Intersection (5 page)

In what seemed like an instant Alex was in the kitchen. She bent over with her hands on her knees. “Morning.”

“I thought it was early for my mother,” Cassidy laughed. “You were out early.”

“Yeah,” Alex stretched her back a little and winced. “Force of habit.” Cassidy caught the grimace and realized that her own face must have expressed some concern.” Yeah… gets stiff when I run now. Not getting any younger, I guess,” Alex joked.

“Want some coffee?” Cassidy offered.

“Coffee is great.”

Cassidy went about the task of getting the agent some coffee. “You always up this early?” Alex asked taking a seat on a bar stool.

Cassidy snickered a bit, “unfortunately, yes.”

“Not a morning person?”

“Hardly,” Cassidy said pouring the coffee into a tall mug. “Black, right?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Cassidy sat down. “When I was in college Chris used to joke that he was surprised I made it to class. I’ve always been a bit of a night owl…and a noon sleeper. But, with this job, well
I’ve got to drive to the train station, catch the train and walk 8 blocks….so…”

“Ahhh…what about Dylan?”

“Mom usually gets here just about 6:30 and gets him ready. I swear she should just move in here, but she likes her ‘space’,” she laughed. Alex sipped her coffee and glanced at the paper. Cassidy had apparently been reading the calendar section for the weekend. She wondered what the congressman’s ex-wife was contemplating for her free days. “So… what will you do today… as a press advisor?” Cassidy asked.

“I actually am going to check out both schools.”

“You mean Dylan’s?”

“Yes, but I will be careful. Don’t worry. Just going to talk to the principal,” Alex explained.

“As an agent?”

“No. Just to advise him that the congressman’s staff is aware of the increased attention surrounding the family and that I am assigned to help liaise with the press and arrange security should the press become overly intrusive.”

“I see,” Cassidy said.

Alex noted the apprehension in the woman’s voice. “He may offer something without even knowing it. That’s often how we get information. And… I will have a chance to look at the building from a security standpoint; get a feel before I have to start looking at personnel profiles.”

“What do you mean? Are you telling me you are looking into the teachers?” Cassidy was clearly becoming frustrated by the conversation.

“Yes,” the agent answered plainly.

“Teachers?” Cassidy put her mug in the sink with some force. “This is insane.” Alex pinched the bridge of her nose as Cassidy continued. “Isn’t anyone above suspicion in this world? What’s next, my mother for God’s sake?” Alex just looked at her and remained silent. “I know it’s your job, but… so you will be looking into the teachers I work with? My friends?”

“Yes.” Alex was direct and firm in her answer. It was strange to the agent but this felt somehow very familiar; like an episode of déjà vu. Something instinctively told her that no rational argument she could make would fully satisfy Cassidy.

Cassidy stood across the counter practically glaring at the agent. She was frustrated by the entire situation. The door opened again and Rose entered. She immediately noticed the tension in the glance that was exchanged between her daughter and the agent. “Good morning?” She phrased her greeting as a question.

Cassidy just shook her head with irritation at the agent. “I’ll get Dylan up,” she said still looking directly at Alex who did not avert her glare. “Should I arm him first? It is the first grade after all?” She asked the agent sarcastically. Alex’s unflinching demeanor frustrated Cassidy. She looked briefly at her mother. “I hope you have your passport with you,” she said as she left the room. Alex let go a sigh and pressed her thumbs to her temples.

“What was that all about?” Rose asked. “I thought you two were getting along fine.”

Alex took a sip of her coffee and folded the paper. “Well, she sees the best in people. I have to look for the worst.”

Rose grinned. “I see. Cassie can be…Well, she has always been very idealistic.”

Alex nodded. “I got that.”

“She’ll get over it.”

Alex looked toward the hallway and shook her head. There were things about her job she truly hated and this was one of them. Cassidy was right and Cassidy was wrong at the same time. Sometimes the people you trusted the most could be the people you should trust the least. Experience taught Alex that. And, it was her job to make sure nothing happened to Cassidy or Dylan; to find out what exactly these letters were all about. Whatever that took, that was her job. “I should go get ready,” Alex said turning her attention back to Rose.

“Alex,” Rose called after her, prompting Alex’s turn. “Do whatever you need to. Just keep them safe.” Alex nodded and made her way up the stairs.

Cassidy waited until she heard Alex’s door shut to make her way back down the stairs. Dylan ran into the kitchen and gave his grandmother a hug. The teacher gathered her things in silence, her temper still simmering, while Rose set a bowl of cereal in front of Dylan. Silently, the younger woman began walking toward the foyer. “Eat your cereal, Dylan,” Rose instructed following Cassidy to the door.

Feeling her mother’s presence Cassidy piped up. “Don’t even say it.”

Rose gave her daughter a motherly look of caution. “I understand, Cassie, but she is here to keep you SAFE. I don’t care if she literally goes through my dirty laundry. Whatever that takes.”

Cassidy sighed and smiled. Her mother was right. She looked up the stairs and sighed again. “I’ll talk to her later,” she said. The fact was that she could not help how she felt. She knew this was what the FBI agent was here for. Their conversations had flowed more like that of friends until this morning and she found the new reality that was now surrounding her unsettling. She smiled at her mother, “I have to go.”

Rose nodded as she watched Cassidy walk through the door. “Oh Cassie,” she mumbled to herself.

