Carol's Image (28 page)

“Gotta situation. Need you now, and make it official. At Carol’s. Call Rob and tell him to get Laurie here too.” With that, he hung up then looked down at the naked, frightened, crouching woman still huddled on the floor. He hurried to the window and pulled the blinds down, inwardly cursing himself that he hadn’t thought to close the blinds before taking her up against the door, even if they were in a third floor apartment. Once the blinds were closed, he crossed back over, gathering her in his arms.

“Angel, I know you’re scared. Gonna take care of this and someone’s gonna pay dearly for this shit. Got Jake and the police comin’ so we need to get you dressed. Can you do that for me?” Tom recognized the signs of shock, as Carol’s face just stared at his momentarily. Pulling her body in closer, he stood with her in his arms, walking back to the bedroom. Placing her on the bed, he helped her into a robe.

Hearing knocking on the door, Tom leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Be right back, angel.”

Opening the door, he let in Jake, followed quickly by Rob and Laurie. “Laurie, she’s in the bedroom. She needs you but don’t question her right now. Just help her get dressed.”

Laurie ran back to Carol’s room and disappeared inside.

Tom turned and explained quickly what happened, showing them the text. Jake cursed as he glanced from the window back over the door. Turning to Rob, he growled, “I’m heading outside with a couple of patrolmen. Gonna secure the area and see if I can determine where the bastard was standing.”

Rob went over and reopened the blinds. Turning back to Tom, he lifted his eyebrow in question. “You’re not goin’ down there?”

“Can’t. I want this official. I want the bastard, so that means I can’t investigate. I gotta let Jake take over so that when we do get the asshole, we can nail his ass.” Turning away, he shouted, “Fuck!”

“Tom, this isn’t your fault. Some sick fuck is trying to get to Carol – that is not on you, man.”

“Not on me? Rob, I fucked the girl I love, the girl I am supposed to protect, up against the front door, not even lookin’ to see that the blinds were up.” Tom threw his head back in frustration. “Jesus, Rob. What have I done?”

Rob stalked across the room in a couple of steps, stopping directly in front of his longtime friend. Putting his hands on Tom’s shoulders, he got right in Tom’s line of vision. “Tom. This. Is. Not. On. You. You did nothin’ wrong. You did nothin’ that any of us haven’t done at one time or another. This is all on the sick fuck that is after her. This is all on him.”

By this time Jake had walked back into the room, hearing what Rob was saying and knowing how Tom was beating himself up over the situation.

Tom looked into Jake’s face, saying, “Jake, we knew this was gonna escalate. Why the fuck didn’t I do more to find him?”

Jake joined Rob and Tom in the living room. “Tom, up to now, there’s not much to go on. But now we got her cell phone, and we can try to find out where the message came from. I’ve got someone workin’ on it right now.”

The men grew quiet as Laurie and Carol re-entered the room. Tom crossed over to Carol, gathering her in his arms. Gently leading her to the sofa, he sat and then pulled her down on his lap determined to cradle her in safety. He noticed she seemed calmer and more in control than earlier.

Jake sat down on the other side of the couch while Rob and Laurie took the loveseat. Jake began his questions, gently so as not to upset her, but pleased when it appeared that Carol was in control of her emotions.

“Carol honey, I need to ask you some questions, and I need you to think carefully about your answers. Don’t hold anything back.” She nodded and he began. “Besides Bert, who else has shown an interest in you? Could be at work, could have seemed like a joke. Could have seemed innocent.”

Licking her lips, she answered, “Well you know about Bert. But I haven’t seen him in a long time, so I can’t imagine it is him.”

Shaking his head, Jake said, “Carol, you can’t analyze. You can’t put rational thoughts onto someone who may be irrational. Some people sit on infatuations for years before acting on them.”

“Jake, honestly, I am a boring person. I do work at a hospital, and there have been lots of grateful patients over the years, but no one that ever made me feel weird.” Turning her head to look at Tom, she saw the tightness in his jaw and knew that he hated taking a subordinate role in this. Sighing deeply, she turned back to Jake.

