Chapter 11, Suite
Garrett parked the car close to the hotel. When they loaded into the elevator, he asked Christina. “Could you press button ‘7,’ please.”
“Ours is 6.” She volunteered.
So...she’s on the sixth floor. Narrows it down a bit, anyway.
Cathee stared at the elevator doors, her usual routine in the glass elevator. She didn’t like watching the floors shrink below her.
Garrett lead them down the hall to his suite. As they entered, Cathee smiled. “Wow. Nice. My room isn’t anything like this.”
He looked embarrassed. “I don’t usually get a room on the top floor, but it was one of the perks of the assignment. The bathroom is through the doorway on the left. My bedroom is behind that closed door. You can take a tour, if you’d like.”
“I didn’t realize what you meant when you invited us to your suite. This is like a little apartment. I love the granite countertops in the kitchenette.” She walked over to stroke the smooth, cool surface. “I’ve always wanted a stainless steel fridge.” She walked over to the full-size refrigerator and opened the door. There were a few bottles of water stashed inside, but nothing else. She raised her eyebrows and turned to look at Garrett.
He laughed. “I’ve been eating out every meal. No need to stock it.”
“That’s true.” She shut the fridge and admired the flat black cooking surface on the stove, then opened the full-sized dishwasher. “I didn’t realize there would be a kitchen in a hotel.”
“It’s usually only the suites, and often the suites just have a microwave and a half-size fridge. I guess I lucked out.” He rubbed his neck in embarrassment. “Although I haven’t taken advantage of the kitchen.”
Cathee turned to grin at him. “I can’t say I blame you. I enjoy eating out myself...which reminds me, I’d like to start in on my salad. I’m actually hungry now.”
Garrett placed the bags of food on the black granite countertop, opened the fridge and pulled out three bottles of water, and then they settled into the bar stools to eat. Before they started eating, he asked Christina to bless the food. Cathee opened her eyes wide in surprise. She hadn’t thought to suggest it. She’d forgotten what it was like to have a male in the house to take charge of spiritual matters.
After they finished their dinner, Cathee moved over to the dark green and gold striped couch that matched the stripes on the bar stool cushions. Garrett moved to the desk next to the couch and turned on his laptop. The rolling chair’s cushions were the same gold as the stripes on the couch.
“Can I turn on the TV?” Christina asked.
“I don’t care, but you need to ask your mother.”
“Let me help you find the cartoon channel, Sweetie.”
“Cathee, given what we will be discussing here, don’t you think it would be better if Christina watched in the other room?”
“Of course.”
They moved into Garrett’s bedroom. The cover on the king-sized bed matched the furniture in the other room. The dark gray berber carpeting continued from the living area. The flat screen TV was resting on top of an ornate dresser. It was soon blaring an old Scooby Doo episode.
“Let me grab this chair for you.” He picked up the wooden chair next to the desk in the bedroom. Its cushions matched the couch and bar stools in the next room. He set the chair next to the rolling one in front of the living room desk. Cathee moved over to sit in it while Garrett pulled up the AT&T screen. He logged into his account. “I don’t know why they make it so hard to find, but I thought I’d show you how to do it.” He went through a couple of screens and then scrolled down.
“How did you happen to find out about the tracking?”
“One of my client’s parents were going through a divorce. His mom told me she was tracking his dad for evidence to support the separation. I value my privacy, especially given some of the clients I’ve worked with, so I went home that night and made sure my number was blocked. I give out my cell number to all my clients. I don’t want any of them tracking me.”
“I can certainly understand that.” She leaned forward to view the screen better, pulling her hair back so it wouldn’t get in the way. “Thanks. I wouldn’t have ever found this.”
“I don’t know how long it takes for the tracking to stop. If your cell phone is off, you can’t be traced. I’d think it best if you keep your phone off.” He paused and looked down at her, concern written on his face. “In your situation, I think you need to change your number as quickly as possible.”
She nodded in agreement. “If I can find a store here, I can get a new SIM card and number this week. That will give me time to notify my office of the change.”
“I wanted to show you something else.” He pulled up the Google screen and typed in a phone number. A screen of every number possible in that area code pulled up. Garrett scrolled down until he found the number he wanted and clicked on it. A map pulled up with streets surrounding a location switch. “My number is unlisted. I have also made a request to have Google remove it from their database. As you can see, anyone with my number can still see which switch the call is coming off of. It’s not too far from my house.”
He quickly typed in another number. Paul Andrews and his address popped up. “This is my dad. My parents have a listed number.” Garrett typed in the address on Google search, then he clicked on ‘street view.’ A view of a house taken from the street showed clearly. It was as if they were standing right in front of the house. He clicked on the arrows to show the neighborhood.
Cathee shuddered. “I had no idea how easy it was to find someone. How can I protect myself?”
“It helps if you have an unlisted number.”
“I do. I’d prefer the contractors can’t reach me at home.”
He nodded. “That’s wise, but even with an unlisted number, your number can still come up.”
“How?”
“Let’s say you are doing some kind of activity for someone. You’ve listed your name and address, and it’s posted to a newspaper. Newspapers are considered public domain. Anything in the public domain can be accessed on Google.”
“I can’t think of anything like that. Hopefully, I’ll be ok.”
He ran his hand lightly down her hair. “I hope so, too.” He shook his head. “I just wish there was something I could do to keep you safe.”
