The Detective’s Apprentice

by Edward Kendrick

  “Not good. Why talk to her father and not her?”

  “Because he, well, neither of her parents, can convince her that she is being stalked. According to the father, she thinks the guy’s just playing games to try to win her back.”

  “Damn. How stupid is she?”

  Derek lifted one shoulder. “From what her father told me it’s her age, not stupidity. She’s eighteen and very smart but also very naïve.”

  “Still in school?”

  “No. She was in an accelerated program and graduated in January.” Derek checked the time. “I’d better get moving or I’ll be late.”

  “Let me know what happens,” Joe called after him.

  Derek paused momentarily to smile at him. “When haven’t I?”

  * * * *

  “Mr. Clarke.” The man seated at a large desk in a well-appointed office stood, offering his hand, when the receptionist ushered Derek into the room.

  “Mr. Horne,” Derek replied as they shook hands. When Mr. Horne gestured to the chair beside the desk, Derek sat.

  “Thank you for coming so promptly,” Mr. Horne said. “As you may well imagine, this whole thing with Paige has me and my wife at sixes-and-sevens. Paige refuses to believe Leon is stalking her, despite the fact he’s sent her flowers and cards on numerous occasions, and seems to show up almost everywhere she goes when she’s out in public.”

  “You said when you called that she thinks he’s trying to win her back. Why did they break up in the first place?”

  “Technically, they didn’t, since she was going out with two other young men, as well.” Mr. Horne shrugged. “She’s in high school, or was, and wasn’t ready to settle on just one boy.”

  “Understandable at her age. Is she still seeing them?”

  “Not anymore. One boy decided he was more interested in a girl in his art class and he and Paige drifted apart. Leon tried to take advantage of that to convince her to get rid of the other guy as well and date only him. Instead, she stopped seeing Leon. ‘Because he’s too pushy’ was what she told me and her mother.”

  “This all happened before she graduated?”

  “Yes. She earned an apprenticeship as an actress at a local theater and started there a month ago.” Mr. Horne smiled fondly. “She’s really quite good. Hopefully, after she’s been with them for a while, she’ll start getting better roles instead of being in what she calls crowd scenes.”

  “Is she still seeing that one boy?” Derek asked.

  “No. At the moment she’s putting all her energy into the theater and they decided to call it quits.”

  “All right. Tell me about the cards from Leon.”

  “Cards and notes. The cards were fairly innocuous to begin with. The kind you find in any shop that say things like ‘Missing you’, ‘Thinking of you’, ‘Glad we’re friends’…” Mr. Horne shook his head. “Mushy, the way a young man might think a girl would like. When she didn’t respond, he began sending her flowers with notes telling her that she was his only love, that she knew she belonged with him, not quite threats but damned close to it in my opinion.”

  “Did you keep the notes, and by the way, how old is Leon?”

  “She threw the first ones away. I have the last two.” Mr. Horne took them from a desk drawer, handing them to Derek as he said, “He’s nineteen. Before you ask, she met him through a friend of hers and agreed to go to a movie with him.”

  “Ah. For some reason I thought they were in school together.”

  “No. He’s a drop-out and works as a mechanic. Anyway, they began seeing each other on and off after that.”

  “Have you met him?” Derek asked.

  Mr. Horne nodded. “Twice, when he came to pick her up. My initial impression was she could have done better and it hasn’t changed—especially now.”

  “I’m sure. Has he tried to contact her at the theater?”

  “Yes.” Mr. Horne’s mouth tightened. “He hangs out, outside, waiting for her to leave. The first time, he asked if she’d go for coffee with him. She declined. When it happened again, she says she told him to stop bothering her. That she was flattered, but it was over and had been for a while. It was after that that he started…the best way I can describe it is following her, showing up when she went to the mall or out to lunch with friends during her breaks at the theater. She says, and I believe her, that he never approached her, but he did watch them.”

