How Perfect You Are (Carlson College Mysteries Book 1)

by Isabel Fox

  “It was nothing,” he muttered, his early chatter gone. He looked over at me. “Cassie, see you at work, I guess,” he said, his voice only slightly louder. With that, he gave an awkward wave and returned to his car.

  James and I watched him climb in and start the engine.

  “Is he always so...odd?” James asked, his head cocked to the side. I shrugged.

  “Maybe? He’s never seemed like that at the inn, but I also haven’t really spent any time with him outside of work.”

  Drew continued to sit in his car, engine running and lights on, without moving. I gave James a look.

  “Maybe he had to make a call? Reply to a text?” James suggested. Finally, Drew put the car into reverse and drove away.

  “That was weird,” I said matter of factly as his tail lights disappeared from sight.

  “Yeah, it was,” James agreed. He put his arm around me. “Let’s get inside, it’s freezing. Then you can tell me more about this guy.”

  31

  “How could Drew be your stalker? It doesn’t make any sense.” Amber asked before taking a generous slurp of wine. She sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, a plate of lasagna, salad, and garlic bread in front of her. I was tucked in my favorite spot at the corner of the couch, plate balanced on the couch arm. James sat in the armchair next to me.

  “Why not?” James asked. After listening to me recount Drew’s odd behavior, he had become convinced that he was my stalker.

  “Because he’s worked with Cassie for, what, a year? A little more?” I nodded in confirmation, and Amber continued. “And he wasn’t weird around her until today, right?”

  “Yeah, he’s always seemed really normal at work,” I agreed.

  “I mean, yeah, maybe he had a little crush on Cassie, or something,” Amber went on, “and when he found out she had a boyfriend he was super bummed out. And then he met you and was so overwhelmed by your awesomeness that he just knew he’d never be able to compete. He was understandably depressed.”

  “I don’t know,” James sounded uncertain. “Drew just seemed so strange. He gave me the creeps.”

  “Yeah, well, just because he’s a weirdo doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a stalker,” Amber argued. “Anyway, Cassie might just be being really over dramatic about it. I mean, you heard her. She had halfway convinced herself that her professor was her stalker for about ten minutes this morning.”

  “That’s true,” I agreed. “But Drew’s level of strangeness and Dr. Mallory’s level of strangeness don’t even begin to compare. Drew was way weirder.”

  “Well, I for one really hope this security camera thing works out and we can figure out who the hell it is one way or another. I want Willow back,” Amber said sadly.

  “I still can’t believe we didn’t think of that before,” James said. “Getting a security camera, I mean.”

  “Yeah, well, to be fair, we had no idea we were going to need it this badly back when things first started happening,” I pointed out. I helped myself to another slice of garlic bread and leaned back against the couch, munching on my bread and listening as Amber and James debated different theories about who could or couldn’t be my stalker and why for awhile. Not unexpectedly, they could come up with nothing conclusive. I sighed and started collecting the now empty dinner plates.

  “This is useless. We can make guesses all day, but until we have something a little more concrete to take to the police we’re still at square one,” I said gloomily.

  “You’re right. We just have to hope that the camera you ordered gets here ASAP and we can use it to catch something useful,” James agreed. “Have you checked the shipping on it?”

  I set the plates down and took out my phone to pull up the order information.

  “Expected delivery by noon tomorrow,” I confirmed. “Thank god for next day shipping, at least. Where do you think we should put the cameras?”

  “Is this the kind of camera that looks like a little decorative thing, or an actual camera?” Amber asked.

  “A decorative thing. The ones I order look liked a pair of little vases.”

  “Well, I think the obvious answer would be to put one over there,” Amber said, pointing at the bookshelf. “That way you have a view of the front door. Get someone on camera coming in that way, and you have an instant breaking and entering charge.”

  “If they use a key, then it would just be trespassing, or unlawful entry,” James clarified before going on. “You could put the other one in the kitchen. Then you’d have a view of the back door.”

