High Anxiety (31 page)

Jenkins arched one brow.

“Mike is her dog,” Jay said. “Is it okay if I take Kate home now?”

“Sure.” Jenkins handed Jay his card. “We’ll be in touch the minute we know something. Also, I’ll have someone watching the house tonight.”

“Jimbo and I are going to hang around for a while,” Mona said. “At least until they get Thad settled in a room.”

Jay and I left the ER, and he helped me into his SUV. He got in on the other side. “I like your shirt,” he said. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Not until I’m sure who the father is,” I said.

He leaned over and kissed me tenderly. He raised his head slightly and stroked my cheek. “Katie, I was so damn scared when I got that call.”

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” I said.

He put his arms around me. “I’m the one who owes you an apology, babe,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I never should have let you come back alone. I don’t know what I was thinking. I should have taken the whole thing more seriously.”

“You had no way of knowing,” I said, “because I kept playing it down.”

He looked confused. “Why?”

“I didn’t want to burden you, what with the fire and all.”

“Burden me?” he asked in disbelief. “How could you ever think I found you burdensome? You’re my wife. Sort of,” he added. “But I’m a lousy ex-husband. I wouldn’t blame you if you never remarried me.” He patted my stomach. “You and the baby would be better off without me.”

I smiled. “I’m not letting you off that easily.”

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Have you eaten?”

“I’m too tired to eat. I just want to lie down. I want you to hold me.”

His gaze softened. “Gladly.” We arrived at my place, and Jay hurried around to help me out. I pulled my keys from my purse and unlocked the front door. Jay and I were both surprised when Mike didn’t greet us.

“She’s probably out back doing her business,” I said. I went to the refrigerator and grabbed a slice of cheese, just something to fill the hunger in my stomach. Jay opened the back door and called for Mike. I joined him.

I saw the note taped to the door first. I motioned to it, and Jay pulled it off and read it out loud.

That was when I knew I was going to be sick.

 

 

By the time
the police arrived, Jay had searched the house and the backyard. I sat at the kitchen table, with a wet washcloth pressed to my face after another bout of dry heaves. I could not stop trembling. I could not stop thinking the worst.

Jenkins arrived. He looked as tired and frustrated as I felt. “How long has your pet been missing?” he asked.

“I’ve been away all day. Abigail could have taken her at any time.”

“Maybe your neighbors saw something,” he said.

“I don’t know. Most of them work.” I thought of Bitsy, who would have been the most likely person to notice anything, but she had left for Tallahassee with the prayer group.

“We’ll still canvass the neighborhood,” he said. “But I don’t think you have anything to worry about as far as your dog. It’s just one more way Miss Davis can get your attention. Stalkers know their victims won’t meet with them unless there’s a very good reason.”

Jay looked stunned. “Stalker?” he said and looked at me. “This woman has actually been stalking you?”

I hesitated.

Jenkins nodded. “Afraid so,” he said.

Jay muttered a string of obscenities and slammed his hand against the kitchen counter so hard I was surprised he didn’t break something.

“That’s
exactly
why I didn’t tell you,” I said.

He sat down at the kitchen table and wiped his hands down his face. I could tell he was trying to get his anger under control.

“Why the hell is the woman stalking Kate?” he finally asked Jenkins.

“She’s obviously obsessed with your wife,” the man said. “Stalking is more prevalent than people think.” He looked at me. “Like I said, I’m going to put an unmarked car outside your house tonight. You look like you need to catch up on your sleep.” He stood. “I’ll be in touch if I learn anything.”

Jay checked to make sure the place was locked up, then followed me upstairs. I pulled off the oversized T-shirt, kicked off my shoes, and stepped out of the maternity jeans. I sat on the edge of the bed in my bra and underwear.

Jay knelt before me. “It’s going to be okay, babe. It would take a pretty heartless soul to harm Mike.”

“Abigail is psychotic, Jay.”

He frowned at the sight of my knees. “You’re all banged up.”

