Aubrey remained frozen in place, breathing hard and looking around in panic. Was the culprit still nearby, waiting to grab her again? Unlike the college parking lot, there were no nearby bushes or any other hiding spot close by. That didn’t mean she was safe. The sound of an approaching car had her backing up several steps, ready to break and run back toward the school.
At the last second, she realized it was her boss’s SUV. That was a relief. The sound of footsteps coming from behind had her glancing back over her shoulder. Just as she’d hoped, it was Ruben heading her way.
“Is something wrong, Ms. Aubrey?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Someone vandalized my tire.” She pointed toward her car. “They rammed some kind of spike in it.”
His usual genial expression turned grim. “Who would do something awful like that? And right out here in the open, too?”
“No idea.”
Okay, that was a lie. Sort of. It was true that she didn’t know the perpetrator’s name or even what he looked like. By that point, Principal Peale was out of his vehicle. He stopped to study her car before joining her and Ruben on the sidewalk. “Aubrey, are you okay? Did either of you see anything?”
Ruben shook his head. “I’ve been working in the rooms that face the back of the building.”
Aubrey did her best to sound calm. “I’m fine, but I didn’t see anything, either. For sure, there was no one around when I came out of the building.”
Lyle stood with his hands on his hips as he studied their surroundings. He looked pretty disgusted by the whole affair. “I can’t believe someone would do something like this. We should probably call the police.”
He pulled out his phone just as another car turned into the lot. Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was Jonah. He pulled into the spot next to hers and hustled over to where she was standing. “Aubrey, what’s happened?”
Gesturing to her companions, she said, “My friend Ruben was watching from the front door to make sure that I made it to my car okay. When I saw the condition of my tire, I was going to go back inside the building to wait for you, but that’s when my boss arrived. Lyle Peale is our principal, and Ruben Jacobs is the evening custodian here at the school.”
The two men gave her identical expectant looks, obviously waiting for her to continue the introductions. “And this is my friend Detective Jonah Kelly.”
Jonah nodded at her coworkers in turn. “Gentlemen.”
None of them seemed inclined to shake hands. She wasn’t sure what to make of that, considering both her boss and Ruben were normally friendly and outgoing. That said, she had to admit this didn’t exactly feel like a social situation. Jonah walked around to the driver’s side of her car and squatted down to study the damage. After snapping a couple of quick pictures, he rejoined her on the sidewalk. “Are you okay?”
Not really, but she figured she could hold it together until she got home. “Yeah, I was startled when I first saw the damage. Now, I’m more mad than anything.”
That made him smile. “I can understand why. I’ll call it in for you. After the patrol officer takes your statement, I’ll change your tire.”
Jonah kept his eyes on her as he made the call. As soon as he hung up, he peeled off his suit coat and draped it across Aubrey’s shoulders. It was a warm evening, but she was chilled to the bone. “Thanks.”
“No problem. The patrol officer should be here any minute.”
Ruben didn’t look convinced. “I called the police when somebody broke a window in one of the classrooms a couple of months back. It took them two hours to get here.”
He’d no sooner said that than a police car turned into the parking lot, its lights flashing. Jonah looked down at Aubrey. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked down to meet the police officer and talked to her in a low voice. Then he led her around to look at the damage to Aubrey’s car before coming back to where Aubrey waited with Ruben and Principal Peale.
The officer had a clipboard with a form on it, her pen poised to take notes. “Hi, I’m Officer Goff.”
Jonah introduced Aubrey. “This is Ms. Sims. She worked later than usual and came out to find that someone had driven a spike into her tire.”
The officer gave Aubrey a curious look. “I’m sorry that happened. Did you happen to see anything?”
Aubrey shook her head. “Like Detective Kelly said, I worked late. I didn’t realize anything had happened until I came out to go home.”
She pointed toward her two coworkers. “Ruben Jacobs works evenings here at the school, and Lyle Peale is our principal. Detective Kelly arrived right after I first discovered the damage.”
She half expected the woman to ask what Jonah was doing there in the first place, but maybe he’d filled her in on the circumstances before she approached Aubrey and the others. She’d ask him later. Right now, all she wanted to do was get this over with and go home.
Mercifully, it didn’t take long to give her statement. Officer Goff also took down the contact information for both Ruben and her boss, but that was probably only a formality. When they were done, Ruben asked, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to change your tire for you?”
Aubrey looked to Jonah for advice before answering. He smiled at the other man. “I’ll take care of it, Mr. Jacobs.”