  “What about putting one outside?” I wondered aloud. “On the porch railing, maybe. I could put some kind of decorative thing in to make it look natural. Then we’d see the driveway, and maybe if someone parked there but didn’t come in the house we might at least get a car type, or license plate number. Something like that.”

  James nodded. “That might be a good idea, too. Maybe you could turn the camera on the bookshelf so it looks inside more, in case someone did come in the back. Then you could kind of cover both doors with one camera, and leave the other to record outside, like you said.”

  Suddenly, James’s phone chimed. Immediately I sat up, alert. James pulled his phone from his pocket, his brow furrowed.

  “What is it? Is it him?” I asked, trying to keep the sudden panic I felt from my voice.

  “Oh, no! No, it’s not him. It’s a friend of mine from mock trial. I left a pair of gloves at the meeting, and he grabbed them for me. Weird. I don’t even remember having gloves. I must be more tired than I thought,” James gave me a reassuring smile, but even as he did I realized he did have surprisingly dark circles under his eyes that weren’t usually there.

  “Maybe we should call it a night,” I suggested. To my surprise, even Amber agreed. We both bid James goodnight, with a quick kiss from me and a slap to the back of the head from Amber. At the top of the stairs, Amber followed me into my room.

  “You aren’t going to make him sleep downstairs again, are you?” she asked me, sounding confused. I flushed.

  “Uh, I don’t know. I mean, we...I wasn’t…” I stuttered, feeling my cheeks flush. Amber shushed me with a wave of her hand.

  “Yeah, yeah, you haven’t hooked up yet, aren’t sure if you’re ready, want to take it slow, et cetera. I get it. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, oh Cautious One. But you’ve already slept with him, in the literal sense of the word. Why not at least get some extra body heat to keep you warm tonight? I promise, you two bunking together will not insult my delicate sensibilities.” With a chuckle, Amber reached out and patted my cheek in a patronizing way.

  I rolled my eyes as she left, waiting until she had disappeared into her room before creeping back out onto the landing. I started to call out to James, then froze. I stood there a moment, stuck in indecision.

  Shaking my head, I internally chastised myself. Stop second guessing yourself, I scolded. You love James. Not like, love. Just go ahead and admit it. Stop making things more complicated than they are.

  “James?” I called, peering back down the stairs.

  “Yeah?” his voice called back. The lights downstairs were still on, but James had moved to the couch and all I could see was the tip of his foot.

  “Do you want to come up here to sleep?” I called, pleased that my voice didn’t sound nervous. There was silence from downstairs for a long moment, and then I heard James get up off the couch. Without a word, he turned off the lights downstairs and appeared a few seconds later at the foot of the stairs.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, looking up at me. I just nodded, afraid I’d say something stupid if I spoke. At my nod, James came the rest of the way up the stairs. He stood looking at me, his eyes searching. I looked back, doing my best to convey what I hoped was both a sexy and confident look.

  It must have worked, because the next thing I knew James’s mouth was on mine, kissing me deeply. I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck. I felt his hands slide around my waist
and slip under the hem of my shirt. I tensed, and he stopped, looking concerned.

  “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” he whispered, pulling away from me slightly. “We’ll go at your pace.”

  I shook my head. “Oh, it’s not that. It’s just that your hands are absolutely freezing!”

  James laughed. “Sorry about that. How about you help me get them warm?”

  Rather than replying, I took James’ hands and placed them back on my waist. Standing on my tiptoes, I kissed him again, long and deep. Fumbling with the door behind me, I managed to move us backwards. I had just enough time to kick the door shut before propelling us toward the bed.

  32

  It was close to four in the morning when I woke up. At first I wasn’t sure what, exactly, had caused my abrupt return to consciousness. Expecting the worst, I checked my phone and saw no new messages. Confused, I rolled over, quickly realizing what had awoken me. James lay next to me, sleeping soundly and snoring lightly. One arm stretched out next to him while the other was flung overhead.

