Monahan 01 Options (38 page)

“Stay out of it,” was all the stranger said in a low, gravely voice. And then he was gone.

chapter fifty

I stumbled to the telephone, hugging myself and sobbing. I was almost embarrassed to call 911 but the dispatcher on the other end of the line assured me and reassured me. I knew I hadn’t dreamed any of it because the side of my face continued to throb and the steely taste of blood remained in my mouth.

When the police knocked urgently on the door I was still standing in the hall, dressed, or undressed, in my nightwear. White sweat socks and panties.

“Miss,” the voice said from the other side of the door. “Police.”

My hands shook as I undid the chain and opened the door. I wrapped my arms around my breasts to hide my nakedness and backed up against the wall.

“He’s gone,” I said in a whisper. One police officer quickly passed by me down the hall with his gun drawn, and the other one stayed back with me.

“I need to put on some clothes.” I tried to read his name tag though my teary eyes but everything was a blur. He nodded silently and then said, “In a minute. Don’t worry. My partner’s just checking everything. Is there another exit or is this the only door?”

“There’s a fire escape at the back. Out the laundry room door.” I realized then that Mr. Black Mask must have exited through the fire escape because it was doubtful that he would have chain-locked my front door behind him on the way out.

The other police officer reappeared at my front door with his gun holstered. “No sign of anyone,” he told his partner.

“Can I get dressed now?”

An hour later they were still there. Checking for fingerprints and asking me questions. A couple of other very tired-looking, plain clothes officers had shown up and they confirmed that a pane of glass on the back door had been broken and he had gotten in that way.

I called Jay because I couldn’t bear the thought of finishing off the night alone. I prayed he’d hear the phone and wake up because I didn’t want to talk to his machine.

“Hello,” a very sleepy voice answered. A wave of relief washed over me.

I lost my voice when I heard his and couldn’t speak. My throat started to close and he said again, “Hello?”

“Jay,” I whispered.

“Kate?” His voice sounded more awake now. I nodded stupidly and realized he couldn’t see me.

“Jay, can you come over?” I asked weakly.

“What’s the matter?” he demanded. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Someone broke in my house tonight. The police are here.”

“I’ll be right there.” I nodded again and hung up the phone.

The police were convinced it was a random act and told me I was lucky to be sitting there telling my story. I knew it wasn’t random because of what the black mask had said, but I was too frightened to share it with the police. He had scared me sufficiently. I lied and told them he had said nothing.

When Jay arrived he wasn’t alone. Detective Leech followed him in and I was certain I could see the collar of the Detective’s pyjama top peeking through his trench coat. I wondered who the hell had called him.

I was back in a familiar position, huddled cross-legged on the sofa under my quilt.

Leech spoke before Jay. “My, my, my, Miss Monahan. We seem to be running into each other quite frequently.”

“Not by choice, Detective. Rest assured,” I said tiredly.

“Can I get anything for you Kate?” Jay interrupted. “Coffee?” I nodded thankfully and Jay headed for the kitchen.

Detective Leech took a chair across from me and said, “You should put something on that eye. You’re gonna have a beautiful shiner tomorrow.” I touched my cheek gingerly.

“Why’re you here?” I asked him.

“Dispatcher’s a friend of mine. She remembered that you had placed another 911 call just a few days ago.”

“Well, this has nothing to do with the other one,” I lied.

Leech looked at me with disbelief on his face and wandered off without saying anything to talk to the other officers. I rested my head on the back of the sofa and closed my eyes. Sounds of voices in the laundry room filtered through my jumbled thoughts and the smell of coffee brewing reached my nostrils. My right hand shot out from under the quilt and I placed it over my nose and mouth, shutting off my breathing passages. I felt my fingernails digging into my cheek, and my thumb and index finger squeezed the end of my nose. The image of the black, mask-covered face appeared before my closed eyes and I felt the fear rising up again. The fear came from my gut and my intestines turned to Jell-O. My eyes filled and I felt a hand gently take mine away from my mouth and nose and when I opened my water-filled eyes, Jay was kneeling in front of me, holding my hand.

“Don’t do that, Kate,” he said. “You’re leaving an imprint of your hand on your face. Here.” He placed a dishtowel with ice in it on the side of my face and I winced at this new pain sensation. I tried to push it away but Jay held it there firmly. “It’ll swell up. Just leave it there a minute or two.”

“He’s right, Miss Monahan,” I heard Leech say. “You need ice on that.”

“Fuck you,” I said under my breath. I’d had black eyes before and proudly wore them like a badge of honour. When Kate Monahan had a black eye, everyone knew she’d been fighting. I wasn’t proud though of this black eye. I’d never even landed a punch.

I looked at Leech and asked him if they were finished.

“I’d just like to ask you a couple of questions, hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak,” he said with a weak smile.

When I didn’t smile at his lame joke, he asked me if the intruder had assaulted me. That, I considered a joke.

“Whaddya call this?” I said pointing to the side of my face.

“I meant sexually assault you,” he said quietly. He looked embarrassed as he asked the question.

I shook my head and re-lived the feeling of the stranger’s weight on my body. The fact that he hadn’t raped me sent renewed waves of relief through me and I sobbed out loud.

“No, he just punched me.” Jay sat down beside me on the sofa and my hand found his.

“I’m sorry, Miss Monahan. We’re just trying to figure this out. It appears that nothing was stolen and you weren’t sexually assaulted. The apartment wasn’t trashed. So, the question is, why did he break in?”

Jay opened his mouth to speak and I squeezed his hand tight and dug my fingernails in to stop him.

