Uncorked (6 page)

As they sat to eat, she smiled
and looked directly at him and said, “I just want to really thank you, for last
night.”

He looked at her, kissed her hand
and smiled.

They returned to
Chella’s suite later that day.

Chella said, “I ordered some
dinner last night but never got around to eating it. We can have it for lunch?”

“Sure, sounds great. Want some
help?”

“No, but you can come keep me
company.”

“Sure.”

“Do you like sushi and sashimi?”

“I love it.”

Mitch sat across the kitchen
counter as she pulled the container out of the paper bag. Something fell out of
the bag in front of him.

“What’s that? The bill?” she
asked as she continued to plate the food.

“No, it’s a playing card. The Ace
of Spades from the Bellagio. How did that get in there?”

“What?” The container in her hand
dropped to the floor. She brought her trembling hand to her face. Closing her
eyes, she leaned against the refrigerator door. Seconds later, she
hyperventilated.

“Chella, what’s wrong?” Mitch
asked, running toward her. She didn’t answer him, but her labored breathing got
worse. He grabbed the paper bag from the countertop. By then she was down to
the floor. He sat in front of her, lifting the bag to her face.

“Relax… just breathe into the
bag… calm down…breathe… breathe… you’re going to be fine, just try to relax.”

Slowly she calmed down and pulled
the bag away. Mitch helped her to her feet and walked her to the nearby sofa.
He poured her a glass of water and sat next to her.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s him.”

“Who?”

“My ex, Aaron. This is exactly
the kind of thing he did years ago.”

“How are you so sure it’s from
him?”

“He used to be an ace playing
poker, so his friends called him Ace. Besides, that’s his M.O. I’ve gotten them
before. Oh my God, this means he knows where I live. I have to get out of
here.” She quickly ran into the bedroom and began pulling suitcases from the
closet.

Mitch followed. “Chella.”

She ignored his call, completely
preoccupied by her thoughts.

“Chella, stop!” Mitch shouted,
trying to get her attention.

“What?”

“We need to call the police. You
need to get them involved in this. Calm down for a minute.”

“I’m so tired of going through
this. I just want it to stop.”

“Then you need to call the
police.”

She sat at the edge of the bed
and dialed the police. Fifteen minutes later one uniformed officer was in her
suite bagging the evidence and a detective was asking her questions. She
relayed the events over the last twenty-four hours, giving him details.

“You say you’ve filed more than
one restraining order?” asked Detective Carter.

“Yes, I have copies of all of
them here.” She replied, pulling a massive binder out of a nearby drawer. It
was organized by year, with supporting documents, pictures of things Aaron had
left her in the past, and copies of letters and emails.

Mitch looked at her wide-eyed but
said nothing.

“Ms. Noon, how long has this been
going on?”

“About ten years.”

“And when was the last time you
heard from Mr. Stewart?”

“I saw him watching me from a
distance about a year and eight months ago. I sold my car so he wouldn’t be
able to track me down. Early in December, I saw him from a distance again, but
I wasn’t certain he saw me.”

“Where did you see him?”

“My friend here, Mitch, and I
were leaving a restaurant on the bay front when I saw him across the street. At
first, his back was to me, but then he turned around. I quickly got in the car.
That’s why I’m not certain he saw me.”

“By any chance, do you remember
what time that was?”

“Yes. We were on our way to a
boat tour that departed at 1:45 p.m., so I’d say it was anywhere between 1:15
p.m. and 1:30 p.m.

As the detective perused through
the binder, he asked, “How many times have you moved?”

“Seven.”

Both Mitch and the detective
looked at her in shock.

“He’s dangerous. I don’t take
chances.”

“You shouldn’t. I’m heading to
the restaurant to see what other information I can find out, check their
surveillance cameras, that sort of thing. I’ll be back in a while.”

“Thanks, detective,” said Chella.

Mitch made her a cup of tea, and
as she sat on the couch drinking it, he cleaned up the food that had fallen on
her kitchen floor. The police had taken samples of it to the lab, advising them
against consuming it. Mitch threw out the rest.

He sat next to her on the sofa.
“Do you feel better?”

“I knew this would happen. If you
know what’s good for you, you’d stay away from me. It’s just a matter of time
before he approaches you.”

“Chella, I don’t care about that.
I’m not afraid of him.”

“Well, maybe you should be. He’s
dangerous and that means if you’re in my life, you will be in danger.”

“That’s a chance I’m willing to
take. You keep saying he’s dangerous—and you’re right—but this seems like so
much more. What did he do to you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Chella, I’m here for you.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Why won’t you trust me?”

She stared at him for a second
unable to answer. A knock sounded on the door. Detective Carter had returned.

“I hate to tell you this, but it
looks like you were right. We reviewed the camera footage from the restaurant
last evening, and a man can be seen slipping something into your bag. We can’t
see his face, but we printed out some images. Is this him?”

She studied the four images the
detective spread out over her dining table.

“It’s him. His hair is longer,
but I’m certain it’s him. If you magnify his hand you’ll see a tattoo—the Ace
of Spades.”

“I think it would be best if you
don’t stay here over the next few days.”

“That’s fine because I’ll be
moving. If I can help it, I won’t be staying one more night here.”