  I laughed internally. It was a tight squeeze in my double bed since both James and I apparently tended to sprawl out in our sleep. I tucked myself closer to him and he sleepily draped an arm across me. Feeling much better, I closed my eyes, relieved that I still had several hours to sleep and enjoy the feeling of being close to him.

  When I woke up again it was light outside and I was alone in my bed. I sat up sleepily and caught sight of a note on the pillow next to me.

  Cassie, the note started in James’s handwriting, I hope you have a wonderful day. I’m sorry to not be here when you wake up, but I have a meeting with my advisor this morning I couldn’t miss. I’ll be here waiting when you finish class, though. It can’t come soon enough. James.

  I grinned stupidly and flopped back on my pillows. It was hard to believe the strange direction my life was taking. A mere two weeks ago I had been single, unstalked, and relatively content with my very controlled life. Now I had a boyfriend, a stalker, a kidnapped cat, and more stress and chaos than I had ever experienced at once. While I was thrilled with the first of those developments, I was sorely wishing the other three would take a hike.

  Stretching, I checked my phone. No new messages. I had about an hour before I needed to be out the door, so I decided to take an extra long shower. Noticing Willow’s collection of bobby pins and assorted hair ties beneath the counter, I felt a brief pang of sadness. I forced myself to think positively. The security cameras were arriving that day. Hopefully we would be able to put an end to this soon. We would get Willow back. I had to believe that.

  After my shower, I blow dried my hair and picked out my outfit for the day. As the temperature was supposed to drop even further, I opted to pair fleece lined tights with a wool dress and boots. Jeans probably would have been warmer, but I was feeling quite pretty after my evening with James and didn’t want to ruin the mood by dressing in something so normal and boring.

  Downstairs a half consumed pot of coffee waited for me. Amber had left a note for me as well, promising she would stock up on some groceries in light of the upcoming snowstorm. The weather reports seemed more sensational by the hour, and I had a suspicion none of us would be going to class by the end of the week. Of course, Susan would probably still expect me to be at work even if I had to hitch a ride with that year’s Iditarod champions to make it.

  I drank a steaming mug of coffee and browsed through my various apps, getting the latest news and gossip from friends and acquaintances. Just a typical, normal Tuesday. Well, for the most part. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. My morning afterglow was rapidly fading.

  Restless, I wandered back upstairs. I hadn’t left the blow dryer plugged in. I glanced in both mine and Amber’s empty rooms and saw no cause for concern. Well, Amber’s ever growing pile of laundry was a little horrifying, but I was used to that.

  Back downstairs, I doubled checked the lock on the back door. It was shut securely. I turned in a slow circle in the kitchen. The coffee maker was off. The toaster wasn’t on fire. There was nothing wrong.

  I glanced at my phone. It was still a bit early for me to leave, but I was really not liking the thought of hanging around the house with this uneasy feeling any longer.

  Outside, even bundled in my coat, gloves, and scarf, I was still chilly. Not enough to regret my choice of outfit, but chilly nonetheless. I started my car and waited for the windshield to defrost and the car to warm up.

  While I waited, I peeled off one glove and shot my friends a few quick texts. I thanked James for his sweet note and told him how much I was looking forward to seeing him that night. I asked Amber to add Pop Tarts to her grocery list, and sent both Jenna and Brooklyn a text asking if they were still coming over that night. I sat a moment longer, my eyes darting between my phone screen and the house.

  Knowing that the only hope for getting my mind off this growing sense of unease was to throw myself into the day, I gave the living room window one last glance, half expecting to see a strange face peering back at me. There was nothing there, though, so I put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway.

  The drive to campus was slow and frustrating, but I tried to keep myself calm by listening to upbeat music and the witty banter of the local DJs. My phone chimed once, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off the road to check it.

