The Follower (22 page)

“I go back and forth myself,” Peter said. “After my parents died—”

“They died?”

“Yeah, six years ago.”

“I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks.” Peter needed a moment to get hold of himself, then said, “Anyway, a few years ago, when I was living in Mexico, I went to a psychic. The first thing the psychic said was, ‘Who’s Clea?’ Cleara was my girlfriend’s name. Close, right?”

“Oh my God, yeah.”

“She got all this other stuff dead on, too. She said, ‘Why’s she talking about Florida?’ Cleara had just been to Florida to visit some relatives.”

“Wow.”

“It freaked me out, too, but it made me realize that if there are really spirits out there, then anything’s possible, even God, you know?”

“I totally agree,” Katie said. “The same thing happened with me with my sister.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“The psychic didn’t know her name, but one of the first things she said is, ‘your sister died and it wasn’t of natural causes. She’s saying she’s to blame.’ “

“Holy shit.”

“You should’ve seen the tears gushing down my cheeks. I said, ‘Tell her it’s not her fault. Tell her it’s no one’s fault.’ And the psychic said, ‘She wants you to know she’s okay.’ Hearing those words meant so much to me.”

They continued talking about their visits to psychics and other psychic experiences they’d had. It occurred to Katie that she never could’ve had this type of conversation with Andy.

Katie was getting very tired and she asked Peter if he wanted to go home. He insisted on staying, and she was glad because she didn’t really want him to go. Eventually she fell asleep on the couch, leaning against him. Around dawn, she woke up, covered with the blanket from her bedroom, and Peter was asleep on the floor. She smiled for a moment, then remembered what had happened to Andy and why Peter was here.

She couldn’t fall back asleep. Around seven thirty Peter woke up.

“Hey, how are you?” he asked.

“A little better,” she said. “Thanks so much for taking care of me.”

“Are you kidding? Why wouldn’t I take care of you?”

“Oh my God, shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I’m taking the day off to hang out with you.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I want to. You shouldn’t be alone.”

Peter went out to Yura on Third and came back with muffins and coffee.

“Are you sure you want to miss work?” Katie asked.

“Positive,” he said. “It was supposed to be my first day at my new job, but I’d rather be with you.”

“New job?” she asked.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you? I was promoted. I’m a membership consultant now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, my supervisor was very impressed with my sales skills, so he hired me for a full-time position.”

“That’s great.” She squinted. “But I thought you wanted to be a trainer?”

Peter hesitated, then said, “I do, but I also love sales, so I took the job.”

Katie still didn’t get it, but decided not to push it further.

“Well, congratulations,” she said.

They hung out in the living room, talking about growing up in Lenox, their parents, and other stuff. Usually when she was with a guy, she had to strain to think of things to talk about, but with Peter there were never any lulls.

At one point, he said, “It looks like a beautiful day out there. I was thinking, maybe we could walk around the park, maybe pick up some stuff for a picnic? Keep it mellow, you know. But if you’re not up for it…”

“I’m definitely up for it. It would probably be good for me to get out of the apartment, to get some air. I think I’m going to call the detective who was here yesterday to see what’s going on.”

“He’d probably call you if something happens.”

“Yeah, I just want to see, though. I mean, it would make me feel better, I think.”

“Just don’t get your hopes up.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you have to prepare yourself, that’s all. The sad truth is that a lot of murders don’t get solved.”

“I know, I’m just scared. I mean, what if he comes after me next?”

“What’re you talking about?”

“He could’ve seen me with Andy, think I can recognize him or something, and—”

“Come on.” Peter put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “I really think you’re getting carried away now, don’t you think? Maybe the police’ll catch the guy,
maybe they won’t, but it’s highly unlikely that this has anything to do with you.”

“I know, I know, I’m just being paranoid. I always get like that.”

“You have to just deal with things like this the best you can and go on with your life. I mean, you’ve had some tragedy in your life before and you got through it, right?”

Katie knew Peter was talking about her sister. She said, “I don’t think I ever
got through
that.”