“I don’t know. Maybe he had every intention of raping me and stealing my things,” I lied. “I got away from him and maybe because I was going to scream he ran off.” I knew what he wanted and he had succeeded. He intended to scare me off and it had worked.

The uniformed officers appeared in the living room and told Leech that they were finished. I thanked them and Leech took his time getting out of the chair.

“You,” he said and pointed at Jay. “I’ll see you in the morning to sign your statement. In the meantime, Miss Monahan, I’d suggest you get some ice on that shiner and get some rest.”

I nodded again, feeling like a string puppet. Jay and I sat silently while they all trooped out and when the door finally closed, Jay said to me, “You lied, didn’t you Kate?”

The man knew me better than I gave him credit for. I just hoped the Detective couldn’t read me as well.

chapter fifty-one

“
What happened?” Jay asked when they left. I threw off the quilt and went in search of my cigarettes. I realized I hadn’t had one since earlier that afternoon when Jay and I had sat at the kitchen table. My head felt dizzy when I took my first, deep drag. I placed both hands flat on the kitchen table to steady myself.

Jay had followed me to the kitchen and I heard him saying behind me, “I’m so sorry. I should’ve been here. This wouldn’t have happened if I’d been here.” He might’ve been right, but on the other hand, I shuddered to think what could’ve transpired if Jay had been there. I couldn’t remember if Mr. Mask had a gun or another weapon, but if he had, he probably wouldn’t have hesitated to use it on Jay or myself. I don’t know how he would have subdued both of us without a weapon.

I straightened up and turned to face Jay.

“It’s over. Forget it. Don’t beat yourself up over this,” I told him.

“Who was it?” Jay asked knowingly.

“I don’t know, and that’s the truth.”

“Then tell me what happened,” he demanded.

“I woke up. Someone was sitting on me, holding my hands and covering my mouth. He didn’t say or do anything.”

“What did he want?”

“I told you, I don’t know.”

“Kate, this has something to do with everything else that’s going on. I’m not stupid. Please,” he begged me. “I told you earlier that I’m sorry I got you involved in this stupid vengeance thing. And now this happens. I feel responsible.”

Just forty-eight hours ago we had promised each other to be honest and I remembered that now.

“He told me to stay out of it,” I said quietly. “That’s all he said. And then he left.”

Jay shook his head slowly and stared at me.

“I’m calling the police back. This has gone too far.”

“No Jay. No police. No more police. I’m dropping it. He scared me sufficiently. In fact, he terrified me. I know now what it feels like to be drowning.”

I stood there feeling terrified and reliving the feeling of that hand over my mouth and nose. The walls of the kitchen felt like they were closing around me and I was having trouble breathing, again. I butted my cigarette in disgust and tried to calm myself by taking deep, lung-cleansing breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

I ended up on the balcony, overlooking the street trying to get myself back together. Feelings of helplessness overwhelmed me and I stood there with my hands on the railing, wanting to scream. Rage finally overtook the helplessness and I vowed to myself that if and when I met Mr. Black Mask, face to face, I would personally pound his face to a pulp. I didn’t like being vulnerable and although I’d never portrayed myself as a damsel in distress, the events of the last ten days had made me feel my size, and my sex. I was a small woman, but I was determined not to let my size be my downfall.

When Jay finally convinced me to go to bed, sleep evaded me. My bed no longer seemed like my special place, where I could hide and feel safe. Jay helped me strip the linens and remake the bed so there were no reminders of what had transpired there a few hours ago. But the cool crispness and scent of the clean sheets didn’t help and I laid wide awake, staring at the digital clock.

I was curled in a ball with my back to Jay so I couldn’t tell if he was sleeping. I listened to his rhythmic breathing for a long time and when he offered to hold me, I gratefully turned around, into his arms.

“Thanks for being here for me,” I said into his chest. “I appreciate it.”

He responded by hugging me tighter and telling me to go to sleep.

I dragged myself to the office on Monday morning but feelings of dread overwhelmed me, and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to cope.

I had rested all day Sunday and my physical energy returned by the end of the day. Jay insisted on taking a long, leisurely walk after dinner and after a luxurious, steamy bath, my body felt normal. I couldn’t let Jay out of my sight for the whole day and I although I knew it was ridiculous to be feeling this way, I admitted to myself that I needed something to cling to.

I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of the shower and had a momentary panic attack until I reoriented myself. The bed was warm beside me where Jay had been lying. The clock read nine-fifteen and I huddled under the duvet waiting for Jay to finish in the shower. When he reappeared in the bedroom he was dressed in the same clothes he was wearing the night before.

As he fastened his watch around his wrist, he said, “I’ve gotta go to sign that statement for Detective Leech.”

Another panic attack came over me when I thought about being alone in my apartment. I threw off the covers and told Jay I’d go with him and stayed close to his side for the rest of the day.

We avoided talking about the events of the night before for most of the day but Jay finally brought it up that evening on our walk.

“Kate, I don’t think you should go to the office tomorrow.”

I admitted to myself that I’d been having the same thoughts because I was sure that my masked attacker was someone who I worked with.

“I’ll see how I feel tomorrow,” was all I said.

“We have to talk about this Kate. You can’t avoid it.”

We turned around and started walking back to my apartment. Jay wasn’t about to let the subject drop and he stood in front of me.

“You must have some idea of who broke in. I certainly have some thoughts on the matter.”

“Drop it Jay,” I said and tried to sidestep around him but he grabbed my arm.

“No. I won’t. All of this is tied-in to things at TechniGroup. And I don’t think you’re safe going to the office.”

He was right, but I wasn’t about to hide from the world.

“Jay, I’ll be fine. Really. Hiding in my office and doing my work is something I’ve perfected over the last week or so.”