Kate and Eric sat there dumbfounded. “That wasn’t your call to make, Mom. We deserved to have a dad in our lives even if he cheated on you,” Kate hissed. “You robbed us of a relationship with him. All these years of telling us to accept things as they are and to love him for who he is must’ve been a big joke to you. You were the whole reason we were suffering.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you would do this to us to have revenge on him.”
“Well, it’s easy for you to judge. You’re not a mother. I did what I thought was best for my children. Maybe someday, when you’re a parent, you’ll understand.”
She was too good at justifying her own misguided actions to have any remorse.
Kate stood up. “Thanks for finally answering our questions, if what you’ve said is even the truth. I don’t have anything else to say. I can’t comprehend why you would purposely keep our father from us and I don’t think I ever will.”
Eric stood up as well. “Mom, I’m moving out today. I’m moving in with Tony. I’ll come get the bulk of my things during the week.”
He walked Kate to the door and hugged her. “Talk to you soon,” he said and then turned toward his bedroom to pack a bag.
Kate didn’t turn back to look at her mom. She opened the door and left without uttering another word. What was the point? When she got out to her car, she hit the steering wheel and yelled, “Damn it.” Enough was enough. Her mom had no remorse whatsoever about her actions. Had what she said even been the whole truth? Doubtful. Something seemed to be missing. She was glad she had an appointment on Tuesday to see Dr. Cox. She needed help processing this whole thing, and everything else that had happened.
As they hadn’t talked in a couple of days, Kate took out her phone and called Charlie. Charlie had plans to meet Natalie for lunch at Fashion Valley, so Charlie invited her to join them. Since Kate hadn’t been working with Natalie for the last few weeks it had been a while since they’d spoken. Kate missed Natalie’s beautiful face and warm friendship. She wondered if Natalie met anyone in the last few weeks. She deserved a man like Neil who would treat her well. Once she got to the mall, she called Neil to let him know she was okay and that she was having lunch with the girls.
They both walked up to California Pizza Kitchen at the same time. Kate embraced Charlie like they hadn’t seen each other in years, so relieved to see her best friend. They went in and found Natalie waiting inside. She was a sight for sore eyes, and Kate realized how much she missed her, not seeing her dear friend every day at work. They hugged and then the hostess seated them.
Kate didn’t know where to start since so much had happened over the past few days, but she took a few minutes to catch up with the girls’ news first.
“Natalie, any news? Have you met any interesting guys?”
Natalie started laughing. “No, not unless you count the toddlers shopping with their moms!”
“Nat, you need to follow the advice you gave me and get a life. We could try to set you up with one of Neil or Mitch’s friends.”
Natalie shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. Speaking of Mitch, how are things with you two?” Natalie asked, directing the conversation toward Charlie.
Charlie told them all about the escapades of living with her man. The smile on her face said it all—they were blissfully happy together. “Enough about us, what’s going on with you?”
“What do you want to hear about first, Neil coming to Minnesota or my mom making sure my dad wasn’t in my life?”
Charlie and Natalie sat there in disbelief. “What?” Charlie interjected. “Your mom prevented your dad from seeing you? I figured you and Neil would work it out. Your mom, however, is unbelievable.”
Kate recounted the events of the past few days. Natalie just shook her head in disbelief.
“Wow! How are you going to handle this with your mom?” Natalie asked.
“Eric and I confronted her earlier today. She isn’t sorry in the least. She didn’t even try to pretend to be remorseful. It was very disturbing to talk to her about it. In fact, she actually said it was none of our business what happened between her and my father.”
Charlie reached across the table to touch Kate’s hand. “I’m so sorry. But at least you know now that your dad wanted you in his life. That must be a comfort.”
“You know…it is a comfort actually. I don’t feel so…rejected. It’s a much better place to be.”
“Do you think there’s more to the story?” Natalie asked.
“Who knows with my mom. She’s most likely not telling us everything and she doesn’t plan on it. She just blamed everything on my dad, but we’ve all been in relationships and we know it takes two people to make it work or not work.”
The waitress came to take their order. While waiting for their food to arrive, Kate told them all about Neil’s romantic gesture and how he’d swept her off her feet. As she was filling in the details, she noticed a familiar presence out of the corner of her eye. She blinked repeatedly, hoping she was seeing things. But she wasn’t. It was Roger. He was with a woman and a little boy. She assumed the woman was Paulina because she recognized Jacob from his photo.
She wanted to hide under the table so he wouldn’t see her, but it was too late, as he’d already spotted her and was coming their way.
“Kate! Charlie! It’s so good to see you both,” he said with a knowing smile. “Hi, I’m Roger,” he said, extending his hand to Natalie.
“This is my friend Natalie. Natalie, this is Roger,” Charlie explained. Natalie shook Roger’s hand and smiled slightly.
“Nice to see you too, Roger. Who’s this little guy?” Charlie asked.
Kate remained silent.
“This is my son Jacob and his mother Paulina.” Charlie reached out to shake Paulina’s hand, as did Kate.
“It’s nice to meet you. Roger has told us all about you,” Kate said, forcing a smile.
Paulina nodded but didn’t smile back.
