Julia

Chapter 11

Seven days went by, and very little in their lives changed. Stu was constantly watching to see if there were any cars following him, and Julia jumped every time the phone rang, but they went to work every day and spent every moment they could, together. On the weekend they went sailing, getting far away from familiar places. Julia would pack a lunch, or Stu would have the deli down the street make up a basket, and they'd spend the whole day together on Saturday. Sunday they'd meet for breakfast, then buy the paper and find a movie Julia wanted to see. Stu didn't care what it was; it allowed him to sit in a darkened theatre with his arm around her, sneaking pieces of her popcorn. Her nearness to him was all that mattered.

Another week went by, and everything remained quiet. Stu worried but didn't tell Julia; Julia worried but didn't tell Stu. Every once in a while there would be a hang-up phone call at Orlofsky's, but nothing else. Another weekend passed the same pleasant way as the previous two, and Julia began to think Harvey had decided to find some other way to spend his time and money rather than trying to track her down. Of course, Harvey was nothing if not persistent. Once something belonged to him, it was his entirely, forever. And there was no mistake about it, Julia Benson Davis was his.

Things began to change for Stuart the following Monday. When he got to the office there was a phone message waiting for him. It read simply, "Watch your back, Bailey." Stu suspected Harvey immediately and questioned Suzanne about the voice that left the message. "Just an ordinary voice, Stuart. It was a man, of course, but that's all I can tell you about it. The call came in about eight-thirty. Refused to identify himself, said you would know who it was from."

"I do, unfortunately." Stu sounded frustrated and angry.

"Harvey Davis?" Jeff asked, coming out of his office.

"The same. This may be the only warning shot I get."

"And that may be all there is, too. Let's go to your office. Suzanne, would you run over and get us some coffee, please?"

Once they got situated in Stu's office, Jeff asked him, "Are you going to tell Julia?"

Stu shook his head. "No. I'll wait and see what happens. This could be just a scare tactic."

"Do you think he's violent?"

"He's been violent before. There's no reason to believe he wouldn't be now." Stu wasn't worried for himself. He was worried for Julia. If this was any regular case he would call Gil now.

"Stu . . . call Gil."

Stuart chuckled ominously. "Great minds, partner." He picked up the phone and dialed Lieutenant Gilmore's number. Gil must not be terribly busy, he answered his own phone on the first ring. "Gilmore."

"Gil it's Stu. I've got a problem I need to discuss with you."

"Is it something we can do over the phone, Stu? I've got a department meeting in thirty minutes."

Stu was disappointed, but understanding. "No, it's really not. When do you expect to be free?"

"Oh, by noon I would think."

There wasn't a moment of hesitation in his answer. "If you'll come over here when you're finished, I'll buy you lunch. At Dino's."

Gil laughed when he heard that."Must be really important for you to open up the old wallet."

"It is. Do we have a date?" Stu knew Gil was joking, but he had no inclination to joke back.

This was something more than a problem with a client; Gil could hear it in his friends voice. "We do. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thanks, Gil. I'll see you when you get here."

Jeff waited until he'd hung up the phone before commenting. "Feel better now?"

Stu looked his partner right in the eye. "No, but Gil might be able to help."

"What else can you do?"

"Make sure my gun's with me. Keep a sharper eye out for anybody tailing me. I tried to convince Julia we should stop seeing each other for a while, but she wouldn't go for it. Made me promise I wouldn't suggest it again."

"Stu, is she worth all this? I mean, you putting your life out there on the line. Is she worth it?"

Bailey didn't answer right away, and when he did he looked Jeff straight in the eye. "Yes, Jeff, she's worth all this."

Jefferson Spencer had never seen his partner quite so serious before; especially not about a woman. "Stu, do you love this girl?"

It was easy to answer Jeff . . . he didn't have to say the words. But he was sure of his feelings. "Yes, I do."

Suzanne brought the coffee in. "Sorry it took so long. Henri had to make a new pot."

"All that time for a pot of coffee?" Jeff asked.

"Have you ever seen the size of the pot Henri uses?"

"Come on, let's give Stu some privacy," Jeff told her as he escorted her out of Bailey's office and closed the door behind him.

Spencer stood at Suzanne's desk for a few minutes. "If you get another call for Stu from the man that phoned this morning, give it to me. Until I tell you otherwise."

Jeff went back to his office and closed the door.

XXXXXXXX

Gil arrived right around noon, and Stu was more than ready to go to lunch. They walked across the driveway and were seated right away by Larry. "Coffee, Mr. Bailey? Lieutenant Gilmore?"

"Yes," they both answered at the same time.

As soon as the coffee was delivered the Lieutenant asked, "What's this all about, Stu?"

"It started out as a case of a missing person, Gil. But it's turned into something a lot more important. More than a month ago . . . " and Stuart launched into the story of Harvey and Julia Davis. He stopped when Danny came to take their order, then began again until he got to the message left for him this morning. They were interrupted once again when lunch was delivered. "What do I do, Gil?"

"Don't take any more missing persons cases," Gil started, and then saw the desperate look on Stu's face. "Kookie get the color and make of the automobile? And the license plate?"

Stuart pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket. "Here's everything."

"I'll put a tail on him. What about the girl? Julia? Can you stop . . . ?"

Stu shook his head and cut Gil off. "Don't even ask that. I tried to put it on hold for a while, and she absolutely refuses. Besides, I'm the only protection she's got."

"I'll call the Orange County Sheriffs and see what they can do. Conrad owes me a favor, anyway. I need her home and work addresses." Out came another piece of paper. "She's that important to you?"

"She's that important to me."

"I can put a tap on your phone if you want."

"I don't think that'll work, Gil. He calls on the office line, and we can't have that tapped."

"If I find anything out I'll let you know. I'm headed back to the office. Call me if you hear anything more from Davis."

Stuart nodded. "Thanks, Gil. I'll do that."

Gilmore got his car from Kookie; Stu walked back to the office. Jeff had gone to West Covina for a meeting, and he wasn't supposed to return until three or four, depending on the traffic. Stu sent Suzanne to lunch and called Roscoe's room. "Roscoe."

"How fast can you get to the office?"

"Fifteen minutes, Stu."

"Good enough."

Roscoe was true to his word. Within fifteen minutes he was knocking on Stu's door. "Come in, Roscoe," Stuart called, and that's exactly what he did.

"What's up, boss?"

"I need you to keep somebody under surveillance for me."

"Sure."

Stu knew he had to put it into Roscoe's language to get the point across. "This is a filly I got in a claiming race, Roscoe. She's worth her weight in gold. I'm going to give you her home and work addresses. I want you to keep track of her as close to twenty-four hours a day as you can. Get Kookie to help."

Roscoe took the piece of paper Stu handed him. "How important is this filly, Stu?"

"She's worth the whole enchilada, my friend."

Roscoe whistled. "That much, huh?"

"That much. You see anybody in a car that matches the description on the back of that paper, you call Gil right away. Then call me. This isn't a freebie, Roscoe. I'll make it worth your while."

"Understood."

"Starting now, Roscoe," Stu told him. Sometimes Roscoe just needed a push to get going.

"See you, boss." Once Roscoe was gone Stu leaned his elbows on the desk and put his head in his hands. He'd done everything he could, for now. He just hoped it would be enough.