Authors: Barbara Freethy
A tense few seconds ticked by and then he said. "I don't want you to be upset in any way."
"I'm not upset. We both agreed it was a one-night thing. I didn’t want to complicate things by hanging around this morning. I thought you'd be happy I was gone."
"I would have thought that, too," he said, surprising her with the words. "Call me when you reach the Morettis."
"I will."
As she ended the call, she drew in a breath and slowly let it out. Her pulse was racing a little too fast, something that happened often when Max was around. But she needed to focus on her job. She might not be good at relationships, but in work she could excel, and that's what she intended to do.
Picking up her phone again, she tried Jarod first. His number went to voice mail. She left him a message asking him to call her back. She tried Tony next, but he didn't pick up, either. She really hoped they were both just busy and not screening her calls. She wanted to find the arsonist, but she didn't want that person to be Jarod or Tony. That would hit a little too close to home.
Chapter Eighteen
At two, Emma was still waiting for a call back from Jarod. Frustrated with the slow pace of her investigation, she took a break and headed down to the Second Street Deli for a late lunch. There were a few people in front of her in line. Gus worked behind the counter, making sandwiches as fast as he could. Spencer ran the register with the same speed.
They seemed to make a pretty good team, Emma thought, as she watched them communicate in brief, short sentences. They didn’t waste time with questions or explanations. They just got their work done. She hoped the job would keep Spencer going for a while. It would certainly ease Max's mind to have his brother focused on rebuilding his life and not reconnecting with the woman who had pretty much ruined his life.
Emma was both impressed and a little bewildered by Spencer's feelings about his ex-girlfriend. Max said his brother wasn't bitter, that he still loved Stephanie, and Emma couldn't imagine why that was. It seemed to her that Stephanie had betrayed Spencer, but apparently he didn't see it that way. It was none of her business, but that didn't stop her from thinking about it.
The two brothers seemed completely different when it came to love. Max didn't want to love anyone or have any kind of relationship that came with expectations. Spencer seemed to love with every particle of his being.
She fell somewhere in the middle of the love spectrum, probably closer to Max's position than Spencer's. But unlike Max she did want marriage and children. She wanted to have her own little family unit some day. She just wanted to be sure she fell for the right man, a man she could count on, not someone like her biological father, who couldn't handle the pressure of a wife and kids, and not someone like Jon, who'd turned out to be shallow and selfish.
Max was a man who could be counted on. Only problem was, he didn't want someone to count on him. She wondered if he'd ever change his mind.
The line moved and she stepped up to the counter to order.
"The usual?" Gus asked. "Or have you switched to the veggie wrap?"
"I am trying to keep the meat to once a week, so veggies it is. How are things going around here?"
"Good. Better than I expected. Spencer works hard, does what I say. Can't ask for more than that."
"I'm glad. How's Mary?"
"No contractions yet, but she's happy to be home decorating the nursery. You want the sandwich to go?"
"No, I'll eat here today." She moved down to the register
Spencer gave her a brief smile. "Back again?"
"I work a block from here."
"Gus seems to have a steady clientele from the neighborhood."
"Are you getting a drink?"
"Right. I forgot." She stepped over to the refrigerator case to grab an iced tea. As she came back to the register, she saw Spencer staring out the window with an odd look on his face.
She followed his gaze to a woman with dark brown hair who was standing on the sidewalk in front of the deli. She had her hand on a stroller and was pushing it back and forth as she talked on her cell phone.
"I'll be right back," Spencer said, then moved quickly toward the door.
She watched as he approached the woman. He said something, then his expression changed abruptly. He held up a hand as if apologizing and then returned to the deli.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"Who was that?" she asked.
"I thought it was someone I knew. It turns out it wasn't."
"Are you talking about your ex-girlfriend?"
His lips tightened. "Max told you about her."
"A little. She was also in the articles I read about the case." She paused as Gus set her plate on the counter. "Thanks, Gus."