“Obviously the trip to Germany was good since you brought your family back with you,” Kate remarked. Maybe I’m not on his radar any longer now that Paulina is here. She shook her head. No…that’s wishful thinking.
“It was, and we decided it would be better for Paulina and Jacob to move back to the States.”
The waitress returned with their food.
“Roger, let’s get a table. Jacob is hungry,” Paulina said assertively. “Enjoy your food.”
Paulina turned to find the hostess. Jacob followed behind her, leaving Roger standing there.
“I was surprised you two moved so abruptly,” he said, a hurt look on his face. “What’s going on?”
Goosebumps appeared on Kate’s arms. She didn’t know how to respond to Roger. Charlie stepped in and started talking.
“Mitch and I decided to get our own place together.”
“Oh, terrific,” he said, looking at Kate. “Are you living by yourself, then?”
Kate swallowed hard. “No, I have a new roommate. A friend you haven’t met.”
“I see,” he said coldly. He continued to stare at her like a predator. No light radiated from his eyes.
Kate’s felt like there were a thousand spiders crawling all over her skin.
“Well, it was nice seeing you, Roger,” Charlie interjected.
“Yeah. Nice to see both of you too,” he said before joining his family at their table.
Kate, Charlie, and Natalie said nothing for a few minutes. Roger’s questioning, cold stare made her realize he was still looking for her. They each took small bites of their food. Kate could barely eat. She slowly moved the food around her plate. Her gag reflex was in full swing. She thought about excusing herself to go to the bathroom, but she was afraid Roger would follow her. What now?
“Kate, do you want to take our food to go?” Charlie asked. “We don’t have to stay here right now.”
“That’s a great idea. I don’t think I can stand being here one more minute,” Kate said, exhaling
sharply. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath. “We can go back to my place.”
Charlie flagged down the waitress and asked for boxes. The waitress promptly brought the boxes and the bill. They paid for their lunch, boxed up their food, and began walking out of the restaurant. Roger’s eyes followed every movement Kate made. He watched her until she walked out the door, his face unreadable.
Charlie and Natalie drove together, following Kate home. The three women rode the elevator in silence, and when they reached the top floor, Kate fumbled with the keys, unable to open the door. Thankfully, Charlie took them from her and unlocked the door. They entered the apartment and set their lunch on the counter. Kate was shaking. Neil was out on the terrace, reading and soaking in the blissful afternoon sun, and when the three women made their way to him, he reached out to take Kate’s hand.
“Hey, baby,” he said. “Charlie, Natalie, it’s good to see both of you. Did you have a good lunch?” Neil pulled his sunglasses away from his face and frowned at Kate. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you sick? Did something else happen besides your mom?”
Kate sat down in a chair in the shade and rubbed her face with her hands. “We saw Roger at lunch,” she said.
Neil put down his Kindle and moved to a chair next to Kate. Charlie sat on one chaise lounge chair while Natalie sat on the other.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Neil said, exasperated. “Did he see you? Did you talk to him? Tell me everything that happened.” He stroked her arm.
“He was there having lunch with his son and his son’s mother, Paulina. It was all very civilized, just completely unnerving. He came over to us and made small talk, and then asked about us moving. Charlie told him we moved because she and Mitch decided to get a place together. That was it, I think. Did I leave anything out?” Kate asked Charlie.
“That’s everything that happened,” Charlie said, “except he watched us leave and it was quite chilling. I thought he was going to stare a hole right through you.”
“I will fill in the security team. I should’ve had them start today, but I didn’t expect you to randomly run into him at the mall. You’re not going anywhere without a bodyguard from now until the police get the evidence they need to put that bastard away. You’re going to be safe, baby. I promise. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You’re my life, you know that, right?”
Kate nodded. Her eyes welled up with tears. “Seeing him was so terrifying. I saw the resolve in his eyes. I know he’s coming after me and he’s not going to stop. He’s not going to stop,” she repeated, resting her head in her hands.
“We’ll figure out a way to stop him. Until then, you’ll have security at all times. I’m going in to call Paul right now. I’ll have someone posted outside the door ASAP.”
Kate noticed the veins popping out of Neil’s forehead. She could see from his alarmed and protective stance that he was going to keep her protected. She still felt chilled, but was grateful she had Neil in her life.
Looking at Charlie, Kate said, “You need to be careful too. He’s probably going to follow you to see if he can find me.”
“I already thought of that,” Charlie murmured.
“I’m so sorry I’ve put you in danger,” Kate said. “Do you think I should contact Detective Jameson?”
“Well, Roger hasn’t broken any laws by talking to us, but it’s a good idea to keep him informed. It really sucks there’s nothing he can do,” Charlie said, running her hand through her hair.
Natalie’s phone rang. “I’m sorry. I need to answer this. It might be my sister.” She got up and moved toward the railing of the terrace.
“Hello…Yes, this is she…No, that can’t be…Where is she now? I’ll be right there.”
Natalie ended the call and turned to Kate and Charlie. “My sister’s been in a car accident. I need to go to the hospital right away.”
“No! Is it serious?” Kate asked.
