It was now time to show his darling Nicole how committed he was to ensuring her peace and happiness. Her wayward roommate was experiencing a sudden influx of clients wishing to use the tiny shop for estate sales. This, of course, was all thanks to a few referrals made to close friends with aging or deceased relatives. The detective was engrossed in his investigations. He was amused by the irony of the situation. He’d known from the beginning that the few breadcrumbs he left would eventually lead someone back to him. It was never his intention to perpetrate the perfect crime. Yet now, his past transgressions were creating the perfect distraction giving him the means to his long desired end. His steadfast resolve to remain in control of himself, no matter how painful, was paying off tenfold. He felt certain that this time, with this one, everything would be different. His Nicole would realize that he was her best and only option. How foolish he’d been to think the women before her were worthy or deserving of him. In his desire to find his true match, he had wasted his time trying to force misshapen pegs into the hole in his heart that could have only ever been filled by her beauty and light. It wasn’t the fault of the other women, though. They knew that what he asked of each of them was impossible for them to accomplish. None would have fulfilled his needs the way his Nicole would. Unfortunately, they all paid for his mistake with their life.
Now there would be no mistakes. Now, his love would not be spurned. Now, he would be complete.
#
The next three days went by at a glacial pace. The fact that it was Friday did little to lift my spirits. I had two follow up dates to plan, which meant that I potentially had four satisfied clients. It also meant that I’d be closing four accounts. That was the last thing that I needed since coming under scrutiny for my lack of recruitment skills. Closed accounts meant no money. The less money you brought in, the less useful you were to the Sadie Goodwin Empire.
What I did need, was a miracle. Detective Quinn was a bust. I hadn’t heard from him since I’d accidentally invited him for a late night booty call. A man like him didn’t strike me as the type who’d need the services of a novice matchmaker anyway. He was tall, ruggedly handsome, well built, and protected damsels in distress for a living. The man probably had a different woman in his bed every night of the week. And they all probably left sore but well satisfied. Unlike me. No, I didn’t care about him, his women, or how lucky they all were to actually be getting some. I didn’t need that kind of drama and distraction in my life. Once I set up the meeting between him and Miss Molly, I’d wash my hands of him and focus on more important things – like my career.
Leigha suggested I advertise my services in the shop, since we were both targeting the same market. I tended to agree with her, so I put up a poster advertising an open mixer and a few business cards. I wasn’t going to put a lot of money into the idea simply because there wasn’t a lot to spend. I’d reuse the same restaurant as before, cut the refreshments to light finger foods, and dump the rest of my meager budget into the open bar. It’d be a slight step up from the standard bar or club scene, and to satisfy the need for a profit margin the whole thing would be ‘pay-to-play’. The more my plan came together, the more I felt tiny pieces of my soul being chipped away. The sudden ring of my phone jerked me back from the edge of despair I was dancing on.
“Nicole James,” I answered wearily.
“I’ve got to admit, that was not the reception I was expecting after our little chat the other night.” His voice was deep and slightly gravelly. I scrambled to refocus myself – I needed to sound like the professional woman that I was, not a sex-starved idiot.
“Detective Quinn, thank you for finally getting back to me. I’m sure you have a busy schedule so I’ll try to make this quick.” I paused, expecting him to say something. All I got was silence so I continued, “I recently got a call from one of the older ladies on the island who said she’d like to meet with you to discuss the veils your investigating.” I paused again, still nothing. “Anyway, the ladies always meet for tea at Sam’s Bake Shop at ten o’clock. Ask for Miss Molly.”
“I was under the impression you’d be there as well.”
“No. Why would I be there? You asked for help, I pointed you in the right direction. Now, you do your job and I can continue on with my life as if nothing happened.”
“What if I…what if I asked nicely?” The detective’s voice dropped to a whisper. It wasn’t a flirtatious thing, more like he didn’t want anyone else to hear what he was saying.
“You’re not scared of a bunch of little old women are you Detective,” I couldn’t keep the laughter out of my voice. “I’m sure they won’t bite. Big, strong man like you should certainly be able to hold his own against a few retirees.”