“I know Tom doesn’t trust Ronald.” Seeing Jake writing his name down, she continued. “Ronald Harriston. His dad and my dad are law partners. They assumed I would go into law, marry Ronald, and continue their empire. Ronald was my escort when I was a teenager and first into college. That was always arranged by our parents because it looked good. Fit their image and all that. I suppose we even dated, per se, but he was never that into me. Don’t get me wrong, he wanted us to be together because that would solidify his dynasty, but we were never…um…” Feeling Tom’s fingers tightening on her, she twisted in his arms, looking directly into his face.

“Tom, you don’t get to be jealous. You set me straight about the women you had been with, so just deal with this!”

Rob and Jake chuckled, seeing their friend put in his place by his tiny sprite of a girlfriend.

Tom clenched his jaw so tightly for a moment he was sure his teeth would crack. Looking into Carol’s eyes, he realized she was right. He’d been with a helluva lot of women and had a lot of experience before meeting Carol, so he had no right to get upset at her past.
But fuck. I hate thinkin’ of anyone with her but me.

Breathing deeply, he just nodded for her to continue.

Carol stroking Tom’s arm gently, turned back to Jake. “Ronald and I were never sexually active. He always said that he wanted to wait until we were married, but I knew he had other woman. By the time I found out, I had changed my major to nursing and knew I wasn’t going to marry Roanld, so I just didn’t care. He was angry when I broke it off with him, but he never pursued me. I moved to Fairfield after college and didn’t even see him until a couple of months ago.”

Looking back at Tom, she questioned, “Honey, why would you even suspect Ronald? What could he possibly gain?”

Tom answered, “Lots of things, angel. He proves to you that your police boyfriend can’t protect you, you might come back to him. You get scared of bein’ in Fairfield, you might run back to your parents. Maybe his becoming partner in the firm is dependent on getting you back. He certainly cozied up with your mother’s plans to get with him at the dinner. Who the fuck knows, babe. Maybe he simply got tired of waitin’ and decided to up his game?”

Jake nodded. “He’s right, Carol. He is definitely a suspect, and we’re gonna check him out, although I doubt he does his own dirty work. If it is him, he probably hires it out.” Looking at her again, he continued, “Anyone else?”

The room grew silent as Carol sat very still. It was apparent that she wasn’t thinking but that she was holding back.

“Angel,” came a growl from behind her. “What are you not sayin’?”

Carol licked her lips again, trying to figure out how to express her concerns.

Jake, knowing how to coax a witness, just said, “Carol, any information you give us will just help us keep you safe. Now that the person knows where you live and what apartment you live in, you need to look at all possibilities.”

Carol just shook her head. “But it seems so silly.”

“Doesn’t matter, Carol,” Jake prodded.

“Well, there is a doctor at the hospital that has liked me for a while,” she admitted.

Tom’s hands jerked again, and she could feel the growl deep in his chest before it came roaring out. “What the fuck are you talkin’ about?”

“Tom, shut the hell up. Give her a chance to speak,” Jake said.

Tom glared at him, but knew he was right.
Who the hell was she talkin’ about?

“Well, there is a doctor that I have worked with for about a year. He asked me out a couple of times, but I was never interested. I tried to let him down easy, so I just said that I didn’t date people from work. Anyway, that worked for a while, but he was a bit persistent.”

“Define persistent, angel,” Tom rumbled.

Glaring at Tom, she then turned her attention back to Jake. “He would try to eat at the same time that I did. He would walk me to my car occasionally if we got off at the same time.”

“So he knows what your car looks like?” Jake pursued.

“Well, yeah. I guess. I never thought about it. But then I park in the hospital employee’s lot, so many people see me coming and going.”

“Okay,” Jake prodded. “What else?”

“Oh fuck,” Tom cursed. “He was that prick who tried to get in your examining room when you got hurt.”

Sighing deeply, Carol nodded. “His name is Dr. Harry Driscoll. The day that Tom is referring to, he was being a bit pushy again, and Tom informed him that I was his girlfriend. Our shifts weren’t the same for a long time, but a few weeks back he sat with me at a meal and tried to see if I was available. He wasn’t too happy when I said I was with Tom,” Carol looked at Jake pleadingly, “but honestly, he’s not the sort to do something tonight.”

Jake, still taking notes, looked back up. “What about other friends?”

“I don’t really have many friends. I always preferred to be mostly by myself, since I left college. I just…well, it was hard to trust people.”

