."
Bri laughed. "It definitely was."
"Okay well it's almost five o'clock. I'm sure you're trying to finish everything up for the day. You can go ahead and lock up to leave when you’re ready. You don’t need to wait for me. I may or may not be stopping at the office tonight. I might just head home and come in early tomorrow."
"All right, sounds good."
"Talk to you later," Nancy said and ended the call.
Bri finished up everything she needed to do at the end of the day. With one final look, she grabbed her bag before locking up the office and heading out to her car. She looked up and down the street before getting into the car. There didn’t seem to be any strangers or other cars lurking about as she unlocked the door and slid into the car. She had been worried that it might take some time to get her car back, especially since neither Lucas nor Haley had a car.
Bri�
��s neighbor, Stuart, had been helpful with that lately though. He was an older man recovering from knee replacement surgery and had offered the use of his car in trade for Lucas running errands for him. So far it had been a good trade. Lucas and Haley had a car to run errands with, and Stuart had someone to run to the grocery store and pharmacy for him. Bri was thankful too that it gave Lucas an excuse to look in on the older man, especially during his recovery.
Bri had been surprised that so many people had offered to help her after hearing about her slashed tires. Reese, Callie, and Nancy had all offered to drive her back and forth to work until she got her car back.
She was still smiling, thinking about how nice it was to have people to rely on when she turned down her street and found herself slowing down inexplicably. Something didn’t look right and she pulled to the curb to try to figure out what. After scanning the area around her apartment, she noticed a car parked on the small street next to her apartment building. Bri hadn’t seen the car there before. She supposed it could be anyone really. Haley had talked about getting her insurance company to give her a rental car; maybe that was the car.
Just then her cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“Hey,” Haley’s voice came through the phone. “Lucas and I are at the grocery store for Stuart. Lucas wants to know if you need anything?”
“No, thanks,” Bri said and hung up.
Bri was staring at the white car, noticing rust spots on the bottom of the door, definitely not a rental car. Feeling completely uneasy, Bri continued down the street, passing by the car and her apartment down to the next cross street. There she took a right and began making her way back toward the town square.
She dug her phone out of her bag. Luckily, she had programmed Reese’s number into her phone. She had looked in the rearview mirror as she was turning off the street, just as the car pulled away from the curb. She scrolled through her contacts finding Reese’s number and dialed.
“Reese,” his voice was a welcome sound.
“Hey, this is Bri.”
“Bri, hello. Did you get your car back?”
“Yes, I did. Thank you,” she said. “The reason I am calling you is that I noticed a strange car parked in front of my apartment when I got home from work.”
“A strange car? Where are you now?”
“I just kept driving down the street. I turned down Harper and I am heading back toward the town square. I figured I would stop by the coffee shop for a little while.”
“That’s perfect. I am across town but I will meet you there.”
“All right.” She felt silly for making such a big deal about a random car, but she felt relieved that he was taking her seriously.
“Stay safe,” he instructed and then ended the call.
She felt immediately better talking to Reese. It was a strange feeling after doing so much on her own. It was time for her to trust her own instincts again and get some help. It had been a long time since she had relied on anyone. Having Lucas and Haley around had reminded her, but her friends in Sampson’s Quarry had made it even more clear that she was not alone.
“Danvers here,” his partner answered.
“Hey, I need you do me a favor. Send a patrol car over to Bri Caldwell’s apartment. She reported that a strange car had been parked on the street by her building. I want someone to check it out.”
“Sure, is she at home right now?”
“Negative. She is headed back into town. I’m going to meet her at the coffee shop but I am still across town.”
Reese could hear shuffling on the other end of the phone. “I’ll get someone over there to meet her to make sure everything’s kosher.”
“Thanks, Danvers. I will be there as fast as I can.”
“No problem. Danvers out.”
Reese got into his car and swore under his breath. It would take him at least fifteen minutes to get to the town center. Luckily, he had already been walking back to his car when he got the call from Bri. He was on the other side of Sampson’s Quarry, following a lead in the florist shop investigation. Scott Refrigeration was in an industrial area on the west side of town. Someone had seen one of their work trucks parked behind the florist shop the morning of the break-in. Reese had been able to talk to the owner but not the worker who had actually been driving the truck that day.
It was a long shot and Reese didn’t really think that it had anything to do with the break-in. The large truck was not the most inconspicuous of vehicles. Granted most people would overlook the work truck and not immediately think that it was suspicious. Still, it was a large truck parked behind a business in the early hours of the morning. He was glad that people were keeping a close eye on their neighbors in the wake of all of the criminal activity lately.
