See Me (45 page)

“The officers said they couldn’t find him. They went through the neighborhood a couple of times, talked with a few people who were out, and no one had seen him.”

Colin opened his mouth, then closed it again. Margolis noticed.

“Something to say?”

“I was wondering if they checked the park,” he said. “And the house on the next block that backs up to this one.”

Margolis stared at him. “Why?”

Colin told them what he’d learned, as well as his suspicions about the vacant house and Lester’s spying activities. He also mentioned where he suspected Lester had been parking his car. At Margolis’s prodding, Colin admitted he’d been visiting the neighborhood late at night and early in the morning, and had spent time researching license plates. Maria’s parents looked sick at the revelations; meanwhile, Margolis’s stony gaze never swerved from him.

“You’re just telling me this now? That you’ve been playing private investigator all this time?”

Colin nodded toward the officers. “I told the cops when they were arresting me where Lester might have gone. They didn’t want to listen.”

It was quiet for a moment. One of the officers shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“But he wasn’t running toward the park,” Serena ventured softly. “Or for the house.”

“Excuse me?” Margolis said.

“The park is a few streets over that way,” Serena said, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. “And unless he wanted to take the long way around the block, he wasn’t running toward the vacant house, either. He ran the other way, in the opposite direction.”

Margolis absorbed this before excusing himself to huddle with the officers, two of whom subsequently departed.
About half an hour too late
, Colin thought.

Margolis returned to Maria. “Assuming Lester drove here, and since there are no cars registered in his name, they’ll find out if any of the cars have been stolen or if we can link them to Lester in another way. Of course, Lester may have doubled back and taken the car or he may have simply run off, but the important thing for now is that I’m confident that you’re safe. Are you planning to return to your place?”

“She’ll be staying with us,” Felix announced. “Serena too.”

Margolis thumbed over his shoulder. “Your front door is broken.”

“I have some two-by-fours in the garage. I’ll brace it, and then tomorrow, I’ll have it repaired.”

“Do you have an alarm?”

“Yes,” he said. “But we don’t use it much.”

“Use it tonight, even though you’ll have to bypass the front door. And brace the door and keep the shades drawn as a precaution.”

“What about police protection?” Serena asked. “Having someone at the house?”

“I won’t be able to swing that,” Margolis answered. “Pick your reason: budget cuts, not enough manpower, limits on overtime, or even that the Fifty-C hasn’t been filed. But I’ll call the commander, and I’m pretty sure I can arrange for a patrol car to swing by every few hours.”

“What if Lester comes back?”

“I don’t think that’s likely.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because he’s afraid of the police, and for all he knows, there
will
be an officer here.”

“Unless he’s crazy and doesn’t care.”

“He ran off earlier,” Margolis said, but realizing how cavalier it probably sounded, he went on. “I know you’re frightened and upset, Ms. Sanchez. I get it. I’ll make sure a couple of the officers cruise the neighborhood for an hour or so. And who knows, maybe they’ll get lucky and pick him up. If they do, they’ll bring him in and I’ll stick him in the interrogation room and see what I can do. And tomorrow, either way, you file for the Fifty-C, and the next time he comes anywhere near you, he’ll be arrested. And that arrest will stick.”

Colin noted the conflicting emotions playing out across Maria’s features. She glanced at the officers near the door before drawing a long breath.

“May I talk to you alone?”

Margolis debated before finally nodding. He motioned for the other officers to leave and they quietly exited through the front door. At the same time, Serena and her parents wandered toward the kitchen, and once they were gone, Maria sighed.

“What about Colin?”

Margolis looked over at him. “What about him?”

“I was hoping you’d talk to the officer who arrested him. Maybe convince him to let Colin off with some speeding tickets or whatever. Instead of arresting him.”

Margolis’s expression verged on disbelief. “Why would I do that? From what they told me, he was doing sixty in a residential neighborhood. He nearly crashed head-on with someone a couple of blocks from here, and he refused to pull over.” He shook his head. “Then once he got here, he defied the officers’ instructions to stand down and instead made a volatile situation that much worse.”

“I was in danger. You would have done the same thing if you thought someone you loved might be harmed.”

“He should have just let the police handle it. Meanwhile, with the way he was driving, he was endangering other people’s lives.”

“Lester had a gun, for God’s sake!”

“Yet another reason to let the police handle it.”

“It’s not fair and you know it!” Maria cried, her composure cracking. “I mean, sending him to prison? For
speeding
?”

I did a lot more than that
, Colin thought.
The officers only saw me during the last two minutes of the drive.

“He made his choices,” Margolis said. “Don’t forget that the officers had to draw their weapons. You could have been hurt. Your family could have been hurt.”

“And once he knew I was safe, he deferred to them and submitted willingly. He didn’t raise his voice, didn’t resist at all. You really want to ruin the rest of his life? Because he was racing to my rescue?”

“It’s not my call.” Margolis shrugged.

“No. But I have the sense they’ll listen to you.” She put her hands on her hips, willing Margolis to meet her gaze. “I know that you don’t trust Colin, and that you believe he belongs in prison. And if he’d struggled with the officers or resisted arrest or done anything else stupid, I wouldn’t be asking you to intervene. But those things didn’t happen, and you don’t strike me as being unreasonable or needlessly vindictive.” She hesitated. “I’d like to think that my impressions of you are correct. Please…”

For an impossibly long moment, Margolis stared back at her, unmoving. Then, without a word, he started for the door.

