Red Red Rose (27 page)

“We
haven’t yet, doesn’t mean we won’t. We’ll just have to dig deeper, and it might
take some time for Monroe’s people and cooperating law enforcement to do the
ground work and talk to the people who could have the information we need. What
we do know is that this guy is smart. Smart enough to have either hidden his
identity, or assumed a new one. Neither of those things is easy to do.”

I
got a sinking feeling in my gut. “Someone like Danny could do it.” He was also
tall and lean and wore glasses.

I
watched it sink in for him as well, and then he looked at me grimly. “Someone like
Danny would definitely be capable of that and a lot more. I’ve checked him out,
but only on the surface. I’ll connect with Monroe and my guys again and get
them on it.”

My
eyes scanned the shop, but Danny was unusually absent today.

“What
are you still doing here?” Carlie poked her head into the office. “I thought
you were taking the night off.”

I
blinked and lifted my eyes from my computer screen and the spreadsheet of
numbers that had started to blur after three minutes of staring blankly at it.
I had accomplished almost nothing since I came back here, but after Spencer
left to go have a chat with Monroe about my nerdy friend, I was terrified that
any second Danny was going to walk through the door of the shop and I wouldn’t
be able to keep my cool. Spencer warned me that if he came in, I should act
like everything was normal, be friendly with him like always. He said there was
an undercover cop sitting on my building, ready to tail Danny if he showed up
here.

“My
plans changed and I decided it was too big of a night for me to take off.” It
was the only explanation I offered. I didn’t confide in her the way I did Cass
and Reggie.

“Okay,
we’re still pretty packed out there. The movies, games and dessert are a big
hit.”

I
smiled. Today was definitely a success. “That’s great. Do you guys need an
extra hand out there?”

“I
think we have it covered. Do you want me to stay until closing tonight?”

“We’ll
see how busy we stay in the next hour, but I think you should be fine to leave
at eight.”

She
nodded and then returned to the front.

By
eight I expected we wouldn’t have too many new groups or couples coming in, so
things should start tapering off and Mitch, Cassie and I would be fine to cover
the last hour and closing. However, after watching Carlie pine over Mitch
earlier, I didn’t think she’d mind if I had to ask her to stay an extra hour.
It would probably do her good if I stopped scheduling those two on the same
shift. I just kept hoping an opportunity would pop up for him elsewhere so it
didn’t come down to me having to let him go. Spencer had managed to pry from
Parker that his issue with authority was the biggest roadblock keeping him from
making it as a cop. That and his apparent inability to take responsibility for
his actions. After the last few weeks, I could see why they would have picked
up on those things and why that might not make him the best candidate for law
enforcement. Sadly, not exactly uncommon traits these days.

As
the evening wore on, I ventured out of the office to check on things up front.
Everyone seemed to be having a good time and enjoying themselves, and there was
still no sign of Danny. Will however, had showed up and was currently
distracting my manager on duty.

“Hey
lovebirds, knock it off. One of you is supposed to be doing your job.” I gave
the two of them a teasing grin, and Cass just rolled her eyes, but pushed herself
up off the table she’d been leaning her hip on and pretended to go back to
work.

When
the couples started trickling out, I insisted they take bunches of roses with
them, as it would save me from having to get rid of them or take them home. I
doubted if I’d ever be able to look at roses the same. The few that were left
after all the customers were gone, I started to throw into the trash until
Cassie stopped me.

“What
are you doing? You can’t throw away roses! Where is your romantic spirit?”

I
gave her a pointed look.

“Okay,
just because some crazed stalker has been sending you roses and leaving them on
dead bodies–” her face twisted into a grimace. “Okay yeah, they do seem a
little creepy now. Go ahead and toss them,” she sighed and then cringed as I
unceremoniously threw the last remaining flowers into the bin.

Once
I’d gathered the trash, I looked around for Mitch to have him take it out back.
“Hey, where did Mitch go?” I asked Cassie, who was busy cleaning the espresso
machine.

“I
think he went out back for a smoke break.”