“Yeah, but you did the best you could, right?” Peter said. “I’ve had shit happen in my life that I’m still dealing with. It takes a while, but after time, things always start to get better. Baby steps, you know?”

Katie started to cry, thinking about her sister and how much she still missed her. Then she said, “I know, I know.”

Peter held Katie, gently rubbing her back. When she started to feel better, he said that he would go back to his place to shower and change and give her some time to herself, but that he would return to pick her up at around noon.

Then, at the door, he said, “So you’ll be okay while I’m gone?”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“I just want to make sure. I mean, I don’t know why Heather…you know…But I don’t want you—”

“God, no, I’d never do anything to hurt myself. Jesus.”

“Just checking,” Peter said.

Katie could tell he wanted to kiss her. If he’d tried, she would’ve let him, but instead he hesitated, then gave her a peck on the cheek.

“See you in a bit,” he said, and left.

Later, while she was showering and getting dressed, Katie thought about how nice it was of Peter to drop everything to go spend time with a girl he hardly knew. And the thing was, he didn’t do it to
get
anything. There were no hidden agendas, no mind games; he didn’t expect anything in return. He was just a genuinely good person.

There was no doubt that Peter was one of the greatest guys Katie had ever met. Before last night, she didn’t think their
relationship would ever go anywhere past friendship, but now she was starting to see it as something more. She couldn’t remember this ever happening, where someone she’d seen as an older-brother type at first, turned into someone she could see herself dating.

She opened her closet, trying to decide what to wear. Peter seemed like a casual guy so she decided that simple was the way to go. She picked out jeans and a black top and black boots. After she got dressed, she looked in the full-length mirror, pleased with how she looked older, but in a good way.

After she did her makeup, she sat on the couch in the living room. She still had nearly an hour to kill before Peter was supposed to return. She tried to distract herself, watching TV, but she couldn’t stop checking the time. She couldn’t remember the last time she was so excited about seeing a guy. And she’d just seen him, which made it even more unusual.

Peter Wells was the kind of guy you would have expected your mother or grandmother to date in the 1950s. He’d show up at your front door in a suit and holding flowers and he’d say “please” and “thank you” and compliment you all night long. He was sexy, too. She liked his cologne and the way his hair looked and his lips were amazing. She loved the way the lower one stuck out slightly farther than the upper, and wondered what it would be like to kiss him. She imagined he would do it slowly and romantically. She couldn’t imagine he’d be like Andy, who’d always tried to ram his tongue into her mouth.

Katie felt a pang of guilt over thinking about another guy so soon after Andy’s death, but the feeling didn’t last long. She checked herself in the mirror again, then remembered to call her parents and tell them not to come to New York. She hoped they weren’t on their way. She called her mom’s cell and her mom said that she and her dad were in the car in Hillsdale, New York, about forty minutes outside of Lenox.

“Go home,” Katie said.

“What do you mean?” her mom said. “We’ll be there by two, two thirty.”

“No, I don’t need you. It’s not as big a deal as I made it last
night. I didn’t know the guy for very long. I have friends here taking care of me.”

“We’re coming anyway,” her mom insisted.

“No, go back. Please.”

What the hell had she been thinking? Being around her parents always made things worse. She had no idea why she’d agreed to let them come to the city.

Her father, driving, said something Katie couldn’t make out and her mother said angrily, “Will you be quiet? I’m talking.” Katie could hear her father saying, “Why doesn’t she want us there?” and then her mother going, “You want to talk to her?…Then stop interrupting.”

Katie rolled her eyes. God, she hated this.

Then she said, “I really don’t want you here, Mother.”
Mother
. Did she really say that? She hadn’t called her mom “mother” since she was a teenager.

“We’ll just stay for one night,” her mother said.

“I don’t want you here at all,” Katie said. “Just turn around and go home.”

