Part Two
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lilly snatched the card out of his hand as though he'd snooped into something personal.
Rather than explaining himself, which he couldn't do, he turned it back on her. "You lied."
"You have no right to go through my stuff." She sounded like a petulant teenager as she scolded him, haphazardly tossing papers around on her desk and shoving them in her bag.
Scotty recognized her anger - and the fear it was covering. She was terrified. George was the only suspect that had ever frightened Lilly and Scotty knew it. "You have to tell Stillman."
Lilly threw her bag over her shoulder. "No, I don't." She turned and resolutely walked away.
Whether she admitted it or not, Scotty knew she couldn't handle it on her own. He grabbed his jacket and scrambled after her. He didn't want her going anywhere without him. "You're not staying by yourself, Lilly. It's not safe with him out there."
She stared at him for a moment before continuing on her way. "He's always been out there. Besides, I'm not afraid of him."
"Well, I am." He reached out for her arm, pulling her to a stop so he could meet her eyes. "You either stay with me or I'm calling Stillman."
"He's having dinner with his daughter tonight, Scotty. He hasn't seen her in ten years."
"Which is why he'll be really mad that you didn't tell him six hours ago, Lilly."
"I can't just abandon my cats."
"Well, they're not coming to my place." He was sure the cats would be fine for one night, but he wasn't so sure about Lilly.
"Then I'm not coming either." She stepped around him and kept walking.
"Fine, they can come." The last thing Scotty wanted were cats in his apartment. Scratch that, he thought, cats weren't so bad as long as Lilly was safe and sound.
"Well, I'm not coming anyway."
Scotty shook his head as he fell in step beside her, saying nothing as he dialed the lieutenant's number. Lilly grabbed the phone out of his hand and slapped it closed. "You're not really going to tell him, are you?"
"I'm not letting you out of my sight until he's in prison. I'll sleep in my car if I have to." He didn't realize his slip until he saw the glint in her eyes.
"I hope Hondas are comfortable." She didn't say another word as she walked to her car, not even to act annoyed at Scotty's overprotectiveness. She seemed to acquiesce a little - waiting in her car for him to cross the lot to his own. She didn't even try to lose him on the way as he tailed her home - he figured it didn't make any sense because he knew where she lived.
He parked his car behind hers, cursing his stupidity as he watched her go inside. She didn't even look back at him. Scotty settled back in his seat, folding his long arms across his chest. He wanted to be annoyed at her, but he couldn't be. He knew she was scared, even though she didn't let on. He knew she was probably glad he was there, even though she pretended she wasn't. He kept his eyes on her house for the next hour, smiling to himself when she glanced out of one of the second story windows. It was only a few minutes later when she emerged on the front porch in her robe. He bit back his grin when she made her way to the car, scampering across the lawn and sidewalk in her bare feet.
She rapped on the window. "Are you seriously going to sit out here all night?"
He nodded. "Me or Stillman." He held up his phone to prove to her that he was willing to do it. She narrowed her eyes and Scotty nearly told her how very non-threatening she was at that moment - the bathrobe, no makeup, her hair mussed, the silky fabric of her pink pajamas peeking through the v-neck of her robe.
"My neighbors will call the cops."
Scotty grinned and proudly displayed his badge. "Conveniently, they're already here."
"You'd better get over this by tomorrow." She stepped back from the door, but didn't move more than a few steps.
Scotty took it as an invitation and got out. "Why, hot date?"
She glared at him. "I don't like you very much right now."
He smirked. "And yet, you're letting me spend the night. What are the neighbors going to think?" Just to test his luck, he slung his arm around her shoulder. She shrugged it off, but she didn't hit him, so he decided she wasn't really that mad.
"You're not getting a shower. And you're not getting breakfast." She pushed open the door slowly and Scotty wondered if she was rethinking her decision to let him stay. "I have a guest bedroom, but you're sleeping on the couch."
Scotty looked around as Lilly closed the door behind them. Her house seemed cozy and warm - a stark contrast to his apartment. He heard a series of meows and looked down to discover two cats sniffing at his pants. His first instinct was to bat them away, but he resisted because he knew they were important to Lilly. He squatted down and let them sniff his hand. The orange tabby was missing an eye, but eagerly rubbed against Scotty's hand. The three-legged white one was more reserved, but let Scotty pat him. Scotty smiled when he stood up with the tabby in his arms.