  By the time I got to campus I was running late, so I slung my bag over my shoulder and half walked, half jogged across the mall towards my class. My phone chimed again, but I didn’t have time to check it until I had flung myself into my seat, breathless and sweaty. The girl sitting across from me shot me a look over my dramatic entrance but quickly returned her focus to her laptop.

  I took out my own laptop and while it was starting up I gave my phone a quick glance. One message was from Jenna, confirming she and Brooklyn would be over to watch TV that night. The other message was from Amber, assuring me she would get me my Pop Tarts. I was a little disappointed James hadn’t replied, but I knew he was probably in class by now. I definitely didn’t want to be that girl who sent her boyfriend a million messages when he didn’t reply right away, so I resisted my urge to send another message.

  Class was actually really interesting, with my professor sparking a lively debate that got over half the class involved. I didn’t participate as much as I might have normally, but I stayed focused the majority of the class. It was more than I had been able to manage in any of yesterday’s classes, at any rate, so I counted that as a minor victory. I also only snuck a glance at my woefully unmessaged phone only twice. Afterwards, I headed to the gym, hoping a nice long jog on the treadmill could help me kick the rest of my funk to the curb.

  I quickly got changed in the locker room, stowing my things in a locker secured with the combination lock I kept in my bag. The gym was usually fairly slow during the mid morning hours, and I didn’t have to wait for a treadmill, or worse yet, settle for a stair climber. I hated stair climbers. Hopping onto the treadmill, I punched in the numbers to set up a four mile slow and steady course.

  With my headphones in I couldn’t hear much, just the occasional thud as someone lowered a barbell. I tried to focus on my run, the music in my ears, and my breathing. By the time I was finished a little over half an hour later, I felt calmer than I had all morning. Still a bit winded, I got off the treadmill and moved over to the side of the gym to stretch a bit as I caught my breath.

  I surveyed my fellow gym goers. There was a girl over at the squat rack who was using a weight that was probably heavier than me. The boy next to her was struggling to straighten up under the weight of just the bar. A pair of girls on the elliptical idly browsed their phones while an older man was pounding out a truly impressive number of sit-ups on a mat nearby. Just your typical, normal gym crowd.

  Feeling even more relaxed, I returned to the locker room and cleaned up before changing back into my street clothes. I checked my phone again and saw no new mess
ages. Biting my lip, I resolved to make myself wait until I was leaving campus to call James. He had said in his note he would be waiting at the house, so he should be available by then.

  Pocketing my phone, I buttoned up my coat, slung my bag over my shoulder, and headed back out into the chilly air.

  33

  As soon as my last class of the day was over, I took my phone out of my bag. I had been hoping to see a response from James. What I hadn’t been expecting was three texts, four missed calls, and a voicemail all from the past hour.

  The texts managed to be both vague and alarming.

  Where are you? Call me when you get this. Cassie, reply as soon as you can.

  The voicemail was basically the same, and consisted of twenty seconds of James insisting I call him as soon as possible.

  Expecting the worst, I began hoofing it across campus as I called. While the line was ringing, visions of dead cats, hostage situations, and worse filtered through my brain.

  “Cassie! Where are you?” James said by way of greeting.

  “I’m still on campus. I’m heading for my car right now. What the hell’s going on?” I demanded.

  “Are you okay?” James asked, not answering my question.

  “In the emotional, spiritual, and mental sense? No way. In the physical sense, yeah. I’m fine. What is it? And don’t you dare tell me you’ll explain when I get home.”

  “I had my phone stolen today,” James began.

  “That really sucks! What-” I started to reply, but James cut me off.

  “Obviously, since I’m talking to you with it, I got it back. But there’s more. When I got it back, I had some messages waiting for me,” James admitted with a sigh. The note of panic in his voice had subsided somewhat, but he still sounded upset.

  “Oh no,” I groaned. “I’m so sorry. We knew this was probably coming, but it still sucks. We can go to the police as soon as I get home, though. How many times did he threaten to destroy, kill, or otherwise annihilate you?”