Grace's Studio - One Hour Later
Grace let herself into the studio apartment, pausing briefly to pick up her shopping bags from where she'd placed them on the hallway floor before entering and closing the door securely behind her. After turning the deadbolts, she rested her head against the cool surface as if it could help erase the pain of the last couple of hours.
The pregnancy test was negative, and while she was greatly relieved by the results, she felt a strange combination of fear and emptiness inside her deepest core.
What's wrong with me?
Exhausted both physically and emotionally, she walked to the window. Her muscles aching, she looked down at Hell's Kitchen and Times Square in the distance, her thoughts on the earlier conversation with Evelyn and the question of whether or not she still had feelings for Gabriel.
Yes, I still love him. I always will. I'm not going to run away anymore. If I see Gabriel again, I won't turn him away. I'll at least listen to what he has to say.
Grace was startled out of her reverie by the chirping of her cellular phone. "Hello?"
Hiroshi's voice was firm in her ear. "I told you I would call."
She checked her watch and saw that it was 3pm. Exactly two hours had passed since she left her father's. She smiled into the phone. "So you did. How's everything?"
"The boy is fine, but there are two things that you should know."
Grace frowned slightly. "Tell me."
"A man named Gabriel Knight showed up at the apartment."
She exhaled forcefully at the mention of his name, and she shivered as she remembered seeing him earlier that afternoon. "Yes, I know."
"How?"
"I saw him coming out of a taxi as I was leaving."
Hiroshi paused for a moment. "Well, he wanted to speak with you and he seemed rather upset when I told him that you weren't here. He left his number and the address where he's staying in town."
Grace tensed as an idea came to her, and her hand tightened on the tiny cell.
"He didn't see Rafe, did he?"
On the other end of the line, Hiroshi frowned in confusion.
"No, but Rafe saw him. He kept asking who he was, and why I didn't let him in."
Grace's fingers flew to her mouth to prevent the sound of anguish that she made from escaping. Turning away from the window, she squeezed her eyes closed as she tried to maintain a calm voice.
"Okay, Dad. W-what was the other thing you wanted to tell me?"
"I found a letter in the mailbox that's addressed to you."
She managed to regain control as she thought it over.
Could it be from Gabriel?
"A letter? But today is Sunday. Did you open it?"
Hiroshi studied the letter, which only had "Grace" written on the front.
"No, I wanted to wait for you. It appears to be hand-delivered."
Grace was silent, her mind racing. "Dad, open it and see what it is."
He reached for the letter opener and tore open the envelope to find a note and business card. He read the note first. "Grace, who is this Mosely person?"
She sighed.
Damn. Everybody's really coming out of the woodwork, aren't they?
"He's an old friend who now works for the CIA. What does the letter say?"
Hiroshi adjusted his glasses. "'Dear Grace: I can't imagine what you must be going through with everything that's been going on. I sympathize deeply with the pain and fear that you're undoubtedly experiencing, for yourself as well as your little boy. I know everything, Grace, but please don't be alarmed by this. I only want to help in any way that I possibly can, and I already have. It was me who found you in the Park and took you to your father's doorstep. You can trust me, I promise you.'"
Grace raised a hand to massage her throbbing temple. "Was that all?"
Her father continued reading. "'I feel that it's my duty to warn you that Gabriel will be in the city sometime today, and he intends to seek you out. In fact, I'm the one who gave him your address. I'm sorry, but once you see him you'll know that he's serious about helping you. When he first contacted me to help locate you, I was suspicious of his motives as well. But then he explained his reasons for wanting to get in touch with you, and I was convinced that I was doing the right thing.'"
She felt her heart pounding as she listened.
We'll see, Mose. We'll see.
Hiroshi cleared his throat and read the last lines of Mosely's letter.
"'By the time you read this, I'll probably be on my way back to Washington. Enclosed is my card for you to contact me at the Agency, and it has my personal home and cell numbers written on the back. If there's anything you need, I'll try my damnedest to do it for you. Please, keep in touch. Love, Mosely.'"
