Waiting For A Star To Fall (Autumn Brody Book 2) (22 page)

"I agree." Kevin sat aside his empty plate and reached for his tablet. "I've got the finalized reports you asked for, Mr. Dixon."

"Just Jeremy is fine. Did we find anything of value?"

Kevin scrolled through a document, humming to himself. "I'm aware that you've been briefed on the general data we've compiled. We've effectively ruled out any of the book bloggers in possession of Autumn's novel. From a general security standpoint, three of those individuals have had minor scrapes with the law involving theft or fraud, and two of them are possibly not the owners of the blogs they solicit for. However, they may simply be assisting the true writer by handling solicitation of materials."

"That's my Kevin!" Veronica teased. "Serious and thorough. Always has
the things that I need
..."

Kevin glanced sideways, fighting back a smirk. "Are we going there again?"

"I will
always
...go there," Veronica replied, throwing up her hands. "Okay, Whitney impression done. For now."

"Have you had a chance to review the press release I sent you?" Jeremy asked, gently steering them back on topic.

Veronica nodded, chewing quickly. "Yep. My agent has it in hand and will release it shortly. Do you really think this guy will stop making me live a horror flick?"

Autumn shrugged. "Can't hurt. I'll try anything that might get him to go back to creepy letter town at this point."

"I never thought I'd be nostalgic for pervy love letters, but I couldn't agree more." Shuddering, Veronica leaned against Evan.

The conversation ping-ponged for the next hour: strategies for working with law enforcement; plans to defuse the media coverage of the stalker ("
It's stroking his ego
," Kevin advised); further ideas to de-escalate the stalker. Autumn had little faith that they could reel the guy in, but she wasn't willing to discount it.

"Should we be warning potential targets?" Evan asked.

Andrew groaned. "Do we even
have
potential targets? I thought we had no idea how to extrapolate from the characters to people in Veronica's life."

"Well, what comes next?" Kevin asked.

"The car crash," Jeremy replied quickly. "The second-ranked student in Laurel's program crashes his car after a puncture causes his brake fluid to leak. He takes a sharp turn along a back road and hits a tree."

"Who would be ranked above me? If I were the understudy for Johanna, I'd say the person actually playing my role would make sense."

Autumn had spent hours trying to connect dots, but Veronica was right: no one fit the next victim in the book. "Are you an understudy for
anyone
?"

"No, not at all. Camilla has her own understudy from the ensemble, as do I. My understudy doesn't drive, so she can't possibly wreck a car."

Ideas were tossed around: Broadway rankings; lists of 'hot actresses'; order of auditions for
In the Garden
. Nothing seemed to click with the scenario in the novel, which only served to frustrate them further. Jeremy, sensing the growing anxiety, doled out the tiramisu, but it did little to soothe Autumn's frazzled nerves.

The ring of a phone silenced the group. Kevin answered his cell, making noncommittal noises before muttering an affirmative response. "Mirza's here," he explained.

"You mean my other Kevin," Veronica corrected him.

"Right, of course. And Ray is the Gay Kevin. How could I forget?"

Kevin's half-smile was the best Autumn assumed anyone would elicit from the man while he was on the clock. Walking towards the door, Kevin paused in the entryway, studying a stack of mail.

"Veronica, did you bring this in?"

"Hmm? Oh, that? It's Friday's mail," she replied, gathering dishes in a stack.

"No. No, it's not right..." Snapping on a glove, the former Army officer picked up what appeared to be a jumbled blend of flyers and bills.

"What's wrong?" Andrew asked. "What do you see?"

"I'm not sure yet..." Thumbing through the stack piece by piece, he froze at a cream-coloured envelope. "Veronica, did you go through this mail when you picked it up?"

"Of course I did!" Rounding the corner from the kitchenette, she approached Kevin. "What is... No. No, that wasn't there!"

Autumn rushed to her feet, whimpering as her chest recoiled at the exertion. "Tell me there's not another one..."

"Kevin, how did he get in here?" Veronica was frantic, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. "How? If you guys are around 24-7, when did he come in here?"

"We weren't here last night," Evan pointed out. "We had barely made it inside when Andrew called, remember? We packed in five minutes."

"And Ray would have been with you," Kevin reminded her. "I don't like this. I know you've resisted the security system, but I don't believe you have a choice."

"Open it," Autumn urged.

Jeremy edged backwards, shaking his head. "Shouldn't we call the police?"

"No!" Autumn snapped. "If he left it last night, it might contain a clue as to who's next. We don't have time. Open it, Kevin,
please
."

In the end, Kevin sided with Autumn, carefully slitting the envelope open with a blade in his multi-tool. As Mirza entered the apartment, Kevin waved him over with the envelope. The other guard stiffened immediately, taking a mental inventory of the people in the apartment.

"I'm not certain what this means, but I think you're right: it's a message about the next victim." He passed Veronica a nitrile glove from a small pouch on his belt, gesturing to her hand. "Put that on and read this. He's writing to you. If it'll make sense to anyone..."

Tugging on the glove, Veronica snatched the letter away angrily. "I hate this. He was in
my home
..." Staring at the page, she began to read, her voice dripping with disdain. "'
My Veronica... Stars can be frustrating entities, can't they? So full of beauty and light, they remain millions upon millions of miles away. So seemingly near and yet out of reach. You're no different now than the rest: surrounded by others who dazzle and draw attention, and so untouchable'...
" Pausing, Veronica shook her head. "I hate this long-winded bastard... '
How do you make a star fall to the earth? You don't, really; a falling star isn't a star at all. It's just a rock, caught in cosmic orbit and ultimately falling into the earth's atmosphere... I'm...
'"

"Veronica?" Evan gently nudged.

