Not Quite Perfect (Not Quite Series Book 5) (23 page)

She considered a bath . . . then remembered every horror movie she’d ever watched as a kid and decided that would be the worst idea ever.

A pair of pajamas and a second glass of wine helped her get through one chapter.

Falling asleep was a challenge, staying asleep was impossible.

The phone jolted her out of bed at six in the morning.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Glen caught Mary’s text before he went to bed the night before, attempted to text her back only to find silence on the other end.

He arrived at the office with a message from Walt asking him to call.

“Hey, Doc. What has you up so early?”

“Fourteen pounds of screaming love.”

“I’m sure he’s worth it.”

“He is. I’m calling for a flight.”

Glen grabbed a pen on his desk. “Finally convinced Dakota that she’s not putting anyone out?”

“No, Dakota was booking a commercial flight. I reminded her that babies on airplanes make for lots of unhappy passengers. To which she said, screw them.”

Glen laughed. “Sounds like Dakota.”

“I told her I’d call you, see if you have any empty legs to Denver.”

“Empty legs . . . she really doesn’t get it, does she?”

“I think once she realizes that flying with Leo will be much better on a private plane than in a cabin with two hundred other people, she’ll stop fighting it.”

“Give me your dates, I’ll put someone on it.”

Walt told him when they planned on traveling, went on to give a time for them to visit Dakota’s family in Savannah.

“I wouldn’t have to fight her if you’d let us pay something,” Walt told him.

Glen had heard this before. His first reaction was an absolute no. But Dakota wasn’t one to take charity for long. “Tell her we can work something out.”

“Will we?”

“Maybe . . . but in the meantime, let her taste how peaceful it is to bring a baby on a private plane. Then maybe one trip on a commercial jet. She’s smart. She’ll figure it out.”

Walt sighed. “You’re good.”

Glen leaned back in his chair. “I’ve been doing this for a while.”

“Thanks, Glen. I appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

“Listen, about Mary. That guy really scared her last night.”

It took a moment for Walt’s words to register. “What guy?”

“She didn’t tell you? I thought she would have called you last night.”

“We played tag with texting. What guy? What are you talking about?” Glen tapped the pen he’d been using against his desk.

“She called us on her way home from the office. She said one of her clients got a little out of hand, scared her enough to call that cop who wrote up the report after the break-in.”

The pen in Glen’s hand snapped in half. “Out of hand? Is she okay?” Damn it. Why didn’t she call him?

“Scared her. And she doesn’t scare easy. She asked that I come out and walk her into the house.”

“Jesus.” He ran his hand through his hair, glanced at his watch.
It’s six in the morning there.

“She’s all right. Just shook up last night.”

“Thanks for watching out for her.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m glad she called.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll get someone on these flights for you.”

Glen hung up with Walt and speed-dialed Mary.

It was obvious he woke her up.

“Tell me what happened!”

Mary met Officer Taylor at her office before she saw her first client. He brought someone from the department who dusted for prints. They packaged the water bottle and went ahead and took samples from the doorknob of her office and that of the glass door leading into the building.

She went into detail about the encounter with Jacob and how he’d presented with this instability before her home was vandalized.

Much like with Glen that morning, she second-guessed herself, her reaction, but both men didn’t think she was overreacting at all. They were going to see if any prints matched and bring Jacob Golf in for a little chat.

Once the police left, Mary took a few minutes to clean up the mess they left behind and made the phone call to Glen she’d promised.

“Ten o’clock and all is well,” she teased when he answered.

“You’re not funny.”

“I have to laugh. But all
is
well. The police just left, I have ten minutes before my first client. Other than the zillion questions that will come from the people in the building I’ll be answering all week, I’m good.”

“It’s good people know something is wrong.”

There was a knock on her door. “My client is early. I have to go.”

“Call when you leave.”

“At four, I know. We already talked about this.”

“Be safe.”

“Good-bye, Glen.”

“Four o’clock.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The prints on the water bottle weren’t the best,” Officer Taylor explained over the phone. “I have forensics checking those we picked up on the door. But I have to tell you, it’s a low priority.”

Mary didn’t like the sound of that. “Why?”

“Honestly, because no one was hurt. Breaking and entering and petty vandalism—”

“There was nothing petty about what happened at my house!”

“I understand that, Miss Kildare, but in the eyes of the law. This isn’t at the top of our list. Yes, we’re invested in solving the case, but forensics is completely bogged down with violent crimes, homicides, and felonies. I’m sure you understand. A family counselor spooked by a man who finds out his wife is having an affair doesn’t compete. Not in our imperfect system.”