"You're welcome. I have to make a call. It looks like we have a break right now," Gus told Spencer. "Give me a holler if we get more customers."
"You got it, boss," Spencer said. "How are you paying, Emma?"
"Credit card," she said, pulling a card out of her wallet.
He ran it for her, then said, "Do you need a receipt?"
"No, I'm good. I'm sorry if I got too personal. I have a really curious nature, and sometimes a big mouth. Just ignore me. That's what Max usually does."
"You must drive him crazy," Spencer said.
"I think I do," she admitted.
"I did think the woman outside was Stephanie," he said, surprising her with his candor. "She's been on my mind a lot, especially since I got out of prison. Max thinks I'm nuts to want to see her again, but I feel like we need to have a talk—just one more conversation."
"Would that give you some kind of closure?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it would make things worse. But I can't seem to let the idea go. She's in the city. I'm in the city. How can I not talk to her one more time?"
"How do you think she would feel about seeing you again?"
He shook his head. "I have absolutely no idea."
"When is the last time you spoke to her?"
"Six and a half years ago—the last time she came to see me. I'd been in prison about five months then. She'd come two other times; that was the third visit. It didn't go well. She looked at me like I was a stranger. There was fear in her eyes. I think it came from the fact that I'd accidentally killed Kurt. But it was just a fight. He fell. He hit his head. I didn't know it would end up that way." He drew in a ragged breath. "After that visit, I wrote to her and told her not to come anymore. I was going to be gone a long time. She should be free to move on with her life. And that's what she did."
She thought about his words for a moment. "If you called it off, if you were the one to say don't come back, then why do you want to see her now?"
"Because I'm free. I'm who I used to be. I'm not wearing handcuffs or a jumpsuit. I'm not eating with plastic forks. I'm the guy she fell in love with and maybe I want her to see that guy again."
"Max said she's married now."
"I'm not trying to break that up."
"Aren't you, Spencer? What resolution comes out of this meeting?"
He frowned, not too happy with her question. "I don't know."
"You should think about that before you go to see her."
"Have you ever been in love?" he asked her. "I'm not talking about puppy love or a high school crush; I'm talking about deep, passionate, relentless love, the kind of emotion that takes over your life, that kind of feeling that becomes part of the air that you breathe."
She stared at him in amazement. She'd never heard a man talk about love in such a way. Spencer was really different from Max. As she considered his question, Max's image came into her head. It should have been Jon's face she saw. She'd spent a year with Jon, and she'd only spent a night with Max, so why was Max the one sending a tingle down her spine?
"No, I've never felt like that. I tried to talk myself into love once, but it wasn't real."
"Love isn't something you talk yourself into. It's something that runs you over like a runaway train. It's powerful stuff."
"Do you still love Stephanie?"
"I wish I didn't," he said. "But I can't forget what we had together. I know our love was real, whether it lasted for a minute or a lifetime, it was true."
"That's a beautiful sentiment."
"I read a lot of poetry in jail." He sighed. "Sorry, I'm talking way too much. But you asked and no one has asked me in a long time, because they don't want to hear my answer. They want me to move on."
"You're the only one who can decide when to do that."
The door to the deli opened, and Spencer straightened as a customer walked in. "I better get Gus. Nice talking to you."
"You, too."
She took her plate to a nearby table as Gus came back to fill orders. She gazed idly out the window while she ate, her mind jumping from one subject to another, but always seeming to find its way back to Max. She'd just finished her sandwich when her phone rang. Her pulse jumped. It was Jarod.
"Jarod," she said. "Thanks for calling me back. I need to talk to you about something. Could we meet somewhere?"
"I'm pretty busy today, Emma. What's it about?"
"Family stuff, but it is important. I can meet you somewhere. It will just take a few minutes."
"I'm doing a remodel on the corner of Twentieth and Vicente, if you want to come by the job site."
