Page 8 of Daniel Watson

She looked at Joey when he whistled. Cassie asked him what he knew. He shook his head and got up to get something out of the refrigerator. She noticed that they all did that, got into each other cabinets and refrigerators when they were over. While she wasn’t used to it, she did like that they were all so comfortable with each other that they were good about stocking them so that people could feel at home.

“No one knows who he is. After dropping you and Brandley off with Daniel that day, he hung around a lot longer than anyone thought that he should have. When Wilhem showed up, the man disappeared. Along with the van too that he’d been driving. Four days later, it was found burnt on the inside with a body in the back. Without a name, it’s been difficult to figure out who he is. But we’re thinking, at least Wilhem and I are thinking that it was his body. His face had been smashed in as well as his hands and feet burnt too badly to get fingerprints or dental records. He’s an unknown. And since you and Bradley had supposedly died, he was taken care of.” She looked at the picture again, thinking about anything else that she could tell them about the man. “He had a gold tooth. It wasn’t in the front but one of his eye teeth. On his right side as he was turning to me. I remember thinking, what would happen to it if he was killed.”

Chapter 3

Daniel was so excited about their date tonight. It wasn’t going to be all that expensive, just a local restaurant here in town that they were going to, but it was their first date, and he was happy to have someplace for them to go. He even washed the car and cleaned it up so that they’d not have to walk there.

Since Cassie, too, was living at his house with the other women and Luke, he didn’t have to go all that far to get her. Just waiting in the living room with Luke while he read the newspaper. He thought it was funny that the kid enjoyed reading the daily goings on in the world. The kid was brilliant, too. When Cassie came down the long staircase with Sen right behind her, he could only stare in awe at how beautiful she looked, all dressed up.

“You look lovely.” Cassie did, too. She had on a black silky dress with a beautiful slit up the side and a tiny little handbag that she told him was empty. She told him that she wasn’t entirely sure what to carry in something so tiny. He laughed.

“So you’re not bringing your phone so that someone might call you? Brilliant. It might not have worked anyway. I had to make sure that no one was having dinner there too, that was hooked up to a heart monitor or anything like that. You know, because of the freaky thing that happens to me when I’m around electronic equipment.”

“I wouldn’t have thought of that. I guess you’re used to checking for things like that. Do they have a way to fix that for you?” Daniel told Cassie that he didn’t want it fixed. It made for him not being recorded, not to mention he sort of liked being different. “Good thought. Yes, brilliant again. All right. I’m ready to go if you are.”

The car was a great idea, he realized, when it started to sprinkle. Once they were in front of the parking lot, he let her out and pulled into the lot to park. Cassie had waited on him and he was glad for that. Having her go into a place with the shooter around that might well be gunning for her could have been just the thing that would ruin their meal, he thought with a grin. Pulling her chair out and helping her to get closer, just like his mom had taught him, Daniel sat down at his place setting and smiled. This was going to be the first of many dates, he decided.

Before ordering their meal, they were brought out rolls and butter to munch on. He’d never been a big bread eater and was surprised when Cassie said that she wasn’t either. They both ordered a vegetable platter filled with cheese and crackers as well as a plethora of raw vegetables too. They enjoyed it better than they would a salad, he thought and was glad that they were brought a refill before they ordered.

There were hometown things on the menu. There was homemade chicken pot pie, his favorite as well as meatloaf. Cassie had asked if the potatoes were real, and the woman waiting on them just tisked at her. They all three got a good laugh out of that. For dessert, there were things like cobbler, pies and cakes. And a note that claimed if you were on a diet, they wouldn’t tell if you didn’t. Daniel thought that was going to be his motto every time he came here to have dinner.

The dinner was fantastic. He’d always loved home-cooked meals. Since he’d had the pot pie, which he would swear was big enough for an entire family, and Cassie had the meatloaf, they were both groaning when they finished up. Since they were both sharing their food with each other, he was going to have the meatloaf the next time they came. He was told by Molly, the nice woman who waited on them, that tomorrow, if there was any left, there would be cold meatloaf sammiches. She did call them sammiches for lunch. He was both looking forward to that and not at the same time. He was just too full to think that he’d ever eat again.

Once the plates had been taken away, they sat there talking about what they had been doing before coming here, and he was glad to hear that she wanted to stay in the government jobs for as long as she could. They were still looking for the person that ordered the hits on her and her brother but for now, they were watching everyone that came around them.

“I have a pension right now that I’m being paid from. I also have insurance money too that is coming to me. The government is paying me too for the work that I’m doing for them while here. I’m enjoying it better than I think I ever did before.” She told him that they were sending her cash now so that she’d have some money to use. “When people mess with your livelihood, I don’t think that they think about all the issues they’re messing up for you. Like having money in your accounts, your apartment, or house. When I moved here, I was lucky in that Caleb had already purchased me a house so that I could be close to them all or I don’t know what I would have done. I’d been working undercover for the last sixteen months and had just ended it when I was called to help you and your brother.”

