Fifteen Weekends (20 page)

  The senior officer looked at his younger partner and directed, “I’m going to inspect the backyard and the rest of the house, while you attend to the upstairs matter.” Officer Scott nodded in agreement.

   Emily and the female officer ascended the stairs into her bedroom, where Officer Scott’s eyes widened. She looked at Emily and said, “Whoa, this is some freaky stuff, but I have seen worse.”

  “Oh, you mean like
murder
?” Emily said sharply.

  “Sorry, Miss Greene I wasn’t trying to offend you,” Officer Scott replied softly as she crossed the room and scanned a few of the photos.

  “It’s okay,” Emily said as she looked away from the all too personal photos that clung to her bedroom walls. “I know you meant no harm.  My emotions are all over right now. Someone invaded my personal space,” Emily said feeling her throat tighten.

  She choked back tears because she did not want to cry in front of the female officer who was nearly 10 years her junior, but she was not sure how long she could hold them back.

  Officer Scott gave Emily a sympathetic look and said, “I know you’re scared. This
is
a total violation of your personal space. I will have to call this in and get a Detective over here.”

  Officer Scott left the room and proceeded to call the station. Ethan quietly came in and put his hand on Emily’s shoulder. Startled, she flinched and turned around to face him. She threw her arms around his neck, and that was her breaking point. Tears ran down her cheeks. Ethan responded by hugging her tighter.

  “Emily, hey… look at me.” He pulled back gently and met her gaze. “The police and detectives will find this person. If they don’t, I will pay for a Private Investigator and handle the matter myself.”

  “Miss Greene,” Officer Randolph interjected. “We found these items sitting on the table on your patio with this note attached. Do you recognize these pictures?”

  The experienced officer held up the photos and the box. They were hers. All the photos of Craig by himself or Craig and Emily together had been separated out and bundled together with a rubber band and a note that read: HE
’
LL
NEVER
LOVE
YOU
.

 
Ethan shot Emily a puzzled look. Just then Emily remembered the cryptic and creepy phone calls she had been receiving over the past few weeks.
Were the phone calls connected somehow?
Was the person who was calling her the person who broke into her home? Did it have something to do with Craig?

 
Emily was shaken thinking that Morgan might not be the culprit and this situation was far more serious than she originally realized. It was time to tell Ethan about the calls, the texts, and her suspicions of Morgan and about Craig.

  “Yes, these belong to me. The note however, does not.”

  “Very well, Miss Greene we’ll submit the note as evidence and have the pictures dusted for prints,” Officer Randolph replied.

  Once he left the room, Emily, who was trying so hard not to cry again, walked over to her desk and said, “Ethan, I have something I need to talk to you about.” 

  Ethan looked at her curiously. His face went rigid. “This sounds serious.”

  Emily’s skin prickled as if hot pins were jamming into her flesh, and a lump swelled in her throat. “Well, I’m not sure how serious, but given the recent events I feel I should share a few things about my past with you.”

  Ethan could see the pain in Emily’s face. It crushed him to see how worried and scared she was.

  Softening his expression, Ethan said, “You can tell me anything Emily, no judgment.”

  “Excuse me Miss Greene, Mr. Carlson,” the female officer said as she re-entered Emily’s bedroom. “The detectives are on their way. They will sweep the house in addition to asking you both some questions.”

  “Thank you Officer Scott,” Ethan replied firmly.

  “I’ll be downstairs waiting for the detectives if you need me,” she said giving Emily a warm smile before leaving the room.

  “Now, what do you have to tell me?” Ethan said as he walked over to Emily and wrapped his arms around her. Emily sighed and hugged Ethan tightly.

  Through her sobs, she managed to croak out, “I’m really scared, Ethan. Can we talk tonight at your house?”

  Pulling back from their embrace, he nodded. With the pad of his thumb he brushed the tears away from her reddened cheeks. “Please don’t worry, Em.” His voice was soft with a soothing tone. “No one will ever hurt you as long as I’m breathing. I’ll take care of you.”

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Ashleigh

  Ashleigh arrived in Montreal and set up a workstation near the window at her favorite café in the Little Italy section of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie. She had her Lavazza coffee, a delicious pastry and had just checked into the café on Foursquare. She opened her laptop and began checking email. A notification on her phone from Liam brought a smile to her face. She immediately pulled up the app and read the message that said: 

 
HI
ASHLEIGH
,
I
AM
SO
SORRY
I
HAVE
NOT
BEEN
IN
TOUCH
WITH
YOU
IN
A
WHILE
LOVE
.
I
HOPE
YOU
HAVE
BEEN
WELL
.
THINGS
AT
WORK
HAVE
BEEN
ABSOLUTELY
MAD
.
LAST
NIGHT
I
WAS
OUT
WITH
MY
MATES
HAVING
A
FEW
PINTS
AND
WATCHING
FOOTBALL
WHEN
I
GOT
YOUR
MESSAGE
,
WHICH
I
WAS
GLAD
TO
RECEIVE
. 
I
HOPE
YOU
HAVE
A
LOVELY
TIME
IN
MONTREAL
.
I
THINK
I
WILL
BE
SEEING
YOU
WHEN
YOU
TRAVEL
TO
LONDON
IN
A
FEW
WEEKS
.
LET
ME
KNOW
OF
YOUR
ARRIVAL
AND
I
WOULD
BE
HAPPY
TO
ARRANGE
A
CAR
TO
PICK
YOU
UP
AT
THE
AIRPORT
.
CHEERS
,
LIAM

  Ashleigh was relieved to hear from Liam, and his message had assured her that things between them were still normal and their friendship remained unshaken. She closed the app and realized she had a string of text messages from Emily.