Ruben gestured at Jonah’s suit. “You’re not exactly dressed for getting your hands dirty.”
Jonah smiled at him. “That’s what dry cleaners are for. Don’t worry about it.”
While they talked, Lyle sidled closer to her. “Are you sure you’re all right?” He glanced toward Jonah. “There’s no reason for him to hang around and change the tire for you. I’m sure you have some kind of roadside service coverage. Why don’t you call them instead and then wait in my office?”
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. It’s just been a long day.”
It almost sounded as if there was a hint of snark in Lyle’s voice when he mentioned Jonah, but surely not? Like her, he was probably just tired. His day must’ve been longer than hers, and this time of year was a marathon as everyone rushed to get everything done by the last day of school. Her needing to take a leave of absence had only complicated things for him. To hurry things along, she mustered what she hoped looked like a genuine smile. “I appreciate your concern, but you have more important things to do than babysit me. Jonah can handle the tire. It will take less time for him to do it than having to wait for a tow truck to arrive. I do appreciate you and Ruben coming to my rescue.”
At least Lyle didn’t argue. “I came back to pick up some papers I need for a meeting at the district office in the morning. I’ll go grab them and head out since you have everything under control.”
He caught Ruben’s eye and jerked his head toward the building. The older man immediately broke off whatever he was saying to Jonah and Officer Goff to follow Lyle up the sidewalk and back toward the building. He stopped only long enough to speak to Aubrey one last time. “If you need anything, even if your fellow needs to wash up after changing the tire, come back into the building. I won’t engage the alarm until I know you’re gone.”
She patted him on the arm. “Thanks, Ruben. We appreciate it.”
Officer Goff waited until Ruben was out of hearing before she approached Aubrey. She held out a copy of her report as well as her business card. “I’m sorry this happened, Ms. Sims. Detective Kelly knows how to reach me if you or your insurance company have questions, but you can also call me directly.”
“Thank you, and I really appreciate the fast response.”
“Any time.”
When she was gone, Jonah rejoined Aubrey. “Do you want to wait in my car while I work on the tire?”
“I’ll stay with you if that’s okay.”
“It won’t take long.” Then his eyes flared wide. “I didn’t even think to ask. Do you have a spare?”
For the first time all day, she laughed and held out her keys. “It’s in the trunk.”
Jonah was still assembling Aubrey’s car jack when the school principal came back out. He spoke to Aubrey as he walked by, but barely glanced at Jonah before he got in his car and drove off. Aubrey seemed puzzled by her boss’s behavior, but Jonah just shrugged it off. A lot of people were uncomfortable around police officers. Right now, he was more concerned about how well his knee would hold up while he changed the tire. It might end up being one of the nights he’d end up taking a pain pill before bed.
He could have avoided the wear and tear on the joint by accepting Ruben’s offer to change the tire. But that might have raised a few questions he didn’t want to answer, like why Jonah was taking such care in documenting the damage. As far as Ruben knew, it was just a random act of vandalism, not a serious threat against Aubrey. Jonah wore gloves to preserve any evidence that might be on the spike and the tire itself. Considering how careful Aubrey’s stalker had been to date, he didn’t hold out much hope. Just in case, he planned to drop everything off in the lab on his way home.
After tightening the lug nuts one last time, he pushed himself back up to his feet and peeled off his gloves. Aubrey held out his suit jacket. “Thanks for doing that for me, but I’m sorry that you’ve wasted a good part of your evening babysitting me again.”
“No apologies necessary.” He handed back her keys. “Let’s get you home.”
Then he checked the time. “Look, I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to want to bother cooking tonight. Would you like to stop somewhere to grab a bite before we head to your place?”
“Haven’t you had enough of me and my problems for one day? You’ve already gone above and beyond by changing my tire. You don’t need to feed me, too.”
She wasn’t exactly saying no, but neither was she jumping at the chance to spend more time in his company. He straightened his tie as he considered what he wanted to say. It would be smarter to follow her home, check to make sure everything was as it should be, and then grab a burger on his way home. The truth was that he wanted to spend a little time with Aubrey when they weren’t dealing with her case. His reasons behind the invitation were personal, not professional, and therefore it probably wasn’t the smartest idea.
Too bad.
“Let’s just say that I get tired of eating alone and would appreciate the company.”
Aubrey’s answering smile was all he could wish for. “Then I’d love to have dinner.”