“I fell in the parking lot trying to help Thad.”

Jay leaned over and kissed my knees gently. “It’s going to be okay, Katie. I promise.”

I couldn’t stop worrying about Mike. “I need to make a phone call.” I called Jeff and explained the situation. As a vet, he would probably have some advice how I might find Mike.

“Oh, Kate, I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’ll call the shelters and rescue volunteers right away and ask them to keep an eye out. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”

 

 

I slept very
little during the night. When I awoke the next morning, my eyelids felt thick from having cried so much. Jay held me against him.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “We could go for waffles.”

I couldn’t remember when I had last eaten a decent meal. “I’m starving,” I said, “but I don’t want to go out with my eyes so swollen. I should probably put ice on them. And I really want a hot shower.”

Jay looked out the window. “The unmarked car is still out front,” he said. “I’ll run to Waffle House and place a to-go order. Unless you’d feel anxious with me gone,” he added.

“No, I’m fine. I would love a waffle.” I led the way downstairs and grabbed the new house key from the rack near the kitchen door. “You’ll need this,” I said.

He took it and dropped it into his shirt pocket. “I want you to put the chains in place while I’m gone,” he said.

I locked up and hurried upstairs to take a quick hot shower. I had just stepped beneath the hot spray of water when I heard a noise. I called out to Jay—maybe he’d forgotten his wallet or his car keys—but then I remembered that he would not be able to get back into the house with the chains on the door. I cut off the shower, and pulled the curtain aside.

A smiling Abigail was standing in the doorway holding a fluffy towel. “Hello, Kate.”

I could almost swear that my heart stopped beating. It was followed by an adrenaline rush that left me feeling dizzy and weak-kneed. “How did you get into this house?” I demanded.

“Please don’t be angry,” she said.

“I want to know how the hell you got in here! I had the locks changed.”

“I was already inside the day they were changed. The day you hung your new keys on the little rack by the kitchen door,” she added.

I shook my head. “That’s impossible. I would have known.”

“Did you think of checking your attic?” she asked. “If you had, you would have found my sleeping bag and clothes. I’ve been bathing in your tub while you’re at work. By the way, I love your bath salts,” she added.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, but it would have been easy for her to hide in the attic. It would have been as simple as pulling down the stairs that led up. I had to assume she’d found a way to pull them back up once she reached the attic, so I wouldn’t notice. It would explain why I’d heard more creaking and groaning in the old house than usual.

I noticed Abigail was staring at my wet body. I yanked the towel from her and covered myself. “What have you done with my dog?” I demanded.

“Your little pet is fine,” she said, “although it’s obvious she misses you.”

My throat tightened. “I want her back, Abigail. I want you to take me to her. And she damn sure better be okay, because if she’s not, I swear to God—”

“Why would I hurt your dog, Kate?” she asked.

“Why?” I gave a harsh laugh. “I saw you put a knife in my friend’s stomach yesterday. I don’t know what you’re capable of.”

“Thad forced my hand.”

I shook my head. “You took that knife from the steakhouse. You’d already planned to hurt someone.”

“He was coming between us,” she said. “I’ve already lost at love once. I’m not going to lose you.”

“That’s no excuse,” I snapped. “Do you think your ex-husband is the first man who ever cheated on his wife?”

She made a sound of disgust. “He could have slept with an entire harem for all I cared. Unfortunately, he wooed my best friend, who also happened to be my lover.”

“So now you’re looking for a replacement?” I asked. “Never mind that I’m in love with my husband, right?”

“How do you know you won’t find more happiness with me if you refuse to even try?” she said. “No one loves you the way I do.” She held her hands out, palms open. “All I’m asking is that you give us a chance,” she said.

“Or what?” I demanded. “You hurt my dog? You put a knife through Jay?”

“I would rather avoid more problems between us.”

“Great. Then you need to get out of my life and stay out.” I sounded a lot tougher than I felt, but I was determined to maintain some of the control she had tried to take from me. Inside, my gut was churning. I grabbed my robe from the hook on the bathroom door and slipped it on. “Just so you know, Abigail,” I said, “you’re going to have to hurt me before you get to Jay.”

