Just a Sketch (17 page)

“You’re not saying either Felix or I snore, are you?” He was too tired to really act offended.

“Nope, didn’t say that. But with everything going on, I want to be home and feel safe for a little while.” She paused and looked at her hands in the city darkness. “That didn’t come out right, did it?”

Leo patted her arm. “Don’t worry about it coming out right or not. We both know things are unstable right now. Take the comfort you can when and where you can. I’ll stay with Felix. I wonder if my place still feels safe to him after this.”

“I think it does. This time it was just your landlord, not a robber or a rapist.” She shifted her handbag higher on her shoulder, then clamped her hand over her mouth before she shook with a yawn.

“Go on home.” He turned her toward her car, parked in front of his not far away. “Call me or Felix when you get up and we’ll figure out brunch.”

“Okay.” She fished out her keys as she walked away.

When she reached the car, she turned and hugged him. “Leo, you’re awesome. The best friend a woman or man could ask for.”

He hugged her back. “You are too. Now go home and get to sleep. You’re about to fall over.”

“Take care of Felix.” She turned away from him and got into her car.

“I will.” As he had with Aud, he stood on the curb and watched her drive away. A chill filled him as she left. He shook slightly with it by the time he turned and walked up his steps and back into the apartment.

Felix looked up at him with sleep filling his eyes. Sofi had left his lap. “I think it’s a good time for bed.”

“You’re right.” Leo turned and walked into the bedroom and retrieved his pillow and a blanket. “Go on and get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay.” Felix rose and walked toward Leo. For a second, Leo through he was about to get a hug, then Felix drooped a bit. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night.” Leo carried his pillow and blanket to the couch to settle in. Again he wished Aud was there to hold him until they both fell asleep. The toll of the day hit moments after he took off his glasses and stretched out on the bed. Moments later, sleep engulfed him.

BY THE
time he arrived at his house, the insurance adjuster, a short man in a dark blue suit, was waiting for Aud. The two big sheets of plywood over the large window in his living room looked horrible to him, like a nasty adhesive bandage put across a cut on pristine skin. He wanted to rip off the wood and reveal a perfectly intact façade, but he knew that wasn’t going to be the case. It didn’t help that he had to miss brunch with Leo and his friends for this.

“Mr. Sorenson?” asked the short guy in the blue suit, offering his hand

“Yes.” Aud returned the man’s handshake.

“Very good.” He pulled out his smartphone and began tapping the screen. “I’m Mr. Tadwell from the insurance company. My office said you needed this done today?”

“Right.” Aud unlocked the door and held it open for the man. “The vandalism happened last night. The police and I believe my stalker did it.”

Mr. Tadwell’s skimpy eyebrows nearly disappeared into his long bangs. “Stalker?”

“Yes, I’ve been having trouble for a couple of weeks. The police have a file.” The disarray in his home forced a wave of sadness over Aud. He was just thankful not much was broken.

“I hope they can find the person quickly.” Tadwell tapped his screen some more. “We tend to find that female stalkers are a bit more destructive than males.”

“It’s a man.”

The statement caused another round of raised eyebrows. “Really? You’re sure about this?”

“Not completely.” Aud walked over to the window and looked at where the glass had been. He thought it was unusual that the police had taken time to remove all of it as evidence. The plywood covering the hole looked more out of place from the inside of the house and was an even harsher reminder of the intrusion into his life.

“Your policy covers you regardless.” Tadwell pointed his phone toward the covered window. “I’ll need to get a few pictures. Was there other damage?” He moved closer to the window.

“Not damage. Though I did find a couple of things missing.”

“Anything valuable?” Tadwell pointed his smartphone to get a close-up of the windowsill.

“No, all personal items.” Aud was torn between sitting down and trying to relax and pacing. He opted to stand behind the sofa and lean against its sturdy leather back.

“Definitely sounds like a stalker. Do I presume the police took the glass as evidence?”

“Correct.”

A slow sigh escaped Tadwell. “Okay. Do you wish to include the personal items in the claim?”

