Thomas sighed. He signaled the waiter and asked for our breakfast to be boxed up. As soon as Thomas had paid the tab, he escorted me over to where his driver was waiting.
I shivered as Thomas opened the back seat of the car and helped me inside. As the driver pulled away from Café DeLuxe, I glanced around, suddenly afraid that Marlene was still lurking behind us.
Angela and I spent the rest of the day inside. Thomas sent over a huge amount of catered French food. When I saw that it was from Daniel, I smiled. I would have much preferred being with him at a gorgeous restaurant, but I still couldn’t make myself feel any better. I felt like a complete and total failure. My first adult job and I hadn’t even lasted two years.
I was really pathetic.
Just as Angela and I were packing up the leftovers, there was a knock at the front door.
“I bet Thomas sent over more food,” Angela said dryly. She rubbed her belly and moaned. “June, I’m stuffed! I can barely move.”
I laughed. “Maybe it’s flowers this time,” I said. I walked over and opened the door. When I realized no one was there, I frowned.
That’s when I saw the small brown box just outside of the door.
“He sent something,” I said, picking up the box and frowning. I turned it over in my hands but there was no return address or hint of who had mailed it.
“What is that?” Angela narrowed her eyes. Just as I was about to rip the tape away from the cardboard, Angela bit her lip. “June, maybe you shouldn’t do that,” Angela said. “What if it’s not from Thomas?”
“Who else could it be?” I gritted my teeth as I ripped the tape away. Immediately, a foul scent filled the room.
“God, that reeks,” Angela said. “It smells like burning plastic and rubber.”
A nervous stab of fear pierced my heart as I pulled open the cardboard. When I saw what was inside, I shrieked loudly and dropped the box to the floor.
“Holy shit,” Angela said. She squatted down. “What the fuck is this?”
I bit my lip. Two badly-burned dolls had fallen from the box and they lay in charred pieces on the floor. The acrid smell of smoke was strong enough to burn my nostrils and I felt tears come rushing back.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But Thomas didn’t send it!”
“June, you should call the police,” Angela said. “This is really getting out of hand. Don’t you think it’s time to take matters into your own hands?”
I frowned. “I don’t know. They weren’t very helpful last time.”
“Well, this is different,” Angela said angrily. “And I live here too. If you don’t call them, I will.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re not in danger.”
Angela looked at me sadly. “June, I want to believe that. But we need to worry about our safety. This is our home,” she stressed. “I can’t tell you how important it is that we both stay safe.”
I nodded. “Okay. I mean, you’re right,” I said slowly. “I’ll call the police now.”
Angela stayed right beside me as I dialed the non-emergency line and requested a dispatch. It seemed like forever before the cops showed up, knocking on our door so loudly that I was afraid it would cave in.
“What seems to be the problem?” The bigger cop – Officer Carmody – crossed his arms over his chest and squinted at me.
I explained the whole saga, from Andy’s first advances, to our coffee “date,” to the nasty drawings on the wall at school and the attack in the alley.
“And these just showed up,” I said, pointing down at the baby dolls.
Carmody picked one of them up in his hands and squinted.
“Um, shouldn’t you be wearing gloves?” I asked quietly. “I haven’t touched them – just the box – if you’re worried about fingerprints.”
Carmody set the messy, burned doll down on the table. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Angela cringe.
“Look, Judy,--“