“I was working for a real estate broker. Taking aerial shots of houses that they had on the market. We were watching houses to find the drug ring that was thought to be going on. However, there was plenty going on at the offices too. I’ve submitted my reports to Wilhem about what I’d been able to find.” He could tell that something occurred to her when she looked at him. “Bradley had found something disturbing when he’d been working. He brought me in on it by showing me his laptop.” She tried to think what it had been, but all she could remember was something about the doors to the house.

“Don’t think too hard, or it won’t come to you. That’s what happens to me. The moment that I stop thinking about it, everything comes to me in a rush. Just let’s talk about dessert. Do you like pies or cake for dessert?” She answered him. “I like cake too, but not as much as I like fruit pies. They’re especially good when it’s chilly outside, and the wind is blowing hard. With, of course, homemade ice cream.”

“My parents never cooked. But we had a cook in the house that was from the south. And she cooked like that, too. Sweet tea was always in the fridge. There was always homemade bread to go with all our meals.” She laughed, and he smiled back at her. “Breakfasts were her specialty. Biscuits and gravy. Fried potatoes with grits. My dad never cared for most of the things that she cooked for my brother and me, but we ate it right—we were going to meet up and go over the notes. He’d found something about a couple of houses that were drop places for drugs. Or so he thought. Just after that, he was shot. They must have had a bug planted on one of us, now that I think about it. I had been shot, too, but I didn’t realize it. I had to make a call. To pick us up. That’s when you were picked up as well.”

“You don’t think it was a drug drop?” She told him that she wasn’t sure of a lot of things as they strolled around the streets as twilight was beginning to show. “Do you happen to know where the house is? I mean, we could go there and see what we can find if you think that will help you.”

“He saved everything to a cloud service. Why didn’t I remember that before? I guess it doesn’t matter now. But we’ll…I need a secure service. One that can’t get out to anyone but the cloud.” He told her that Joey, as well as Sebastian had them. “You think that they’ll let me use it?”

“I think they’d fall all over themselves to help you out. They really like you, honey.” He pulled her into his arms and held her. Whispering in her ear, Daniel told her that he loved her. He looked around to see if anything looked out of place. Now he was terrified for her safety. She looked up at him just as he was pulling away from her. “What?”

“I just thought of something.” She took his hand and led the way for them to walk by the restaurant. “We’ll come back for the car. I want you to…I’m not sure what you can do, but I have to talk to you privately.”

As he pulled her into an alley quickly so that he could pull her into the darkness that was there, a man walked by them. Daniel was terrified, wondering how long he’d been following them. He wasn’t concerned about if the man was recording him but the simple thought of him being close enough behind them made him realize that they should have taken better care when out in the open like they were. When he passed by the alley going in the opposite direction, Daniel pressed her closer to the brick wall and whispered for her to stand still.

Following the man who was headed back the way they had come, he was surprised that he entered the restaurant that they’d left. Wondering how much information the staff would tell the man about them, he slipped into the place and stood in the darkened door front. Daniel had missed the first part of the conversation but he was there in time to hear the man getting frustrated.

“They were just in here. A couple. The man is dark-haired, wearing a dark suit. A clean-shaven beard, too. Earring in his right ear.” When he described Cassie, he was more worried than before. “She had on a dark dress, heels and had one of those useless purses that women carry—”

“If you got that much information about them, then how come you didn’t ask them who they were? Look, they ate, paid their bill, and left. We don’t take a survey when someone comes in here to eat. You should have known more about them if they were your friends, like you said.” He had to laugh. Molly was getting pissed off, too, he could tell. When asked about if they used a credit card, she told him that they paid cash. “Like a normal person does. They didn’t take up all my time either, asking stupid questions that I done already told you, I didn’t know who they were. Go on now. I’ve got customers. Paying customers I gotta take care of.”

The man walked right by him, not even looking to see who he was. As soon as he left, walking to the parking lot where their car was, it occurred to Daniel that he’d not seen them arrive. When he pulled out of the lot, Daniel made his way out of the building and behind it. He was going to come up to the alley that Cassie was in from that way. She met him about a quarter of the way there. Pulling her into his arms, he held her tightly against his chest as his heart started to beat a little slower.

“I should have told you this sooner, but I love you, too, Daniel. I didn’t think that it would be possible again for me.” He kissed the top of her head and kept his eyes out for the man. He also told her what had happened in the restaurant while he’d been in there.

“We’ll leave the car here until later if that’s all right with you. I’ll have one of my brothers come with me, and I’ll pick it up then.” She told him to have one of his brothers, one that didn’t have a beard to drive it home. “Good idea. Yes, I like that. I think that my heart is better now. Just…I feel really bad that I didn’t even think about keeping you out of sight. I’m truly sorry for that, love.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t think about it either. But this makes us aware that they’re closer than we thought they might be.” Yes, he thought that was good to know. As they made their way to the house, they both kept their eye out for anyone that they didn’t know. It wasn’t until they were about two blocks from their home that Tabby stopped beside them and told Cassie to get into the car.

“I’m going to walk with Daniel and you head to my house. I’ve been digging into things at home, so I might have some information that you might not have.” As soon as Cassie got into the car and drove off, Tabby looked up at him. “You’re in love with her.”