Chapter 17

Alex dropped Katie at the dorm and went back to the hotel for the night. She would have breakfast with her daughter in the morning before heading home. It was hard to be away from her family, and tonight she felt the separation more strongly than ever. Nicole had upset the apple cart, and Alex was the one trying to hold everyone together.

For the thousandth time in the last two weeks, she tried to decipher her own feelings about Nicole Wallace. Hatred. Revulsion. Those were her strongest feelings. The woman had accused her of jealousy. Alex thought long and hard. Was she jealous of whatever it was between Nicole and Bobby?

Alex thought back to the times they'd sniffed out the woman's trail. Even in those early years, she had seen the hold Wallace had on him. Yes. She was jealous.

She was jealous that Nicole Wallace could capture Bobby's complete attention with hardly any effort. She was jealous of the power Nicole had over her husband. And she was jealous of that way he looked at Nicole sometimes. Alex had told Katie the truth, but she'd left that part out. Bobby was attracted to Nicole, of that she had no doubt. And Alex was jealous.

Trivial. The fact that he was attracted to her was a superfluous trifle. Bobby loved Alex with his whole heart and had given his heart to her completely. Given the opportunity, he would never act on his attraction to Wallace… even if she weren't a hideous excuse for a human being.

The phone rang, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Eames," she said.

"You're up?" he asked, and she almost laughed.

"No, I'm talking in my sleep," she snarked.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Me either."

"I don't like it when you're gone."

"Me either."

"Katie all right?"

"Yes, all decked out for Andy's prom. She'll knock them all off their feet."

"I'm not gonna have a problem with this, this dress, am I?"

"Honey, she's all grown up now."

"Alex."

"Very tasteful. It does have a slit up the side, but you hardly notice it."

"Those are the kind you do notice."

"She's beautiful in it."

"I know." He curled one arm back behind his head. "Alex, I think she's going to make her move soon. Either on me or one of you."

"Katie's on the ball," Alex said. "Maybe a little too cautious, but I'm glad for it."

"You be cautious, too. If anything happened to you, Alex-"

"Hey." She didn't have to say another word. He stopped, and Alex changed the subject. "I should be home by noon tomorrow. You want me to convince Katie to come?"

"Of course I do," he said. "But I can't ask her to do that. She deserves more." He sighed, and let the silence grow between them. When he spoke again, his voice was much softer. "Look, uh… you've got a long drive tomorrow. I'll let you get some rest."

"Good night, Bobby."

"Good night, Alex."

Carolyn Logan took a long, deep breath before she dialed the phone. She was working on a Sunday, not an uncommon thing for her.

Alex's voicemail answered, and Carolyn hung up. It was against protocol, but the Goren family were the closest friends she, Mike, and Andy had. She dialed her phone again.

"Goren," Bobby said. He sounded busy, distracted.

"Bobby, it's Carolyn. I'm working," she said briskly, setting the tone with finality.

"What is it, Carolyn?"

"One of my teams searched Anna Drake's apartment. Evidence was found that… Bobby, Katie was being stalked."

"By?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

"No prints, no clear way to know. Just a picture of Katie in with the woman's bills."

Katie had just finished reading her Dad's notes about Nicole Wallace when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and saw the caller ID was no help.

"Hello," she said, her mouth suddenly dry.

"You're a very smart girl," said the woman with the Australian accent.

A surge of adrenaline went through her. "Hello, Nicole," she said calmly, though her hands were shaking.

There was a pause while Nicole smiled at her popularity. "I've seen you watching me," Wallace said.

"Turnabout is fair play," said Katie.

Another pause, another smile. "You are so like your Daddy. Shall we meet?"

Katie licked her lips and swallowed. "What do you propose?"

"Just two girls, sharing a cup of coffee together. Or are you old enough to drink?"

"Coffee is fine," Goren said.

"It's important we keep our little rendezvous secret. Someone's life may depend on it."

"Predictable," Katie said.

"But effective," Nicole countered.

"All right. When?"

"Tonight, eight o'clock. Just be at your little coffee haunt. I'll find you." The call ended.

Katie's hands shook as she closed up her phone. She started to cry.

Andy and Darren were at the formal shop, renting tuxedos for Friday night. They had found all the right accessories that would match the dresses the girls would be wearing, and were waiting for the manager to draw up the rental agreement. Andy's phone buzzed, and he checked his text message. Stepping away, he worked his thumbs furiously over the phone, his brow knitted with worry.

Darren stayed at the counter, but noticed the change in his friend. After two more texts back and forth, Andy returned to the counter, obviously unhappy. They signed the agreements and took their copies with them out the door.

On the sidewalk, Andy was so distracted he bumped into a young girl who was walking by. He apologized and helped her up as Darren watched.

She was very pretty. She wore skinny jeans and a tank top that showed off her smooth shoulders and dipped a little in the front to reveal her cleavage. Her shoulder length hair framed her face. She accepted his hand and smiled as she got up.

"Are you all right?" He asked her with genuine concern.

"Oh, yes, sure." She smiled again, and asked, "Are you? Something heavy on your mind, eh?"

He shrugged and waggled his phone in the air. "Just my… sister. I'm Andy, Andy Logan."

"Jasmine Lee." Another smile and she hooked her thumbs in her front pocket. She saw his eyes flit down to her cleavage before they moved back up to her face. "You got a wedding or something?" She asked, nodding to the formal store.

He grinned. "No, just you know, Prom."

"Oh," she said, sounding disappointed. "I guess you have a girlfriend, then."

"Oh, no. I'm going with a friend of my sister's. Just, you know, for the experience of it." She gave him a toothy grin and he asked, "Are you busy later?"

"Actually, no, I'm not."

"Maybe we could… hit a movie or something?"

"Sounds great."

Darren waited while the two exchanged phone numbers and wrapped things up. Andy always made it look so easy. For Darren, asking a girl out was torturous. Finally, Andy joined him and they headed down the street to the subway station.