The argument with her parents lasted for about twenty minutes. Katie started screaming at her mother, and then her father got on the phone and she had to scream at him, too. Finally, sounding like a melodramatic sixteen-year-old, she told them that if they came to New York she’d never talk to them again and would hate them forever. She knew she was manipulating the hell out of them, that after losing Heather, the thought of losing another daughter, in any way, terrified them more than anything. Katie didn’t want to make her parents feel bad, but she didn’t want the stress of having them in New York, either, and the strategy worked. Her parents agreed to return to Lenox.

Katie was relieved that she didn’t have to deal with the hassle of having her parents in town, but then she felt guilty. She was going to call them back, to tell them to come after all, but better sense prevailed. Instead, she called the detective, to see what was going on with the case. She found the business card he’d given her, but when she called, she got his voice mail. She left a message with her phone number, and about five minutes later Detective Himoto returned the call.

“How are you today?” he asked.

“Okay,” she said. “I mean, I’m dealing, you know?”

“I think I mentioned this yesterday, but if you want me to get you some psychological counseling, I’d—”

“That’s okay. I think I just need some time.”

“Well, if you change your mind, you let me know. And I have some news that might make you feel a little better about things.”

“Really?”

“Maybe better’s the wrong word. Relieved’s more like it. We had a break in the case this morning. Looks like we got the guy.”

“Wow, that’s incredible,” Katie
said. “Who? Where? What happened?”

John Himoto, sitting at his desk, which was covered with stacks of papers and files, said, “Jesus, so many questions, I don’t know which one to answer first. I can’t tell you the details right now, but a man walked into a precinct in midtown this morning and confessed.”

“Who was he?”

“I really can’t divulge that information. As soon as I can, I’ll give you a call and let you know, okay? I know how important it is for you to have closure.”

“Is it somebody Andy knew?”

“Apparently not. Sorry, I really can’t tell you anything else at this point, okay?”

“Okay, I understand. Wow, this is such a huge relief. I mean, to know this guy isn’t out there anymore.”

“That’s why I wanted to let you know about it. And I’ll be back in touch shortly—I promise. You take care of yourself now, okay?”

As John continued eating his breakfast—two eggs with ham on a roll and a black coffee—he felt relieved. It was nice to give someone good news for a change, and he was genuinely happy that Katie seemed to be handling things well.

Then John’s commanding officer, Louis Morales, poked his head into John’s office and said, “What’s this? We get a confession, you go on vacation?”

“What, I can’t have some breakfast?” John said.

“In my office, right now.”

Louis closed the door and John watched Louis’s shadow pass along the clouded glass as he walked away.

John took another bite of the sandwich, then flung the rest toward the waste basket. It missed, hitting the wall and rebounding away. “Goddamn it,” he said, and shoved a pile of papers off his desk, onto the floor.

When John entered Louis’s office, Louis was on the phone and motioned with his jaw toward the chair in front of his desk. John couldn’t help smiling and shaking his head as he sat down. Louis had made it sound as if the meeting was urgent, but now John had to overhear a conversation between Louis and his wife, discussing repairs on her car.

Finally Louis ended the call and said to John in a no-bullshit tone, “What the fuck is going on?”

“With what?” John had no idea what all the attitude was about.

“The procrastinating breakfast shit. You know how much heat’s on this case?”

“I slept two fuckin’ hours last night.”

“Then go home and take a nap. You’re hungry, you’re tired. I’m horny, you see me sitting at my desk jerking off? I’ll make somebody else lead detective on this case. Fuckin’ lucky I didn’t do that already, wanna know the truth.”

“So what do you want me to do, kiss your ass?”

“No, I want you to cross every
t
and dot every
i
and make sure this is the guy.”

“What makes you think I’m not?”

“Did you even talk to him?”

“No, I figured, What’s the point?”

“Stop fucking with me.”

“I interrogated him this morning, was there for the polygraph. Look, the guy’s not playing with a full deck—that’s obvious. We know he’s been on the street for a long time, lately spending some nights at the shelter on Seventy-seventh. Tell you the truth, when I saw him, I wasn’t very optimistic. But he passed the polygraph and now we’re doing a psych eval.”