"Great. I'll see you in about twenty minutes." As soon as the call ended, she punched in Max's number. "I have a meeting set up with Jarod. Are you free now? Can I pick you up?"
"I'll be out front."
"Great. See you in a few." She slid her phone back into her bag and got to her feet. She waved goodbye to Spencer, then dumped her trash in the garbage as she headed out the door.
* * *
Max was waiting on the sidewalk in front of the Hall of Justice when his brother called.
"Spencer, what's up?" he asked, hoping there wasn't already a problem at his job. He just wanted Spencer's life to be drama-free for as long as possible.
"Your friend Emma was just in here," Spencer said.
"Yeah, so?"
"So, while she was eating I happened to notice a guy standing outside the deli who seemed to be watching her."
"What?" he asked in alarm.
"When she left the deli, I saw the guy head down the street after her, so I went outside. I could see him about ten steps behind her. Then they both turned the corner, and I don't know where they went."
His body tensed as fear ran through him. "Why didn't you go after him?"
"That was my first instinct. However, I did actually learn something from going to prison, and that was to mind my own business. Plus, I didn't think Gus would appreciate me abandoning my post. But Emma seems like a nice woman and my gut told me I should call you. I'm sure you probably think I'm just imagining things again. Paranoid Spencer, always thinking men are following women."
"I don't think that at all," Max said. "What did the guy look like?"
"I only saw him from the back. He had on jeans and a gray sweatshirt with the hood up. I didn't get a good look at his face, and the hood hid his hair."
The description reminded Max of the man he'd seen at Brady's just before that place had burned to the ground.
"I have to go back to work," Spencer said. "I hope Emma is all right."
"I'll make sure of it. Thanks for calling."
As Max finished the call, he saw Emma's car. He felt a wave of relief. He glanced at the other cars on the street, wondering if someone was still following her.
She stopped to pick him up, and he hopped into the passenger seat, quickly fastening his seat belt. Then he took another look in the side view mirror as she pulled back into traffic.
"Have you noticed any cars following you?" he asked.
She gave him a surprised look. "No, but I wasn't looking. Why?"
"Spencer just called me. He thought someone followed you down the street from the deli."
"Are you serious?" She frowned and glanced in the rearview mirror. "The car behind me has two women in it."
"This was a guy."
"I wonder if it was Jon."
"Has he called you again?"
"No, I haven't heard from him since we spoke the other day."
"This man was wearing a hooded sweatshirt."
"That doesn't sound like Jon. He's never not in a suit during the work week."
"It sounds like the guy I saw outside of Brady's last Sunday night."
"What exactly did Spencer say?" she asked.
"Just what I told you. He said he'd seen the guy outside the deli while you were eating and noticed that he took off as soon as you left. He had a bad feeling about it so he went outside and saw the guy walking behind you."
"That's weird. I didn't feel like anyone was watching me, but I was thinking about the Morettis and what I wanted to ask Jarod." She paused, her brows knitting together. "There have been a few occasions in the last few days that I have felt like someone was following me. The first time was when I went to Brady's for my dad's party."
He didn't like the sound of that. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"
"I forgot about it until now. And the other times I chalked it up to my overly active imagination. Why would anyone follow me? There's no reason. It's probably just a coincidence that this guy started walking down the street at the same time I did."
"And that he was dressed exactly the same as the guy I saw outside of Brady's? I don't believe in coincidences, Emma."
"Well, there's nothing to be done about it now. We need to speak to Jarod. Are you going to let me do the talking?"
"I'll let you start," he conceded. "After that we'll see."
* * *
Jarod was hammering up drywall in the entryway of a newly remodeled first-floor flat. He wore jeans and a t-shirt and had a tool belt around his hips. He smiled when he saw Emma, but that smile faded when his gaze reached Max.
"Hi Jarod," she said. "This is Max Harrison. He's an inspector with the SFPD."
"I thought you came to talk to me about your family." Confusion and wariness entered his gaze.
"Actually, it's your family I wanted to speak to you about."