“So, you think I’m big and strong?” Before I could respond, a bouquet of calla lilies walked into my office.
“Hold that thought,” I rested the phone on my shoulder and addressed the flowers. “Mallory? Why are you hiding behind those flowers?”
“These just came for you, Ms. James.” Her head popped out from behind the massive arrangement giving her a better view of where she was walking. It was a good thing, too, because she was on a collision course with my chairs.
“Who brought them?” No one I knew would send me flowers, but I wouldn’t put it past one of the clients to send them as a ‘thank you’ for helping them find their future husband or wife.
“It was dropped off at security downstairs. I’m not sure who it’s from, but there’s a card attached. Want me to read it?”
“I can do that myself, Mallory,” I heard a chuckle on the other end of the phone.
The young woman smiled sheepishly and turned to the door. Just before passing through the open door, she turned back and added, “Whoever he is, he really cares. All I ever get are daisies from the supermarket.”
I nodded, remembering a time not so long ago when I got excited over limp roses and chocolates from the corner store. Looking at the bouquet, it was easy to tell that whoever sent them spent a considerable amount of money. Two dozen full size white lilies were nestled amongst dark green palm leaves all arranged in a sleek rectangular crystal vase. The entire thing was massive in height and weight. How Mallory was able to carry it into my office was any wonder.
Tucked in the flowers, I found an envelope with a hand-written card inside. The writing wasn’t one that I recognized, but the shop owner could have written the card. Reading the message, however, made me ill. We are bound to each other...
“Ms. James? Hello?” The voice was muffled, as the phone was still tucked between my chin and shoulder. I was only half aware of the caller on the other end on the line. “Nicole!” it was the familiarity and sense of urgency in his tone that finally brought me back to the Detective.
“Yes, Detective. I guess I zoned out for a moment there.” I was still staring at the card, trying to discern who would have written the cryptic words. “You were saying something?”
“It wasn’t that important, don’t worry. Listen, I appreciate you setting up the meeting,” I didn’t hear any of the rest of what he said. Turning the card over I found the second half of the message - …’til Death do us part.
The details of what happened after are sketchy at best for me. Apparently I threw the vase of flowers across the room, because one of the janitorial staff was now busy sweeping up shattered crystal and bruised flowers. A puddle of water was soaking through the plush gray carpet, ruining it and the padding underneath. I wondered if Sadie would make me pay for the area to be replaced. Mallory, bless her heart, was attempting to console me by rubbing my back and muttering useless phrases like ‘there, there’ and ‘you’ll get through this’. She even made me a cup of her foul smelling herbal tea. Despite her best efforts, she made me feel even more helpless and vulnerable. And then there were the other women in the office who suddenly had to use the bathroom on my end of the hall – a thinly veiled attempt to find out what fresh drama was brewing. They were also clambering over each other to catch a glimpse of Detective Quinn, who was struggling to extract some scrap of useful information from the building’s security coordinator.
“You’re the head of security for a multi-million dollar corporation, and you’re telling me you have no way of knowing who walks in and out of these doors? Even better, you let them make deliveries without identifying themselves?” Watching the detective battle for control over his anger and irritation, I began to wonder at his motives in all this. Sure, he was an officer of the law and it was his duty to protect the public, but couldn’t he have sent any uniformed officer to take statements and file a report?
“It was just some stupid flowers,” I mumbled to no one in particular.
“What’s that sweetie?” Mallory’s hand stopped midway up my back. I was thankful for the pause; she was rubbing so persistently that my skin was raw and I was sure there was now a hole in my blouse. Quinn, satisfied that the security coordinator was thoroughly emasculated, came and crouched in front of me with a glass of water. He smirked when I thrust the cold, gray tea into his hands and gulped down the refreshing drink greedily. Hopefully Mallory didn’t see me. I knew she meant well, but I was sure whatever she put in that mug would have killed me.
“They were just flowers. I don’t need all of this…this fuss because I didn’t like the flowers.” I could see that Detective Quinn was going to argue me down from that point, but Sadie chose that precise moment to grace us all with her presence. With a critical eye she surveyed the room, finally settling on the obvious – Detective Quinn. She homed in on him like a shark to chum in the water.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself. Clearly our little Nicole doesn’t need all of this attention for something so silly and trivial. There is still a business to keep running.”
