The three ladies walked through the lobby as gracefully as possible.
Stephanie and Jessica nodded their heads at the women they knew and were
almost to the elevator when Matilda called Stephanie over. "I'll meet you
in our room," Steve said to Jesse as he lead Geraldine to the elevator.
"What is it Matilda?" Steve asked concerned.
"You asked me to let you know if I saw that guy hanging around here
again," Matilda began.
"The one you thought was an old boyfriend of Felicity's?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, I saw him when I came in from the market," Matilda explained.
"He was standing in the same place, just watching the building. Do you
think we should call the police?"
"Not yet," Steve said thoughtfully. "Would you write down a description
of him? I'm going up to Felicity's in a few minutes. Maybe she will know
who he is."
"Sure Stephanie," Matilda said as she got a pen and paper. "If you
don't mind my asking, who was that who came in with you and Jessica just
now."
"Oh, that's Felicity's sister," Steve said smiling and trying not to
laugh. "She just got into town and Felicity asked us to pick her up at the
airport."
"Oh," Matilda said as she handed Steve the paper she had written the
description on. "You know, in all of the time I've lived here, I don't
think I've ever seen Felicity come out of her penthouse."
"She told me that Harold used to bring her what she needed from the
outside," Steve observed.
"I know. We've taken care of that ever since..." Matilda couldn't
finish her sentence.
"She's lucky to have friends like you," Steve said as he touched her
hand. He took it off quickly and said, "I'd better go. Jessica and I need
to get Felicity's sister up to her. Let me know if this guy shows up
again."
"All right."
Steve went to the elevator and waited until the doors were closed before
he chastised himself. "Good going Sloan. You almost blew it back there.
Forget Matilda, focus on the case."
When he got to his and Jesse's door, he just opened the door long enough
to tell Jesse and Chief Masters that it was time to go to Felix's penthouse.
They went up the elevator, and Chief Masters almost decided to back out, but
Steve wouldn't let him.
They knocked on the door and Felicity answered. She started to laugh
when she saw her brother in his outfit. "I'm sorry, I forgot that you would
have to dress up to get through the lobby. Come on in."
The ladies walked in and the dogs perked up when they recognized Jessica
and Stephanie. They weren't sure about Geraldine though. Felicity sent
them to their baskets and motioned for her guests to sit. There was silence
for a minute before Felicity spoke.
"I realize how hard it was for you to come here today, Gerald," she
began. "I want you to know how much I appreciate it."
"You're my brother, I'll always be there for you," Gerald said sitting
down. "I may not agree with your choices, but I will always be there if you
need me. What is it you wanted to tell me?"
"Actually, it's not what I wanted to tell you," Felicity said, getting
up and going over to the desk by the window. "It's what Harold had to tell
you. He wrote this about two days before he died and asked me to give it to
you if anything happened to him."
She handed him an envelope and opened it. "He says that someone was
stalking him," Gerald said as he read the letter. "He thought he knew who
it was, but he couldn't remember his name. He gave a description though."
"Give it to me," Steve said as he got his note pad out.
"He says the guy is 6'2", blond hair, brown eyes, well-built, late
forties. What?"
He noticed that Steve had stopped writing. "That's the same
description that Matilda gave me of the man that has been asking for
Felicity," Steve said soberly. "She said he was here this morning."
There was a pause in the conversation while Felicity went to answer the
phone. "It's for you Stephanie."
Steve gave Jesse a look as he started to giggle. Jesse stopped
laughing. Steve took the phone. "Hello? Hi Matilda. He is? Where? All
right, thanks for letting me know."
"What is it?" Jesse asked.
"He's here," Steve said as he started out onto the balcony. "That must
be him."
Everyone joined him on the balcony and saw who Steve was talking about
standing across the street, looking at the building. Felicity caught her
breath and went back in.
"Do you know him?" Gerald asked as they went back inside. He was
concerned by the look he saw on his brother's face.
"Yes, I went to college with him," Felicity said as she sat down. "He
was my first love. And he's a big reason why I don't go outside."
"That's Bryan?" Gerald asked, getting angry.
"Who's Bryan, and what did he do to you?" Jesse asked as he sat down
next to Felicity.
"Bryan Carter was a philosophy major," Felicity said. "I fell in love
with him the moment I laid eyes on him. We dated for nearly a year, then I
started wanting a commitment. That's when things got ugly. He changed. He
went from being loving and gentle to being a monster. He beat me. He
nearly killed me. I met Harold in the hospital. He convinced me to press
charges. A week before the trial, Bryan told me that if I didn't drop the
charges, he would kill me. I almost did. If it hadn't been for Harold, I
probably would have. The trial started and the day after I testified, Bryan
broke into my house and raped and beat me. I was so traumatized that I
haven't been outside since. Well, except for when Harold and I opened this
place."
"All right," Steve said as he headed to the door. "I'll go down and
speak to him. Jesse, you stay here."
"I'll go with you," Chief Masters said, as he started to follow Steve.
"That's not a good idea," Steve said stopping him. "No offense, sir,
but you might blow our cover if you come down there."
"Detective..."
"Sir, can you promise me that you will not loose your temper?" Steve
interrupted.
"I guess you're right," he said holding his hands up.
Steve headed downstairs and out the front door. But by the time he got
outside, Bryan Carter was gone. He headed back into Chez Felicity just as a
florist delivery man went out. He didn't think anything about it as he went
back to the elevators and went upstairs.
He went up to Felicity's first and got Jesse. He told Chief Masters to
stay with his brother in case Bryan showed up again. "We need to stop by
the room before we do anything else. I brought my phone book CD ROM with
us. Hopefully Carter is listed and I won't have to go to the precinct."
"Do you think he's our guy?" Jesse asked hopefully. He really wanted
this case to be over with. He hadn't told Susan about it and she was
starting to wonder why he wasn't home and why he broke their last two
dates.
"I don't know," Steve said as they got off of the elevator and headed
for their room. Steve opened the door and he and Jesse stopped dead in
their tracks when they saw what was waiting for them inside. "I don't
believe it," Steve said.
Jesse was trying to control his laughter. There sitting on the couch,
all decked out, was Jack Stewart.
"What are you doing here Jack, or should I say Jacqueline?" Steve asked
laughing a little. "And a better question is why did Matilda let you up
here?"
"I thought I'd help you out," Jack said smiling. "And I told her you
were my cousin. Besides, someone had to let the florist in."
"Florist?" Jesse asked confused.
"Yeah, those came for Stephanie a few minutes ago," Jack said as he
pointed to the table.
Steve and Jesse turned around and saw an arraignment of carnations on
the table. Steve walked over and picked up the card. The expression on his
face was priceless.
"Who are they from?" Jesse asked curiously. Steve handed him the card.
"You're kidding."
"What?" Jack asked trying to decide if he should make Steve miserable or
not. "Who sent Stephanie flowers?"
Jesse turned the card towards Jack, smiled, and said, "Norman!"
Jack started laughing uncontrollably. Steve glared at him and said,
"Yeah, go ahead and laugh, Jack. Just wait until Norman gets a load of you
in that outfit. You'll be the one getting flowers then."
That stopped Jack, but not Jesse and Steve.