I
wrinkled my nose, but at least he’d waited until the end of the night. With two
large trash bags in hand, I headed toward the back door. I caught Mitch on his
way in so I passed the garbage off to him and he took it out while Cass and I
finished getting the shop set for opening tomorrow. Will sat with his feet up
on another chair and watched.

I
was getting ready to count the till out when I realized no one had brought in
the sandwich board from out front. I looked over to ask Will to grab it, but he
was headed toward the bathroom, leaving me to retrieve it myself. It was big,
awkward and heavy and always fun for me to haul around. I banged my shin and
cursed, and then someone called out my name. I turned in the direction of the
voice and froze. Danny was making a beeline for me with something in his hand
that I couldn’t make out in the dark. I scanned the street but it was pretty
quiet. I knew the cop had to be out there somewhere, hopefully getting ready to
act. A peek over my shoulder told me Cassie had heard him calling out and was
now watching out the window. For safety reasons, I’d filled her in on our
suspicions about Danny, but I doubted if she could see who was approaching me
from her position.

I
acknowledged Danny but resumed dragging the sandwich board toward the door,
hoping he would see I didn’t have time to stand around outside, in the dark,
chatting with a possible serial killer. “Hey Danny, we’re just closing up for
the night.”

“I
know, I won’t keep you. I just couldn’t make it in today. I had to be at the
office and it was a long day, but I wanted to make sure I saw you before the
day was over, so I could give you these.” He held up what he’d been holding in
his hand, and peeled back tissue to reveal a bouquet of red and white roses.

My
first instinct was,
run, he’s going to murder you and cover your body in
those flowers.
But thankfully after an awkward second of no reaction, I
pulled it together and plastered what I hoped appeared to be a genuine smile on
my face. “That’s really sweet, Danny.”
Oh, shit. Was I the “girl”?

“I
hope I’m not giving you the wrong impression, it’s just that you seemed a
little sad or upset yesterday, and I hoped that these might, um, I don’t know,”
he shifted uncomfortably and looked away for a second, and then hesitantly met
my gaze again. “You’ve just always been very kind to me, so I wanted to do
something for you.”

His
words sounded sweet, I just wished I could believe them. “Well thank you.” I
took the flowers from him. “It was very thoughtful of you, but I better get
back inside.” Before I could, Will stepped out.

“What’s
going on, Nora?”

Danny’s
eyes flashed nervously to Will.

“Danny
just stopped by to give me these.” I held up the flowers and watched as Will
ran a suspicious look over Danny. I just wanted out of this awkward moment and
away from Danny, so that he would leave and the officer watching could do his
job and follow him.

“Thank
you for the flowers,” I told Danny again. “Have a good night.” Will held the
door for me and I almost made it inside.

“Um,
Nora?” I sighed and set the sandwich board against the building before I turned
back around to face Danny.

“Yeah?”

“Could
I talk to you about something else real quick?”

I
didn’t bother to hide my reluctance.

“I
promise, it won’t take long.”

“I’m
sorry, I really need to finish closing so the rest of these guys can get home,
but if you stop by in the morning, we can talk then?”

Something
slipped on his face and I got a sense of desperation for him. I thought he was
going to argue, but then he glanced at Will and covered it up. “Yeah, sure. Of
course. Tomorrow. Have a good night guys.” He turned his back and slipped away.
Will grabbed the sandwich board and we ducked inside. I locked the door behind
us. Will set the sandwich board aside and I went to finish closing out the
till.

“What
did the creep want?” Cassie asked.

I
tossed the flowers down on the counter. “To give me these.”

“And
probably to stuff you in his trunk so he can chop you into pieces later.” Will
had followed me over to the counter. I glared and Cassie shoved his shoulder.

“Don’t
joke about that.”

“I’m
not joking. Whatever you do, don’t be alone with him,” Will warned.

“Don’t
worry, wasn’t planning to be,” I assured him and then shooed them both away so
I could count the money without distraction.

Mitch
was back from taking out the trash and he and Cassie worked quickly to get the
last load of dirty dishes through the washer so we could get out of here as
soon as I was done. Once the money was in the safe and everything looked good,
we shut down the lights, set the alarm and all headed out the back door. I’d
asked everyone not to take up parking out front, knowing it was going to be
busy today.

