Devil Mail (26 page)

             
“And why do you suppose he would do that?”

             
“Do you really want to get into that in front of our guests?”

             
“We’ll talk about this later,” Gordon stated quietly. Sensing the onset of an argument, he retreated towards his office.

             
“Gordon,” Angela called after him, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about this to Kieran. I don’t want him to know I was here.”

             
“Sure thing, Angela. I have no intention of mentioning anything to him until we get to the bottom of it.” He glanced at his wife before turning towards his office again.

             
“I’m so sorry about this Vanessa. I didn’t mean to cause any friction between you and Gordon.”

             
“He’ll be okay. He’s just embarrassed that the brother whom he spends so much energy helping and protecting has let him down, yet again.” Vanessa made coffee, over which she enlightened Angela and Julia as to Kieran’s history of borrowing money from Gordon and never repaying him and how their relationship had soured when she rebuffed Kieran’s advances towards her; something that she had kept from Gordon because she knew it would break his heart. Angela, although disgusted, was not shocked. Her first instincts had been right. She had seen the way Kieran looked at Vanessa, and heard the way he talked about her. Now she knew for certain that his behavior was a product of lust compounded by the bitterness of rejection, which probably crushed his ego.

As Vanessa walked the sisters to the door follow
ing much revelation, she bemoaned her reticence. “I wish I could have warned you sooner, Angela. I wanted so much to tell you about him when I met you at the mall that day, but you seemed so in love, I didn’t know how to broach the subject. I know he’s my brother-in-law, but he’s a sweet-talking, self-seeking, worthless excuse for a man.”

“Don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel,”
Julia smirked.

“Just be careful, Angela. I don’t know if you’re fully aware of what he’s capable of.
I don’t know if any of us are.”

“I’m getting a clearer picture with each passing day.” Angela thanked Vanessa for her hospitality and they left.

After dropping Julia off at home, Angela went home to physically and emotionally prepare for work the next day. Unimpressed and less than surprised, she picked up the solitary white carnation that had been laid on her ‘welcome’ door mat, removed the envelope that was wedged in the door jamb of her front door and sighed as she tore it open. The image on the front of the enclosed card was one of an adorable, fluffy white kitten, with a “nobody’s purrfect” sign hanging around its neck. Inside, the message read:

“How often do I have to forgive a person who

has hurt me? seven times?

“No,”
said Jesus
, “as much as seventy times

seven times.
” (that’s 490).

Matthew 18:21-22.

I’m sorry I messed up. Will you do what
Jesus
  commanded
and forgive me, again?

Your impurrfect
Kier.

As Angela began to visualize Kieran having a stockpile of these very convenient cards, her telephone rang; a fact which indicated that he was nearby, watching her movements. He was becoming proficient at tugging on her heart strings and placing her right where he wanted her. Angela knew that she had to pull herself together.

“Yes, you are forgiven. I just needed you to be man enough to admit when you were wrong,” Angela said, upon answering the telephone and anticipating his, ‘Did you get my card?’
and ‘forgive me?’ questions.

“Thanks, Babe. You’re an angel. A
real Christian through and through. Hey, have you given any more thought to me moving in or did your family talk you out of it?”

“No, that’s my decision to make, and I’ve decided that I want to help you out until you get your own place. But it’s only a temporary arrangement though, right?”

“Absolutely! Who knows, if things go as planned with this new job, I’ll probably be off preparing our future home soon.” Kieran was essentially the man with a plan. Angela agreed to allow him to move his things in, but not right away. She needed some time to reorganize the apartment and make room for him so that he would feel at home while he was there.

           CHAPTER NINETEEN

A
lthough relatively at peace with the plans she had made, fear of her uncertain future kept Angela’s thoughts far from her work. She handed Aiden’s transcript to Sharon and was quite prepared to give her the lengthy explanation of its disappearance and subsequent recovery, but her abruptness made it clear that she was juggling other matters and putting out new fires. Impatiently, she told Angela, “Just bottom line it!” So, Angela gave her some sketchy details, Sharon raised her eyebrow and shook her head dismissively, after which, Angela returned to her office. She sat at her desk and scrolled through online directories of other local court reporting agencies. So much damage had been done to her reputation at Maven Court Reporters. It was time to move on.

As early evening fell, Angela looked forward to an evening of planned activity with her sister, but upon informing Judith of the plans, it
became a three-way affair. “I can’t believe you went to Bozo’s brother’s house in Isleworth without me!” Judith’s seriousness was masked by the comical nature by which she delivered the line. “What kind of friend would do that? Are you sure there’s nothing else that needs returning? ‘cos I’ll drive you out there myself!” Judith shook her head as she studied Angela. “After all you’ve been through, it hurts when I call him Bozo. You’re still hung up on this guy aren’t you?” Angela’s only response was a tight smile and raised eyebrows, followed by an averted gaze off into the sunset. “You’re up to something aren’t you?” She continued to study Angela’s facial expression, but Angela gave nothing away.