“So what’s next? Are you going to
arrest him?” Mitch asked.

“We will be issuing a warrant for
his arrest, but right now we can’t seem to find a current address for him.
We’re going to open an investigation, and hopefully we’ll be able to track him
down soon. So for now, be vigilant, be aware of your surroundings and please
don’t hesitate to call me if you notice anything off.”

“I don’t know where I’ll be, but
you can reach me on my cellphone.”

“Great, I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks, Detective.” Mitch
escorted Detective Carter to the door.

Mitch glanced at Chella when they
were alone and said,

“Why don’t you stay with me for
the next few days until the police are able to track him down?”

“No. Thank you, but I can’t do
that.”

“Why?”

“Because I barely know you.”

“You know me well enough, Chella.
Please let me help you.”

“This isn’t your problem. I need
to pack and get out of here.”

“Chella, you’d be my guest. We
don’t have to share a bed. I have a guest room, remember?”

“I appreciate you wanting to
help, but we can’t see each other. Last night was a mistake.”

His piercing eyes widened and
turned deep green at her response, “How can you say that?”

“Look, Mitch, I can’t do this
right now. Please leave. I have to pack.”

“Don’t push me away.”

“I can’t think straight with you
here.”

“I’ll go, but promise me you’ll
call and let me know you’re okay. Please.”

“Fine. Thanks for everything,”
she replied, escorting him to the door.” He kissed her lightly on her cheek
then pulled her into a warm embrace.

“Remember, I’m here if you need
me. Even if it’s just to talk.”

“Okay.”

She closed the door behind him,
making sure to fasten the chain and safety lock, double-checked it a second and
third time, and closed all the draperies in the space.

She returned to her room and
packed six large suitcases. After a quick shower, she dressed and slipped the
rest of her personal belongings in her bag. She called the concierge and had
them send someone over to pick up her luggage. She sent her luggage ahead of
time to the hotel where she would temporarily be staying until she could make
more permanent arrangements. She waited two hours, then headed to the hotel
herself. If she was being watched, nothing would appear out of the norm if she
left with no baggage.

This move had
been difficult for Chella. It was
the place where she felt most comfortable and had lived at the longest. She
knew the staff by name and even a little personal information about some, their
kid’s names and stories, and now she had to leave without saying goodbye.

She couldn’t stop thinking about
Mitch either, the night before she had trusted him with some of the most personal
and painful details of her past, he had been a great friend, but she did not
want her issues to bring problems into his life. All these years ago Aaron had
threatened to kill her parents. She would not put it past him to try to get to
her by hurting the people she cared about, especially if he could not get to
her. After she was certain he saw her getting into Mitch’s car, she knew he’d
be a target. Besides, it could not be too difficult finding a person who drove
a Jaguar XKR Coupe, especially because of the color. It was not the most common
car on the streets.

Mitch stepped out
of the shower and glanced at his
watch. It was almost seven in the evening, and he still had not heard from
Chella. It bothered him that she thought their previous night together was a
mistake. Every time he felt he had made progress with her, something would
happen, and he found himself taking two steps back. He was tempted to call her.
To say he was torn about what he should do was an understatement.

He wanted to be there for her,
but she kept pushing him away. If he was too persistent, she might have felt he
was coming on too strong and backed away completely, like a reminder of her
stalker ex. But for him, leaving her alone to fend for herself wasn’t an
acceptable option. He could not ignore her problem and pretend like it did not
exist. If something were to happen to her, especially now that she had told him
her fears and her history, he would not be able to live with himself. To make
matters worse, he had a feeling that he had only gotten to the tip of the
iceberg. He knew there was more she hadn’t told him. He was one of only a
handful of people, if not the only person, in a position to help.

His thoughts were interrupted
when his cell phone rang. He was relieved to see Chella’s name appear on the
screen.

“Hi, how are you?” he answered.

“I’m okay. I just wanted to
follow up with you like I promised.”

“Thanks for checking in. How do
you feel?”

“Antsy, but I’ve been here
before. It will work out. I’ll be fine.”

“Can I do anything for you? Take
you to get something to eat?” He was asking her all these questions, but he
really wanted to know where she was.

“No, thanks. I think it would be
best if I dealt with this on my own. This isn’t your problem.”

“Fine. I’ll give you your space,
but Chella, please don’t shut me out. I want to help.”

“I won’t. Thanks for being so
supportive.”

The rest of
the weekend went by and Mitch
had not heard from Chella. He wondered if she would ever take the initiative
and call on her own. Time would tell. By Tuesday the following week, it took
every ounce of control he had to stop him from calling her. He was thankful he
had a business meeting to distract him that evening.

As he drove to the meeting at a
hotel near Shelter Island, he could not help but think about Chella. The route
had been so similar to her old living quarters. He kept hoping his phone would
ring, and he would hear from her that night.

As the taxi
drove Chella home, she found
herself constantly looking over her shoulder. Earlier during the day, she
devised a plan to alter her appearance until Aaron could be found: sunglasses,
scarves, hats and colored contact lenses. She would work from home and keep a
low profile over the next few days, but for a couple of meetings she would have
to go into the office. She called different drivers to take her where she
needed to go and changed the route each time.