“I think it’d be best to let the South Port Police Department decide what is trivial.” Detective Quinn stood up and positioned himself between myself and the rest of the room. He looked as though he were shielding me from further attack. Sadie noticed as well, yet her ire was directed at me and not the man blocking her.
“Who might you be? Someone from our fine police department, no doubt.” I could tell her already cool demeanor was turning ice cold. This was her building, and we were her people. To have an outsider, and one of a lower class at that, come in and tell her what to do was unfathomable. Sadie did not suffer the poor, stupid, or weak. To his credit, the detective never once flinched.
“Detective Corwin Quinn, ma’am. I was speaking with Ms. James on the phone when she became distressed upon receiving the flowers and death threat.” I cringed at his words. In one fell swoop he managed to get me three strikes: 1) personal phone calls at work, 2) receiving romantic gifts while at work, and 3) allowing personal relationship problems to interfere with work. Everything boiled down to efficiency and effectiveness with that woman. It was our life’s focus to help the rich, powerful, and popular find each other, marry, and create more rich, powerful, popular people. I was really hating my job. Even more, I was hating the self-appointed protector standing before me. If I didn’t want to work at Fusion anymore I’d quit. His big mouth was going to get me fired.
“Actually, Mrs. Goodwin, umph.” I tried to cut in by nudging Detective Quinn out of my way. It was like trying to push over a ten inch brick wall with a feather. Getting the idea, he took pity on me and moved himself to the side, ignoring my glare. “Actually, I was speaking to the detective about the open mixer that I’ve put together for potential clients.” It was now his turn to glare at me. The side of my face started to burn a little, but I brushed it off. “I’d met Detective Quinn on the island and noticed how much attention he garnered from the women, young and old. I think he’d be the perfect thing to draw in more middle tier female clients. And once we have them, the men will surley follow.”
“And this ‘open mixer’, you came up with it on your own?” I probably should have been insulted at the insinuation that I wasn’t creative enough for such an idea, but I let it slide. She was forgetting about the dramatic scene that had just taken place.
“Absolutely. I took what you said in our meeting to heart, and I really think this will be an effective way to draw in a new type of clientele.” Sadie’s eyes flashed at the prospect of more money coming in. One crisis averted.
“Very well. Get this mess cleaned up. You’ve got work to do my dear. So do you, Mallory.” The younger woman yelped like a puppy that’d been kicked and quickly made her escape. Sadie raked her eyes over Detective Quinn one final time and then stalked out of my office, sending the small crowd outside my door scattering and scrambling for cover. The janitor was long gone; a faint water stain on the floor now the only remaining evidence of what had transpired. Under the guise of collaboration, the security coordinator grumbled something about surveillance tapes and made a hasty exit as well. That left me, and a very red-faced police detective.
“I’m not going to be your bait for desperate, lonely women looking for a meal ticket.”
“Then, I’m not going to sit in a bakery drinking peppermint tea and eating scones listening to a bunch of old biddies talk about the good old days.” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him as if to say, ‘so there’. I knew it was childish, but I needed this event to work.
“I don’t think my girlfriend would appreciate me whoring myself out for another woman.”
“But she’d be okay with you ‘whoring’ yourself out for her? She sounds like a real peach.”
“Fine, there’s no girlfriend. I still won’t do it.”
“Eat enough scones for me then. And watch out for Valerie Tharp, she’s a bit hands-y from what I understand. Young thing like yourself,” shaking my head, I trailed off the rest of the sentence in dramatic fashion.
“Alright. I do this meat market thing, you go with me to the old lady tea party.”
“Deal. See you at ten a.m. sharp.”
#
He tossed the nondescript dark green baseball cap and windbreaker into a dumpster as he casually strolled down the street and away from the office building. He didn’t need to stay and make sure that the flowers were delivered, and once she read the card he certainly didn’t need to be anywhere nearby. It wasn’t time for her to come to him yet, but she needed to know that he had claimed her for his own. Until the moment was right, she would know that his love – their love – was all encompassing.