The Devil She Knew (9 page)

“Um, no, not really.”

Maggie lifted her glass, eyed Cassidy, and sipped her tea. “Clay, why don’t you take Jack for a walk? Leave us girls to talk.”

Clay looked surprised, but Maggie insisted. “Go. You make Cassidy nervous and you’re making me nervous. Take my son and go do guy things.”

She waved her hand toward the door. Unceremoniously dismissed, Clay hoisted the baby in his arms, snatched the sipping cup, and Cassidy watched them walk away. Rosie’s words echoed in her ears: You don’t know what kind of man he is.

What kind of man exuded that much love for a baby not even his own? The best kind. That much she knew.

Maggie folded her hands and leveled a steady gaze on Cassidy. She smiled that wonderful smile again.

“My brother likes you.”

Cassidy jerked her head around.

“It’s been some time since he’s shown an interest in a woman. I’m glad to see it. But let’s talk about you for now. Clay tells me you live on Fortieth Street.”

Maggie’s words continued to roll around in her brain.
My brother likes you.
She nodded.

“That’s a terrible place. I can’t imagine what led you to end up there. It must be something horrible.”

Cassidy’s breath stalled. Was this woman psychic?

Maggie continued. “I’m not going to pry.” She winked “Well, I probably will eventually. But for now, here’s the proposition, I — rather we — have for you. Clay tells me you work every day, but it’s essentially a part-time job and that your schedule changes. That will be easy to work around.”

Maggie laid out everything Cassidy would be expected to do — painting, cleaning, gardening, office duties, grocery shopping, errand running, “and, if I really learn to trust you, babysitting. Dan and I could use a night together once in a while without our son. Clay takes the baby sometimes, but I never totally relax when he has him. Women are instinctively better with babies, I think. But that won’t be for a while. You have to prove yourself before I trust you with Jack. In return, you stay here rent free in a two-bedroom furnished apartment. The only things you will have to buy are your groceries, although once I get to know you, you will certainly be welcome to eat with us occasionally. Dan is a sergeant at the same police department where Clay works, did you know that? They were partners until I came into the picture.” She held up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger, grinning. “Now, they are brothers-in-law.

“There are a lot of times when it’s simply Jack and I at home. It would be nice having another woman around.”

Cassidy stared at her, dumbfounded.

“You should know that I would kill for my son, my husband, or my brother. Without a moment’s hesitation. I know how to shoot and I know how to defend myself. That is the sole warning I will give you.

“Here’s what I know about you. My brother likes you. That, to me, speaks volumes. You are in some kind of trouble. Dan and Clay haven’t figured out what kind yet. Oh, don’t look so startled. They are damn good cops.

“You need a friend, I think, or in our case, friends. And Clay wants you out of that dump you’re in. So, it’s time for you to make a choice. Come work for me as my lackey, pretty much, and stay here. The rest will work itself out if you let us help.”

Cassidy’s eyes brimmed. “You are so kind. But you don’t know what you are asking. You don’t know what you are getting yourself into.” Without warning, tears began to stream down her face. She removed her glasses and placed them on the placemat in front of her.

Maggie reached across the table and clutched her hands. “Can you talk about it?”

“I, I can’t.”

“Will you keep danger from my door?”

“If I stay here, I don’t think I can promise that. It’s best I leave.” The tears wouldn’t stop.

Maggie studied her, clinging to her hands. She released an audible breath. “Is it your plan to hide forever?”

Cassidy pulled her hands from Maggie’s grasp and dropped her head into them. She began to sob. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Maggie waited for the flood of emotion to subside. She produced a box of tissues and Cassidy blew her nose. A few more gut-wrenching sobs and she had regained control. But the weight of her burden aged her, if not visibly on the outside, inside, deep within her bones, weighing her down like a one-hundred-year-old woman too weak to make another move. She raised her head and regarded Maggie through eyes wearied by all that she had seen.

“You probably needed that. Feel better?”

Cassidy nodded.

“Can you tell me, in the most generic terms, what the problem is?”

Cassidy remained silent.

“I think Dan and Clay will help, whatever it is.” She grinned, trying to keep the moment casual. “But, if it’s really bad, I’m rescinding my job offer.”