Sudden tears filled her eyes. “Why are you making this so hard?” she asked. “Why can’t you just love me as I love you?”

Her pain was so real, so heartrending, that I found it difficult to look at her. Despite everything, it was impossible not to pity her. “Listen to me, Abigail,” I said. “You’re not well. Let me help you.” I could barely believe the words had come from my mouth after all we’d been through.

“Help me?” she said and gave a rueful laugh. “Last time someone offered to help me, I ended up behind bars.”

“You spent time in prison?”

“A couple of months in jail.”

“On stalking charges?”

She suddenly looked angry. “I wasn’t stalking. I was trying to convince my lover she’d made a mistake by getting involved with my ex.”

“My job is helping people, Abigail,” I said. “And I can help you, if you’ll let me.”

“They’ll lock me up.”

“At first, yes,” I said. “But I’m going to strongly recommend hospitalization for you. Incarceration didn’t help you before, and it won’t help you now.”

“I will kill myself before I go to prison.”

I jumped when the doorbell rang. I had not heard Jay’s SUV pull into the driveway. He would not be able to get in with the chains in place. My gaze locked with Abigail’s. “What’s it going to be?” I asked. “We can do this the hard way or the easy way.”

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” she asked. “How do I know you will really help me?”

“Because I said I would. That should be enough.”

The doorbell rang a second time. She just stood there, blocking my way.

“Face it, Abigail,” I said. “I’m your last hope. And I’m more interested in seeing that you get the help you need instead of being punished.”

Finally, she backed away so I could exit the bathroom. “Just follow me and do as I say,” I told her. She looked reluctant, but she did as she was told. We headed downstairs. In the kitchen, I pulled out a chair for her, and she sank onto it.

“I’m going to let Jay in now, okay?” I said.

She nodded. I went into the living room and unlocked the front door. Jay stepped inside holding two take-out containers and a small white sack. “What took you so long?”

“Abigail is here,” I said.

He gave me a funny look but followed me into the kitchen and set the containers and sack on the table.

I introduced them. They acknowledged each other with a nod.

When Abigail spoke, her voice trembled. “There is a white house with dark green trim, for sale at the end of the street,” she told him. “You can sort of tell it has just been sitting there unattended, because the grass hasn’t been cut in a while. My car is in the garage. Mike is in my car.” She looked at me. “I’ve taken good care of her.”

“Thank you, Abigail,” I said. I looked at Jay. “Would you mind getting Mike for me?”

He looked from me to Abigail, then back to me. “Now?” he asked.

“It will be okay. I’ll call Officer Jenkins.”

He hesitated before finally turning for the living room. I heard him exit the front door. I dialed Jenkins’s number, and he answered after the second ring.

“I was about to call you,” he said, sounding excited. “We’ve learned a lot about the woman who calls herself Abigail Davis. She was thrown in jail in California on stalking charges. She must’ve met the right people while she was there, because she was able to get a new identity.”

“Abigail is sitting at my kitchen table as we speak,” I said.

“Huh? Are you serious?”

“I’m going to give her something to eat. Then she is going to turn herself in. She intends to cooperate fully.”

“Um, Dr. Holly, you need to be very careful,” he said.

“I know.” I hung up the phone and opened one of the food containers. My hands trembled. I knew the woman sitting there could turn on me if I weren’t careful. I placed the food before her and grabbed clean silverware. She just sat there staring at the waffle and bacon. I sat down beside her and reached into the paper sack for a container of syrup. I handed it to her. She fumbled with it, trying to peel away the seal with no luck.

“Let me help you,” I said, taking it from her. I opened it and poured syrup on her waffle. She just sat there.

“You have to eat something, Abigail,” I said, cutting the waffle into small pieces. “You’ve got a long day ahead of you.”

She nodded. “I know the routine.” She took a bite. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked weary.