Are you here alone?
Everyone seems to be running late this morning, he said, and wondered why that was. Because theyd all been given a heads-up? Gus noticed the way both cops were looking at him, scrutinizing him as if he had horns growing out of his head.
Wed like to ask you a few questions, the woman cop said. Ms. Sheldon has asked us to first see that you remove your belongings from the premises.
What? he demanded. The bitch is firing me? Has she lost her mind?
P. Donovans eyes went hard and cold at the word bitch. The word had just slipped out. Hed known McKenzie had it in for him, but hed never dreamed shed fire him.
Im her biggest-earning salesman, he said as if there had been a mistake made and he hadnt made it. Neither responded. Instead, he saw the male cop looking around. What?
Are there some boxes in the office you can put your belongings into? the cop asked.
Hadnt either of them been listening? She cant do this. Gus heard the hopelessness in his voice. He hated nothing worse than the feeling that came with it. He wanted to break something. Tear the place up. Then find McKenzie Sheldon and punch her in the face.
The male cop had gone into a storage room. He came back with two boxes. Please take only those items belonging to you personally. Well watch so we can tell Ms. Sheldon.
Gus gritted his teeth. McKenzie didnt even have the guts to face him. Well, this wasnt the last shed see of him. Hed catch her in a dark alley. He started to shovel the top of the desk off into one of the boxes, but the male cop stopped him. T. Bradley, the name tag read.
Leave any inventory youve been working on.
He grabbed up his coffee mug and threw it into the box. The couple of tablespoons of coffee left in the cup made a dark stain across the bottom. The same way McKenzies blood was going to stain the spot where they met up again, he told himself.
His personal belongings barely filled one box. That realization made him sad and even angrier. This business should have been his. When he was a boy, he used to sleep on the floor of the main office when his mother had to work late. This place had been more like home than home during those years when shed been growing the business.
Is that everything? P. Donovan asked.
He didnt bother to answer as T. Bradley asked for his key to the building.
Ms. Sheldon has taken out a restraining order against you, the cop said. Are you familiar with the way they work?
He looked at the cop. Seriously? Do I look like someone who is familiar with restraining orders?
You are required to stay away from Ms. Sheldon and this building. If you harass her
I get it, he snapped, and handed over his key. As he started toward the door, T. Bradley blocked his way.
Were going to need you to come down to the police station with us to answer a few more questions.
About what? The receptionist, bloody hell. Look, I havent done anything that any red-blooded American male doesnt do. I like women. He realized they were staring at him. Come on. She liked it or she wouldnt have led me on.
Whom are you referring to? P. Donovan asked.
He frowned. Cynthia. The receptionist. She was threatening to call the cops last night, but I didnt really think shed do it. Why would you ask me that? Who else called the cops on me?
Didnt she ask you to leave her alone? the woman cop asked.
He shrugged. I thought she was just playing hard to get.
What about Ms. Sheldon? Did you also think she was just playing hard to get? T. Bradley asked.
Gus closed his eyes and sighed. So shed told them about that time shed caught him in her neighborhood. Theres no law against sitting in your car on a public street. I didnt even realize she lived in the area. I was looking at the house down the block, okay? Not even he could make the lie sound convincing.
Lets go, P. Donovan said and led him out of the building as if he were a criminal. In the small parking lot, he saw his colleagues waiting in their vehicles for the police to take him away.
He wanted to kill McKenzie.
Please open the trunk of your car, Mr. Thompson, T. Bradley said as Gus started to put the box in the backseat.
Why? he demanded.
Just please open it, P. Donovan said.
He thought they probably
he didnt know the name of the only woman whod ever gotten away.
Without her name, he wouldnt be able to find her and finish what hed started.
* * *
STANDING IN THE hospital room half-dressed, McKenzie tried to still her trembling fingers. The morning sun was blinding. Her head still ached, but shed kept that from the doctor. After the police had left, hed made her spend the night in the hospital for observation. Today, though, she had to get back to work. It was the only thing that could keep her mind off what had happened. Worse, what could have happened if someone hadnt stopped the man.
Let me, her sister said and stepped to her to button the blouse.
She stood still, letting her big sister dress herjust as she had as a child. Thank you. I wouldnt have called but I needed a change of clothing before I could leave the hospital.