Chapter 48.
As Rebecca got back into her apartment she was greeted by the salacious attentions of Cyprus. He rubbed against the backs of her legs in appreciation of her being home. She dumped the bags down in the hallway and lifted him up. He nuzzled close into her and she relished the soft feel of his fur against her cheek.
“Yes, it’s nice to see you too sweetie. Just wait to see what treats I have for you.” She spoke in a rather disturbingly babyish voice. Lifting the bag from the pet shop along with Cyprus she strolled into the living room to show him the gifts she had bought. She opened the bag and pulled out the toy, a bamboo pole and a number of natural sisal and feather attachments of varying enticements. But Cyprus just looked up at her as if to say ‘and what do you want me to do with that?’ She waved the bamboo through the air making the attached mouse dance, bouncing up and down in front of his unamused face.
“What is this, huh? A mouse?” Her eyes were wide with excitement. he definitely had much more enthusiasm over the toys. Unimpressed that there was nothing to eat, he simply lay down on her lap. It was all a bit too ridiculous for his intellectual level. He simply sighed.
“But Cyprus, I will only find amusement in this damn thing if you do. I’ll leave it propped up on your scratching post so you can warm up to it. How does that sound?” She spoke to the cat as if he were human and understood her completely. He simply ignored her. “If only I could hear the thoughts of you cat, what sarcasm I would find for sure.” She said rolling her eyes and placing him on the sofa so she could move.
Cyprus looked at her, chin balanced on his front paws. She could tell that he was assessing her motives. He was a very clever cat and understood that she only ever came home with presents when there was something big about to go down. And it was probably something he wasn’t going to appreciate. Like the time she bought him a new carrier basket. It was comfy and roomy and he thought nothing of it until he found himself in the vet’s surgery getting knocked unconscious. Then waking up to find that things were a little different down below. He sulked for a few days after but came around in the end. Sensing something was up he jumped down off the sofa and made his way to the corner of the living room behind the bookcase just as a precautionary measure, in case she decided it was time for another visit to the vet and they took something else away from him.
Rebecca unpacked the rest of the bags in the bedroom, taking time to go through each one in turn and examining her purchases closely. She admired the showstopper shoes before comparing them against the dress, they matched perfectly. Relief settling in that she now had a few days off, she thought about celebrating the end of a difficult story, at home, in the comfort of her pyjamas with her choice of music and measures she decided on. In her daze of decadence earlier and the eerie feeling that she was being watched, she forgot to pick up the necessities, food. Most importantly, dinner. She considered her options and settled on seeing what was available. Tonight, was not a night for microwaved meals. Tonight, she would cook, maybe pick up a bottle of something nice to go along with it. That way she could spend the evening with the number one love of her life and not feel too guilty about abandoning him for a few days over Halloween.
She slipped into a nice casual pair of light blue jeans and lilac sweater then stuck her feet in her old faithful comfortable boots. With car keys and bag in hand she left the apartment to go to the local store. Supermarkets were fine for getting a full grocery shop or for buying larger items, but they were too large and she always ended up spending way more than she had originally planned. Better to stick to the smaller shops, that way she would be in no danger of over doing it.
She got into the car and left for the little shop on Barr Street. It was near to where she lived and she knew all the staff that worked there. It had a nice friendly atmosphere. But as she was driving out of the car park she got the feeling again, that someone was nearby, watching her. Unnerved, she felt glad that the little grocers store and off license was the furthest that she was going to.
She picked up some vegetables, some mushrooms and some chicken, then decided this was a night for more than wine, this was a night she would stretch to gin. The liked this small shop, it stocked niche alcohol and always had a bottle of her favourite. Satisfied that she had all bases covered, she headed back home. As she pulled back up into the car park outside the block of apartments again, that eerie feeling was lurking in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t shake it off this time. she got into the apartment still a little spooked she thought that the best thing for it would be to call on a friend to come over and sit with her, a friend, therein lay her problem. Deciding that he was the closest thing she had at the moment and after all, it was in his job remit. Well, sort of, but she shrugged that off. She lifted her phone and searched for his contact, ‘Stevens’. God, she never hoped so much for someone to answer their phone. Giving him the run down on what she had been experiencing, the feeling that she couldn’t quite shake off of someone watching her and explained that she didn’t feel comfortable on her own. She invited him over, offering him dinner in exchange for his protector services, he agreed.
It didn’t take Stevens long to arrive, he checked that all the windows were locked and took a peek out of the window. There was nothing, no one in sight. He’d scoped the outside on his way in, but didn’t see anyone. He assured her that, even if she hated the idea, perhaps the presence of man had put the prowler off. Whilst he was checking the apartment out, she had begun chopping the veg and cooking the food. She poured to fairly strong measures of gin and offered him a glass when he returned to the kitchen to give his appraisal.
Outside Nick had decided to call it a night. The presence of the young detective had put him off. Now he was presented with an even bigger problem, Caine wasn’t the only competition he had. He would have to find out more about this mysterious guest. It might even mean rethinking his whole strategy. But he was resourceful and would undoubtedly come up with a new plan. Even if it was only a rough sketch, Nick was sure that on the night things would swing his way. After all this time and patience, he convinced himself that the odds were in his favour.