He would have used an under-cover car but figured it might draw too much attention so he placed a call to the local cab company and while they waited, talked the situation through.

“He’s been pretty damn busy,” Craig pointed out. “Cassy’s car wouldn’t start, and Maggy’s died a couple blocks from the house, it’s why we walked home.  When did he have the opportunity?  We have a guy staking out the front of the house for Christ sake and they all can’t be incompetent!”

“I’ll call everyone in individually tomorrow, find out if they were distracted for any length of time and by what!”  Max’s next call was to the impound yard with explicit instructions.

Arriving at Maggy’s home, Craig wandered, taking in her abode.   It struck him as modern, inviting feminine but not frilly.  Mostly, it was welcoming.  The furniture although modern in design, was comfortable, easy. The light airy accents added zip but weren’t difficult on the eye.

Meanwhile, Maggy made coffee and pulled some ready-made dough from the freezer.  Cassy suddenly remembered her drops, “Oh my god, my drops are in the fridge at home.”  Craig offered to get promising he’d be back before the coffee was made.

Jogging all the way to Cassy’s, he investigated all the doors and windows. The front and side doors were secure.  The overhead light above the glass patio door was out and the glass nearly cut. Using his shirt to unlock it, he entered carefully heading directly to the fridge and after pulling out the drops, hurried back outside.

“Jesus, this guy is a piece of work!” Craig said.  “Where the hell is he getting his information?  It’s personal.  No one on the outside could possibly know about your allergy to bees.”

“I don’t know, but it could have killed me.  I carry an eppy pen but I’d need someone else to administer it.  I can’t go back inside until it’s fumigated and I’m damn sure they’re all dead.”

“I hate to say it, Myerson, but you got what you wanted.  He’s directing his attention at you whether his intent was immobilizing or killing you, that puts him in the crazy department.  Attempted murder or killing a cop pulls a heavy penalty,”  Craig said with a sigh.  “And he’s up to two now, so what does that say?”

“That he means business and he won’t stop and that I’ve ruffled his feathers, more than a little,”  Myserson remarked.

“Max, this is way too serious and all too horrifyingly real.  What if we hadn’t been late?”

“Then I would be in serious trouble. This begs the question, does anyone else have any life-threatening allergies he could use against us?”

“I’m deadly allergic to penicillin and I don’t carry an eppy pen because the only times I need worry is if I’m sick.  It’s a matter of record,” Maggy answered.

They mutually decided to head to Maggy’s until they knew it was safe to reenter the house.  Before leaving Max walked over to the officer posted in the undercover car.  “Keep your eyes peeled.  Once it’s been fumigated, do a walk through and call me on my cell.”

Cassandra unlocked the front door and entered the room and hearing a strange buzzing sound said, “What is that?”  They all stopped and listened.  “Out, get out!”  Myerson pulled them out the door and slammed it shut behind him.  “Jesus H. Christ!  He’s been here, while we were out.”

“How?  When?  There was a cop out front!”

“Get animal control on the horn, pronto.  Wait here!” he said rushing toward the undercover car.  Jackson saw him coming.

“What’s up?”

“Did you see anybody enter the house?”

“No, there wasn’t any movement after the others left.  Nothing.  Why?”

“It’s ok, Jackson, he went the back way, got in the house.”

“Shit!”

“Stay put, keep your eyes open.  He hasn’t given up yet.”

“Max, what the hell is going on?”  Cassandra asked.

“Bees.”

“Bees?”

“Yeah, bees.  Your house is swarming with them.”

“How did he get in?”

“Through the back door I imagine because the officer didn’t notice anyone out front.  We have to wait until it’s clear.  I’m allergic, deadly allergic.”

“Why not, it does a body good!” Cassandra said with a grin. Locking Maggy’s car they started out on foot, hoping a short walk would clear their heads. Before long, they’d made a complete circle around the town and stopped into the Esso gas station for some mocha coffees.

Meanwhile, the tall lanky man who thought himself above everyone else both in intellect and physical prowess, had other plans.   They would have found the cars by now.  It was going to cost to fix that engine, funny what a simple thing like a little sugar in the gas tank could do to a car.