Reese was beginning to doubt that the break-in at the florist had anything to do with the other break-ins. All of the break-ins had occurred to houses and cars in residential neighborhoods. This had been the only business to have any inkling of a problem. Apart from a few other differences, the whole idea just didn’t sit right with him.
He did his best to weave his way back into town, skirting around the busier sections so that he didn’t get bogged down in five o’clock traffic. Twelve minutes later, he pulled up in front of the coffee shop. He hurried inside to see Danvers sitting at a booth with Bri. She was smiling at his partner, and Reese felt a sudden spike of jealousy flare up for a moment. Danvers saw him and gave him a quick nod.
“Hey, Reese. About time you showed up.”
Reese stopped in front of the table. “I got here as fast as I could.”
“I bet.” Danvers made a point of looking at his watch before glancing at Bri with a smirk. “How many times did you use your lights?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Danvers snorted and Reese held his hands up in surrender. “Twice. All right. It was police business.”
Danvers slid out of the booth and clapped Reese on the shoulder. “I know, partner. I know.”
Reese stepped back and asked quietly, “Any word from the patrol?”
“They went by and didn’t see anything, but I will be following it up with the description that I got from Ms. Caldwell.”
Reese glanced back at Bri who was looking at her phone. “Great. Thank you. I’ll get with you later.”
“You bet. You know where to find me.” Danvers walked away.
Reese slid into the booth across from Bri. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a little shaken.”
“I am glad that you were paying attention. A lot of people may not have noticed anything wrong in their rush to get home.”
Bri nodded. “I guess I have learned to be a little more observant over the last year or so.”
He frowned. She had said over the last year, not the last few weeks. If he asked more questions she might retreat, feeling like he was interrogating her. He pulled out his phone, scrolled through it, and said casually, “It’s a good thing that Haley was out too. Who knows what could have happened.”
He glanced up to see a stricken look on Bri’s face. “All we need is one strong lead to catch this guy. I am hoping we can do it before he does more than just slash some tires.”
Bri nodded and swallowed. “I think it might be my ex-boyfriend.”
Her voice was so quiet he almost didn’t hear her. “Why do you think that it might be him?”
She stared down at her hands. “Because he did the same sort of thing back in Fairview.”
“Is that why you moved here?”
“Yes.” She looked up at him. “We had been dating for a while and things just kept getting worse. He was overly critical of everything I did and never happy with anything. He was one of those guys that never did anything wrong; everything was always someone else’s fault.”
“And you broke up with him?” Bri nodded and he asked, “What happened after you broke up with him?”
“It was awful. At first, he was crying and then he started screaming. At
least I was smart enough to know to tell him in a public place. I mean I hated it at the same time, but I knew that it was what I had to do.”
She shrugged and took a drink from her glass. “He caused a major scene and I just left him there. But that wasn’t the end of it. He started calling me constantly and left me so many text messages that I ended up getting a new phone number. He would go to my apartment nearly every night. He only stopped that because the old guy down the hall threatened to beat the crap out of him if he didn’t go away.”
“Was that the end of it?” Reese asked.
“No, not in the slightest. He started coming to my work and hassling me there. I was a receptionist at a large corporation and he kept causing a scene. He was removed by security at least four times. I ended up getting transferred to another position because of him. If I went anywhere after work, he followed me. He would leave notes on my car asking if I liked the movie I had just gotten out of, or saying that he liked what I was wearing.”
“This guy sounds like a winner,” Reese commented, trying to keep her talking while he was seething inside. “Did you think about getting a restraining order against him?”
“I did try to get a restraining order against him after he left a threatening note on my car.”
“What did it say?” Reese asked before he could stop himself, but he needed all of the information he could get to put this guy away.
“It said, ‘Stop being such a whore. Whores don’t deserve to live.” Bri blew out a long breath and Reese felt like a heartless jerk for asking. “I had gone to a farewell party for a friend at work; there were a bunch of us there. I gave the guy the party was for a hug when I left the party. I barely knew him.”
“What happened with the restraining order?”
“Curtis’s father is a lawyer so it didn’t go anywhere. The judge said that Curtis was a model citizen, star athlete, and had a good job. There was nothing to indicate that he was anything more than overreacting to a bad breakup. In fact, the entire process ended up painting me as some master manipulator. Curtis’s father claimed that Curtis had needed to seek counseling to get over my heartless treatment of him.”
Escape to Sampson's Quarry (A Sampson's Quarry Mystery - Book Two) Page 7