Head Over Heels (16 page)

“What about your client, Byron? If this is the only copy, then he's safe,” said Marielle.

“Yes, but he won't know she no longer has it in her possession. She wouldn't threaten extortion, then admit she had lost her dirty work. If I tell Jessie we're on to her, then she should back off. Except, she seems to have disappeared. Grant can't find her, I've left messages on her voice mail. I'd think she had disappeared off the face of the earth, except we know she's been around here.”

Marielle frowned and rested her closed fists on her
hips. “If she won't go into the office, and you can't reach her at home, then it looks like there's nothing you can do.”

“Then I have to find another way to catch her.”

“How?”

Russ smiled. “I have something at home. I'll be in early again tomorrow, so I'll set it up when I get here. But in the meantime…”

Russ returned to the computer and began keyboarding. “I'm going to leave the file here—two can play at this little game. Now that I've got it open, I'm going to put in my own encryptions, so when Jessie gets it and tries to open it, she won't be able to access it.”

Marielle tidied up and double-checked the windows while Russ worked.

“There. I'm done,” he said a few minutes later. “Tomorrow, we'll see what happens.”

T
he next day Marielle hovered over Russ's chair, but Russ wasn't in it. He was on his hands and knees under the table.

She bent at the waist and looked down. “What are you doing under there?”

Russ backed out, sat and dusted off his knees. Then he set a circular device on the table and tilted it toward her. “Smile,” he said, grinning. “You're on
Candid Camera
.”

“Candid Camera?”

“It's a webcam. Tonight, if she comes, I'll have this pointed toward my computer and I can watch remotely from home.”

“You don't think you're going to be up all night, and then still come here during the daytime?”

“Oops. I never thought of that. Wait, I have an idea. It's just an Internet link. I'll set it up so you can watch from your home on your home computer, too. We can take turns watching. Would that work for you?”

“Only if I can still go to bed on time. I have to get up early, you know.”

“At this point, any little bit would help. Without telling Grant what I found, I asked him for Jessie's address. She wasn't there, and according to her neighbors, she hasn't been home for weeks. They thought she was on vacation, so I didn't enlighten them. We're going to have to catch her here, with this.” He patted the top of the webcam.

“What happens when we
do
catch her?”

“As soon as I type in a message, the screen over there will light up, it will make a little noise, and then Jessie will read what I've got on there. It'll be a note advising her to stop what she's doing and tell Byron she's going to leave him alone. Also, when she comes in, we can call the police and they can arrest her for B and E. But even if the police don't make it in time to catch her inside the building, the video will be a permanent record of what she's done. It wouldn't be admissible in court, but we could use the video to bring Jessie out in the open.”

“Do you think that's going to work?”

“I can't see why not.”

“Okay, then let's see what happens. You'd better put it away for now. The kids are going to start arriving any minute.”

No sooner had she spoken when Jason walked in. Russ quickly unplugged the webcam and tucked it away.

“By the way, I think I found out how she's been getting in here,” said Russ.

Marielle checked to make sure Jason was far away
enough that he wouldn't hear their conversation, then stepped closer to Russ. “How?”

“I think she's been climbing up the trellis and coming in through the second-floor window, then simply walking down here and using a card or something to jimmy the lock on the inside door. A few days ago I asked Pastor Tom to tell whoever is cleaning not to dust around the windows. I also told him what I think is happening, but not to be alarmed—that this is just between me and Jessie, and I want to stop it. The next time she comes in, we should be able to confirm which window she's using by a clean spot on the ledge.”

“Good idea.” She scanned the room. “It looks like almost everybody is here. We should start.”

A typical afternoon with the teens had never passed so slowly. But finally, Marielle was able to sit in the comfort of her den and watch the youth center from her home computer, via the webcam.

While she kept an eye on the computer, she sorted all her laundry, caught up on her ironing, and even did a little knitting. But soon, she found it frustrating that she was unable to leave the room to do something else, including go to the washroom.

Suddenly, a face flashed across the screen, but not the face of a woman she didn't know. It was Russ. The image moved in jerky patterns, then waved. She could see his den furniture in the background, so she knew he was at his home and not at the church.