Her eyes widening, she read quickly now, the pieces coming together. "'
I'm sorry to have to hurt you, but I need to ground you. I need to remind you of the woman you are beneath the notoriety and kiss-ass reviews. I need to bring you back to the beginning, to where you stood staring at a bulletin board, homeless and unsure in a new city. Your story is quite remarkable. At least, that's how it was told to me. The Little Canadian Who Could. Can you still see what's important? Or will it go up in flames, like a shooting star hurtling to earth? Are you just a rock after all?
'"

The letter fell to the ground as Veronica sprinted for the door, snatching her keys on the way out. Mirza quickly lunged for her, earning a punch in the side of his jaw.

"No! We have to see!"

"Veronica, stop!" Evan shouted. "See what?"

Her face ashen, she tugged against Mirza's restraining grip. "I know someone with a car. One person in this city, who calls me 'The Little Canadian Who Could'. Gabriel."

"He fits," Autumn whispered. "A friend. A helping hand. God, how did we not see this?"

"The garage," Veronica insisted. "I have to know if he took the train or his car.
Come on!
"

As a group, there was a rush towards the stairwell, with Kevin taking the lead and Mirza bringing up the rear. Autumn did her best to suppress her physical pain, although Andrew wasn't fooled. Mercifully, he simply held onto her arm, steadying her. Veronica called out directions, leading them to the second floor of the parking garage and immediately ordering them to the far west corner.

"What does he drive?" Kevin demanded.

"A 2000 Honda Civic. Silver."

Kevin grimaced. "So, the most common car a working student could own? Wonderful."

Mirza forced Veronica to remain near the wall, sending Kevin ahead to search the rows of parked cars for slot 197B on the grid. Their building was fifty-five stories high with expansive parking lots to match, making it difficult to navigate the rows with any real ease. The numbering system, Andrew soon grumbled about, also made little sense. When Kevin finally located the correct space over forty feet away, he cursed loudly.

"No car!" he shouted.

Veronica began to sob, slumping to her knees. "Of all the goddamn days to go to Jersey, Gabriel!"

Autumn staggered ahead, ignoring Mirza as he phoned for police assistance. If this was anything like her book, there might be a way to confirm it. Her sandals slapped against the cold concrete as she headed towards Kevin, who was crouched close to the ground.
He's ahead of me
, she realized. Sheepishly, she wondered why she'd doubted him.
He's been so careful with her. Of course he's looking for traces of brake fluid
.

"Anything?" she asked tentatively.

With a troubled look, Kevin nodded. "It's a small leak. He could drive for quite some time before the brakes actually gave out entirely."

"So it's possible to stop this?"

A shared look between them spoke volumes. Mirza confirmed that the police were en route, but neither of them seemed concerned with it. Pulling his phone from his pocket, Kevin rushed towards Veronica.

"Do you know Gabriel's number?" he asked brusquely.

"It's in my phone, but I don't... I'm bad with numbers!" she wailed. "I've always been bad with them..."

"It's okay, V. Let's just get your phone," Autumn coached her. "Where is it?"

"On the kitchen table... Gabriel... He doesn't deserve this."

Mirza remained in the garage, the rest of them returning to the supposed safety of the apartment. Kevin made quick work of retrieving Veronica's cell and dialing Gabriel's number. Putting it on speaker, he began to search through the living room—for what, Autumn wasn't certain. More letters? Devices to spy on her friend?

"Hello?"

"Gabe!" Veronica shouted. "You're alive!"

Alive, perhaps, but now clearly concerned. "Veronica, what's wrong? What happened?"

In the background, she heard the unmistakable sounds of gunned engines and a sporadic honked horn.
He's in the car. Any minute now, the brakes could go
. Autumn searched her memory in vain, struggling to recall her research on how to handle failing brakes as a driver.

"Gabriel, this is Kevin, Veronica's bodyguard. I assume you are currently driving?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way to my aunt's house. Do I need to turn around? Did someone hurt Veronica?"

"No... Gabriel, I need you to remain calm. There is a possibility that your vehicle has been tampered with."

Autumn slumped into a chair at the kitchen table, no longer able to ignore the ache in her side. Jeremy took residence in the chair across from her, his normally golden complexion tinged green.

"What do you mean by 'tampered'?" Gabriel asked nervously.

Kevin tried another tack. "Have you noticed anything unusual about the way your car is handling? Any odd rattles, lights not responding, steering issues?"

A loud honk cut through the apartment and the entire group winced. They could hear Gabriel mutter under his breath, followed by a short
screech
. A fumbling on the other end elicited a frightened gasp from Veronica.

"Gabe! You okay? Talk to me!" she pleaded.

"Shit! That was weird. Stupid jerk cut me off. Barely able to brake in time..." A muttered curse and a deep breath betrayed his panic.

"Okay, Gabriel? I need you to tell me where exactly you're driving right now. I need a road, exits, anything to help me map your coordinates," Kevin stated calmly. "I also need you to decelerate as much as possible without disrupting traffic flow. Ease your foot off the gas a bit to do so.
Do not touch the brakes if you can help it
," he stressed.

"Okay... Okay, you're scaring the shit out of me, man. What's wrong with my car?"

"We're not sure," Andrew chimed in, lying through his teeth. "We're going to map your coordinates and find a good place for you to stop. We'll come and get you."

Kevin mouthed his thanks to Andrew as he reached for his tablet. Swiping at the screen, he entered a few commands and pulled up a broad map of New York and New Jersey states.

"Where are you, Gabriel?" Kevin repeated.

"I'm on the I-95 south... pretty close to the toll stop before the I-195 west... Fuck, this traffic is crazy... It's slowing down..."

"Slow's no good," Jeremy mumbled. "Oh God, this is bad..."