Chapter 23: David and Margaret

Cassidy was grateful for the arrival of Sunday. She was looking forward to an entire day that she could devote to house and family. All of Saturday morning was taken over by the investigative forensics and paperwork that followed the arrests she made late Friday night and the dramatics that went on with David and Nadja Saturday morning. Cassidy had nothing on her calendar for this day that had anything to do with police work or vampires. When 11am rolled around without incident, Cassidy was convinced that she was in for a typical Sunday with her children. The phone rang at 11:12am and changed that.

“What’s wrong?” Cassidy asked commandingly in place of a greeting.

The caller ID on her cellphone had already forewarned Cassidy of the caller’s identity, and it was that information that had her convinced that an unwanted problem was about to land in her lap.

“Nothing,” David returned. “But there is something I would like to speak with you about.”

“Okay, what’s that?” Cassidy replied.

“I’m a few minutes out,” David delicately advised.

The implication in David’s words stunned Cassidy. For a moment she did not know how to respond to what he was asking for.

“So, not over the phone?” Cassidy mused with a dubious sound in her voice.

“No, not over the phone,” David softly confirmed.

Cassidy considered what David was asking. Being alone with him was always a fretful contemplation within Cassidy. Seeing him inside her home with her children nearby made her choice doubly uneasy, and she hesitated longer than normal for her.

“It’s important,” David announced into the silence between them.

“Okay,” Cassidy finally agreed.

When David parked his car outside Cassidy’s home, he found her waiting on the other side of the front screen door to the house. Without fanfare or any sign that he was in a hurry, David walked up the path and then the stairs that led to the screen door that Cassidy was standing behind. He carried nothing in his hands or anything extra on his person, a distinction that Cassidy noticed. She was entertaining the idea that the vampires had found something in the file she gave them, and that they wanted her to see it. The absence of anything physical to give or show her gave Cassidy cause to worry little more. She had not decided if she should maintain a romantic relationship with David, and she dreaded the thought of that being the subject of their discussion.

“Come in,” Cassidy entreated while holding the screen door open.

David walked through the front entrance, and Cassidy closed it behind him. Her children were watching TV in the living room. David’s quick glance in the children’s direction made Cassidy visibly anxious.

“Kids,” Cassidy called out to Cynthia and John. “This is David. We’re going to be talking in the kitchen. So, try to be quiet and no fighting, okay?”

“Okay,” Cynthia and John quickly agreed.

After getting that agreement from her children, Cassidy led David into the kitchen before turning about to look at him with a stern expression.

“Okay, what’s so important?” Cassidy asked with a huff of resignation.

“They want me to—encourage you to dig deeper,” David confessed reluctantly. “They’re looking for someone in particular, and he wasn’t in the file that you gave us.”

“Who? What’s his name?” Cassidy asked impatiently.

“They don’t know his full name—just a first name—Jerry,” David cautiously instructed.

“Jerry?” Cassidy queried back with a frown.

“Yeah,” David confirmed. “It could be short for Gerald or—Jermaine, but he’s definitely referred to as Jerry.”

Cassidy was visibly puzzled by this new information.

“What does he do?” Cassidy asked after a moment of thought.

“They believe that he and Tony McGuire are criminal associates, and that he may be working the numbers—doing the books,” David explained.

Cassidy paused to puzzle over this new request while shaking her head in disbelief that she was hearing this now.

“Where are you getting this name from?” Cassidy pondered aloud with an annoyed frown.

“Razvan,” David answered as if he expected the question.

For the second time since the search for Tony McGuire came to her attention, Cassidy was suspicious of a lead originating from Razvan. The first time it occurred, she was not sure why information from Razvan bothered her, but this time the reason was clear. She did not understand why the now dead Razvan would have told them this information when he was alive. It made better sense to her for him to keep his criminal business a secret from the other vampires.

“Everything in those files is all that we have on Tony McGuire and his known associates,” Cassidy instructed after shaking off distracting questions about Razvan.