A message appeared across the display box.

 

Russ999: Are you having fun yet?

 

Marielle typed her own message using the screen name Russ had set up for her.

 

Merrymari: I'm not sure. I haven't seen anyone yet.

 

Russ999: She may not come tonight. I thought I'd check up on you and see if you were bored. These chat programs can be a lot of fun, but only if there's someone interesting to talk to.

 

Marielle smiled.

 

Merrymari: Then I hope that someone interesting comes real soon.

 

Russ999: haha very funny

 

She would have liked to continue, because she had the feeling that online chatting with Russ could be a lot of fun, but she wasn't sure that having fun with Russ was the right thing to do.

She'd made up her mind that she didn't want to pursue a relationship with him because he was too much like Michael, and she didn't think she would survive being hurt again. At the same time, she had the impression that Russ was also pulling away—with the exception of the time she'd burst into tears and he'd held her so gently. He'd only told her what he thought she
needed to hear; Marielle knew he couldn't possibly mean what he'd said. Which only proved that Michael had been right about her all along.

Now she really didn't feel like chatting.

 

Merrymari: I'm really wiped out and I think I'd better go to bed, it's been a long day. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.

 

For a computer expert, Russ took an awfully long time to reply.

 

Russ999: Okay. Bye.

 

Tomorrow would be another day.

 

Marielle began at one end of the row of computers, making sure they were turned off, and Russ started at the other. They'd done it so many times, they could read each other's thoughts.

But today was different. Every time she moved on to the next computer to shut down, her heart became heavier.

Today was the last time.

The week had gone by so fast. Then on Saturday, she'd made plans with a friend just so she wouldn't have to dwell on it being the last time she'd be spending the day with him. But the whole time she was with Susan, all she could think of was Russ.

Now the church service was over, the informal Sunday youth session was over….

Everything was over.

The only thing that wasn't over was the problem with Jessie and the digitally altered video.

All week long, nothing had happened. They'd waited for Jessie every night, watching in shifts, and she hadn't appeared. On the positive side, that meant nothing at the center had been disturbed—but also, nothing was resolved.

She met Russ in the middle, when the last of the computers was shut off. Marielle didn't know what to do. Did she just thank him? Tell him it had been “nice”?

He stood there and rammed his hands into his pockets. “I feel like I should say something, but my mind's gone blank.”

“Same. I'm not good at goodbyes.”

“This really isn't a goodbye. It's just the next stage. It's not like I won't be back. I was thinking, how about if I come back every Friday, for the later session, and on my way here from the office I'll bring pizza for everybody?”

“You don't have to do that.”

“I know I don't have to. I'm offering because I want to.”

While it would be nice to have him return because most of the teens would miss him, Marielle thought it would better if he came to the church services. Helping every afternoon with the teens was good for them, but going to church was good for Russ. “What about Sundays?”

“I've been considering about that. I think I'm going to go back to my own church on Sundays and catch up on everything I've missed. It's about time.”

“That's great.” Marielle smiled on the outside, but on the inside, she wanted to cry. Yes, she was glad he was returning to God's fold, but she wanted him to be part of God's fold in
her
church.

She had told herself that it was best to cut all ties with him. Yet she couldn't. It hurt too much.

She looked up at him. Into his beautiful brown eyes. When they first met, she'd thought his eyes were warm and friendly, and she'd been right. There was so much about him to love, she couldn't help herself. She'd fallen in love with the wrong man.

She had thought she'd been in love with Michael, but she was wrong. It was an infatuation. Michael had said and done all the right things, but that was just an image he presented to the outside world. She realized that after he treated her so cruelly.

Everything about Russ was real. She'd seen it in the way he treated others, in the way he treated her, and especially in the way he helped people when he had nothing to gain.

“Can I take you out for dinner or something?”

“I don't think that's a good idea.” It was hard enough now, working up the nerve to say the official goodbye. She didn't want to do it twice. Besides, any time she spent with him from here on would be bittersweet. She needed to move forward instead of backward with her life, and strive for things she could actually attain. Russ's heart wasn't one of them. “I'm going to lock up now.”

