IKNEW SOMETHING WASvery, very wrong the minute we got into the car. I understood that Mark was asking me to be quiet in hopes that Todd did or said something that was caught on the bug he placed in my office before Todd’s appointment.
It was hard for me to focus on the meeting with Todd because I knew Mark was going to pull a stunt at some point and interrupt us. I never would have guessed the tactic he chose, which was probably a good thing. Like he said, my reaction was genuine surprise and not a skit I was acting in. Like Mark, I saw the change in demeanor the moment Timothy’s name was mentioned. A sick feeling formed in the pit of my stomach as we made our way out of the building.Was Todd the one who wanted me dead? Why?
Then I saw the look in Mark’s eyes when what he expected to happen did, the expression on his face grew hard as he focused on the words he was hearing through his earpiece. I looked to him for guidance on where to tell Richard we were going. He mouthed “home” to me and I relayed the instructions to Richard. He held up his finger for me to wait because he knew I wanted to know what the hell was going on.
I watched as the look in his eyes turned from cold anger to horrified fear as my worst nightmare was realized; Todd, someone I knew for over half of my life, wanted me dead. I said nothing; I couldn’t have said anything right then anyway due to the lump that had formed in my throat.
Mark pulled his cellphone from his pocket and began to text furiously as he listened. He removed the earpiece once he heard everything he needed and tossed it on the seat between us. I expected him to tell me what the hell was going on, but he dialed his phone instead.
“Detective Harmon, this is Mark Bradley,” he said into his cell. “I’ve got an urgent situation I need to discuss with you and Detective Fowler. Can you meet us at Mitch’s home as soon as possible?” Mark reached for my hand to calm me and I found his skin felt as cold as mine. “Yes, sir. Thank you.” Mark looked at me in stunned silence for a heartbeat too many.
“What the fuck is going on?”
“Todd is planning to kill you today.” Mark’s words were a blow to my soul.
“What? He came right out and said that? He’s going to kill me today?” My frantic voice matched the tempo of my heartbeat. I listened in complete horror as Mark relayed to me word for word what he heard through his earpiece. “Who the fuck was he talking to? Tobias?” It still didn’t feel right, but knowing Todd wanted me dead or was assisting the person who did didn’t feel right either.
“I have no idea,” Mark said in disgust. “He gave absolutely nothing away – no endearments, nicknames, and he didn’t even use any gender specific pronouns except for when he spoke about Timothy. Fuck!” Mark’s roar echoed through the car. “He’s going to try to kill you today so we need to come up with a plan that prevents that from happening while catching him in the act. We’ll have to hope his pansy ass coughs up the name of the other person.”
“Who did you text while you were listening in on his conversation?” I asked.
“Vic. I put a tail on Todd so we know his every fucking move.” Mark cupped the back of my neck and pulled my face toward him for a hard, fast kiss before he let me go. “This ends today, Mitch. Do you hear me? We’re going to catch this fucker in the act before he can hurt you.”
I had to believe the determination I saw in his eyes or I might’ve lost my shit. Who the fuck did Todd think he was to decide whether I had the right to live or die? What did I ever do to him to warrant such hatred and animosity from him?
“Don’t try to give rational thoughts to an irrational person, babe.” Mark answered questions I didn’t realize I had verbalized. “Hopefully, we get all the answers we need when he’s apprehended and you’ll get the closure you need to put this behind you once and for all and move on. With me.”
“Of course with you,” I replied. I cupped his face in my hand and ran my thumb over his cheekbone. “I don’t see a future without you in it, Mark.”
Vic met us at the front door when we walked in. “This is it, huh?” he asked in way of greeting. “Iron is tailing the bastard for us and will keep us updated. You call Harmon?” Vic asked Mark.
“As soon as Todd left Mitch’s office and there was nothing more for me to hear. He’ll be here within the hour so we need to figure out what we can tell him without getting ourselves arrested,” Mark told Vic.
“Tell me everything that the dickhead said and don’t leave anything out,” Vic told Mark. He listened while Mark recounted what he heard verbatim. “Did he sound like he was intimate with this person? How familiar did he sound?”
“He gave nothing away about who he was talking to,” Mark replied.
“Well, we can hope he leads Iron to his accomplice. If not, we’ll try to trip him up.”
“The board meeting,” Mark said suddenly. “It would make most sense if he tries to take you out in the parking garage before the meeting.” Mark ran his finger over his lips while he thought. “Mitch, I want you to wait a few hours and then I want you to call a board member to change the time of the meeting tonight. My guess is that Todd never calls any of them and you’re led right into his trap.”
“Okay, but what do I tell them if they say that Todd never told them about a meeting? I don’t want them calling Todd and tipping him off.”
“Just tell them that you must’ve gotten the dates wrong with everything going on and that you’ll call Todd to work out the details and get back to him or her personally,” Mark replied. “Toddwassupposed to arrange for the board meeting so it wouldn’t be unusual if it came up in a conversation with a board member. Be real low key about it and they won’t suspect anything.”
“I can do low key,” I replied, nodding my head like I was trying to convince myself or those around me. “I take it we’re not telling the detectives about your trip to Tobias and Garrett’s house,” I said teasingly, hoping to lighten the mood a little bit. I didn’t know why because there was nothing comical about the situation; perhaps I was trying to prevent myself from becoming hysterical.
“Wait, hold up,” Vic said loudly. “Iron’s calling in with his first update.” He hit a button on his phone and said, “We got you on speaker, Iron.”
“Basterson left the office and headed straight home. I’ll sit on him to see if he moves.”
The disappointment amongst us was palpable. We were all wanting him to do something drastic to trip himself up. “Keep us posted, buddy,” Vic said before he hung up the phone. “Well, I guess we just hang out until Harmon and Fowler get here.”
Thoughtful, sweet Edna fixed us all soup and sandwiches for lunch, which helped pass the time. I would have loved to have some private time with Mark to just soak in his calm and steady control, because on the inside I was quaking and worried that I might fall apart.
Fowler and Harmon listened intently as Mark replayed for them the events of the morning. They reminded us that nothing we got off the bug was admissible in court or could be used for a search warrant or any other legal means.
“We need to set up a trap,” Vic said. “We need to send a decoy in that looks enough like Mitch that we draw him out in the open.”
