Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

“That’s it,” Santiago declared.

“Thank you so much for your help,” Rocky said, shaking the man’s hand before turning to express his gratitude to everyone else.

Tim and his Daddies, Santiago and Clark, had appeared at the apartment complex as well as Tami and Archer to clear out Melissa’s possessions from her apartment. Melissa knew Rocky could have handled everything himself, but having the people she worked with support her meant the world.

Throwing away the possessions she’d worked so hard to buy was tough on Melissa. It had only taken her one look at the condition of the mattress after she hadn’t been there to keep the water bowls filled. Melissa agreed with Rocky’s assessment that she should just leave it in the dumpster. Insects had eaten their way into the padding, making her skin crawl.

Melissa didn’t know how she’d survived living like that. Her apartment had sheltered her from the weather, but not much more. Getting out of there and living with Rocky now made it seem a million times worse.

As they finished setting virtually everything at the dumpster, Melissa swept through the apartment, double-checking she hadn’t forgotten anything. In the kitchen, she picked up a small pile of papers. Rocky had found them shoved under her door when they’d opened it. The top two were from the neighborhood pizza place. He’d set them aside for her to look through. She scooped them up and headed for the outside trash bin.

Just in case there was something from her landlord, she looked over each item before throwing them in the metal container. Pizza. Pizza. Ooh. Chinese. That was new restaurant close by.

She froze, looking at the masculine scrawl of a handwritten note.

You think you can get away from me?

You’re wrong.

Looking up automatically, she saw a shadow in the window in the last apartment on her floor. He was watching her.

She flipped that page to the back of the stack and read the next. Her heart rate slowed a bit to see the official note from her landlord. That letter notified her she would have to be completely out of the apartment by the last day of the month. It also detailed what the landlord had seen as damage to the apartment. Not surprisingly, it totaled the same amount her deposit had been.

Wood damage to the kitchen cabinets.

Damage to the rubber gasket around the refrigerator door.

Water damage to the carpet in the bedroom where her bug barricades had splashed.

Melissa didn’t even get mad. Of course, the owner wouldn’t return her money. At least he wouldn’t get any more of it.

Looking at the last piece of paper, she discovered a picture of her grabbing her tools out of her car as she visited a yard she cleaned. It was grainy and obviously produced on someone’s home printer. She could tell it was the Wilson’s home. It was in the northern section of town, over twenty miles from this apartment complex.

Melissa steeled herself from looking up. She didn’t know if he was still watching, but he couldn’t see she was scared. What should she do? Quickly, she folded the sheets and stuffed them in her pocket.

“Come on, Melissa. We’re going to get some hot chocolate with everyone before we head home,” Rocky called.

“Coming!” she promised and ran across the parking lot to him.

“Was there anything important in that pile?”

“Maybe. We can look at it later,” Melissa suggested.

Rocky studied her face. “You look upset. Maybe I should see it now.”

“Later, Daddy. I want to get out of here.”

“Okay, Lissy. Let’s go get some hot chocolate.”

“Okay, little girl. You’ve been too quiet. What’s going on?” Rocky asked.

“It’s nothing. I’m here now, so everything will be okay.”

“That does not reassure me, Lissy.” He watched her put her hand on her hips. That wasn’t a normal posture for Melissa. What was happening? “What’s in your back pocket?”

“Just some paper.”

“Let me see it.”

“Daddy. It’s all good. You don’t have to worry about it,” she told him.

Her use of the word ‘worry’ escalated his focus. “Let me see them now.”

Melissa opened her mouth and snapped it shut. She grabbed the pages and handed them over. He could feel her eyes on him as he unfolded the sheets. Glancing over the accounting sheet from the apartment, he knew that wasn’t the problem. The next was.

“How long ago was this taken?” Rocky asked.

“Last week. That’s my new shirt Tami gave me after the other one couldn’t be saved from the bloodstains,” Melissa admitted.

“This was under your door?”

“Yes. There’s something else, too.”

Her tough demeanor cracked a bit. Rocky saw the corners of her mouth tremble. He watched her as he shuffled to the next page. Silently, he read the message.

“We’re taking this to the police, Melissa. Get your shoes and your wallet.”

“They’re not going to do anything,” she predicted.