Instead of walking to the door, Russ stepped closer to her. Marielle's breath caught as he raised his hands and cupped her face. His voice dropped to a husky whisper.

“Marielle. Wait.”

She could have backed away, and she knew he would have let her.

Fool that she was, she closed her eyes.

The memory of the way he had kissed her last time paled in comparison to this one. He kissed her deeply, and so tenderly that she felt herself melting in his arms. He made her feel cherished, protected and well loved.

She raised her hands to his chest and gently pushed. Everything may have been true, except the loved.

He didn't question her withdrawal, but his eyes spoke confusion, and also regret.

It took all Marielle's strength to speak. “I have to lock up. Let's go.” She should have said goodbye, except that, as he'd reminded her, it wasn't really goodbye. He was coming back the following Friday, and if he kept his word, he'd be back every Friday.

She didn't know if she had the strength to deal with seeing him again, but the teens needed more help than she could give.

“I'll see you Friday,” he said, and left the center.

Marielle made sure he had driven away before she finished locking the large wooden door.

 

The alarm went off, jolting Russ out of a too-short sleep. The red numbers on the clock radio glared 6:15 at him.

He sat up and stared at the clock as he collected his thoughts. He'd allowed himself extra time this morning, his first day back to work, because first he had to check the video taken by the webcam at the youth center. Last
night's shifts at watching the youth center had been different than it had been from Monday to Saturday. Marielle's time slot hadn't changed, because she had to get up early in the morning, but when he had instant-messaged her to say he was ready to take over, she'd been uncharacteristically brief.

He'd wanted to chat. He knew that Monday morning, his life was about to change.

Sunday afternoon, as if Russ had needed the reminder, Grant had called to tell Russ that his leave was up. They needed him, and it was time to get back to work.

He sat for a while, just watching the monitor, which was trained on the empty chair.

Every other night he'd opened up a second window on his screen, even a third, and worked while keeping one eye on the webcam view.

Sunday night, he hadn't been in the mood for work because he had felt a weight bearing down on his shoulders—knowing he would be back at the office on Monday, and wouldn't be returning to the youth center until the end of the week. He would do that for a while, until the kids didn't need him anymore, and then his responsibility would end.

No ties. That was what he wanted.

Yet instead of feeling relief that it was nearly over, all he felt was regret.

After a few hours, he'd needed to sleep, he set the webcam to “video,” which would record if Jessie came. Watching the clip after she'd come and gone wouldn't give him the opportunity to call the police to catch her on the premises, but it was the next best thing.

Now, Russ gathered his clothes into his arms and walked into the den, set the night's recording on fast-forward, and watched it zip by as he got dressed.

He was almost finished and was starting to put on his second sock when the camera caught the image of a person pulling out the chair to sit down.

He dropped his sock on the floor and rushed over to change the speed to real time, then watched as Jessie began the process of booting up the computer.

When the screen came up to enter the password, she gave it five or six guesses, then smacked the side of the monitor with her open hand. He saw the movement of her mouth, and he didn't want to guess what she'd said.

Suddenly, she froze.

She looked up at each of the nearby computers, then stopped and stared so openly at the webcam that it was as if she were making eye contact with Russ.

Busted
.

She grabbed a piece of paper, pulled a pen out of her pocket, and wrote furiously. Then she held the paper up to the webcam.

 

I see you have changed your password.

I have a file in here and I want it back.

I will be in touch.

 

Suddenly, she was gone. The range of the viewfinder was too limited to see where she went, and without sound, he couldn't be sure that she'd gone out through the door into the hallway, but that was what he suspected.

Russ stared at the now-lifeless monitor.

It was too late to call the police, and he knew the video from the webcam of a personal computer wouldn't be acceptable as evidence because of how easy it was to alter those types of images.

But his point had been made. Jessie knew that he knew something. He doubted she thought he'd broken into the file, but she would have figured out that he knew about it. Thus the webcam…