 He knew there was an undercover cop car out front, but where there was a will, there was a way.  The other cop was gone, the time was right.  He hopped two fences crossed three back yards and entered her house.  He sliced the glass in a neat arc around the sliding glass door lock and carefully slid his hand inside to open and unlock the door.  No alarms if you unlocked the door.  He left the door wide open to ensure an easy escape in case someone came home.  Placing the jar on the counter, he carefully removed the lid rolled it onto its side.  Turning around he hurried out the door. Don’t mess with the master.

 Myerson arrived minutes before the others. Craig called him on the cell phone and explained where they were and said they’d be home shortly. Myerson got out of the car and would have gone inside but noticing them walking toward him, he stopped and waited.  It saved his life.

“Sorry, we didn’t bring one for you.  Didn’t know when you’d be back.”

“No problem, I picked one up on the way out.”

“There’s a Colt, Fontain, Richardson, Masters all this year.”

“They were relatives of locals I believe,” Maggy added.

“Yep, it says so right there.”

As they searched through the obit columns month by month, they were surprised and saddened at the number of people they had known peripherally at least that had passed away. The reasons were just as sad and varied from car accidents to natural causes to cancer.  Few of the names they’d searched had come into direct contact with Cassandra in a meaningful way.  Dog-headed stubbornness kept them at it for hours.  Finally, with a short list in hand, Craig called it.  “Man, that’s it for me.  I’m gonna phone my mother tonight, make sure she knows I’m thinking about her. This crap has made me completely introspective.”

“I guess death has a way of doing that!” Maggy agreed.

“I think we need to lighten up.  Anyone interested in taking a drive?”

“Let’s hop in my jalopy,” Cassandra said, “it hasn’t been moved in a while.”  So they grabbed their gear and headed outside.  Cassandra handed the keys to Craig and they piled in.  It stubbornly refused to start.  After fiddling around under the hood, Craig informed them he didn’t’ know what the problem was and they ended up taking Maggy’s car instead.

Maggy hopped in the driver’s seat and started the car.  They were a couple of blocks from the house when Craig asked how old the car was.  “Practically new, I bought it two years ago, why?”

“It’s sluggish, real sluggish.”  No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the car died.  “Well, we’re not having much luck in the automobile department.  I guess we go back to the house, unless you feel like taking a walk.”

“Yeah, a foursome.”

“Oh god, don’t remind me, I‘d forgotten about that.”

“I don’t remember what they looked like, much less their names or where they were from.”

“Somewhere in Spain, wasn’t it?”  Maggy recalled, “I’m pretty sure they moved on and rather quickly when they didn’t get what they wanted from us.”

“I don’t remember anything else during that trip, do you?”

“Nope, that was the only weird thing about it, everything else was pretty spectacular.”

“Ok, here’s a list from this past year.  Do you know any of these people, Cassy, Maggy?”

“Let’s see.  Mrs. Marsden – worked at the Insurance Company and was simply spectacular at her job – would help anyone with anything.  I think her husband is a total jerk, but that’s just me.”

“Mr. Bert Harcourt – Harcourt, Harcourt, no, don’t recall that name.  Garland.  Wasn’t that Jeremy’s mother?”  Cassy asked.

“Yes, it was, sad really.  The whole family was beset with problems.  First Jeremy’s mother, hit and run, then his sister, got cancer, then his older brother had a heart attack and that left Jeremy and his new wife.  I hear they are expecting, finally.  Been trying for a couple of years to have a baby and it just didn’t mesh. Apparently she has to take it easy, and it’s been touch and go, but so far so good.” Maggy related the story with a somber note in her voice.

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“Jesus h christ, that opens a multitude of possibilities, a whole damn town-full!”  Max dropped his head in his hands considering the ramifications.

“I have to talk to the locals, see if anyone lost a close significant other recently, someone that didn’t take it well, and someone who knows you.”

“I’ll be as quick but I have to look at the files personally and correlate any new possibilities with the info already in my head.”

Max pulled Cassandra close and holding her head between both hands, dragged her close to kiss her long and hard.  “That’s for both of us.”

“Craig, let’s take a look on line; bring up the North Island Gazette, see if we can access the obit files and how far back they go.”

