Fallen for You (21 page)

Chapter 19

Roger kept missing Kate when she left in the morning and she used her schoolwork as an excuse not to hang out with him in the evening. He needed to see her, spend some time with her. He decided it was time to visit her at work. It was the day before he was going to leave for Germany. He didn’t want to go without sharing his feelings and that he wanted to take her out when he returned. He thought he would buy a couple of outfits for Jacob from her and coerce her into lunch. Upon reaching the top of the escalator at Nordstom’s, he saw her from a distance. His heart rate increased with each step he took. He caught Kate’s eye as he approached the department.

“Roger, what are you doing here?” she asked, trying to sound causal, but not sure if she had been successful.

“I wanted to bring Jacob some new clothes. I remembered that you work here in the children’s department. I thought that you could help me pick out some things.”

“Oh, absolutely. For a moment, I thought that something might be wrong. I’m glad to help you,” she said, forcing herself to sound normal.

“Do you have time to help me right now? You haven’t gone to lunch yet, have you?” he asked.

Kate knew immediately that Roger was going to ask her to lunch. She didn’t want to go with him, but before she could utter words, Maria chimed in. “Kate hasn’t gone to lunch yet. She can go whenever she wants.”

The blood drained from her face. She wanted to smack Maria for opening her big mouth. The thought of having lunch with this obsessed serial killer made her want to hurl. How was she going to make it through this?

“Sounds like you are available for lunch. When we’re done here, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

“That’s so nice of you, but totally unnecessary. You have so much to do to get ready for your trip. I know that you are leaving soon,” she said adding a polite smile.
Keep it light, keep smiling.
She didn’t want to let on that she was nervous.

“I’m leaving tomorrow and I’m already packed. I insist on taking you to lunch. Plus, I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten yet.”

“What size does Jacob wear?”

“He’s a size 6.”

“Did you have anything particular in mind?”

“Not really. I’m open to suggestions.”

Kate showed him corduroy pants and coordinating sweaters. She helped him pick out three outfits for Jacob. She did everything in her power to act as natural as possible, to think of him as just another customer. But she didn’t know if she could make it through an entire meal with this maniac. All she could do was try.

Kate began to ring up the clothing for him.

“So, have you thought of where you want to go?” he asked, unable to contain his excitement.

“I love the food here. Why don’t we just eat in the Nordstrom Café?” she asked, thinking that she would feel safer in her own surroundings.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go somewhere else? You probably eat here all of the time.”

“Actually, I bring my lunch every day. I really don’t eat out that often. I love the food at the café, so this will be great.” She tried her hardest to sound enthusiastic. “I need to punch out so if you want to wait for me here I will be back in a minute.” She walked through the employee doors to security. Brandon was manning the security desk.

“Brandon, would you pull up my department?”

“Sure, something wrong?”

“My neighbor, who the police have questioned in two murder investigations, is here to have lunch with me. Could you have one of the undercover guys watch him? That’s him right there,” she said, pointing Roger out on the screen.

“No problem. I’ll have someone on him until he leaves the store.”

“Thank you so much.”

Kate left security with her purse and went back up stairs. She made her way back to Roger. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They walked over to the café. It was located on the same floor as her department. She tried to make small talk. “I bet you can’t wait to see Jacob. I can’t imagine how hard it has been for you to be so far away from him.”

“Yeah, he’s a great kid. I am hoping to convince Paulina to move back here so I can see him regularly again. Especially with Rose being gone.”

“How are you doing? I’m sure that you are having a hard time wrapping your mind around what has happened.” She had to concentrate on keeping her voice steady. She was quivering on the inside. How was she going to eat feeling this way? This was going to be the longest hour of her life.

“I’m hanging in there. I still can’t believe she’s gone. She really liked you a lot. She wanted to set you up with someone so that we could double date.”

“I remember you telling me that. She was a very sweet woman. You were lucky to have her.” It was now their turn to order their food at the counter.

“Hey Kate. What would you like today?”

“Hi, Jeff. I’ll have the half turkey sandwich, chicken noodle soup, and an iced tea.”

“And for you, sir?”

“That sounds good. I’ll have the same.

Kate took out her wallet to pay her own way. She didn’t want to be obligated to Roger for anything. “Put your money away. I’m buying lunch,” he said authoritatively.

She begrudgingly did as she was told. The last thing she wanted was to feel that she owed him anything. Jeff handed them their glasses and a number for their order. Kate proceeded to fill up her glass and find a seat while Roger paid for their lunch. He then filled his glass and followed behind her. When they sat down, he stared at her intently.

“I’ve wanted to tell you for a while now that I’ve had a big crush on you since I first showed you and Charlie your apartment.” Her worst fears were being realized. How was she going to stomach eating lunch now? She thought it was bad before. Now it was worse. It was no longer in her head that Roger liked her. He was coming out and saying it. Before she could respond, he continued. “I would like to take you out on a date when I return from Germany. I think that we could have something really special together. I really like you,” he said, reaching his hand across the table to take hers. She moved her hand away quickly, just before he was able to touch her.

She swallowed hard, pushing down the bile that was rising in her throat. She was disgusted by this man, but she didn’t dare let it show. “Oh, Roger, that is so sweet of you. But between going to school full time and working full time, I’m afraid that there is little time for anything else. I hope that you can understand. I think that you are a great guy, but I am just so busy.”

Then she stopped talking, hoping he would take the hint.

“Well, one thing that we have going for us is that we live so close to each other. I’ll just see you when you have time. I don’t care if we just watch TV together. I just want to be with you. I think that I’ve fallen for you.”