Knowing how easy the black jock and other things would be to replace, Aud pursed his lips. “No need. I just really want the house fixed. My assistant has already gathered the names and numbers for some glaziers that can come out and repair the damage.”

“I do hope you aren’t planning on doing that today.” Tadwell continued to tap on his phone.

“Why?”

“Your policy doesn’t cover the added expense of having repairs done either on a weekend or on short notice.”

Aud frowned at the little man. “I thought I had one of the platinum-level plans with your company. Is that not the case?”

“Oh, I assure you, you have our highest plan. It just doesn’t cover emergency repairs. We’ll pay the base cost of replacing the window and standard installation fees, but anything rush or weekend will come out of your pocket, Mr. Sorenson.”

“Out of my pocket.” Aud straightened from where he’d been leaning over the couch. The frustration that had been building in him since he realized Randal was stalking him bubbled up. He suddenly needed to lash out at someone. “How long does it say in my file that I’ve had the policy on this house?”

Tadwell paled and tapped frantically. “Nine years, sir.” He gulped.

“And do you have the information about the policy I have on the gallery?”

“Yes, sir.” Tadwell shook slightly, right after his last tap on the screen.

“I plan on calling a repair company that can get out here this afternoon and fix the window so I don’t have to continue to stay in a hotel. I suggest you authorize that, or I will be sending my hotel bill to you right after I move my insurance to a different agency. One that cares that some of its better clients often need things done on short notice, even if it is on the weekend.”

Tadwell gulped, looking up at Aud’s imposing six-foot-three-inch height. “Yes, Mr. Sorenson. I’ll see that all the expenses on this job are taken care of. My manager said you are a valuable client. You’re sure there wasn’t anything else broken or if you want to claim any of the missing items?”

“I’m positive.” Aud relaxed slightly. “So what is the procedure for handling the payment?”

“Since we’re not sure of the exact cost of the repairs, you can have your contractor contact me.” He fished a couple of cards out of his pocket and handled them with shaking hands to Aud. “Just give them my card.”

Aud took the slip of paper. He walked over to his desk and retrieved the invoice from the handyman who’d put up the plywood. “Here’s the bill from the guys who came out last night to close up the window. I presume you’ll reimburse me?”

Tadwell took a quick picture of the invoice. “I’ll see that it’s processed and the check is put in the mail Monday.”

“That’ll be good.” Aud set the yellow paper back on the desk. “Is there anything else you need? I’d like to start cleaning up a bit while I’m waiting on repair guys.”

“I don’t think so.” Tadwell scrolled through a few things on his phone. “I believe everything’s in order.”

“Good. I’ll notify you about the cost of the window and have the contractor contact you.” Aud gestured for Tadwell to walk toward the door.

“Very well.” Tadwell paused on the threshold. “I’ll process everything personally.” He held out a hand to Aud.

When Aud shook it, he noted that it was still trembling slightly. “Thank you, Mr. Tadwell. I’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sorenson.” Tadwell turned and hurried toward his car that was parked on the street in front of the house.

Aud didn’t wait for the little man to drive off. He closed the door and pulled out his phone. Seconds later, Heather answered his call. “Go ahead and call the glaziers.”

“I’ve been working on it,” she replied. “It’s the weekend. So far, I’ve only gotten through to one who’s willing to come out today. He should be there in about thirty minutes or so.”

The news lightened Aud’s mood. “Thanks, Heather. You’re awesome.”

“So you keep telling me. Anything out of place at the house? Or maybe I should ask if there was anything additional out of place there.”

“Not that I’ve been able to find so far.” Aud glanced around the room. The familiar walls with his handpicked artwork didn’t look right with the light from the bay window missing. The whole house had a dark, foreboding feel to it he didn’t like.

“I guess that’s good. I hope with all the cops around everywhere last night, Randal will think twice before he tries anything else.”

“That would be nice.” A piece of glass the police had missed crunched under his foot. Aud bent down and fished it out of the carpet fibers and tossed it in the wire wastebasket next to his desk.

“Well, we’re fairly slow around here so far. I don’t think I’m going to have a problem dealing with everything by myself today.”

