Someone To Watch Over Me (5 page)

When Shawn first walked into Morgan’s house,
he braced himself for another socialite who probably had hooked up
with some “admirer wannabe boyfriend” at a local club. He’d figured
that when the relationship ended, things went bad.

Morgan Kennedy surprised him. She met him
wearing jeans and a cotton top. As the owner-manager of one of the
most prestigious jewelry stores in the valley, she could have
easily overdone the bling, but she hadn’t. She sported a nice dress
watch, a ring and a pair of diamond stud earrings.

She even seemed embarrassed to admit the
stalker had taken lingerie. Her uncomfortable response to this
question left no doubt in his mind she did nothing to create her
current situation.

The cell phone rang, and he picked it up,
“Yeah.”

“Fill me in.” Matt said.

Shawn brought his partner up to speed on the
case.

“I’ll call Bill. He’s on patrol in north
Scottsdale tonight, and he can swing by her house a few times over
the next eight hours,” Matt said.

“Thanks. I will be escorting Ms. Kennedy to
her interview at KDEZ tomorrow, so you’ll have to take the lead on
the concert preparations. Oh, before I forget, I ran into a Stella
Adams tonight. She said hi.”

A long pause followed before Matt spoke. “How
is she?”

“She’s fine.”

“How is Stella involved in this case?”

“She’s a good friend of Ms. Kennedy.”

Matt exhaled. “Okay. I’ll be there at ten
a.m. for a security review.”

“Thanks.” Shawn ended the call and set the
phone on the passenger seat. He knew his partner well and even
though Matt didn’t say anything specific, he didn’t need to.
Morgan’s stalker posed a threat to anyone around her. One person to
protect is a challenge, safeguarding two or more made an assignment
exponentially harder. This case had the potential of getting ugly.
Shawn could feel it in his gut.

***

Morgan sat perched on a stool at the
breakfast counter in the kitchen and clicked the remote as reruns
and infomercials popped up one after another. “Unbelievable. Over
one hundred channels and there’s nothing to watch,” Morgan muttered
as she turned off the TV. She picked up the coffee mug and sipped
the brew in a desperate hope that more caffeine would chase away
the heavy exhaustion which hung on her.

After Stella and Shawn had left, Morgan
showered and went to bed only to toss, turn, and lie awake for most
of the night. She had turned down Stella’s offer to stay with her.
After all, she was a grown woman and the bodyguard had said she’d
be safe, but every creak the house made sent her heart racing. When
a dust storm rolled through and the windows rattled with the wind
gusts, she’d laid in bed and listened. Around two a.m. Morgan
finally gave up and turned on the cable news stations before she
relaxed enough to slip into a light sleep.

Her eyes traveled over to the clock on the
digital receiver. Eight forty-five. Shawn should be here shortly.
If someone had told her yesterday morning she’d be sitting at home
twenty-four hours later waiting for her bodyguard, Morgan would’ve
thought they were nuts. She placed the cup in the dishwasher and
went to the master bedroom.

She walked into the adjoining bathroom,
flipped on the light and studied her reflection. The deep royal
blue wrap dress Stella insisted she wear highlighted her fair
complexion and dark brown hair.

The door bell sounded. “Showtime,” Morgan
whispered as she turned off the lights, picked up her purse and
walked to the door. Butterflies danced in her stomach, and she
instinctively placed her hand on her belly. Why was she nervous?
Could it be the interview, the stalker or him?
No, not him.
She paused and closed her eyes. “Focus, you have a job to do.” She
barely reached the front entry when the doorbell chimed a second
time. She peered through the security peephole.

The mid-morning sun shone and Shawn stood
several feet back from the front door studying the nearby desert.
He wore a gray suit with a white shirt and he appeared taller than
she remembered from last night. Morgan opened the door. Shawn
turned and gave her a quick once over. A nervous tremor rippled in
the wake of his gaze and Morgan uttered a silent prayer that the
outfit she had chosen for the interview would meet his approval.
Stella told her Shawn had done some security work for people in the
entertainment industry. If her dress was wrong, he’d probably peg
her as an amateur, and for some reason she didn’t quite fathom at
this moment, that thought irritated her.