His words came crashing down around her like a hail storm. He wasn’t getting the message. “Well, I appreciate your honesty. But you never know, maybe you and Jacob’s mom will work things out. You do have a child together. It would make sense.”

“We didn’t work out before. And she’s not who I want. I want you,” he said with a little bit of force in his voice.

She could see that her objections were getting her nowhere. He kept pushing no matter how much she tried to dissuade him. “Well, we’ll see what happens. For now, going to Germany sounds amazing. I’ve always wanted to travel to Europe. Have you been there before?”

She desperately wanted to change the subject.

The waiter brought them their food. She took a bite, hoping to not have to talk for the next minute or so.

“I have traveled all over Europe. When I served in the military, I was fortunate enough to see many beautiful places. You would love Europe. Maybe we could go there together someday.”

Damn it, he’s not getting it.

“I’d love to have the opportunity to go there someday. I especially want to see Italy. There’s something about that culture that really speaks to me.” Kate continued eating. She desperately wanted this lunch hour to vanish quickly.

“So, Roger, where did you grow up?” she asked, hoping to steer him in another direction.

Any direction as long as it was away from her.

“I grew up in Idaho,” he answered. He looked irritated. Kate could tell that he was annoyed that she wasn’t swooning over his declaration of love for her.

“I’ve heard great things about Idaho. It’s a really breathtaking part of the country. Did you like living there?”

“It was okay.”

“Did you spend most of your childhood there?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Did you have it rough growing up?”

“It was okay. I was raised in foster care. My real family fell on hard times and they had to give me up. I was the youngest. I lived with a foster family from age 4 to 18.”

“Do you keep in touch with your foster family?”

“Yes, I talk to my foster mom about once a month. I try to see her at Christmas when I can. I’ve missed the last couple of Christmases.”

“What about siblings?”

“I have five real brothers and sisters and three foster brothers. One of my sisters lives up in North County.”

That’s where they found Rose.
“Do you get to see her very often?”

“Once in a while.”

“Wow, where did the time go? My lunch time is almost over. I need to scoot. I want to go to the ladies room and freshen up before I return to the sales floor. Thanks so much for lunch. I enjoyed it.”

She didn’t know what else to say. She stopped herself from babbling on any further.

“You’re welcome. I look forward to seeing you tonight when you get home. We can hopefully continue our conversation.”

“Sounds good,” she said with a half-smile. “See you then.”

“See you then.”

She stood up, leaving him sitting at the table. She scurried away as fast as she could. She went to security and asked them to inform her when Roger had left the store. Then she went to the employee bathroom, locked herself in a stall, and began crying uncontrollably. She thought that their conversation about Rose’s murder and him being a suspect had been difficult. The past hour made that look like child’s play. The enormity of him expressing his feelings for her was just too much to handle. If she called or texted Neil, he would become enraged and most likely pay Roger a visit. If Roger killed Rick and Mark, he could kill Neil, too. He obviously was cunning and experienced. She decided for now to hold off on telling Neil. She unlocked the door and went to the mirror to fix her make-up.
This is a nightmare.

She smoothed away the streaks that the tears had left on her cheeks. She took out her powder and brushed it all over her face. Adding some blush and lipstick made her look presentable again. Once she was refreshed, she punched in and went back to her department. The girls surrounded her to find out who she went to lunch with.

“That was the killer next door. You made it possible for me to go to lunch with someone who I believe killed three people,” Kate said, directing her anger at Maria.

“Oh, my gosh, Kate! I had no idea. He’s just so good looking. I had it in my head that he would be unattractive. He’s…he’s the guy?” Maria asked.

“Yes, he’s the guy. He just told me that he has fallen for me and he wants us to go out when he returns from Germany.”

“Kate, if I had known I would have kept my big mouth shut. I’m so sorry,” Maria said putting her hand on her chest.

“I know. It’s okay. You didn’t have any idea who he was. The scary part is, like you said, he’s good looking and you just don’t think that he’s a killer. He’s most likely killed more people than the police suspect.”

“How are you going to handle this?” Maria questioned.

“He’s leaving the country tomorrow, so Charlie and I are moving. He’ll be gone for a month, so we have time to get everything done.”

“I’m so glad that you are going to get away from him.”

“Me, too.”

Several customers entered the department and needed assistance with baby gifts, causing them to end the conversation abruptly. The rest of Kate’s shift was busy. When she got off of work, she dreaded going home. She knew that Roger was going to do everything in his power to see her again before he left the next day. She called Charlie on the way home and asked if Mitch was staying the night. Thankfully, he was there already. Mitch had seemed to be a deterrent in the past. Hopefully, that would hold true tonight.

Kate plodded up the stairs like she was walking to her death. She wasn’t just shaking on the inside, she was visibly shaking on the outside. Roger’s door was open and she knew he was watching for her. As she made it to the landing, he called out to her while approaching the door.

“Would you like a glass of wine, Kate?” He could see that her body was shaking. “What’s wrong? You don’t look very good.”

“I think that I might be coming down with something. You better stay away. I don’t want you to get sick before your trip.”
Please let this work, she prayed.

“Oh, you’re right,” he said taking a step back. “I can’t get sick right now.”

“I need to go to bed. I’ll see you later,” she said, turning and walking toward her door. “If I don’t see you before you leave, have a safe trip. Enjoy your time with Jacob.”

She didn’t wait for him to respond. She got into her apartment as quickly as she could.

Mitch could see by the pained look on her face that something was wrong. “Is everything okay?” he asked.