 

 

Five minutes later, Colin was standing near the couch, absently rubbing his wrists where the cuffs had cut into them.

“Thanks for coming to my aid,” he said.

“You’re welcome.”

“I still can’t believe he listened to you.”

“I can. He knew it was the right thing to do. And the arresting officer wasn’t upset. After he heard the whole story, I don’t think his heart was in it, either.”

Colin gestured at the door. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll be glad to pay for it.”

“My dad doesn’t care. Honestly, he’s too angry at the thought that Lester has been spying on the family to worry about a door.”

“How about I help close it up for the night?”

When she nodded, he followed her to the garage, returning with the two-by-fours and a hammer and nails. Maria helped hold the boards in place, and when they were finally secure, she stepped toward Colin. Wrapping her arms around him, she held him for a long time before finally pulling back.

“What are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to call my boss,” he said. “Let her know where I am and find out whether I’ve been fired. And then, I figure I’ll keep watch outside for the rest of the night. I want to be here if Lester shows up.”

She nodded. “What do you think Margolis meant when he said he was exploring different angles? Lester admitted to almost everything…”

Colin shrugged. “I have no idea. Something about Cassie’s boyfriend Mark, maybe? Since he’s gone off the grid?” Colin filled Maria in on the little that he’d learned earlier.

Behind them, Felix walked into the living room, accompanied by Carmen. Carmen handed a glass of ice water to Colin while Felix inspected the work Colin had done to brace the door.

“I’m sorry about that,” Colin said, slightly abashed. “I told Maria I’d pay for it.”

Felix nodded. “This is good work. Sturdy.” He took a step toward Colin, meeting his gaze, his expression softening. “I wanted to thank you for rushing here when you thought Maria was in trouble. And for calling the police.”

“You’re welcome.”

Carmen slipped back to his side as Felix went on. Behind them, Colin could just make out Serena in the kitchen, clearly listening in. “When we first met, I believe I may have misjudged you,” he said. “Maria told me she felt safe with you. Now, I can understand why.”

At his words, Maria slipped her hand into Colin’s.

“I heard you tell Maria that you’ll want to keep watch tonight. Outside. In case Lester comes back.”

“Yes.”

“I have a problem with that.”

Colin looked at him, saying nothing.

“You should be inside the house, not outside. As our guest.”

He felt Maria squeeze his hand, and despite everything, he couldn’t help smiling.

“Okay.”

 

 

Colin paced the living room, alternately peeking through the curtains on the front window and then doing the same through the kitchen windows.

No sign of Lester.

Margolis had been good to his word; a patrol car passed by the house four times, twice while the rest of the family was still awake and twice after everyone else had gone to bed. Maria had stayed awake the longest, sitting with Colin until a little after one. Before turning in, Felix had told Colin that he’d be up at four to take over the watch and allow Colin to get some sleep.

The time to himself felt like a blessing to Colin, allowing him to process everything that had happened that evening. He still had more questions than answers, since nothing made sense. If, for instance, Lester was delusional to the point that he believed that Maria was out to get him, then his fear should have kept him
away
from Maria, instead of drawing him to her repeatedly.

But hadn’t Lester essentially admitted he’d been stalking Maria all along?

And why had Margolis told Maria that he was exploring “different angles”?

Other questions plagued him, too – why had Lester admitted to sending the flowers and the drink, but not to slashing the tires? Had Lester actually driven, and if so, where did he get the car? If he’d left his car at the park but ran in the opposite direction, where was he going and why couldn’t the police find him? And, again, how had Lester known that Maria would be at the house when Maria herself had forgotten about her mom’s birthday?

The more he learned, the more confused he felt.

“You’re making me nervous,” Maria said. “And I’m sure you’ve worn a groove into the floor.”

Colin looked over and saw her in the hallway, dressed in her pajamas.

“Did I wake you?”

“No. I slept for a little while.”

“What time is it?”

“A little after three,” Maria said. She walked to the couch and patted the cushion beside her. When Colin sat, she leaned her head on his shoulder while he slipped his arm around her. “You should probably try to get some sleep.”

“I only have another hour until your dad is up.”

“I don’t think he’s sleeping. He’s probably tossing and turning like I did.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re here, but my parents are, too. Right before they went to bed, they apologized to me for the way they treated you earlier.”

“There was no reason to apologize. They’ve been very gracious. Especially about me kicking in their door.”

She shrugged. “To be honest, it was pretty impressive. Doors generally keep people out, but this one didn’t even slow you down. They feel better knowing that you’re here.”

He nodded. Moonlight spilled in through a crack in the drapes, washing the living room with a silvery glow. “I wanted to tell you that the way you dealt with Lester was amazing. Not everyone would have been able to stay calm in that situation.”

“I wasn’t calm. I was terrified. Every time I closed my eyes tonight, I kept seeing his face. And it was just so… weird. I kept getting the feeling that he was more afraid of me than I was of him, even though he was the one with the gun.”