A smile softened the firm line of his lips.
“Ready?”

Morgan relaxed. “Yes, let me set the alarm.”
She quickly closed the front door, punched in the code and then
stepped out, locking it behind her. “Let’s go.”

Morgan turned and walked toward his SUV with
Shawn at her side. He moved with a quiet grace which caused the
butterflies to dance again. She cast a quick glance at him and
caught him surveying the street beyond her front yard.
Say
something
, the little voice in her head prodded. “Quite a dust
storm last night.”

She cringed.
Geez Morgan, you’re being
stalked and the first topic of conversation with your new bodyguard
is the weather?
She gulped and continued to march toward the
passenger side of the vehicle.

“Yeah, it was a bad one. The patrol cars
reported that besides the storm, everything was quiet.”

Morgan chuckled. “Yes. But thanks to my vivid
imagination, every time the wind rattled the windows I thought of
my stalker.”

She reached his SUV, stopped and craned her
neck up to peer at him. He crooked a slightly guilty smile. “I
wondered about that. You appeared so confident when you told Stella
she didn’t have to stay last night. You’ve got quite a poker face.”
Shawn reached over and opened the door.

“Thanks,” Morgan said as she slid in. She
buckled her seat belt and fought the urge to study him walk around
to the driver’s side.
This may not be as bad as I
imagined.

Shawn sat down on the driver’s side, reached
down and handed her a manila envelope. “Here is the contract for
the security services.”

“Oh, uh, okay.” Morgan replied as she took
the envelope, peeled the flap back and slid the document out. She
stared at the page trying to focus on the words in front of her as
Shawn started the ignition and pulled out of the driveway. Within
minutes, they were traveling west toward Cave Creek Road.

“Okay, fill me in. What’s the schedule
today?”

Morgan glanced up from the papers. “The
interview is at eleven. Then, I need to go to Copper Creek Resort
to review the furniture set up for the party. Then, back at the
store by four to meet with our web designer. We’re launching the
online part of the auction tonight.”

“I thought the fundraiser was a dinner and an
auction.”

“You’re correct, for a few of the big ticket
items. However, to raise the kind of money we’re striving for, we
need to reach a larger audience so we’ll have approximately two
hundred items from electronics to dinners at local restaurants
available for bid on an Internet auction.”

“Doesn’t the jewelry auction bring most of
the money?”

Morgan smiled at him. “You may not believe
this, but I’m projecting over sixty percent of the funds we’ll
raise will come from more modest-priced items.”

“Impressive, your idea?”

Morgan slid the contract back in the
envelope. “Yes, I lobbied for it years ago, but dad wasn’t sure we
should do it. When I took over the event, I decided to move ahead
on this part of the fundraiser.”

“Is your father still active in the jewelry
store?”

“Not anymore. He had a heart attack a few
months ago and had to slow down. He keeps saying he will never
retire, but the truth is we only see him at the store about once
every couple weeks. He plays golf nearly every day though.”

Shawn grinned. “Kinda sounds like he’s
substituted golf for work.”

Morgan smiled. “You have a point. Mom says as
long as he limits it to eighteen holes a day she’ll deal with
it.”

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“My younger sister, Vicki, is a grad student
at ASU, studying archeology.”

“An archeologist? I would’ve thought she’d go
into the family business too.”

“So did Dad. Her decision shocked him, but he
got over it. How about you? Got any siblings?”

“One younger brother, he’s in the Marines and
is overseas right now.”

“Have you heard from him recently?”

“About six weeks ago,” Shawn replied
quietly.

Morgan fingered the papers in her hand and
studied Shawn. He straightened up in his seat and his right index
finger tapped on the steering wheel.

“You must be very proud of him,” she added.
She pressed her lips together after she spoke. Her comment sounded
like such a cliché response.

“We are, but he needs to come home. This is
his second tour. He’s done enough.”

“We?”

“Yeah, my parents supported him when he made
the decision to join, but they won’t rest easy till he’s back
home.”