On her return to her apartment, she paid close attention to the cars parked nearby. Sure enough, Kieran’s inconspicuous SUV was parked on the side of the road a little way down from the entrance of the apartment parking lot. Why he
refused to park in the apartment parking lot, like most normal visitors, was a mystery. As soon as she let herself into her apartment, removed her shoes, and pressed a button on the answer machine to listen to her messages, the doorbell rang. She forwarded on to the next message with some urgency when she heard Aiden’s voice. The last thing she needed was for Kieran to walk in on her listening to Aiden. She had had time to cogitate on the matter and felt that she ought to talk to Aiden, especially now that she knew he was not responsible for breaking into her car, and probably hadn’t been following them in his car that Sunday afternoon when Kieran performed his award-worthy car pursuit act. And now that she thought about it, it was probably Aiden who had sent those roses to her office – the ones that Kieran knew nothing about, but implicitly took the credit for. But what would she say to Aiden after all the troubled waters that had flowed under the bridge?

“Great timing!
How do you do it? I only just got in,” she beamed as she opened the door to a smartly dressed Kieran bearing a gift.

“Just shows how madly in sync we really are.” He handed her a rectangular
, red velvet box.

“What’s this? Not another family heirloom I hope. You’ve spoiled me enough.”

“Open it,” he urged. Angela’s eyes widened at the opening of the box, but her heart was saddened. The oval morganite and diamond pendant glistened in the lamplight of her living room. The surrounding rose gold added such beauty to an already spectacular stone. She knew it was another extremely pricey gift.

“I can’t accept this, Kieran. You can’t afford it; not yet.”

“Oh, not this again! Stop telling me what I can and can’t afford Angela! I’ve got a good job now. You haven’t even asked me how my day went.”

“Well, you hardly gave me a chance.”

“There are tons of girls who would be floored to get something like that, and all you can do is throw it back in my face!”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Let’s not argue.” Her words were enough to calm him into taking the necklace and placing it around her neck,
with the same romantic intimation that they had seen in some of the movies they had watched while curled up together on her sofa. “Thank you,” she whispered as she examined her reflection in the mirror.

“You’re worth this and more,” he whispered back, gently kissing her lips. She pulled away as the kiss lingered and became more intense.

“What’s wrong?” He searched for his answer in her eyes.

“Nothing. I just don’t want to get into anything. It’s been a long day.”

“Something’s wrong. You wear your heart on your sleeve. Over the phone you might be able to hide, but in person – you give yourself away. Is it this thing with your sister? You said you forgave me.”

“And I have. Just give me time to deal with my feelings.”

“I’ve admitted that I should’ve told you about your sister coming onto me, but I can’t live with you bringing it back up all the time. If you’ve really forgiven me, we have to bury it once and for all.”

“That’s easier said than done, but I’m trying.”

Kieran brought the conversation around to their planned living arrangements and asked her if she had seen a key around the apartment, as he was missing one from his keychain. She told him that she hadn’t, but would keep an eye out for it.

“What is it, a door key?”

“No, it’s the key to my storage unit. I don’t see how it could have just slipped off.”

“Strange. I’ll let you know if it turns up here.”
She planned to hold onto the key until the appointed time. And she couldn’t afford for him to go to the storage unit and discover the missing file, yet. Angela then engaged him in conversation about his first day on the job, drawing out minute and insignificant details about his day.  Kieran gleefully talked about the continuous flow of business in the shop and the amount of money charged for very quick and simple repairs. “People just can’t live without their computers and I’m in a grand position to capitalize on that! Being in the shop is more legitimate than me just showing up at people’s houses, so the moolah is about to start flowing freely.” Angela felt sickened by every word that dripped from his lips, but she listened quietly, releasing only the odd nod and stilted smile.

After that evening together, Angela asked Kieran not to come around for a little while because she wanted to surprise him and prepare the apartment for his big move. He was resistant to the idea, telling her
that he didn’t need any surprises. It was torturous for him to be away from her and just talking to her on the telephone every day was no substitute for their more intimate moments together. When Angela begged him to do this one thing for her and give her room to spoil him like he had spoiled her, he relented and agreed to stay away for a short time.

The days passed
with Angela searching for new employment while on the job at Maven, and spending the evenings with Julia and Judith, who helped her to finally find an apartment that she liked, in a gated community. Mrs. Craddock had insisted on Angela moving to a more secure location, and extended the financial support she needed to do so. “I can’t just up and leave, Mom,” she had said during the weekend she spent at her mother’s house. “My lease isn’t up for another few months.”

