He laughed warmly and loudly.
"Oh, I'm glad it comes across that way! Truth is, I feel like everything is about to fall apart at the seams!"
"And now here I am putting extra pressure on you when you're already stressed out."
"No, no, don't feel like that. I was about to close anyway, and it turns out that you and Everett don't live very far from my place at all. I'm only a few miles away from your street."
"Ah good, well I'm glad that worked out."
"Yeah. Well, listen, Ev told me about this crazy psycho stalker guy, and I've come up with a little plan of action. So, the guy knows where you work; he's obviously got some detective skills under his belt, huh?"
"He does, and he's a very intelligent person – which means it's very hard to hide from him."
"Uh-huh. So, he most likely already knows where you live, and what car you drive. So, I don't want you to take your car back there."
"Well, what can I do with it then?"
"I'll get my car out of the underground parking here, and you can put yours in its place. That way it'll be off the street so if he's going around looking for it, he won't be able to find it. I'll drive you to Ev's place in my car. You can lay down in the back seat so you're not visible to anyone outside the vehicle. Then when we get to Ev's, we'll sneak you into the house after I've scouted out the street and made sure that he's not hiding somewhere, watching your house. Sound good?"
"Sounds very thorough, I must say. I didn't know veterinarians had this kinda knowledge on hand. How many spy movies have you watched?" I joked.
He chuckled. "More than my share, but I wasn't always a vet. I did some work for Uncle Sam before this. Work that involved weapons and foreign lands and that sometimes involved being covert."
"And did Everett also do this kind of work? Is that how you know him?"
He smiled. "I'm not sure how much Everett has told you, so I'm afraid I can't really say anything about that. But let's just say that he and I go back a long way. We'll leave it at that."
"Alright," I said, feeling a little disappointed that he wasn't willing to divulge any more detailed information.
"Well, are you ready to go?" he asked.
"I am. Are you?"
He lifted up the front of his shirt, revealing a large handgun tucked into a holster on his belt.
"I'm definitely ready," he replied with a grin. "If that psycho stalker of yours is around, he's gonna get more than he bargained for, I can tell you that."
"Thanks for your help, Jimmy. I really do appreciate it, and I have to say that I do feel safer."
"Hey, it's not a big deal at all! Actually, it's kinda fun for me, know what I'm saying? I have been living a very quiet life as a veterinarian for a while now, so I appreciate having a little excitement in my life."
We headed outside, and he locked the place up. A few minutes later, I parked my car in his underground spot and then got into his, laying down on the back seat as instructed.
"I hope you're not too uncomfortable back there," Jimmy stated.
"I'm alright. It's not a very long drive anyway."
"No, it's not. Alright, well let's get going, and I'll keep my eyes peeled for this psycho stalker."
We drove the rest of the way listening to Jimmy's music, which I had to admit I enjoyed. He seemed to have a fondness for the 50’s and 60’s classics.
After a while, we reached Everett's place, and Jimmy pulled into the driveway. He stopped the motor and then spoke to me.
"We're here, Vivienne," he said. "But I want you to stay in the back there until I tell you otherwise, alright? I'm gonna do a quick recon. I'll check out the street and nearby houses to make sure nobody's hiding in the bushes. After that, if it's all clear, I'll let you into Ev's place. And then, if you want, I can go across the road to your place to see if everything is alright there. Though, I might want to wait until it's dark, just in case this creep has set up any hidden cameras around here to monitor your place. Right now, I doubt he has any idea that you're gonna be just across the road from your house, and we don't want to do anything that will give away the fact that you're here."
"Sounds like a plan, Jimmy. I'll wait here for you."
"I'll leave the music on so you're at least not too bored."