“That list I just gave you, goes back eight years, to the beginning of college.  Let’s see if we can find anything here that might put us on the right track,” Cassy commented excitedly.  They crowded around the computer so they could all see. “The thing is, anyone in Hardy that could be involved, wouldn’t have known me either growing up or through college, so I’m not sure this helps us much.”

“Maggy, have you thought any more about our trip?”

“I am.  I was thinking about those two guys we met at the museum.  We called them gentleman as I recall, then gave them the bums rush when they got too personal.”

“That’s right.  Gentlemen, right! They had the persona down pat, but they became pretty miserable when we put the brakes on and explained we weren’t interested in what they had to offer.”

“That was a fab trip, wasn’t it?”  Maggy began reminiscing and Max listened as intently as did Craig.

They ate pancakes, bacon and eggs, enjoyed another cup of coffee before Cassy went to the upstairs hall closet.  Her albums were there.  Dragging out a couple of boxes, Max quickly took them from her and they returned to the dining room table.

“That’s strange.  There are several missing albums.  Remember those pictures I took of the boat ride – on the tour around Paris?  We thought that couple looked so cute, so romantic?”

“The only reason they stood out was because she was so tiny and he was so tall and he kept picking her up and holding her so she could look in his eyes.  It was so darn cute.”

“I didn’t move them and I can’t imagine why anyone else would want them.  It is weird is all!  I wonder if I still have the negatives somewhere, I could have them re-developed.”

“Perhaps our mystery man helped himself,” Maggy suggested.

“Why would a trip to England and France be of any interest to him?” she asked aloud.

“It’s probably a long shot but those negatives could be useful and it couldn’t hurt,” Max agreed.

“I was down earlier and I overheard you, Max.  That’s what started me thinking about anything and everything that might be applicable, no matter how remote.  I want an end to this so I’m willing to try anything.”

“Morning everyone.”

“Look at you, sleepy head,” Maggy quickly acknowledged.

“Max didn’t fill you in?”

“Sort of,” she said looking at Max for direction.

Pouring a coffee, Cassy asked, “What happened with that list you were looking into, Max?  Anything stand as viable?”

“We’re still investigating, Cassy, not quite done yet. We’re conducting a more in depth follow up on where these guys are.”

“Well, I have a few more names to add to the list,” she stated as she handed over the name’s she’d remembered.

Max read the names and said, “Any of these people stand out to you?”

“Not really.  Most were too self-absorbed – we all were in college, we were young.”

“Maggy, I was thinking about our trip to England and was wondering whether you remember any incidents that might be important.”

“I’m pulling at strings I guess.  I went over the trip in my head.  Other than an a spectacular time enjoying the sights, I don’t recall anyone behaving obnoxiously or threateningly for that matter.”

“I have photos somewhere.  I should check the hall closet and see if I can find them.  It might jog my memory.  But you, on the other hand have such a spectacular memory, I wondered if anything jumped out at you.”

The trip down memory lane brought back some pretty heart-warming memories.

They shared secrets, watched each other’s backs, ran interference when necessary and generally supported each other, in everything.  Maggy was like a sister, the sister she’d never had and always yearned for.  The current situation was just such an instance – Maggy was here for her – as she would have been for Maggy had the situation been reversed.

She’d been involved in two relationships in college, but neither lasted since neither had provided what she sought.   Admittedly she’d been pretty single minded getting her degree and starting a business being top priorities.  She’d been closer to Jason Waters than Mark Withers but she couldn’t visualize either one becoming obsessed with her.  They were much too self-absorbed for that.

Martin Bennet had been her latest and probably her longest involvement.  They’d separated because they were too incompatible in nature for their relationship to work.  He was too conscious of being politically correct , while she’d felt less bound by social niceties.  Although she adhered to the important things, she was less moved by what others thought of her than he was.  It crippled who he was and could be.  His business interests took him to the States and Europe and he’d been furious when she wouldn’t drop what she was doing to go with him.  The relationship had ended when she wouldn’t subjugate her life for his.

Max had this list of individuals and she’d have to ask what he’d discovered, but she would add the other names too.  Then she’d talk over their trip to England with Maggy and see if that elicited anything new.

Cassandra felt good, at least it was proactive and movement in the right direction.  She showered, dressed and joined the others, her list in hand.

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