They were interrupted by his ringing phone. His brows wrinkled. It wasn’t a number he knew. “Hello?”
“Hello? Is this Garrett Andrews?”
“It is.”
“I thought you’d like to know we traced that call you told us about.”
“And?”
“It was made from a stolen cell phone. The phone and stolen SUV were found just outside of Cincinnati.”
“Ohio?”
“Yes.” He paused. “Another car was stolen just a block away. That car hasn’t been located yet.”
Cold fear ran down Garrett’s back. What should I tell Cathee? He shook his head to clear it. Sitting at the computer watching his parents’ house scared him. How could he protect Cathee and Christina? A killer was after them, and personal information was far too easy to get.
“Thanks for letting me know. Please call if you find anything else.”
“I will. Good-bye.”
“’Bye.” He looked down into Cathee’s anxious eyes.
“Well?”
“The phone was found in a stolen SUV.”
“Ohio?”
Garrett nodded, “Cincinnati.” Concern was clear in his eyes.
Her voice was a hoarse, terrified whisper. “He’s coming for me. I know it.” She covered her face with her hands, then dropped them helplessly into her lap. “What can I do?”
“Your phone is off. Topeka is a big place. He can’t trace you now. You have nothing on record about where you’re staying, do you?”
She shook her head.
“You should be safe here.” He checked his watch. “It’s almost 7:00.
I’m not sure how long the AT&T office stays open.”
“We can go tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I’ll leave my phone off. I can use the hotel phone in an emergency while I’m here.” She paused a moment and bit her lip. “I know you’ve offered to spend the next couple of days with me, but I hate to take advantage of you.”
“You aren’t taking advantage of me.” He sounded exasperated.
“I’d feel better if I had a cell phone with me. And, well, I feel more comfortable having someone with me. Do you mind coming with me tomorrow?”
Garrett managed to hide a delighted smile. It was just what he wanted. “Not at all.” He paused a moment, then asked, “How would you and Christina like to join me for a movie?”
Cathee shuddered. “I really don’t want to go out again. Can I take a raincheck?”
“I wasn’t planning on leaving. There are a few current movies playing in our rooms.”
“Really? I hadn’t checked.”
“Let’s see what’s available.” He turned on the TV in the living room and scrolled through the ‘movies still in theatres’ listing. He found a family movie he’d heard good things about. “Does this look good?”
Cathee nodded. “Christina has been begging me to take her, but I haven’t had time.”
“There’s some popcorn in the microwave. It’s included with the room – like coffee and tea.” He moved over to cook the popcorn.
“Cool. Christina will be impressed.” Cathee smiled and snuggled into the couch cushions.
As the popcorn was cooking, he opened the bedroom door. “Do you want to watch a movie with us?”
“Yes!” Christina hopped up, turned off the TV, placed the remote on the dresser, and hurried out to join them.
He poured the popcorn into a strainer he found and handed the popcorn to Christina, who was sitting in the middle of the couch. He wasn’t going to complain about the seating arrangements. He was just glad they’d decided to stay.
The empty popcorn bag ended up in the trash under the sink along with the remains of their dinner. He wiped the granite counter with the kitchen cloth included with the suite, then he sat next to Christina to enjoy the movie. When the movie ended, he paused it before the end credits played. After pushing the ‘pause’ key, he clicked on ‘hold until 7:15 pm.’ “If you’d like to watch it again, you can rewind from here. Unless you watch to the end, the movie can be paused and held for 24 hours.”
“I’ve never watched an in-theatre movie at a hotel before. This was fun.”
Garrett smiled. “I liked the company very much.”
Cathee blushed. She wished her face would quit reddening so easily. “It’s late. We really need to go.”
“When do you want breakfast?”
“How does 8:15 sound?”
“That should be fine.” He paused, curiosity filling his eyes. “What did you have planned for tomorrow?”
Cathee reached over to stroke Christina’s hair. “I’m still a Mom. I’d like to keep my promises. I want to stay as close to my vacation plans as possible.” She paused, fear entering her eyes as she met Garrett’s gaze. “Unless you think...” she bit her lip and wondered how to word her fears without scaring her daughter.
He understood her meaning. “No. We should be safe with your phone off. There’s no way for you to be traced otherwise.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “That makes me feel better. We can have a few days of peace.” She trembled slightly. “I just don’t want to think about what happens when I’m back in Wichita.”
“Live it one day at a time.” He touched her cheek lightly. “Hopefully, Juan will be found by the end of the week.”
She trembled again, but this time it wasn’t from fear. His touch was wreaking havoc on her heart. She shook herself mentally. She wasn’t ready for anything serious. “Hopefully.” She looked over at Christina. “Sweetie, it’s time to go.”
Christina yawned. “Ok, Mommy. I’m tired.”
“I thought you would be. It’s late.”
Garrett walked to the door, then turned to Cathee. “Would you like me to walk you to your room?”
She shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m sure we’ll be fine. As you mentioned, there’s no way to track us in Topeka.”
He resignedly opened the door and watched them walk to the elevator. He shut the door and stared at the couch. It was a hide-a-bed. He hadn’t wanted them to leave. He could have asked them to stay, but he didn’t want to scare Cathee. She had too many horrors in her life. He knew she didn’t trust men. He was more worried about Juan than he wanted Cathee to know.
He moved to his room and knelt to pray. It was a fervent prayer to protect the precious souls he had come to cherish.