Suddenly wanting to unburden herself to her new friends, she confessed, “Tom already knows, and Laurie probably suspects. You see, I am bulimic. I’ve had an eating disorder since I was a pre-teen. I see a therapist, and it is under control, but when I am stressed and around food, well it is a struggle.”

“Stress? With your job?” Jake asked.

“Not that type of stress. I can handle anything that comes in the ER. But personal stress. When I feel out of control. When there are too many people around especially when food is involved.”

“But Carol, you seemed fine today at my parent’s place,” Rob interjected.

Smiling, she looked over at Rob and Laurie. “I know. Wasn’t it great? It was the first time that I felt fine with a bunch of new friends and didn’t feel like purging afterwards.” Still beaming at the day’s accomplishments, her smile slowly left as she was brought back to the subject at hand.

“That’s it Jake. The only two friends I really have at work are Sofia and Jon.”

“Jon?” Jake asked.

“Oh, he’s not interested. Well, not that way. He’d be more interested in Tom,” she giggled.

Laurie giggled too, and Tom just hung his head.

“That it, Carol?” Jake asked as he snapped his notebook closed.

She nodded and slumped back on Tom’s chest, suddenly very tired.

Recognizing that the adrenaline of the evening had worn off, Tom stood with her in his arms. “Gonna settle her in. Be right back.” He carried her down the hall to her room, lying her gently on the bed. “Comin’ right back, angel. Go ahead and get under the covers, and I’ll join you as soon as I get rid of everyone.” Leaning over to kiss her forehead, he walked back out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Looking at Jake, he asked, “What’d you find outside?”

Shaking his head, Jake answered, “Nothin’ man. Not a goddman thing. Not a cigarette butt; the grass is too dry for footprints. Got it cordoned off and guarded overnight. The investigators will take another look in the daylight, but my guess is that this guy is too smart to leave stupid clues.”

“A doctor, a lawyer, and a fuckin’ criminal’s weasely brother. What a collection of suspects.”

“Tom, you gotta stay outta this. Let me do my job on this, and you just work the cases pilin’ up on our desks.”

Tom nodded his agreement, but he hated it. He wanted to find the one responsible for that picture. He wanted to pound them into the ground until they never threatened Carol again.

Saying goodnight to his friends, he bolted the door behind them. Walking back over to the living room window, he looked out into the darkness.
I’ll find you, you bastard. And when I do….

Closing the blinds, he then walked back to the bedroom. Opening the door gently, he wasn’t surprised to see Carol’s sleeping form tucked under the covers. Stripping out of his jeans, he slid in next to her. Pulling her body into his, he tucked her back firmly into his front. Wrapping both arms around her, he willed her to sleep peacefully all night, knowing that sleep was the furthest thing from his mind.

T
he next couple of weeks were miserable for Carol. Even the holiday festivities couldn’t lift her spirits. The police had questioned Dr. Driscoll about his whereabouts on Thanksgiving evening, and he was furious. His alibi checked out, but Tom still didn’t trust him, telling her to stay away from him.

That was difficult since he showed up in the ER after being questioned, threatening to sue for defamation of character and telling her that he was never interested in her but that he had only felt sorry for her.

Sofia and Jon were present during that confrontation. Carol just wanted him to go away, but Sofia wasn’t taking the insult lightly. “Oh sure, Dr. Harry. Like she needs your sympathy with Mr. Hot Stuff in his Pants Detective claiming her for his own!”

Sputtering, Dr. Driscoll stalked down the hall away from the trio, while Jon couldn’t contain his laughter.

“Guys,” Carol admonished, “this isn’t funny. He’s threatening my job. On top of that, my mother is threatening to disown me because the police questioned Ronald as well.”

Jon sobered and asked, “How’d that go?”

Shrugging her shoulders, Carol just answered, “I don’t really know. He has an alibi too, but then according to Tom, Ronald wouldn’t dirty his hands doing it himself.”

Sofia and Jon shared a look over Carol’s head. “Honey, I’m worried about you,” Jon said. “You need to get out and have some fun! How about we do a night out at Smokey’s. We could do it the next time we all have the same night off.”

Smiling up at her friends, Carol agreed. “Maybe that would be fun. But there is no way Tom will let me go without him and honestly guys, I wouldn’t want to.”