“They need you to look deeper,” David said with a stark delivery.

Cassidy paused with a look of disgust. She had hoped that the file she gave the vampires would be all they needed to find Tony McGuire. She desperately wanted him found, but she wanted the Dacia Vampires to do it. The fact that they were still pushing her to do more to help them gave her cause to believe the situation was out of control. Exposing the existence of vampires to the world was the last thing Cassidy wanted, but she feared that event might soon happen. And what angered her the most at this moment was the decision she had to make, tell the world now so that humans could prepare, or wait for the death toll to announce their existence.

“Damn you,” Cassidy raged at David. “I can’t do this. I’m not some damn vampire hunter. What do you think I’m doing when I’m not compiling files on suspected vampires for you? I—I have job. The Dryden murder, that case that the news has been harping on for a week, that’s me. That’s what I’m doing when I’m not being your—vampire agent. I spend my days out there trying to find human criminals, and then you come in here and dump the future of—of—everything, the world, the human race, in my hands...”

Cassidy stopped ranting and fumed at David who was silently enduring her anger.

“What am I supposed to do?” Cassidy stridently queried.

David understood Cassidy’s concerns and that she was asking should she expose the vampires to the world. It was for just that reason Stefan sent him to make this additional request of her. It was Stefan’s hope and gamble that her affection for David would stop her from taking any rash actions.

“That’s your decision—Cassidy,” David softly answered.

Cassidy had no immediate response nor reaction to David’s reply. Hearing her name softly spoken from his mouth calmed her fear and anger to a noticeable degree. Moments later, the sounds of her children greeting her mother began reverberating in the kitchen.

“Oh no,” Cassidy exclaimed with astonishment.

Cynthia spotted her grandmother coming up the walkway from the front window. She ran to the front door, opened it and let her into the house. Margaret was in the middle of giving hugs and hellos to Cynthia and John when Cassidy rushed out from the kitchen.

“Mom?” Cassidy exclaimed. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“No, honey,” Margaret returned dismissively. “I was at the store, and the peaches and plums were in season, and I just thought I would bring you some,” she explained while holding up two small shopping bags.

“Oh, thanks, mom,” Cassidy responded with a forced smile.

Margaret barely noticed her daughter’s words. She blithely stepped around Cassidy and started for the kitchen before she finished speaking. Cassidy made no effort to stop her. Because it was common for Margaret to go where she pleased inside her home, Cassidy knew that any effort to impede her mother would raise her suspicion. She also knew that any act by her to hide David from Margaret would be undone by Cynthia and John.

“No, no,” Cassidy shooed her children back toward the living room when they attempted to follow their grandmother into the kitchen. “Grandma and I have to talk for a few minutes.”

As soon as Cynthia and John started back for the living room, Cassidy hurried after her mother just as she was turning into the kitchen entrance.

“Oh!” Margaret cried out with surprise at the sight of David sitting at the kitchen table in his expensive suit and tie.

“Mom, mom,” Cassidy called as she hurried into the kitchen. “This is—David,” she quickly announced as David rose from his chair.

“David!” Margaret echoed loudly with a surprised expression.

“David, this is my mother, Margaret,” Cassidy introduced as she moved between them.

“It’s a pleasure, Mrs. Tremaine,” David greeted with a smile and a slight head and shoulder bow.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you—David,” Margaret greeted with a wide smile and looking intrigued.

As she spoke, Margaret stepped forward and extended her hand. David promptly took her hand and gave it a light shake. Cassidy watched the meeting progress with a dismayed expression.

“Do you have a last name, David?” Margaret continued speaking as they shook hands.

“Burrell,” David quickly answered with a smile.

Margaret continued to stand in front of David with an admiring smile even after their hands had parted.

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Burrell,” Margaret greeted with a wide smile.

“No, it’s just David, please,” David quickly corrected.

