Mystery Lover(3)

"I'm not concerned with his personal habits at the moment, Sunshine. He's the one who can help me. "

"What do you want me to tell him?"

"Wait until you get to Vegas and I'll tell you. "

"Chad! Must you be so mysterious?"
                       
       
           



       
"At this point, yes. You don't have to do this if you don't want to. "

"I didn't say that. Of course I'll go." Jennifer found a small bag and  gathered a few of her clothes and cosmetics. No doubt she'd be gone the  entire weekend. The day was going to be another hot one, Jennifer  decided soon after she left the apartment. But then, what could you  expect in August? If she'd ever thought about going to Las Vegas, which  she hadn't, she was sure she would have picked a cooler time of the  year.

Jennifer could not get rid of the tight knot of excitement that seemed  to have formed in her chest. At long last she was going to find out more  about Chad.

He had reluctantly told her that Tony was an old friend of his and if  anyone could get him out of his present precarious situation, Tony  could.

What Jennifer also realized was that Tony could tell her a great deal about Chad that she had always wanted to know.

Jennifer faced the fact that rushing to Las Vegas to help Chad was the  most exciting thing that had ever happened to her-which certainly seemed  to make a statement about her life.

Actually, having Chad in her life was the only exciting thing that had  ever happened to her. After a very careful poll among her classmates  while she was growing up, Jennifer had discovered that she seemed to be  the only person blessed with an invisible friend.

She had quickly learned not to discuss him with anyone, and what else,  after all, did she have to talk about? Jennifer hadn't been interested  in dating because she never knew what to say. She didn't, care anything  about cars and that was what most of the boys talked about.

So she had spent many hours talking to Chad about things she was  interested in, things she had read about in books, or magazines. She had  known he was much older than she was and had a great deal more  experience with life. Yet he had always been very patient with her,  willing to discuss any subject she brought up.

Jennifer smiled to herself, remembering how he had dealt with her  questions about sex. Now that she thought about it, those questions  should have been asked of her mother, but whenever she broached the  subject, her mother had seemed embarrassed and Jennifer had allowed her  curiosity about the subject to drop.

Chad had been much more matter-of-fact. She had been lying there in bed  one night, thinking about some of the stories she was hearing at school,  when Chad had spoken up.

"Don't believe everything you hear, Sunshine. It could get you into trouble."

"If you think that I would do something like that-" she started to say indignantly, when he interrupted.

"Of course you will.. . at the right time and with the right person. But  sex isn't something to be experimented with, like a toy. The act of  love is all tied up with our emotions. When it's used only as a tool to  convince people around us that we're adults, we can get hurt and hurt  many others as well."

They had talked long into the night, and by the time Jennifer fell asleep she felt as though she had graduated from childhood.

His lessons had stuck with her through the years. Although she had dated  once she moved to Los Angeles and began working, she had never been  tempted to prove anything with anyone. Nor had she met anyone with whom  she wished to share such intimacy.

Perhaps she wasn't the type to marry. She certainly didn't draw second  looks in a crowd. Jennifer had always been disgusted that she'd stopped  growing when she was only a couple of inches over five feet. Although  she had often been told that her eyes were her most striking feature,  whenever she looked into the mirror all she could see were wide blue  eyes staring back. Even her hair wasn't a real color. She wasn't quite a  blonde, nor was her hair dark enough to be considered brown. Jennifer  thought of herself as an almost person. Almost average height, but not  quite, almost blond, but not quite, almost attractive.. . but not quite.

Not that it mattered to her, she reminded herself firmly. She was  content with her life. And now, she was doing something for Chad that  would help to re-pay all the wonderful things he had done for her  through the years. She smiled at the thought.

Eventually her mind made its way to her job, and for the first time, she  felt a little uneasy. Jennifer hadn't given a thought to whether she  would be back home in time to go to work on Monday. If not, she wondered  what she should do.

Jennifer had taken a secretarial course as soon as she completed high  school. It had been important to her that she be independent as soon as  possible. Her mother's health had never been good and Jennifer wanted to  relieve her of the burden.

She could have stayed in Oceanside but preferred to get away, to make  new friends, to experience new things. Her new life would have been very  lonely if she hadn't had Chad.                       
       
           



       

Surprisingly enough, Jennifer made many friends at the school, and when  one of them mentioned that the Cameron Investigation Service was looking  for stenographers, she and two of the other graduates had applied.

Jennifer had been surprised at the size of the place. She wasn't sure  what she had expected, but certainly nothing on the scale that met her  eyes. The receptionist sent her to the personnel director, who tested  her and had her fill out the necessary applications. The director  explained that Mr. Cameron managed to keep several stenographers busy  transcribing the reports he dictated.

C. W. Cameron had built quite a reputation, so Jennifer was told, as an  insurance investigator. Although he was out in the field quite often, he  kept in touch with the office and oftentimes called in and dictated on  the machines that were set up to take telephone transcriptions.

Jennifer had been working there for almost five years and she thoroughly  enjoyed her job. She had been Mr. Cameron's administrative assistant  for several years now, handling as much as possible for him when he was  out of the office, doing the preliminary investigations of cases-the  tedious, time-consuming research that went with that sort of  investigation- then turning them over to him to follow up the leads she  uncovered.

They worked well together and he paid her quite well. Jennifer felt it  was unfortunate that Mr. Cameron was such a cold, unfeeling individual.  Perhaps it came with the job, or something.

After all the years she had worked for him, he still insisted on calling  her Ms. Chisholm. In this day and age of immediate first names and  instant friendships, C. W. Cameron was a throwback to another era.

He wasn't all that old, either. Jennifer had gotten a glimpse of his  insurance file once, which stated his age as thirty-seven. He didn't  look that old, until you gazed into his eyes. His eyes seemed to have  too much knowledge about people and their behavior.

Some of the women in the office teased her about working for him, since  he was single and more than a little handsome, with his tawny-colored  hair and sherry-colored eyes. Jennifer shivered a little. He might be  attractive, but he was too cold a person to ever attract her.

Jerry was more her type. She had been dating him occasionally for almost  a year now. She really enjoyed Jerry. He was relaxed, easygoing,  fun-loving, and did not pressure her to deepen their relationship. Too  bad she couldn't combine the personality of the one man with the  brilliant mind and incisive intellect of the other one. What a  combination that would be.

Jennifer suddenly remembered that she had a date that night with Jerry,  and she had totally forgotten about it. He would be over to pick her up  and she wouldn't be there. How could she have been so absentminded? When  Chad had contacted her, everything else had flown out the window.

She would have to call him and explain as soon as she got to Vegas.  Explain what? Jennifer had never been able to find the words to tell  Jerry about Chad. At first, it hadn't been important. They had been  casual friends, neighbors until Jerry had moved to be closer to his new  job. Occasionally he would have her over to eat popcorn and watch  television. Once in a while she would prepare a meal for them and they'd  go see a movie. After he moved, they spent less time together, but he  still called to see how she was doing and to talk about his job.

Jennifer had never stood him up before. Surely he would understand that something unexpected had come up that changed her plans.

By the time she reached the outskirts of Las Vegas, Jennifer was tired  and hungry. She hadn't wanted to stop and eat, which was a good thing.  Crossing the desert hadn't given her much opportunity.