Tomorrow night. Maybe it’ll be tomorrow night.
But the next night was the same. Again, I placed the toys outside and sat awake in the guest room, watching the minutes tick by as the cameras looked down upon a peaceful, Oscar-less scene. Seasoned as I was, I knew it was ridiculous to assume that Oscar was onto the plan or aware a security detail had been watching the house for weeks. But that didn’t stop me from thinking about it. Ordinarily, I would have had a lot more patience. Since Elena was the one inconvenienced, any delay felt intolerable.
Not that it mattered. I could chafe with annoyance in my seat in the guest room all I wanted, but it wouldn’t change the fact that if Oscar didn’t come, he just didn’t come. This wasn’t something I could speed up. I would have to adjust to the issues as they presented themselves.
Those developments remained elusive the next evening, too. Surely if Oscar was going to show up it was likely he would on a weekend like he had before. Or at least, that was the logic that buoyed me as I began my waiting and watching game for the third time.
Still nothing. Three nights in a row, and Oscar hadn’t so much as driven by the place yet.
I spent most of Sunday at home, listlessly preparing to fly back to Manhattan. Failure weighted my mind, even though I knew I could do nothing about it, and Elena definitely didn’t blame me at all. I hated things I couldn’t change by practicing or through simple persistence. Sailing, I could learn to do better. Running, I could train to run farther. But security work…that required me to wait, wait, and then wait some more. And patience was not one of my virtues.
Should I go back to Manhattan?That was the thought that dragged at my ankles, weighting them with indecision until I could hardly move. Returning now felt like admitting defeat, even though there was always next weekend. And I had work and a woman to return to.
I could have it both ways, actually. I could go to Elena’s and set the trap for a while, then fly home late. Come to think of it, that would probably be best. So, I doubled my resolve.Who knows, this might be the evening Oscar shows up.
I didn’t really believe that, but dusk still found me sitting in the guest room, eyes on the feeds from the cameras. The third time was supposed to be the charm, and the third time had already passed, but I intended to take every chance and opportunity.
Every once in a while, I heard cars motoring down the road past the end of the driveway. That wasn’t too unusual, but almost all traffic stopped around one AM, and that was what made the car I heard in the distance at one-thirty an oddity. I listened to it, thinking about how good a pillow would feel against my head right now, and the trip back to the city I still had ahead of me. Throwing in the towel seemed like the only option.
I waited for the car to whoosh closer. Then the sound would fall off into the distance. The car did approach, but no sound of displaced air followed in the expected pattern.
My eyes snapped to my phone screen, and my heart shifted to a steady, cold beat. The camera near the mailbox showed a car parked barely in view, and I was able to watch the driver-side door open and close.
Finally.I couldn’t give in to relief yet, though. I had to catch and arrest Oscar for trespassing, first. To do that, I had to patiently wait until he entered the house. Or if he tried to break out a window, I would arrest him for breaking, and entering. My phone lit up. “Boss, you’ve got company.”
“Yep… Give me a few minutes.”
“10-4”
Gray and shadowy, Oscar crept down the driveway, and I crept down the hallway. Unbeknownst to him, we drew closer to each other, both filled with purpose.
The faint sound of footfalls grew closer, and I knew it was nearly time to execute my plan. Either Oscar would walk through the unlocked door, or he would leave. I couldn’t risk peeking around the corner of the hallway, but I could listen. Oscar turned the knob of the screen door first – I heard the squeak as it swung open.
Quiet footfalls announced an unauthorized entry as Oscar crossed the threshold and entered the house. They paused waiting when the door jamb creaked, but the lack of response from within the quiet house imbued them with the courage to continue. I knew where those feet would go. They would take the corner of the hallway and head toward the end – to Elena’s room. In other words, straight to me.
Every second brought the footfalls closer, and each step shot a thrill of energy through my body. I pressed my back against the hallway wall, ready, silent and waiting.
A shadow stepped around the corner. I couldn’t make out all the features of his face, but that didn’t matter. He was a male of average height. And the silhouette matched the picture of Oscar, Elena had shown me. It was all I needed for the all-out tackle I used to bring him to the ground.
He let out a surprised shout and immediately began to struggle for all he was worth. Luckily, scum like him was worth very little, and I outmatched him in every way. I had his arm twisted in a brutal lock before he could even try to rise, and a gasp of pain replaced the threats he had been spewing.
I had to resist the urge to move my hold on his arm to his neck, where I could do a lot more damage and really show him what I thought. Instead, I settled for giving his arm one last malicious twist, then reached for my handcuffs. Oscar decided that since my grip loosened, that meant I wasn’t paying attention, and I was forced… Okay, who was I kidding, I thoroughly enjoyed the headlock I put him in so he would stay still. “I’m supposed to be here!” he spluttered now that I wasn’t twisting his arm or resting the full force of my body weight on his back, trying fruitlessly to break out of the headlock with his arms cuffed behind his back. “Elena, she’s a friend of mine, I know her-”
“Oh… So, why were you sneaking in to see her in the middle of the night? Shut your mouth before I do it for you.” Holding Oscar’s arm, I fished my phone out of my pocket. “Hey, Jack? Got him. Bring the van around and call law enforcement. Tell them we’re on the way.”
I had to grin. I could see Oscar’s eyes glaring at me in the dim light filtering in through the bedroom window. This creep should make me incredibly angry, but all I felt was relief that this was all over, and I could go home to Elena and give her the good news.
Jack came with the van. I shoved Oscar into the back seat, hopped inside after locking up the house, and rode with them both to the police station. Based on my company’s reputation, the digital evidence from the cameras, the threatening note in Oscar’s pocket, and Elena’s previous complaints, Oscar was arrested right away.
From here, court dates would be all we had left to deal with. Somehow, I doubted Elena would mind going to them, though.
“Good work,” I told Jack good-naturedly once he had dropped me off at the mansion. “Go home, get some sleep, and I’ll keep you in the loop if you’re needed for anything else on this one.”
Jack was very willing to catch up on his rest, and I was too. I would give myself the day off tomorrow, sleep here tonight and fly back to New York City first thing tomorrow morning. I couldn’t wait to see the look on Elena’s face when I told her the news.
Chapter Fourteen
Elena