  “All right. I’m willing to see what I can do to put an end to his stalking, if that’s what you want.”

  “Of course it is,” Mr. Horne replied, as if he was surprised Derek had even asked.

  Derek opened his bag, handing Mr. Horne two copies of the contract, and forms to fill out with information on him and his daughter, and on Leon. When Mr. Horne finished, he wrote out a check for Derek’s retainer.

  “I’ll keep in touch daily, if I have anything to report, and weekly no matter what,” Derek told him after he put all the paperwork back in his bag and stood.

  “Thank you. I hope you can talk some sense into him.”

  “I’m going to try. If not, I’ll collect enough proof for you to take to the police, detailing exactly what he’s doing. After that, it will be in their hands.”

  * * * *

  Wednesday, the day after his meeting with Mr. Horne, Derek spent the morning installing the security for another client, and then went by Leon’s place of work.

  As he told Joe when he got back, “That was an exercise in futility. It seems Leon works when he wants and because his father owns the garage no one says anything.”

  “Afraid to?” Joe asked.

  Derek chuckled. “I think, from a couple of comments the other guys made, they’re afraid if they do Papa will lay down the law and make him show up.”

  “Ouch. I take it his father isn’t there too much, either?”

  “So it seems. Like father, like son.” Derek asked Joe to move and then sat down at the computer. He brought up one of the sites they used for background checks and entered Leon’s name. “Why am I not surprised,” he said when the record showed that the young man had quite a few speeding tickets, several of them unpaid.

  “I wonder how often his car has been booted,” Joe said.

  Derek checked, replied, “Only once, so far,” and moved on, looking for Leon’s address of record, which Mr. Horne hadn’t known, and then Leon’s father’s address. “He doesn’t live with his parents,” he commented.

  “Are you going to pay him a visit?”

  “Yes.” Derek turned to look at Joe, his gaze speculative. “Or maybe not quite yet.”

  “Oh, boy, now what?” Joe asked.

  “I was thinking, on the way back. How would you like to get involved in the theater, again?”

  Joe caught on immediately, but pointed out, “From what you said, she, Paige, is an apprentice there. It’s been forever since I did any acting. I doubt they’d even think about adding me to the roster, presuming they had an opening.”

  “They might, if one of my former clients puts in a good word for you. He’s the director of the downtown performing arts complex. It wouldn’t be permanent, but it would give you a chance to get to know her.”

  “You told me that her father said that she doesn’t seem to be interested in ‘getting to know’ guys, at least not on a personal basis, now that she’s working there. That could mean it wouldn’t do any good for me to be there as a member of the apprentice program, since you said Leon never comes into the theater.”

  “But if he saw you leaving with her, more than once…”

  “How will I manage that?”

  Derek smiled evilly. “Use your considerable charm. Before you point out girls aren’t your thing, you’re an actor, so act.”

  “Damn, Derek, you’re not asking much, are you.”

  “We want to stop this freak before he takes things to the next level.”

  Joe nodded. “I get that, but…”

  “It’s worth a try, right?”

&nbs
p; “Yeah, I guess. If this works and she doesn’t look at me like I’m some creep who should back off, I should do things like take her to lunch or supper during breaks, for starters, and see if he’s hanging around?”

  “Yes. You have to see him more than once, and take pictures of him if you can, as proof that he’s stalking her.”

  Joe grinned slowly. “This could be fun. Joe Lawson, super spy.”

  “Joseph…”

  “Yes, Derek.” Joe looked at him innocently.

  “Remember, this isn’t a game.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  Derek patted his ass, since it was right there beside him, getting a shocked look from Joe, which quickly turned into a smile. “That’s a first.”

  “But not a last,” Derek replied, doing it again before returning his attention to the computer. He brought up his client files, found the one he needed, and after writing down the number, he called the man he’d told Joe about.

