Soul Mate (The Mating Series) (11 page)

“Sorry doesn’t work.”

“Really, I’m sorry. I don’t want to do this.”

“Then why are you?” I sniffed. I
fought the tears, but they fell anyway.

“I can’t explain it.”

“Jimmy, I know you had a vision. Was it about him again?”

“You need to take care of yourself
,” he said. He didn’t answer my question.

“Why? Was the vision about me?”

“It’s not that,” he said, “but with all of those murders...”

“Was it about the man who killed Skye?”

“No. I just want you to be safe.”

“Damn it Jimmy! Quite beating around the bush
,” I said. “Let me help you. I can come to Chicago.”

“You can’t!” He exclaimed
, and then sighed. “I know you’re hurt and frustrated, but I’ll be back soon. I can explain everything then.”

“Jimmy, quit talking in riddles
!” I cried. “Just tell me, are
we
over?”

“We’
ll always be friends, but lovers… well I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry Jimmy, I can’t go back to just being friends.”

“We’ll talk when I return from Chicago.”

“No, we won’t
,” I said, “Goodbye, Jimmy.” I started to hang up.

“Wait, Cassie!” Jimmy pleaded
, desperately. “Don’t be at Mary House...” I hung up before Jimmy finished. For a second, I considered hitting redial, but changed my mind. It was probably just another riddle.
Forget Jimmy, I don’t need him!

The hollowness crept in
. In the span of ten minutes, I lost my only love, confidant and best friend. Many times, Jimmy insisted a relationship would ruin everything. I just couldn’t let it go. Truthfully, I didn’t want him to be with anyone else, but me. Even before our one week affair, it destroyed me to think about. Jimmy has not gone without for four years. He simply never told me about other women.

My legs
shook. If I didn’t sit, I’d collapse. I plopped down at a sidewalk table. I put my head in my hands and cried softly. I didn’t care if people watched. “Miss. Williams?” A deep southern voice asked. “Are you all right?” I realized where I saw the maroon Ford before. I saw it at Mary House on Wednesday.  The placard in the mirror was a police placard.
Great, as if life wasn’t bad enough, Ben, the Wonder Cop, is here to see me weepy and alone
.

I kept my face covered.
“I’m fine,” I said through my fingers.

“Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?” Ben asked. I didn’t answer. “I’m sure it will be all worked out by tomorrow.”

“He dumped me.”

“Odd, I wouldn’t have thought
,” he said, genuinely astonished. 

I uncovered
my face and looked at him. “Why?” I asked.

“He just seemed head over heels for you.”

“Really?” I asked in surprise.

“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll come to his senses
,” Ben said. He patted my back. “He better. A pretty girl like you won’t stay single for long.”

“Yeah, right
,” I said, pointing to my red and swollen nose. “Men can’t resist this.”

Ben chuckled. “Men love that.” He teased. “The redder the better.” I forced a smile. “I’m sure, what’s his name, will be at your door when you get home.”

“I don’t think so. He’s in another state.”

“Damn! He went all the way to another state to dump you? What did you do to him?”

“He’s visiting family.”

“
Listen; let me buy you a cup of coffee,” Ben said. “It’s dangerous to be driving as upset as you are.”

“I’m fine
,” I said.
And the last thing I want to do is be around a man.

“I insist.” Ben smiled
at me.

“Coffee’s stains your teeth
,” I said. Ben had perfectly straight white teeth, unmistakably the result of dental work. Mom couldn’t afford braces for me. As a result, I grew up with a slight overbite. Mom thought it gave me character.

“
You shouldn’t drink a lot with your pretty smile.”
Vomit!
Ben laid it on thick. I scowled at him. Ben smiled back at me. He leaned on the table resting his chin on his fist like the thinker. “Look, I know you’ve had a hard week. I’m just trying to be nice.”

I gave Ben a suspicious look.
“Just being nice?”

“That’s all
,” he said, raising his hands.

“Maybe another time
,” I said.

“Alright.” Ben smiled. I smiled back. “See at least you’re not crying anymore.”

“True.”
“Do you live around here?” Ben asked.

“Yeah
,” I said, stepping away from the table. “Not far.”

“Hopefully, we’ll run into each other here again.” Ben must live close.
I’ll have to find a new coffee shop to frequent.

“M
aybe,” I said. “I have to go.”

“Bye
,” He said almost impishly. Ben looked older than me, but he had a boyish appeal about him too. Ben seemed nice enough, but he wasn’t Jimmy.
I love Jimmy
. I almost cried again.

When I got home
, I found something stuck in my door jam. I pulled it out and looked at it. A sermon program from The Holy Covenant of the Apostle Church preached at me in print.
Phew!
I breathed.
I’m glad I went out after all
. Someone wrote a message on the back. “Sorry, we missed you. We’ll try again another time.”

I looked at the loopy writing.
“I don’t think so,” I said to the paper.

“What?” Mom
asked as I accidentally walked through her. Her Navy blue pant suit smudged out of focus and back again. 

“Oh, I didn’t see you there
,” I said. I hated walking through Mom as much as she hated it. Droplets of condensation clung to me. The slimy feel sickened me. I stuck the program between the pages of the library book.

“Go ahead,” I said collapsing in my green chair, “say it.”

“Say what?”

“I told you so.”

“I’d never say that, Cassandra,” Mom said. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

“A mom.”