Mitch
said goodnight and cut through the alley. He’d parked on the side street. Will saw
Cassie and me safely to our cars. While they said a very intimate goodnight, I
pulled out my phone to let Spencer know I was leaving, and to find out where he
was.

“Hey,
you still at the shop?” he answered.

“Just
leaving. Where are you?”

“Just
leaving the station. Want me to swing by and follow you home?”

“No,
I’ll just meet you at home.”

“And
you can tell me what Danny said.”

Good,
that meant a cop had been watching. “Is Monroe having him followed?”

“Yes.
He’ll let us know if he leads them anywhere interesting.”

“Okay,
then I’ll race you home. Last one there gives winner a back massage.”

“You’re
on.” I could hear his grin through the phone.

When
I ended the call, Cassie was eyeing me with a wide grin that she then turned on
Will. “You sure I can’t talk you into coming over for a back massage tonight?”

He
leaned in and kissed her. “As tempting as that offer is, you’re the one who
told me if you fail your exam tomorrow, you’ll fail the class. So go home,
study and we’ll celebrate after you’ve passed your test.”

“Fine,”
she pouted, planting a quick kiss on his lips. “But tomorrow, I expect the back
massage.”

“Of
course.”

I
couldn’t help but smile watching the two of them. They’d surprised me. They
were good for each other. “Night, Cass.”

“Night.
Go have some fun for me since it looks like I won’t be having any tonight,” she
winked and then climbed into her car.

I
laughed and Will just rolled his eyes at her.

“Night
Will.” I wrapped an arm around his side and squeezed. “Thanks for being good to
her.”

“She’s
a good girl. A little crazy, but I find I like it.”

We
both waved as Cassie backed out of her parking spot blowing kisses at us.

“Go
on, I’ll wait until you’re in your car.”

“Where
are you parked?”

He
pointed at the lone car at the far end of the lot.

“Okay,
have a good night, Will.”

He
watched me climb behind the wheel and made sure I had the doors locked before
he headed in the direction of his car. In a hurry to win that back massage I
didn’t waste any time throwing on my belt and sticking the key in the ignition,
but when I cranked it, my car made a weird sputtering noise and then died. I tried
again to no avail. The awful, screeching sound, similar to that of a cat dying,
drew Will back. He tapped on my window and then stepped back when I pushed the
door open.

“What’s
up?”

“I
don’t know, stupid thing won’t start.”

“Let
me try.”

I
didn’t know what good it would do, but I got out and let him slide behind the
wheel. It wouldn’t start for him either, so he popped the hood and stuck his
head under it. I wasn’t sure how much he knew about cars, but when he slammed
the hood back down, his grim expression indicated bad news.

“Well,
I’m not sure what the problem is. Sorry, I’m not much of a mechanic, and I
doubt you’ll be able to get one to look at her tonight. You can call a tow
truck, but they’ll charge you extra because it’s late. You’re better off
waiting until tomorrow morning. I can give you a lift home or wait with you if
you want to call Shaw.”

“No,
we’re a lot closer to my place than the police station, so if you drive fast I
can still probably beat him home and at least get a back massage out of this
night.”

“Alright
then,” he chuckled. “Let’s go.”

We
crossed the parking lot to the old Camaro. It had seen better days. The faded
black paint was rusted in a few spots, and he had to jerk on the passenger door
to get it open for me.

“Here,
let me move this out of your way.” He ducked his head and pulled out a duffel
bag and then stepped aside to allow me to slide in. He opened the back door and
tossed it in. I struggled with the buckle that was all twisted, but before I
could get it clicked, an arm came around from the back and slammed a piece of
fabric over my face. I let out a muffled squeal and released the belt. I tried
to pry away the arm that held me pinned to the headrest, but he was too strong
and the slightly sweet smell I was inhaling left me feeling lightheaded. My
arms dropped and I heard him whisper, “Shh, it’s alright. Sleep, sweet Rose,”
just before there was a sharp pinch in my neck and it was lights out.