  * * * *

  Setting it up for Joe to become another apprentice at the theater didn’t take as long as Derek had expected. His former client was more than willing to help once Derek told him what was going on. That involved him introducing Derek to Ms. Richards, the woman who headed the theater’s apprenticeship program—which happened late Thursday afternoon. Derek explained to her about Paige and the man they thought was stalking her.

  “Joe works for me,” Derek said. “When he was in high school he did a fair amount of acting, even starring in a couple of shows. The only problem is, that was over three years ago.”

  She tapped her fingers together in thought. “At least he’ll have some idea of the basics, which is a plus. As long as he can follow simple directions about where to stand and move, he should be all right, since this isn’t going to be a forever assignment.”

  “God, I hope not,” Derek replied, getting a smile from her.

  “Tell him to show up at the theater at nine tomorrow morning and ask for me. I’ll take it from there.”

  Derek thanked both of them for their help before returning to the agency to tell Joe the outcome of his meeting. He also paid him, even though it was Thursday, pointing out he would need money if he was going to talk Paige into going to lunch with him.

  * * * *

  “I can do this,” Joe said under his breath as he walked into the theater lobby. The only person he saw was a woman in the box office. When he approached she said, “We’re not open for business until ten.”

  “I’m supposed to talk to Ms. Richards?”

  “Ah, yes. You must be Joe Lawson. I’ll let her know you’re here.”

  She did, and moments later a woman appeared, introduced herself, and took him into an office on the other side of the lobby. When they were inside, she looked him over with a jaundiced eye. “You don’t look old enough to be a private detective.”

  “I know,” Joe admitted. “In this case it helps, though, because I can pass for a new apprentice.”

  “True. We’ll need a background story for you, since you’re late joining the program.”

  “I already have one. Me and my family just moved here from Cleveland, where I was apprenticing at the Playhouse. The man who headed the program there got in touch with you, gave me his highest recommendation—” he grinned, “—and you agreed to let me into your program.”

  She chuckled. “I hope you live up to it. Mr. Clarke said it’s been a while since you’ve done any acting.”

  “Yeah. Life got in the way for a bit but I’m pretty sure I can deal with being a walk-on without blowing it.”

  “Let’s find out. I’ll introduce you to the other apprentices before class, which starts at ten.”

  She took him to room at the back of the building that was set up with a small stage, and a row of chairs facing it. Five kids in their late teens to early twenties, Joe guessed, were milling around chatting with each other. They stopped when Joe and Ms. Richards entered, all of them eyeing Joe speculatively.

  Ms. Richards introduced him, explaining briefly that he’d recently moved to the city, and then class began. It reminded him of the ones he’d taken in high school, which brought a flood of good memories—and one bad one which he forced to the back of his thoughts.

  For one scene, Joe was paired with Paige. She was a petite blonde, much to his relief. Not the blonde part, but that she was shorter than him by a good four inches. It would be hard to make it look like I was interested in her as a potential date if she towered over me. I doubt Leon would buy it. First, of course, I have to get her to agree to go get something to eat with me when we’re finished here.

  That didn’t prove as difficult as he’d expected. As soon as the class ended, he approached Paige, saying shyly, “Like Ms. Richards said, I’m new here. Is there somewhere close by to get lunch before afternoon rehearsals?”

  “And here I thought you’d been around forever.” Paige grinned. “I’m teasing. Usually I go down the street to the sandwich shop if I haven’t brought my lunch.”

  “Which you did, today, so I’m out of luck asking you to show me.”

  She tapped her toe, eyeing him, and then shook her head. “I didn’t because it’s Friday. Okay, I’m sure that doesn’t make sense to you, but I treat myself on Fridays. If you want to come with me…”

  “You bet. Does everyone else go there, too?”

  She shrugged. “It depends. I guess we’ll find out. Come on.”

  As far as Joe was concerned, he got lucky. The only other person from the class who was at the sandwich shop was one of the girls—Angie if he remembered correctly, which he did. She had a table already, so he and Paige joined her after stopping at the counter to get their meals.