"I think I made a friend." The cat purred happily in Scotty's arms.
"Traitor." Lilly scowled, but reached out to stroke the cat. "Good night." She turned and started up the stairs.
"Night, Lil."
"I was talking to Olivia and Tripod." She kept walking, but Scotty was fairly certain her cats' reactions to him pleased her.
"Night, Lil." He watched as she disappeared upstairs without responding. He heard her moving around and decided to try again. His mom had always taught him to never go to bed mad. He leaned over the railing and shouted in the darkness. "Good night, Lilly!"
A moment later, she appeared at the top of the steps, trying very hard to look imposing. "Go to bed."
He grinned, refusing to be intimidated. "Good night, Lilly."
He could tell she was fighting back a grin when she finally replied. "Night, Scotty."
Pleased with himself for his victory, he sat down on the couch and watched television for a while. He was too keyed up to sleep. Olivia curled up next to him immediately and Tripod eventually joined them. He'd known she had cats, but he hadn't realized they weren't regular cats. It made sense, he realized - Lilly had a thing about sticking up for the underdog, or undercat, apparently. He absentmindedly petted the cats until he yawned. Then he stretched out on the couch to sleep.
He awoke with a start. He lay still, trying to figure out what had drawn him from sleep. The cats were both on top of him - one stretched across his legs and the other on his chest. He thought maybe it was the presence of the cats, but as he went to move them, he noticed both of them staring intently at the stairs. It had been a noise, he realized, not the cats that had woken him. He sat up carefully, reaching for the gun he'd left of the coffee table. Once he had it in hand, he made his way up to the second floor, moving as stealthily as possible.
Just as his foot hit the top step, the sound came again. Something was tapping. He saw the closed door to his left that he figured was Lilly's bedroom. He didn't want to wake her if he was just being paranoid. The sound was coming from the other end of the hall. Cautiously, he moved toward it, keeping his back pressed against the wall. He reached inside the dark room and felt for the light switch, flipping it on and flooding the room with light.
It was the guest bedroom Lilly had mentioned - sparsely furnished and devoid of anywhere to hide. The sound was coming from the open window where the shade was slapping against the window sill. He lowered his gun to his side and let out a sigh. Even without a witness, he was embarrassed at his fear. He closed the window and locked it, shaking his head.
He picked up Olivia, who'd followed him. "Tough old Scotty, huh? Afraid of things that go bump in the night." He whispered into the cat's thick coat as he laughed at himself. The cat hissed at him and he let her go, watching as she sprinted away from him and back downstairs. Still creeped out at his own imagination, he left the light on as he headed for the stairs.
As he passed the darkened bathroom, he remembered seeing Lilly looking out at him when he'd been in the car. It had been that window. And it had been closed. He told himself Lilly must have opened it to let in some air, even though the little voice in the back of his head told him she was too sensible to sleep with a window open. Something caught his eye and he turned on the bathroom light.
He rushed to Lilly's room, calling her name as he threw open the door. "Lilly!"
She sat up on the bed, blinking sleepily at him. "Scotty? What?"
He was shaking as he grabbed her arm; needing to touch her to be sure she was really there, really safe. "Get dressed. You're not staying here."
"What's wrong?"
"Hurry up. I'll tell you later."
She sensed the urgency in his voice and saw the gun in his hand. It was enough to convince her and she got out of bed. He turned his back while she hastily put her clothes on, but he didn't leave the room. He didn't want to be that far away from her. Obviously, spending the night one floor below her was too far.
"Scotty, what's this about?"
"I said I'll tell you later." He put his hand on the small of her back, trying to usher her from the room. He didn't want to tell her what he'd seen. He didn't want her to see it herself.
"No, I want to know now." She planted her feet firmly and crossed her arms over her chest.
His eyes darted toward the bathroom as he tried to think of something to say. She saw the quick glance and stepped past him to look. She stared in shock for a long time, taking in the message that had been scrawled across the mirror in her lipstick: It's hunting season.