“I don’t know. She’s going in for surgery, so that doesn’t sound good.”
“Let’s go. I’ll drive you there,” Charlie offered, taking Natalie by the hand.
“Which hospital? Neil and I will meet you there.”
“Scripps on Genesee.”
“Okay, we’ll be fifteen minutes behind you,” Kate said, hugging Natalie. She could feel her friend shaking.
Natalie and Charlie left. Kate went to find Neil in his office.
“We’ll have someone posted outside the door within the hour,” he said. “I’ve also hired security to watch Charlie’s place. I think Roger will follow her in hopes of finding you. The team assigned to Charlie will do surveillance outside of her apartment specifically to watch for Roger.”
“That’s great, but we need to go to the hospital. Natalie’s sister Jessica has been in a car accident. She and Charlie already left and I said we’d go too.”
“Is she hurt badly?”
“Natalie wasn’t sure. All she knows is that her sister’s in surgery. It doesn’t look good. She needs our support.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Neil took Kate’s hand as they walked out to the elevator. She didn’t know how much more she could take. Her mom had been unbelievable and seeing Roger by chance was unnerving. Now her dear friend’s sister had been in an accident. Would life ever be normal again? She’d never again complain about life being boring. She looked over at Neil’s handsome face and relished in the fact that this wonderful man loved her so much and had given her so much hope amidst this much despair.
***
Kate and Neil arrived at the hospital and Kate asked the first nurse she saw for directions to the waiting area. To her surprise, it was Michelle, the woman she’d met on the flight to Minnesota.
“Michelle, I didn’t know you worked here. Neil, this is the woman I sat next to on the plane that I told you about. Michelle, this is my boyfriend Neil.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Neil said, extending his hand. “I heard about the good advice you gave my girl,” he said, smiling.
Michelle nodded. “She gave me some good advice too. In fact, I’m so thrilled to have run into you. This probably sounds weird, but I thought a lot about our conversation since I met you on the plane. I’d love to chat more with you about the idea of grief counseling at some point if that’s all right with you.”
“Yeah, why don’t we get together for lunch sometime this week?”
“That’d be great,” Michelle said. The two women exchanged phone numbers. “So, are you here to visit someone?”
“My friend Natalie’s sister was admitted. She was in a car accident and is in surgery. We need to find her.”
“The waiting room is just through those double doors and to the left.”
“Thanks. It was great running into you.”
“You too,” Michelle said. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be here at the station.”
“Will do,” Kate said as she and Neil headed toward the double doors. As they entered the waiting room, they found Natalie sobbing in Charlie’s arms. Kate made eye contact with Charlie and raised her eyebrows. Charlie shook her head. Words were no longer needed, as Kate knew Natalie’s sister hadn’t made it. With tears in her eyes, she looked over at Neil and grabbed onto his arm.
They made their way over to Natalie and Kate put her hand on Natalie’s back. Natalie turned and fell into Kate’s arms. She held Natalie for a long time, saying nothing, as there were no words that could be uttered to make Natalie feel better.
Natalie finally pulled away. Her eyes were red and swollen. “She’s the only family I had in this world. What am I going to do without her?”
“You have me and Charlie. We’re your sisters now. We’re here for you. Anything you need, anytime you need it,” Kate said, her voice trembling as she fought her own tears in an effort to be strong for Natalie.
The tears streamed down Natalie’s face. “I can’t believe she’s gone. She was only twenty-one years old. She was in he
r last year of college. This is so unfair,” she said, putting her face in her hands.
“You’re right. It’s unfair,” Kate said. She didn’t know what else to say. She knew what it was like to be inconsolable. That’s how she’d felt when David died. There were no words that could make her feel better. She knew holding Natalie was better than anything she could say.
“Mitch and I have our guest bedroom set up and you’re going to spend the night with us. You can stay with us as long as you need to,” Charlie said, looking at Natalie with great compassion in her eyes.
Natalie nodded. It was obvious she was grateful even if she couldn’t utter another syllable. A police officer walked up with Jessica’s possessions.
“Miss, we found your sister’s purse near the car. We don’t know if she had anything else in the car.”
“Do you know what happened, officer?” Neil asked.
“We think Jessica and the driver might’ve been doing drugs and the driver lost control of the car. It flipped five times before finally settling in a ravine. That’s all we know at the moment.”
“Drugs? No, there’s no way…” Natalie choked out.
Neil frowned. “Is the driver…?”
“He’s alive and being treated. He’s going to be okay. He should be released today, but he will be questioned. The doctor is doing a tox screening on him right now to find out what substance he was taking. Once we have all the facts, we will determine if he will be charged. I’ll be questioning him in a few minutes.”
Charlie looked over at Natalie. “Let me take you home so you can pack a bag. Then we’ll go to my place.”
“Please, Charlie. I can’t stand to be here anymore. I don’t want to see that bastard that killed my sister.” Natalie looked over at the officer. “Would you please contact me as soon as you know anything?”
“Yes, I will. Please write down your phone number,” he said, handing over his small clipboard. Natalie wrote her name and number on the paper attached to the clipboard. The officer gave her his card.
Taken by You (Killer Next Door #2) Page 12