  “Okay, tell us all about yourself,” Angie said when they’d made inroads into their sandwiches.

  “Not much to tell,” Joe replied. “I grew up in Cleveland, got into the apprenticeship program at the Playhouse, and then my dad took a job out here, which sort of blew that, I figured, until the guy who runs the program got in contact with Ms. Richards, and here I am.”

  “You must have graduated high school, right?” Paige said.

  “Yep. Last June.”

  “You don’t look…” She bit her lip.

  “Nineteen?” Joe shrugged. “I am, almost. Next you’re going to ask why I didn’t stay in Cleveland when my family moved, since I’m old enough. Right?” When she nodded, he said, “That takes money. I had a part-time job but if I was on my own, I’d have had to drop out of the program in order to work full time to support myself.”

  “Which would have defeated the reason for staying there to start with,” Angie said.

  “Yeah. I almost did, anyway, until Ms. Richards offered me a spot here.” He grinned. “Now, you’re stuck with me.”

  Paige chuckled. “It could be worse. You could be a girl.”

  “Now the odds are evened,” Angie said. “Three and three. Do you still live with your folks?”

  “For now,” Joe replied. “As far as I can tell from what Ms. Richards said, there’s class every morning and we have to be at rehearsals all afternoon, and then if we’re in a show, there go our evenings Thursday through Sunday. That doesn’t leave any time to work, even part-time.”

  “Not really,” Paige agreed.

  Joe took out his phone to check the time. “We should get back there, I guess.”

  Paige did the same and nodded, so they finished their drinks and took off. They were a few yards down the street, heading to the theater, when Paige hissed in a breath.

  “What’s wrong,” Joe asked.

  “Her ex is watching,” Angie told him.

  He glanced around and saw Leon leaning against the wall of a shop across the street. Casually, Joe took out his phone and pretended to answer it with a muttered, “I’m a big boy, Mom. Honest.” He managed to get off two shots of Leon with enough of the area to prove where they were taken—while supposedly telling his mother he’d be home in tim
e for supper.

  He pocketed the phone when he finished, grumbling, “She still thinks I’m ten.”

  “She’s a mother,” Paige replied distractedly as she picked up her pace.

  Joe caught up, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Has that guy been bothering you?” he whispered. He couldn’t say ‘Leon’ since neither girl had mentioned his name.

  She started to pull away then stopped, shaking her head. “No. Not the way you mean, I think. It’s…it seems like he’s always around.”

  Joe frowned. “Stalking you?”

  “No. He wouldn’t do that,” she replied, sounding surprised. “He wants me to know he’s still interested in me and available. But it’s over. It has been for a while.” She sighed. “I wish he’d get the message and find someone new.”

  By then they were at the theater. When they went inside, Joe glanced back. Leon was nowhere in sight, which was both a plus and a minus in Joe’s opinion. If he saw me put my arm around Paige it could have pushed his buttons. If he didn’t, I’ll have to find another chance to do something like that when he is around. He knew it probably wouldn’t happen until the following Monday.

  Afternoon rehearsals for the upcoming show went pretty much as Joe expected. He followed the lead of the other apprentices in the two scenes they were in. Otherwise, he stood in the wings watching the show, wishing he was out there as one of the actors. I could have been, if things were different. I’d be in college, studying acting, the way I planned. He clenched his hands together, willing away the memories.

  “Are you all right?” he heard Paige whisper from beside him.

  “Yeah,” he whispered in reply. “Daydreaming that it’s me in the lead role. That’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

  To his surprise, she took his hand, nodding to the exit at the far side of the wings. When they were out in the hallway, she said, “I didn’t thank you for what you did when Leon was watching.”

  “That’s his name?”

  “Yes.” She sighed. “I should never have gotten mixed up with him but he’s older and it was sort of exciting, at first. Now, he’s being a pest and I don’t like it. So, thank you. Maybe he’ll get that I’ve moved on. I mean, not with you but if he thinks…”