Shawn glanced up in the rear view mirror and
frowned. Morgan bit her lip and looked out the side window. In an
effort to be friendly, she broached a sensitive subject. Now Shawn
had shut down. Morgan glanced down and pulled out the contract.
Note to self: Don’t get too personal with the hired
help.

***

The older model burgundy Japanese import had
trailed behind them since shortly after they left Morgan’s house.
Custom and semi-custom homes on acre-plus lots dotted the desert.
This car didn’t fit in. Shawn considered whether to ask Morgan if
she had seen this car around before.

Who are you?
He gently pushed down on
the accelerator and put some distance between them and the vehicle.
The car dropped back and then sped up to close the gap. His heart
pounded and adrenaline coursed through him. Was it going to be this
simple? Could this be her stalker? He glanced over at Morgan. She
was focused on studying the contract.

Okay, let’s get a look at you, he thought. He
lifted his foot off the accelerator and glanced back. As if the
driver realized he was too close, the car dropped back.

A soft metallic blue BMW pulled out from
another side road and settled between Shawn’s SUV and the Honda. As
they reached the stoplight, he double-checked the rearview mirror.
The BMW driver was a woman on a cell phone, and he couldn’t get a
clear look at the car behind her. The light changed, and he turned
south on Cave Creek Road.

Impatient to get a better view, Shawn pulled
over to the outside lane, slowed down before pulling onto the
gravel, and stopped. He stared in the rear view mirror as the lady
in the BMW passed him and the economy car cleared the
intersection.

He glanced over to Morgan, who gazed back
with a puzzled expression.

“Don’t turn around,” he said quietly.

Her face paled, “Oh my God. Is it him?”

“Not sure,” Shawn said as he looked back in
the mirror.

The Honda slowed down and pulled into a
Circle K convenience store and stopped at a gas pump.

“False alarm,” Morgan said with an air of
relief in her voice. Shawn glanced over and noticed she’d pulled
down the sun visor and used the vanity mirror to watch.

“Maybe,” Shawn replied as he gave the import
car one last check before pulling back on the asphalt road and
heading to central Phoenix.

***

The driver pulled up to the gas pump at the
convenience store and turned off the motor. His fists tightened on
the steering wheel as he cursed. He’d been noticed and had he
followed Morgan any longer, he would’ve been caught. He pounded his
fist on the dashboard a couple times in frustration. Morgan was
with the same guy from last night at her house. Who was he?

The young man chewed his lower lip, and he
felt his chest tighten. In some ways, he was just like the bozo
Morgan used to date. Tall, good looking, the type all girls flirted
with and fell for. Nothing ever changed. Why do women do that?
Don’t they understand they will never be treated the way they
should with these guys?

Sure, they might want to party for a while,
but eventually someone new comes along and you find yourself dumped
and alone. Since high school, he hoped that eventually girls would
understand and appreciate that he’d always be there for them, but
they never did. For the most part, they ignored him, or worse,
pushed him away. But Morgan would be different. He knew it. They
were destined to be together.

He glanced down at his watch. In four hours
he had to be at work, but he wanted to be near her and find out how
this man fit into the picture. Unfortunately, he needed this crap
job. He lived in his grandmother’s spare bedroom, and gave a
portion of his paycheck to her to help pay for food and
utilities.

He couldn’t stay with his mother anymore. She
was rarely at home anyway, but when she was, she often had company.
He didn’t like the steady stream of men.

He looked over his shoulder down Cave Creek
Road. The SUV has traveled so far down the road he couldn’t see it.
He smiled and turned the engine back on, pulled around and headed
toward the road. The small device, which sat on the passenger side
of the car, had cost him a pretty penny. He’d planned to attach it
to Morgan’s car, but now it would go on the guy’s SUV. That was a
bit of a wrinkle to his plans, but no problem, he had a good idea
where they were going.

***

Morgan exhaled and sank back into her seat.
“What made you think the driver of the economy car was my
stalker?”

“Couple of things. He appeared shortly after
we left your house plus the year and make of the car doesn’t fit in
the neighborhood.”