“I’ll pay what’s owed up to the end of the lease and help you with the down payment for another place. You
r safety and my peace of mind are worth every penny,” Mrs. Craddock replied. Angela couldn’t argue with that.

“Do you think you’ll ever try online dating again?” Judith asked Angela as she, Julia and Rachel carted boxes into Angela’s new apartment. 

“
Actually I would,” Angela replied, resting on an external railing to catch her breath. “I’m not going to allow my experience with one or even two guys to color my view, but for right now, I’m working on being like you – a single, successful, satisfied sister.”

“Wel
l said, girl!” Judith responded. “Only I’m not sure how long that ‘single’ aspect is going to apply to me.” That stopped everyone in their tracks. Angela and Julia gently released their boxes on the ground and Rachel followed suit. All eyes were on Judith.

“What?” Angela yelled
.

“What?” Julia screamed.

“Well, I don’t really know you, but I think that’s my cue to say, what?” Rachel jested.

“Don’t get excited
!” Judith attempted to quiet them. “I have a friend called Bernard; I’ve known him for years, but more recently things have just naturally progressed into something more than a friendship.”

“You’re dating, and we knew nothin
g about it?” Angela’s amplified volume was out of place in the evidently quiet and rather upscale community that she was moving into. A curtain twitched behind them.

“Ssshh!” Judith
gestured with a finger to her lips. “You trying to get kicked out before you even move in? Things were developing between me and Bernard when you had defriended me and put me on the back burner because you were so into Bozo.”

“I never defriended you; and I never will.”

“Anyway, I’m sure the same will happen for you. I’m telling you – your special someone will come along when you’re getting on with your life and least expect it. It will be a natural progression to a great relationship; nothing forced, manufactured or manipulated. You’ll see.”

“Amen to that!” Julia piped in.

“Absolutely.” Rachel agreed.

Many hands made for light work and the four ladies cleared out Angela’s a
partment by the early hours of Saturday morning, having commenced the task on Friday afternoon. Angela was careful to keep an eye out for Kieran’s SUV near her apartment, but didn’t spot him. If he was watching her from a distance, he would spoil the surprise she had planned for him. “We would have been done ages ago if you had agreed to call some of the guys from church to help,” Julia exhaled, exhausted. “I know David would have helped.”

Angela visualized his hairy back again and cringed. “No, I’d hate to drag him away from his work. We did okay, just us girls,” she said cheerfully.

Angela called Kieran and told him that she thought she had found the key he was looking for, and if so, he had the green light to hire a truck and begin moving his things in. They agreed to meet at the storage facility
. Kieran was waiting for her when she arrived.

“Is this it?” Angela held
up the key that she had used to enter the storage unit previously.

“Yes, thank God. I thought I’d lost it. Where was it?
”

“Under my coffee table.”

“Really? But I checked there. That’s weird. Thanks anyway, Babe.”

“Okay. So you can go inside the shop, rent a truck and start moving now. I have a few errands to run, but I’ll help you load up.” More than anything else, Angela wanted to see his expression when he realized Aiden’s transcript was gone.

“You’re fine. I only have a few things in there, so I won’t need a truck. I can manage.” He stood guardedly in front of the unit door.

“If you’re sure.”

“Yep.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you back at the apartment then.”

“Thanks again for this, Babe. I know it’s going against what you believe, but it’s only for a little while. Have you told your family?”

“Don’t worry about them
; I’ll deal with them later.”

The two parted company, Angela going to her new apartment and Kieran staying to
load up his SUV, which he then drove to what he believed would be his temporary home with his babe.

It wasn’t long before
Angela’s cellphone began to ring with some consistency. She allowed each call to go to her voicemail. “Where are you, Babe? I’m outside the apartment waiting,” was the first message.

Twenty
minutes later Angela’s cellphone rang again. “Hey, Babe, it’s me. Where are you? Hope everything’s alright. Call me as soon as you get this.”

Another call came in ten
minutes later. “Angela, call me please. I’m still at the apartment.”

After ninety minutes,
the calls began coming in every five minutes, and the nature of the messages left became more intense. Angela smirked at the tenth message: “Angela, what the hell’s going on? Your neighbor said he saw you moving out of here yesterday.  Call me!”

And so the intensity of the calls continued until
Angela turned her cellphone off completely. When she turned it back on, her next call would be to her service provider to get her cellphone number changed. 

Mrs. Craddock didn’t even arise from watching television when Kieran came pounding on her front door and trying to peer through her window later that evening. She told Trey that he had to be extra quiet otherwise Kieran would find them and their game of hide and seek would be over.