“That doesn’t always make me right,” she said. “Besides, I wanted you to date Jimmy.”

“I feel like such and idiot.”

“So do I, Honey,” Mom said. “I really thought Jimmy was the one.”

“I
knew
he wasn’t the one, but I slept with him anyway. I just wanted him to be the one so badly. I refused to listen to him when he said it would mess everything up.”

“You were thinking with your heart.” Mom brushed my hair, but her hand disappeared.

Stop doing that!
I would have to wash Mom’s slime out of my hair. “My life is a mess!” I cried.

“Oh Cassie, all things pass with time. Don’t get discouraged.”

“It’s mostly Jimmy, but it’s everything, Mary being gone, Skye and Penny murdered.” I ranted. “Oh and then there’s Ben.”

“Who’s Ben?”

“He’s the cop investigating the murders. Jimmy thinks he likes me.”

“Jimmy told you this Ben guy liked you?”

“Yeah, but I don’t like him. I want to tell him to get lost, but then I want to keep in the loop of this investigation.”

“Maybe Ben’s Mr. Right. Jimmy knew he had to step aside.”

“That’s the problem,” I said. “I don’t like Ben. I mean, sure he’s tall, dark and handsome...really…handsome and he’s kind of sweet...but I don’t l like him. I love Jimmy.”

“Slow down, Cassie
,” Mom said. “Forget Jimmy and forget this Ben guy and focus on yourself.”

“You’re right
,” I said. “I’ll take a break from men for a while. You know what?”

“What?”
Mom asked.

“When Mary Lazarus comes back from her conference, I’m going to take a vacation.” I never t
ook time off and had a lot of vacation time saved up.

“Really?” Mom perked up.
Mom loved helping people plan vacations. Mom worked part-time as a travel agent after I moved to college. Mom enjoyed talking about all of the places she visited. Naturally she did well as a travel agent. She had been almost everywhere. She gave the prospective clients firsthand knowledge of their destinations.

“Yes, I’
m off men and on to a vacation,” I said. Deep in my gut though, I knew it wasn’t true. A worm of negativity gnawed at me. Jimmy and I were over and I was already lonely.

CHAPTER 5

First thing Monday, Mary Lazarus ruined my vacation plans with one phone call. “Hey, Cassie, I’m staying
until Saturday.” Mary said.

“What?” I
asked. I expected Mary to return in the afternoon. I planned to take the rest of the week off. I needed a break.

“The prosecutor here wants me to give a lecture on Thursday and the next available flight back to
Indiana won’t be until late Friday night.”

“Listen, Mary, a lot of stuff’s been going on here. I think you need to get back as soon as possible.”

“I know about Penny’s murder.”

“How?”

“Nessie called me.” I should have told Mary, not Nessie. I wanted to seem as though I could handle Mary House on my own.

“
Shouldn’t you come back now?”

“Cassie,
I’m confident that you can handle the place on your own,” she said.
I’m not so sure.
“As a matter of fact, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about taking on more responsibility. I’m thinking about making you the assistant administrator. I feel like I need to spend more time doing the P.R. work for Mary House, but I don’t have the time if I’m running the place too.”

“
Someone is killing prostitutes,” I said. “He killed two more besides Penny. He killed Skye and another poor girl.”

“Honey, men killing prostitutes isn’t new; it happens all of the time
,” she said in her gruff voice. “I know it’s sad, but you can’t save the women who aren’t willing to be saved. Try to save the few who want the help.” I heard noise in the background. “Listen I’ve gotta go, but we’ll talk when I get back.”

“But…”
I tried to protest, but she already disconnected the call.

In the afternoon
, my vow to give up men fell apart too. While I worked at my desk, Nessie called. “Miss. Cassie,” She said. “There’s a man callin’ for you.”

“Who?”

“That cop.”

“Which one?

“Mr. Café Olé,” Nessie said, laughing at her own joke. “He’s on line one.”

“Thank you, Nessie.” I looked at the flashing arrow on my phone. I
couldn’t to talk to Ben again. He didn’t get it. I wasn’t into him. I called Nessie back at the front desk.

“Mista’ Carmel Cream is still waitin’
,” Nessie said.
Enough of the coffee jokes.
Ben did have a nice complexion.

“I just can’t talk to him again Nessie.” I sighed.
“Please tell him I’m busy and take a message for me.”

“Hmf!” Nessie sounded in protest. “I don’t like lyin’ Miss Cassie.”

“Every time I talk to him it’s more bad news,” I said.

“Alright…Alright.” She said and hung up on me.

I sat at my desk with a feeling of dread. What if he called to tell me about another victim? I was a coward for not taking the call and pushing it off on Nessie. After the coffee shop encounter, I felt like Ben attempted to position himself in my life. I love Jimmy, and even if we were over, I wasn’t on the market.

A minute later, Nessie, called back. “He said he had mo’ questions for you
, an’ he needs you to come down to the station to talk to him and that Skinner.”

There were five different police stations in
Indianapolis, two of which overlapped the location of Mary House. He could be at either the South Station or the East Station. “Did he say which station?” I asked.

“Um, no an’ I didn’
t ask.” Nessie performed a good job at Mary House, but she was a terrible secretary. Numerous times she took messages, and forgot vital information, such as the caller’s name or number. “I figured he already told ya where he worked.”