Alex sat quietly on a chair in the hallway looking at the bulletin boards that lined the walls. She examined every detail, where the doors were, where most of the people entered, the closets, lockers and the people, even who entered which room and when. “Ms. Toles?” A woman’s voice beckoned. “Principal Scott will see you now.”

Alex stood, offering a cordial smile and followed the woman through double doors into a large office area. She stepped through the thick oak door and was immediately greeted by a strong hand. “Ms. Toles.”

She accepted the hand and returned its grasp. “Thank you for taking the time to see me,” she greeted the principal.

“Not at all,” the principal answered. He was fairly young, she surmised in his mid-thirties. “So, what is it that we can do for the congressman’s office?” He asked motioning for her to take a seat.

Alex nodded her appreciation and sat across from his desk. “Actually,” she began, “I am really here to assure you of the congressman’s commitment to keeping the press at bay from the school. I know that the attention to the family has been quite high of late. I will be helping Mrs. O’Brien navigate this time. I am also here to help with Dylan’s exposure to the press and I am available to you at any time as well.”

The man smiled. “I appreciate that,” he answered. “So far we haven’t had any issues dealing with the press effectively, but it is certainly nice to know we have an actual face to reach out to if needed.” Alex watched him as he spoke. She studied his mannerisms and searched for signs as to whether he might be single or married. If Cassidy was somehow the center of these letters, a single, younger man would fit the profile. He continued his thoughts. “You know…it’s hard enough for children and teachers,” he said. “And it has been hard enough on Dylan already.” Alex looked at him curiously.

“I don’t mean to speak out of turn,” he continued, “I realize you work for the congressman.”

“No…please…I assure you, my goal is to keep the family protected from the press…sometimes the strangest things can matter….please continue,” she urged.

“Divorce is hard… but you know, as a congressman he was not home much anyway and when he was it was always with a
lot of attention from the press. We did have a brief time when there were reporters outside waiting for Mrs. O’Brien to pick Dylan up. He used to go to the afterschool program, but the press seemed to unsettle him so Mrs. O’Brien began having Mrs. McCollum pick him up after school. Anything you can do to keep the press away would certainly help Dylan.”

Alex could hear his genuine concern for the boy and her heart sank as the morning tension with Cassidy entered her mind. Here she was sizing him up, just as Cassidy had suggested, mistrusting everyone. That was just the nature of the beast. She tried to quiet the thoughts in her mind now. “You say that there were reporters waiting for Mrs. O’Brien. Was that during the divorce?”

“Yes, but there have been quite a few photographers on and off all along.”

“Recently?” Alex asked, trying to keep her questions light and avoid her agent tendencies.

“As a matter of fact, yes… but not for a few weeks now… three or four. Our assistant principal had some words with them one afternoon and it has been fairly quiet since.”

“Well, that’s encouraging,” Alex said. “I will make certain that I speak with the powers that be at the papers to be sure they understand their boundaries.” She handed him a mock business card, “but please feel free to call me anytime.”

“Thank you…You know…Ms. Toles….”

“Yes?” Alex answered.

“I hope you can get this all quieted down. Mrs. O’Brien is a terrific lady and a great teacher. Her students, well… people talk, those kids love her. She deserves some peace.”

Alex smiled. The principal’s compliment of Cassidy was clearly heartfelt. “Yes, she does.”

Cassidy paced behind her desk waiting for her next class to arrive. She looked at the old fashioned chalk board behind her and stepped up to it to write. ‘
How do you tell a GREAT story?’
She wrote the words and set the chalk back in its place. She looked out at the empty desks and sighed. How did her life get so complicated? A head poked around the door, “Mrs. O.?”

“James…come in.”

“Hey…ummm,” the boy was about 15 but nearly six feet tall already.

“What is it, James?” He walked up to her desk and put a paper on it. “What’s this?” She asked. Alex had just reached the doorway. It was time for her to visit Cassidy’s school to assess the risk and she was dreading it. She watched silently, staying just behind the classroom door that lay ajar.

James looked up at the words she had scrawled on the board. Several days earlier she had written the words ‘
Why should you tell your story’
“I was thinking,” he said, “about what you said.”

“What was that?” Cassidy asked the boy.

“That sometimes, if you tell your story it helps you understand your feelings….and sometimes it can even help someone else.”

Cassidy picked up the paper and glanced at the title, ‘
I Am Happy I Have Two Moms’
. She smiled and looked at him.

“I thought…well, I wanted you to read it.”

Cassidy looked at the boy to convey her pride. “Of course I will read it.”

“I don’t talk about it, you know… I mean the team knows, but maybe I should… you know… so I thought I would write about it… you know…first.”

Cassidy took a gentle hold of the boy’s arm. “I think that’s a great idea, James. I will read it tonight.”

“You can keep that one,” he said with a smile. “But… will you tell me…. What you think?”

“Sure I will… but what really matters is what YOU think, James… how YOU feel about it. Just remember that.”

“Thanks, teach,” he left with a bounce in his step.

Alex smiled as the lanky boy nearly skipped past her. She watched as Cassidy picked up the paper again and saw the woman’s face light up. ‘My God, she is beautiful,’ Alex thought silently. Cassidy had started sifting through some other papers as Alex entered the room. She stood still and tried to catch her breath. “Hey,” was all she could summon.

Cassidy looked up and saw the agent looking back at her. She wanted to be angry. She was angry, but Alex wasn’t the reason and she knew that. She just didn’t know how to say it now. “Hey yourself,” she said, unable to contain the grin that Alex seemed to provoke. She hated this whole situation, but her mother was right, Alex was there to help. This was her job.