Two hours later, they walked out of a local seafood restaurant, one of Jonah’s favorite places in the area. The decor wasn’t fancy, but the service was always good and the food excellent. They’d chatted about books, movies and sports. Anything and everything except Aubrey’s case and Jonah’s job. He didn’t know about her, but he’d really enjoyed the chance to simply chill for a while.
Seeing Aubrey so relaxed and happy had given Jonah an enticing glimpse of the woman she could’ve been all of the time under other circumstances. From the beginning, he’d thought she was pretty, especially with those huge brown eyes and sweet smile. But tonight, the candlelight had emphasized her warm skin and the hints of red in her dark brown hair. They weren’t on a date, but it felt like one at times. It was a nice bit of normal, something he hadn’t had much of since the night Gino died.
As soon as that guilty thought crossed Jonah’s mind, he cringed. How could he have forgotten his friend for even that long? His good mood gone, he instantly snapped right back into cop mode.
“I’ll follow you to the house and make sure you get inside safely. I can’t hang around, though. I’ve still got some work to do tonight.”
That probably came out harsher than he’d meant it to because Aubrey gave him a confused look. “If you needed to get back to the office, you should’ve said so sooner. I have work to do, too. I’m also perfectly capable of getting myself back home. It’s only a few blocks from here. If you want to know I made it there safely, I could always text you.”
“That’s not what I meant...”
He realized he was talking to himself. She had already walked away, heading for her car. He thought about catching up with her long enough to apologize, but maybe it was best if he reminded them both that theirs was a business relationship, nothing more. It couldn’t be. Not when he needed to concentrate on figuring out who was threatening her.
Rather than chase her down to offer his apology, he decided to wait until they reached her house. He soon got another hint that she wasn’t particularly happy with him at the moment. When they approached a traffic light that had already turned yellow, Aubrey punched the gas and scooted through the intersection a hair before the light turned red. He was far enough behind her that he had no choice but to stop. By the time he caught up with her, she was already pulling into her garage.
What was she thinking? They both knew her stalker had been nearby today. If she’d forgotten, he could remind her by showing her the spike in her tire. If the guy had broken into her house while she was gone, he could’ve been waiting to grab her. Jonah slammed his car door and charged after her before she could close the garage.
From the shock on her face when she got out of the car, she’d been totally oblivious to his approach. “Jonah, you scared me half to death!”
“That’s not my fault. You should’ve been able to see me, considering I walked right down the middle of your driveway and straight into the garage. I didn’t hide or sneak in.”
He waved his hands in the air. “What if it had been your kidnapper instead of me? If somehow he’d managed to break in, he could have been waiting inside for you. For all the attention you were paying to your surroundings, he could have subdued you in a matter of seconds.”
She drew herself up to her full height and glared right back at him as she waved her phone in his face. “I have a security system with cameras in every room. I stopped on the street long enough to check all of the footage. There’s no one in the house or the garage.”
Not ready to surrender or even admit that he was overreacting, he moved closer, forcing her to tip her head back to look him in the eye. “Fine, I’ll give you that much. The point is I came in through the open door, and you weren’t watching for a threat in that direction. If he’d gotten you...”
He couldn’t complete that thought, but somehow his hands had ended up on her shoulders. Aubrey responded by placing her hands on his chest. He kept his hold gentle, and she didn’t push him away. Neither of them said anything for what seemed a long time. Finally, Aubrey said, “I’m sorry, Jonah. You’re right. I got careless. I’m sorry for making you worry even more about me. I won’t do it again.”
“And I’m sorry that I lost my temper.” It was time for some honesty. “You know what happened to my partner. I figure you probably understand better than most people what it means to have survivor guilt. When we came out of the restaurant, I realized that it was the first time I’d actually enjoyed myself since the night Gino died. The guilt knocked me sideways for a minute there.”
“There’s no need to apologize, Jonah. I mean that.”
He stared down into her dark eyes as he slowly slid his hands around her, pulling Aubrey in closer, needing this connection. Tucking her head under his chin, he held her lightly, knowing he would let her go the second she wanted him to back off. All he could hope was that she needed this peaceful moment as much as he did. She didn’t resist at all, but that didn’t stop her from asking, “Jonah, why were we fighting?”
“Stress, probably, even though the last thing I want to do is to fight with you.”
“What are we doing now?”
Deciding it was time to go big or go home, he smiled at her. “Probably something else I’ll need to apologize for.”
Then he kissed her.