Cassidy sniffled. “It’s really bad.”

“Tell me.”

She hadn’t talked about it. Not since that woman’s body had collapsed beside fuel pump number four. Not since she’d seen him, recognized him, knew that he knew, and watched, as if in slow motion, his left arm rise to shoulder level. She’d looked down the barrel of a gun, albeit long distance. But it was still frightening as hell.

She’d ducked just as the service station window shattered and the earsplitting sound of a gunshot deafened her. She’d scrambled on her hands and knees, her nose running, her pulse racing, out the back door. Another shot, breaking the sound barrier in her ears.

Stumbling on all fours, crawling toward a garbage dumpster, her purse dragging along on her arm, she’d prayed, “Dear God. Dear God.” She hadn’t talked about it since that phone call from the detective informing her that her life was in danger, as calm as if he were giving her the weather prediction for the next day.

“He made bail, ma’am. We’ve lost track of him.”

It hadn’t occurred to her at first that she would be his target. She sensed it after that first hang up call. She acknowledged it as a fact hours later when her car exploded in the driveway of her townhouse. And she took off, abandoning her job, her home, and her life. She’d been a certified public accountant in a prominent firm, with eyes on a partnership someday. Maybe that was why she now gravitated toward positions behind a cash register.

She’d had two jobs since she fled the gas station, worn two different disguises, always ready to run, always looking over her shoulder. She was exhausted. Bone tired. Nevertheless, she couldn’t stop. She took a ragged breath.

“Thank you, Maggie, but I can’t stay here. I thought I could, thought maybe I could take a break from running. But anyone I get close to will be in jeopardy. I won’t do that to you, your son, or Amber.” Her heartbeat quickened. “Or your brother. I’m sorry.”

Maggie rose. “Please don’t make that decision tonight, Cassidy. Consider staying. You’ll be safe here. And when you’re ready, Dan and Clay can help you do what you need to do. If you let them, they can give you your life back.”

Her stomach jumped at the suggestion. Would she ever have her life back? “Thanks Maggie, but I can’t.”

Maggie stiffened and her expression turned stern, like a school principal’s. “I see. All right. Do you know where you will go?”

Her heart sank. “No.” She hung her head.

“Do you have any money?”

One paycheck cashed for her first two weeks on the job, totaling sixty-three hours at minimum wage. And she still owed Clay fifty dollars out of tomorrow’s check. “A little.”

“Do you have a plan beyond leaving here and running?”

She lacked the courage to answer.

“So what good is it going to do to take off, Cassidy? At least here you’re safe for the time being. If nothing else, you can tuck away a little money. And maybe realize you have some friends.”

“You don’t even know me. How can you offer that?”

Maggie revealed a slow, deliberate smile. “Didn’t you ever meet someone and know immediately you liked them? I have. More importantly, I think Clay has.”

Maybe in another lifetime he’d be the prince of her dreams. She shook her head, denying it. “I can only bring trouble to your doorstep.”

“Or, we can bring help to yours. Depends on how you look at things. Consider this, Cassidy. Right now, police could be waiting for you outside. My telling Clay to leave could have been a ploy for him to call them.”

Cassidy rushed to the sliding glass door. Clay stood on the sidewalk speaking with two elderly women, the baby obviously the center of attention. She turned when she heard Maggie open the apartment door.

“Make your choice. Trust us or take off. I don’t know what mistakes you made before you arrived here. But if you run, you’ve got to blow past that man out there. And I do know that would be a big mistake.”

She stayed. Only temporarily. Only until she could build a nest egg and figure out where to go next. That was the deal she made with Maggie and herself. She neglected to include the caveat that Tony DelMorrie could disrupt her plans and send her dashing into the middle of the night to who knows where. Maggie didn’t need to know that part.

Clay returned to the apartment, smiled briefly when Maggie informed him that Cassidy had agreed to the arrangement, and then took control.

He suggested a small, two-bedroom unit, but when she objected, saying two-bedrooms was excessive, he opted for the Thompsons’ former apartment, one floor above his living quarters.

“We can’t get into your old place, yet. Maybe tomorrow. But I can show you where you’ll be and you can make a grocery list for whatever you’ll need. You might as well start today. Maggie, if you have a shopping list Cassidy can handle it.”

