“That’s an understatement.”
“Are you sure you want to be alone? I can take you out and try to cheer you up, or I could come over, if you prefer.”
“Thanks, but I think I need to just stay in and decompress. Raincheck?”
“Sure. I’m not going anywhere,” he replied.
“Great. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”
“I’ll call later to check on you. See if maybe you’ve changed your mind.”
“Okay. If I don’t answer, I probably just went to bed or out for a run or something.”
It was code for she wasn’t going to answer, but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings when he was only trying to be nice. They said their goodbyes and she hung up, turning her phone to silent mode and laying across the sofa to wallow for a bit. At some point, she dosed off. When she awoke, it was dark outside.
She thought she caught sight of a shadow outside her window, but it was quickly gone. Probably just a bird or something. She’d only seen it for a second from the corner of her eye as she awoke. Might not have been anything there at all. Picking up her phone, she saw several missed calls from Aaron and finally, a text.
Been calling, but you must be out or something and not picking up.
She blinked down at it. It was a weird thing to say after she’d already told him she just needed some alone time and was going to stay in. Then she remembered she had said she might go for a run. Maybe that’s what he meant. Still, she didn’t answer. He was a nice guy, but he had to learn some boundaries and give her space when she needed it.
A knock on her door startled her from her thoughts and she went to answer it. A man in a brown uniform stood outside with a large box beside him.
“Jaycee Carmichael?”
“Yes.”
“I have a delivery for you.”
“A delivery of what?”
“It’s either a TV or something heavy in a TV box,” he said with a laugh.
“I didn’t order this,” she told him.
He glanced down at his paperwork and then back up at her.
“No. Looks like someone named Aaron Golding did, but he asked that it be delivered here.”
“I can’t accept that. Take it back.”
“No can do, unless you want to pay the round-trip fare.”
“How much is that?”
“One ten.”
“A hundred and ten dollars? That’s mad!”
“Don’t know what to tell you. It’s based on weight, and I’ve had to haul this thing up the stairs because your elevator is out. Give me a break and just take it. You can hash it out with the dude who sent it later, and he can pay the return fee.”
“Fine. Bring it in.”
He brought it inside and leaned it against the wall. It was huge. She looked at the side of the box indicating that it was a sixty-five-inch LED curved screen with a lot of other stuff on it. Who buys such an extravagant gift for someone they’re just dating? Then again, men like Aaron were used to having money and didn’t think much about things like this. Regardless of that fact, it was getting returned.
There was obviously a tracking option on its delivery; no sooner had the driver left than her phone flashed. She still had it on silent but saw the light from the corner of her eye.
Do you like your gift?
She still didn’t answer. Instead, she went to shower. When she came back, she made herself a sandwich and a quick cup of instant soup, sitting on the sofa to eat. She glanced over at the television. It was tempting. It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it. She could take it out of the box, and have it set up in minutes, though she might have to drag it across the floor to the right place.
She dismissed the thought, considered going downstairs to the communal area, and then dismissed that too. Instead, she opened her laptop and began searching the classifieds. A pop-up from her news app blinked across the top of the screen. She caught Nasteau’s name, but then it was gone. Opening the app, she found the headline and read it with wide eyes.
Gary Nasteau found dead outside his home. Aging billionaire suffered violent death, details still unfolding. Police have not yet named a suspect in the case. Stay tuned for updates.
She was still staring at the grainy photo of a much younger-looking Nasteau looking back at her from her computer screen when there was a loud knock on her door. Startled, she closed the laptop and went to the door, answering from within.
“Miss Carmichael? Police. We’d like to have a word with you.”
Jaycee’s heart skipped a beat. Surely, they couldn’t think she had anything to do with this. She opened the door and found herself looking at two men in dark suits. One of them was holding up his badge.