Grace leaned against the windowsill, knocked flat by Mosely's words. She turned around again to face the window, looking at the deceptively clear blue sky. Her own personal storm raged within her. "Will you do me a favor?"
Her father's voice was full of warmth. "Of course, honey."
"Would you pack our overnight bag and bring Rafe here to the studio, please? I have a lot to do and I don't want to go back there to pick him up."
Her tone grew pensive. "Besides, with my new popularity among would-be stalker types, it would be best if I avoid the San Remo until all this is over."
"So you're going to move into the studio today, then?"
He sounded disappointed, and Grace's voice softened.
"I'm afraid so, Dad. I'm sorry. I know that we were supposed to spend the entire weekend with you, but now it's just not possible. There are too many unexpected visitors popping up, too many people who know the address."
"You're right, and I understand. I'll bring him. What are you going to do now?"
Grace looked over her shoulder at the shopping bags on the floor.
"I have some do-it-yourself work to prepare the place for Rafe, I'm going to make some phone calls, stuff like that. See you soon, and don't forget to bring that note."
"Grace?"
His voice was heavy with concern, and she took a deep breath. "Yes?"
"Are you going to call either of them?"
After a long moment, she replied. "I'll have to think about it."
"Don't think too long, okay? We could use the help."
She nodded, even though she knew that he couldn't see her. "Okay. Bye."
Grace disconnected the call and strode over to the bags. She grabbed them and headed for the living room area of the apartment. She turned on the CD player, and programmed it to shuffle between discs before sitting down on the sofa. She reached into the bags and placed her purchases on the small table one by one. The mellow sound of Billie Holiday filled the room as she opened the boxes.
They say into your early life romance came,
And in this heart of yours burned a flame,
A flame that flickered one day
And died away...
She unwrapped a brand-new telephone and looked over the instructions. According to the guy at the spy store, the phone was supposed to block all forms of wiretapping and unlawful voice recordings, and it also had a feature that she could use to change and distort her voice.
Then, with disillusion deep in your eyes,
You learned that fools in love soon grow wise.
The years have changed you somehow;
I see you now...
She looked at the other items on the table. She'd bought an alarm shaped like a doorstop wedge, which emits an extremely loud, high-pitched noise when a burglar opens the door and activates the alarm. Next to it was a large flashlight that can temporarily blind an intruder when the intense beam shines into their eyes. Pepper spray for Grace to carry in her purse, and a device which was similar to a baby monitor but meant for outside use. The small transmitter is clipped onto the child's clothing and relays information to a beeper that the parent wears. If the child exceeds a certain distance from the parent, the pager beeps. If someone approaches the child, the intruder's voice can be heard by the parent via the pager.
For a brief moment she stared down at the items, wondering if she was overdoing the personal protection thing. But then she remembered how Cooper's chalk outline had looked against what seemed to be a sea of blood on television the week before, and she decided that it was better to be paranoid than defenseless. She had a child to protect. It was not the time to gamble with either of their lives.
Smoking, drinking, never thinking of tomorrow,
Nonchalant
Diamonds shining, dancing and dining
With some man in a restaurant,
Is that all you really want?
Grace was distracted by the music, and her thoughts were on Gabriel again. She closed her eyes, remembering how he looked just a few hours before. She had wanted so much to call out to him, touch him. She wanted to run into his arms.
No, Sophisticated lady, I know
You miss the love you lost long ago,
And when nobody is nigh,
You cry.
She rose from the couch and set up the telephone, forcing herself to focus on the important phone calls that she had to make. When she was finished, she was at a loss over what to do next.
As she sat down again, the music changed to a slow and soulful love ballad. She leaned back and closed her eyes, allowing the sounds and the memories they triggered to wash over her.
I am thinking of you
In my sleepless solitude tonight
If it's wrong to love you,
Then my heart just won't let me be right
'Cause I've drowned in you