This was not the news she wanted to hear twenty-four hours after Jacob left her office.

“Have you brought Mr. Golf in for questioning?”

Office Taylor paused.

His silence answered her question before he uttered a word. “He wasn’t at his place of business today and the estranged wife hasn’t seen him in a week.”

“Great. Just great.”

“I’m sorry I can’t do more. If you’re threatened directly, or something else occurs, notify me.”

“I did that.”
And it isn’t helping!

“Miss Kildare, do you own a firearm?”

Yet another question about having a gun. “I didn’t think I needed to.”

He let the question about owning a gun alone, apologized again, and hung up.

Glen was expecting an update. Considering how upset he’d been about learning what had happened via Walt, Mary went ahead and called his cell when she got off the phone with the police.

“Hey!”

“You don’t sound happy,” he said.

“I’m pissed.” She relayed the conversation, which left both of them seething.

“So they’re waiting for blood to do anything.”

“Don’t say it like that!” But Mary knew he was right.

“I’m canceling my London trip.”

Mary stopped pacing her kitchen. “The hell you are!”

“I can’t be on the other side of the ocean with this going on.”

“Glen, no! I told you I’d keep you up to date on what’s happening to make you feel better, not for you to put your life on hold.”

“Well, I don’t feel better. Making sure you’re okay is not putting anything on hold, it’s prioritizing what’s important.”

She toned down the anger in her voice. “Thank you. You’re important to me, too. But you’re going to London.”

“Mary—”

“I’ll buy a gun.” The decision was off the hip and not really what she wanted to do.

Her words were met with silence. “That should make me feel better.”

“Then I won’t buy a gun.”

“No. That makes me feel worse.”

Mary leaned against the counter. “Well, at least you’re open about your feelings.”

“I’m really not happy about all this.”

“I would hope not. I’m the one who is starting to cuss about it almost daily.”

“And you don’t swear.” His voice started to lose its edge.

“Nuns. They had rulers and Mary Frances wasn’t opposed to washing mouths out with soap.”

“And Our Fathers.”

She started to relax. “Don’t forget the Hail Marys . . . but those always felt wrong, considering my name.”

A long, audible sigh met her joke.

“Listen, Glen. I know our geography is not quite perfect. I think we both knew that going in. But for this to work, we need to trust each other on every level.”

“I trust you, Mary. It’s the dirtbag I don’t trust.”

“I don’t trust him either, but I’m not going to let him control my life. I’ll be smart. Have someone walk me to my car after dark, keep an eye over my shoulder. I’ll buy the darn gun and make sure I know how to use it. Maybe I’ll even get one of those stun gun things that Dakota has.”

“And a self-defense class,” he added.

“Probably not a bad idea.”

“I miss you, Mary.” His words were like a hot knife in butter, and they kicked her heart in all the right ways.

“I miss you, too. But you know something?”

“What?”

“Just knowing you’re there, that I can call you and if I really needed you to be here, you’d come—”

“Say the word.”

“It means everything.” She cradled the phone in her hands and imagined his face on the other end doing the same.

“Be safe.”

“I will . . . good-bye, Glen.” She started to hang up.

“No!”

“No, what?”

“Don’t say good-bye.”

She gripped the phone. “Why?”

“Just don’t. Say good night, or talk to you tomorrow. Just stop saying good-bye.”

The sadness in Glen’s voice brought unexpected tears to her eyes. “Why?” She knew there was something behind his lack of saying those words.

A long gap in conversation made her think he wasn’t going to explain.

“My parents said good-bye.”

Mary covered her mouth to keep from gasping. Two solid tears fell from her eyes. “I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Okay. Until then.”

Mary listened as her client, who was attempting to fix her marriage without the support of her husband, told her about her nonexistent sex life.

“Yes, I’ve gained some weight, but three kids will do that.”

“Does your weight make intimacy difficult for you?” Mary asked.

“We’ve always made love with the lights off. Even before kids.”

“What about—” A loud banging on her office door brought her question to an abrupt stop.

“Mary!” A woman yelled. The handle on the door jiggled, but the lock kept it from opening.

“Excuse me.” Mary opened the door to find Nina fuming on the other side.

“You told him!”

She should have seen this coming. Mary stepped out of her office, glanced down the empty hall of the office building. “Nina, I’m with another client.”

“I don’t give a shit about your other client. You told him I had an affair.”