  
SOMEONE
BROKE
INTO
MY
HOUSE
YESTERDAY
AFTERNOON
.
I
AM
FINE
.
I
WASN
’
T
HOME
WHEN
IT
HAPPENED
.
NOTHING
WAS
TAKEN
,
BUT
LONG
STORY
SHORT
,
I
THINK
I
HAVE
A
STALKER
…
IT
’
S
BIZARRE
.
I
THINK
IT
COULD
HAVE
SOMETHING
TO
DO
WITH
THE
PHONE
CALLS
I
HAVE
BEEN
RECEIVING
.
ETHAN
HAS
BEEN
WITH
ME
THE
ENTIRE
TIME
AND
I
AM
STAYING
WITH
HIM
AT
HIS
PLACE
UNTIL
I
FEEL
COMFORTABLE
ENOUGH
TO
GO
BACK
TO
MY
HOUSE
.
I
JUST
WANTED
TO
LET
YOU
KNOW
.

  Ashleigh immediately responded to Emily’s text message, letting her know she was sorry to hear the news and that she was glad Ethan was able to be there for her. She told Emily if she needed anything or if there were any further developments to please notify her immediately. Ashleigh felt horrible for Emily, but she was glad Ethan was able to be there for her friend.

  Staring out the window, she wondered who would be there for her if someone had broken into her home. Her parents, maybe, but they lived in Troy which was just a little over two hours away. Emily definitely would be there for her in a time of crisis, she had always been a great friend to Ashleigh over the years and vice versa.

  Ashleigh and Emily met at an Alpha Iota Nu sorority event that the Grand Rapids Alumnae chapter was hosting. Emily had just moved to Grand Rapids from Chicago and since she knew virtually no one in the area, she decided to attend an Alumnae event with the hope of meeting some new people. With this group, she knew they already had one thing in common. The pair became fast friends and got to know each other over sushi and martinis at one of Ashleigh’s favorite eateries.

  Her thoughts returned to how overjoyed Emily seemed in her new relationship with Ethan. Even Amanda had someone special in her life. Up until recently, Ashleigh thought little of her own romantic life, other than knowing she probably didn’t want to be married or have children. However, Emily insisted that Liam and Ashleigh were clearly perfect for each other. What Emily didn’t seem to factor in, though, was that Ashleigh and Liam lived on two different continents. If they did get together, how would that even work?

  “What’s so interesting outside on the street?” a male voice asked. Ashleigh looked up and saw a very handsome man wearing a black V-neck t-shirt and dark denim jeans standing in front of her.

  Wow
…just…well done Greek Gods of…oh fuck it. Damn!

  “Oh, I’m afraid you caught me daydreaming,” Ashleigh replied with a smile.

  “Ah ha, an American accent, I take it you don’t come here too often?”

  That made Ashleigh laugh as she answered the handsome stranger’s question, “No, I’m afraid I’m not a regular of this lovely café. However, this is my favorite one in Montreal. I come here at least once when I visit. I love their chocolate panforte.”

  “Good choice. I come here for the cronettos, and of course the coffee,” he said taking a sip of his beverage. “I’m Xavier, by the way.”

  “Nice to meet you Xavier. I’m Ashleigh. Would you care to join me?”

  “Well, it looks like you are quite busy. I don’t want to interrupt your work.”

  “Fortunately for you, I’m really just killing time until I have to check in to my hotel. I’m not really working on anything special. I insist, please have a seat.”

  “Which hotel are you staying at while you are visiting?” Xavier inquired.

  “I’m staying over at the Le Petit Hotel & Café. I have been there before, but I’m writing a piece for a lifestyle blog, and it’s the first stop on my list.”

  “That’s interesting. A writer, huh?”

  Ashleigh politely replied, informing Xavier of her job. She paused for a moment then asked, “So what do you do Xavier?”

  Xavier told Ashleigh he was the Director of Marketing for a Sports Management Agency, which was why he was up early on a Sunday morning. Apparently his company was hired to produce a VIP golf outing that day. He had to go into the office, which was one block up the street, and make sure everything was on the up and up for the event. Ashleigh thought she could listen to Xavier talk all day. His French accent was incredibly sexy, but not as sexy as Liam’s Welsh brogue. Xavier was just as handsome as Liam was, he had medium brown hair, bright green eyes and sported a bit of facial stubble. Then again, maybe he didn’t shave because it was a Sunday morning. Before they realized it, the pair had chatted so long they had each drunk two more cups of coffee.

  “Can I get you another cup of coffee, Ashleigh?” Xavier asked.

  Ashleigh looked at her phone and realized it was nearly noon. Feeling a bit buzzed from so much caffeine, she really just wanted some more water and to use the ladies room.

  “Actually, it’s nearly noon. I think I should be leaving to check in to my hotel and grab some lunch. It was so lovely meeting you, and I really enjoyed our conversation.”

  “I’d be happy to take you to your hotel. My car is parked right down the street at my office. It would be no trouble, and you can save money on cab fare.”

  Secretly, Ashleigh didn’t want their time to be over. She was really enjoying the conversation. Plus, she didn’t actually have to start working until tomorrow. She had scored a meeting with the concierge the next morning at nine, which would be followed by her indulging in the continental breakfast. Ashleigh had planned to spend Sunday shopping and then relaxing in her room with a good bottle of wine, but having some company would obviously help her take her mind off this sudden feeling of loneliness she was dealing with.