“We are going to start a paper trail. Everything needs to be documented. Then, we’re going to call Tami and see if your assigned homes can be swapped with Tim. Finally, we’re going to make sure you can protect yourself.”

She stared at him. “You’re not mad?”

“I’m definitely not mad at you. I know who the problem is. As much as I want to go after him now, I can’t be the aggressor.”

He watched her scan his body before she nodded. “He hasn’t really done anything but be creepy.”

“Yet. Usually, bullies look for people they view as weaker than they are. When confronted with the police, I think he’ll decide to move on. Go grab your things.”

“I don’t have to tell Tami, do I? That’s so much work for her and I’ve already been such a problem. I like my job. I don’t want to get fired.”

“If Tami fires you for this, I’ll eat broccoli for three days straight.”

She stared at him before nodding. He knew she remembered their first conversation about his least favorite food. They’d joked about it several times at dinner time.

“Thank you for trusting me. First, the police station,” he instructed and watched her finally turn and head for the bedroom to grab her shoes.

When they returned home after several hours, Melissa toyed with the bracelet on her wrist. It was a simple beaded design, like everyone was wearing. There was one special feature. The largest embellishment held a tracker and a panic button.

“Is it too tight?” Rocky asked, reaching out to pull her hand close to him. “It seems okay.”

“It’s fine. I just don’t like the idea of having to wear one.”

“I know. Would you like to watch a movie in a bit and forget about all this for a while?”

“Can we have popcorn for dinner?” she asked, perking up.

“I will risk having the hulls permanently stuck between my teeth just for you,” he teased.

“I’ll go choose a movie.”

“Let’s call Tami first.”

“I thought you’d forgotten,” she said, scuffing the toe of her sneaker on the carpet.

“No, Lissy. I want you to be safe.”

Melissa pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Tami’s number. Hopefully, her friend would give her a good reference.

“Melissa! Is everything okay? Your arm isn’t hurt again, is it?”

“Thank you for being worried. My arm is fine. Unfortunately, I have a problem with someone. When we cleaned out my apartment, I found a picture of me at one of my regular client’s houses—the Wilson’s. Someone had slid it under my door. I’m pretty sure it’s my creepy neighbor—former neighbor.”

“That’s not good. Did you go to the police?”

Melissa could hear Archer in the background asking questions. “You can put me on speaker if you want.”

“Thanks. That makes it easier. Archer is worried about you, too.”

“Hi, Archer. I’ll put my phone on speaker, too, so Rocky can hear.” As she found and pushed the right button on her phone, Melissa heard Tami bringing him up-to-date.

“What did the police say?” Tami asked.

“They’ve made a record and copied the note and the photo. They’re going to have an officer stop and interview him, but that’s really all they can do. He hasn’t hurt me,” Melissa reported.

“What can I do from my end to keep you safe?”

“Is it possible for there to be a shuffle of clients? I love everyone I see during my week, but maybe if I took different houses, this jerk couldn’t find me,” Melissa asked.

“Got it. Great idea. Is it okay to loop Tim in on the call?”

“Of course,” Melissa said, relieved it didn’t look like she was going to be fired.

In a matter of minutes, Tim had traded his route to Melissa, and he would take on Melissa’s regulars. Relief flooded Melissa that she wouldn’t have to return to the Wilsons’ home. She loved their floofy Shih Tzu, Monkey, but not enough to look over her shoulder constantly. Tami would create an email to notify the dog parents, and they’d swap the three-ring binders with all the information and keys tomorrow in the office at eight.

“That was easy enough. We probably need to look at all the stops to make sure we’re being efficient. It doesn’t hurt to mix things up a bit, but I’ll worry about that another day. You two be ready to talk about the dogs that you see to share your advice tomorrow as well.”

When Melissa disconnected from the call, she looked at Rocky, stunned. “I really didn’t want to make that call.”

“I know. Tami doesn’t just see you as an employee. You’re a reliable part of her business. Plus, you’re a friend and a good person.”

“I am a good person. I’m not going to let that jerk bother me. He doesn’t have the right to screw up my life just when everything seems like a dream,” Melissa said, standing up for herself.

“That’s my Little girl. Now, food and a distraction. Go choose a movie.”

“Can we have extra butter? I think I deserve it.”

“I do, too, sweetheart.”