“It’s been too quiet.”
“Might have something to do with the tight security. Judy hasn’t been alone since this happened.”
“I’m not going to open her up just to attract this guy.”
Neil looked wounded. “I wouldn’t think so. But if he’s in need of making a statement, he might go after someone close to her. Or figure a way to approach her at work.”
“Meg has been on alert. She’s a quick study with the self-defense moves. At work, Judy is always with someone.” He looked at the time and cautioned himself for Judy’s pickup time.
If something happened to Meg, Judy would be devastated. “We should have more eyes on Meg.”
“We’re stretched a little thin. Dennis has an old friend I’m checking out now to help us out,” Neil said. “Good thing Michael is out of the country.”
Rick couldn’t imagine trying to watch the movie star and his sister. “Still think we need eyes on Judy’s best friend.”
Neil reached for the phone on his desk. “Dennis? Yeah . . . I need you at the Wolfe residence.”
Rick nodded with agreement.
“No, Meg. Rick is on Judy.”
The monitor on the Beverly Hills property switched automatically, tracing movement. “Gardeners come on Thursdays,” Neil told him. “And yes, we’ve already screened them.”
“I’m out of here. Gotta go pick up my girl.”
“Be safe out there,” Neil said.
Rick patted his sidearm. “I’m always safe.”
Judy’s palms were moist with anticipation. Today was the day . . . the day she walked back in that garage, got in a car just like every other employee, and drove home. Well, Rick would do the driving. The results would be the same.
“You ready for this?” Rick asked as they stood outside the elevator doors in the foyer of Benson & Miller.
“No. But I can’t avoid this forever. The sooner I get it done, the better.”
He held her hand and called the elevator. Inside were several people from the building, most of them chatting with each other and completely oblivious of her discomfort. Rick pressed P-3, the very level where the attack had taken place, and stood back.
They inched toward the garage and Judy forced slow, deep breaths into her lungs as if she were Meg and her lungs were closing in.
The doors to P-3 opened and Rick encouraged her first step out the double doors. The others in the elevator stepped around them when she and Rick didn’t move fast enough for their taste. Judy noticed the nameless employees walking in separate directions from each other. “How soon everyone forgets.”
Rick narrowed his brow.
Judy nodded toward the lone woman walking to her car.
“Human nature. People never think something will happen to them until it does. Truth is, you’ve walked into a parking garage all your life and never thought twice about it. Now you’ll think about it every time.”
Judy’s gaze moved to find her car. The garage was still busy, even for a Friday night when many employees left early.
Rick directed her away from the elevator and kept a hand on the small of her back. With him at her side, the space didn’t suffocate her . . . until she rounded the corner and her eyes drifted to the dark corner her attacker took advantage of.
“Oh, God.”
“I’m right here. Deep breath.”
She sucked in one and then another. “I’m OK.”
The elevator far behind them dinged and the sound of voices traveled in their direction. Rick continued to walk toward her car. She avoided looking at the corner and hurried into the car.
Rick closed her door and walked around to the driver’s seat. Once inside, she pressed the door lock, closing them inside.
Only when he pulled out of the parking lot did he ask how she was doing.
As the building slowly disappeared in the rearview mirror, her heartbeat slowed to normal. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“You’re such a bad liar.”
She wiped her palms on her skirt. “OK, it sucked.”
“It sucked, but each time it will get better.”
He leaned over and opened the glove compartment. Inside was what looked like a cell phone. On closer inspection, it looked like a child’s toy meant to look like a cell phone.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a stun gun meant to look like a cell phone.” They’d talked about carrying a stun gun when they practiced self-defense. “I have one for Meg, too.”
She opened the box and removed the device.
“You put the strap on your wrist and hold it.”
Judy placed the strap next to her bracelet and put her thumb over the button on the side.
“It makes a lot of—”
She pressed the button and the car filled with an electrical buzz that made her jump. From the fake cell phone, an arc of electricity moved between the two points at the top.
“Noise,” Rick finished with a laugh. “You press that against an attacker and he’ll be down. I guarantee it.”
“What if he takes it and uses it against me?”
They stopped at a light and Rick grabbed the device from her hand. The wristband stayed on her arm. He pressed the button and nothing happened. “The current is cut off when that pin is disconnected.”
The light turned green and she connected the device again and pressed the button. Sure enough, it worked perfectly. “Clever.”
“And effective. Remember to place it on your wrist when you leave work, or are alone working out . . . anytime, really.”
She tucked it in her purse and left it there. She wouldn’t need it any time soon. Not with Rick at her side.
Lucas and Dan met the three of them at Penthouse Pool. “This place is a dive!”
“Completely,” Meg said with a huge smile. “It’s part of its charm.”
Rick didn’t see charm . . . he saw a dirty bar with equally sketchy patrons.
“Cheap beer,” Lucas added.
“Cheap pool,” Dan said.
“Cheap people who don’t want to part with twenty bucks lost in a game?” Rick asked.
Judy shrugged. “I think you’re looking under the wrong tablecloth, babe. I played one person who gave up after what, one game, Meg?”
“Yeah, I think it was only one.”
“What about the guy who hit on you when Meg told him you were lesbians?” Lucas asked.
Rick looked at his little pixie with surprise and admiration.
“It’s a great excuse,” she told him. “And again . . . I don’t think so. He didn’t look back.”