“I, um, I don’t have a car,” Cassidy said.

“Oh yeah, I forgot. No license either. Well, I’ll run you to the store, show you where it is, point out the hardware store where we have an account for our supplies, things like that.” He turned to his sister. “What’s on my list for today, anything Cassidy can help me with?”

Her stomach executed a perfect one-and-a-half gainer. Was she supposed to be Maggie’s personal assistant or his? It sounded like she would be both. It wasn’t the labor she minded. It was the man. Already she grew giddy when she saw him, when he smiled at her, when his hand lay so naturally on her back. His touch was like a hot lava rock. She had to keep reminding herself he was a cop and quite possibly Amber’s boyfriend, although Maggie made it sound as if he didn’t have a girlfriend. Perhaps she was unaware of Clay’s private life.

She gasped when he opened the door to her new home. Gorgeous cherry-stained hardwood floors spilled from a full kitchen into a small dining area, where a round oak table and four oak chairs were stationed beneath a chandelier that twinkled in the afternoon sunlight streaming in from the balcony doors. Where the hardwood halted, plush chocolate carpet spread throughout the room, marked with vacuum tracks in the pile. The carpet stretched from the sand-colored walls of the furnished living room into a bedroom where a double bed with headboard, matching bureau, and chest shined from furniture polish.

A full bath opened off of the bedroom, decorated in bright greens and yellows. She stared at the double sink and jet tub. She hadn’t enjoyed a bubble bath in months.

She turned wide eyes to Clay, who stood uncomfortably close behind her, so close she could feel his body heat. “You want me to stay here?”

“Don’t you like it?”

“Oh, no, it’s beautiful. Wouldn’t you rather rent it and get the money? I could never afford this.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll earn it. Let’s get your stuff from last night. Then we’ll hit the grocery store. Maggie always needs diapers.”

For the next three hours they were side by side, walking through the grocery store, stopping in the hardware store, picking up his uniforms at the dry cleaners, and making a bank deposit. Clay explained her job more fully; he wanted her to help Maggie with whatever she needed, but he also expected her to clean vacant apartments, help him paint or clean carpets, or whatever easier tasks needed done.

“The more active Jack becomes, the more help she will need. Maggie will work around your schedule. You’ll have time for yourself to socialize. But there is a waiting list for these units, so sometimes the turnaround has to be quick. Occasionally, it might eat up your whole weekend.”

She smiled. “That’s not going to make a difference.”

He regarded her with one eyebrow raised. “Why is that?”

“I really don’t have a social life.”

“Why?”

She reached for the truck’s door handle. “This isn’t going to work if you are always interrogating me.” Damn. He hadn’t turned off the key yet and she was locked in the truck with him. She twisted to reach the lock, but the seatbelt crossing her chest held her tight.

“All right, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound like an interrogation. I’m simply curious about you, that’s all. You intrigue me.”

She caught her breath. “That’s not a good idea.”

He shrugged. “Probably not. C’mon.”

Maggie had bed linens, paper towels, and soap ready to give her. Cassidy had purchased a few items for her own pantry: peanut butter and jelly, wheat bread, milk, butter, and coffee after Clay said the unit had a coffee pot. He’d tossed lettuce, ranch dressing, carrots, tomatoes, a multipack of instant soups, a variety pack of cereals, popcorn, and a container of ice cream in the cart, all which he unloaded in her apartment. He held up his hands when she protested and said it would go on her tab.

“I didn’t need ice cream.”

He propped his hands on his hips. “Don’t tell me you don’t like ice cream. That’s un-American. How are you going to make a milkshake without ice cream? You like milkshakes, don’t you?”

She laughed. “Yes. Chocolate. But we didn’t buy syrup.”

He winked, causing her heart to skip. “I’ll pick some up tomorrow. Keep a list of other things you need. We can make another store run tomorrow. What time do you have to be at work?”

“I don’t return until Monday morning at eight. I’m at the Greenbrier store with Amber for the next few weeks. I need to find the closest bus stop so I can check the schedule. And,” she tried to sound casual, “I was wondering about Internet access. Is there somewhere close where I can use my laptop?”