“I have complete faith you can handle it.” Aud finally settled into his computer chair. It was far enough away from the window that the glass hadn’t reached it or his desk. “I’m going to get some cleaning and organizing done here. After the window’s repaired, I’ll go find Leo. I could really use some quiet time with him.”

She laughed softly. “Good luck with that. Every time the two of you try and find some alone time, shit blows up.”

“Yeah. I’m really ready for things to calm down. Leo’s a great guy. I think we might have the start of something interesting. But it would be nice for life to back off and be mellow for a little while, at least.”

“As long as the sex stays interesting… right?”

Aud didn’t hear her laugh, but it wasn’t unthinkable for her to cover the phone to hide her mirth. “Whatever. Since when did you become so interested in my sex life?”

“Since you started being happier because Leo is around. Seeing you happy makes me happy. Keep it up.” She paused, and in the distance came the sound of her greeting a customer. “Hey, I need to get off here. I can’t keep your business afloat on the phone.”

“Right. Go sell something expensive.” Aud hung up before she could come back with something snarky. A warm smile crossed his lips as he remembered Leo telling him the same thing.

He set the phone down on the yellow invoice from the handyman. Quiet filled the house. The lack of noise suddenly felt oppressive. Aud got up and turned on the stereo, hitting the button to tell his CD changer to randomly play through the various discs in the carousel. With disco music pouring out of the speakers, he walked into the bedroom and started moving bags of laundry out to his car.

By the time he was done with that chore, the glazier had arrived, took measurements, and gave him an estimate. When Aud approved it, he said he’d have to go see if he had a piece of glass big enough, then hurried off, promising to return or call shortly.

Aud settled back at his desk. His sketchpad caught his attention.
The sketch of Leo still isn’t done to my liking.
He flipped open the pad, pulled out a pencil, and set to work putting in the final details to really bring the image to life. He worked until his phone rang with a number he didn’t recognize. A stab of nervousness hit him as he answered it.

CARS PACKED
the parking lot at Walmart. Leo finally found a space out near the street. He, Felix, and Julie hiked toward the store in silence. They’d all been unusually quiet at brunch. Leo kept hoping Aud would call and say he was on the way, but when he finally called, it had just been to let Leo know the insurance adjuster stopped by, and Aud was waiting for the contractor to get there and see if they could get the window fixed, even if it was a Saturday.

The cheerful elderly greeter broke the silence when he offered them a cart.

Leo took the cart while Julie and Felix fell in beside him. “Okay, so what kinds of things would you like to stock the kitchen with?” He glanced at Felix.

“I’m trying not to be a big problem,” Felix replied softly. “Whatever you want will be fine.”

“Felix, you’re going to be staying with me for a while. After a bit, whatever I want will start grating on your nerves. You’re the one needing the most comfort food right now, so let’s get what you want. I’ll pick up my regular stuff and together we can make meals that we both like.”

Felix stood a little straighter. “As long as you let me pay for stuff.”

“I’m okay with that.” Leo knew how important it was to feel like he was contributing something to life.

“Good.” Julie steered them toward the bakery. “’Cause you don’t have nearly enough baked goods to handle the shit that’s been flying lately. And we’d better grab extra chocolate.”

They settled into their shopping. It was not the first time they’d gone shopping together, but it was the first time Leo and Felix were trying to get things for a shared kitchen. It felt odd to Leo. He tried to keep his overall negative opinion of some of Felix’s choices to himself. He’d never stopped to realize how bad Felix’s diet was before. The number of Pop-Tarts, loaded Lays chips, and energy drinks made him almost nauseated.

Every so often, when they turned a corner, a chill went up Leo’s spine. He’d glance around, particularly when the sensation was of someone watching him, but he never spotted anyone overtly staring in his direction. There weren’t even faces he recognized among the masses around them.

The good thing about shopping was that Felix appeared to relax and become more animated, joining in the conversations with a vigor he hadn’t shown in several days. Just as he was about back to his normal self, a large woman with her arms full of toilet paper didn’t watch where she was going and brushed her arm across his back.