“Okay—David,” Margaret returned as she continued to admire David. “I’ve heard so little about you. I was beginning to think you were a figment of my daughter’s imagination.”

“No, Mrs. Tremaine, I’m real enough,” David replied pleasantly. “But I know how you feel. I have often had the same impression about your daughter.”

“Really,” Margaret responded just before giving Cassidy a sly glance.

Margaret continued to stand in front of David. It was a calculated act that was designed to keep David in place, and it was working to perfection. David calmly stood in place and maintained a pleasant demeanor while Cassidy grew increasingly agitated.

“So, tell me David, what do you do for a living?” Margaret asked as she placed the peaches and plums on the table and then crossed her arms.

“I’m an entrepreneur,” David answered without hesitation. “I own several commercial buildings here in the states and in Europe.”

“Europe,” Margaret echoed with a look of surprise.

“Yes, mom, Europe,” Cassidy reiterated impatiently. “But I’m sure David has things to do.”

“Well, you must be very successful at it,” Margaret spoke despite Cassidy’s attempt to run interference.

Margaret used the time it took to speak her observation to give David’s attire an admiring down and up perusal.

“I’m doing okay,” David responded with an amused expression. “But I can’t take too much credit for that. Much of what I own was handed down to me by my parents.”

“So, you inherited an estate?” Margaret questioned with enthusiasm.

“Yes, mother,” Cassidy abruptly intervened. “David is rich, and he owns a condominium on Park Avenue,” she finished with a sigh of exasperation.

Margaret turned to take in Cassidy’s recitation, and then she turned her attention back toward David with smile.

“So, how did you-two meet?” Margaret asked with an eagerness.

“I was a suspect in one of your daughter’s investigations,” David returned with a playful expression. “But don’t worry, your daughter caught the real criminal, and we became friends.”

“Good,” Margaret responded with a grinning expression. “It wouldn’t do to have my police officer daughter dating a criminal.”

“Mother!” Cassidy sharply interjected. “David and I are friends.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Margaret quickly apologized to David with a façade of embarrassment and with excessive sincerity. “I thought…”

“Yes, we know what you thought, mother,” Cassidy quickly countered. “But I think David has to go now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I hope I wasn’t keeping you,” Margaret directed at David pleasantly.

“It’s not a problem, Mrs. Tremaine,” David returned dismissively.

“Please, call me Margaret,” Margaret instructed with a blush.

“Margaret,” David returned with a slight bow. “But I was about to leave. I just stopped in to say high and catch up since I was in the neighborhood.”

David began moving toward the kitchen exit behind Cassidy’s lead.

“I hope we’ll see each other again,” Margaret called out to David before he could pass through the kitchen doorway.

David stopped and turned back to respond to Margaret’s declaration.

“I hope that too, Margaret,” David reciprocated gently and with smile.

David turned and followed Cassidy out of the kitchen and to the front door of the house. When Cassidy opened the door, David pushed open the screen door, stepped out onto the porch and then turned around to face Cassidy.

“Should we start running?” David softly asked with downcast eyes.

Cassidy briefly hesitated before responding in a quiet but stern voice.

“I’ll see what I can find on this—Jerry.”

After making that declaration, Cassidy shut the door. She then turned around, took a sizable breath and went back into the kitchen.

“Wow,” Margaret exclaimed. “He’s gorgeous and rich?”

Cassidy did her best to ignore the question while she gathered up the peaches and plums and took them to the sink to be washed.

“He has his faults,” Cassidy sighed as she retrieved a mesh strainer from a cupboard.

“I can’t imagine what faults he could have that would make me kick him out of my bed,” Margaret marveled with an astonished shake of her head.

“You’d be surprised,” Cassidy mockingly replied while continuing to rinse the peaches and plums.

“So, surprise me,” Margaret urged with an exaggerated inflection of curiosity.

“Not now, mother,” Cassidy dismissed as she continued to rinse the peaches and plums.