This is the next one of the Dagger Series, after "Daddy's Little Girl". Hopefully I'll be able to post once a week, but I make no promises. Real Life seems to have had it in for me recently.
Disclaimer: The familiar characters and settings in this story do not belong to me. They are the property of DC Comics, Warner Bros., December 3rd Productions and whoever else can legally claim them. Any new characters, scenes and
the story itself are mine.
Suspicions 1/?
By Nan Smith
Lois Lane Kent propped her shoulders against the pillow, elevating her head a few inches. "I'll be fine, Clark," she assured her husband. "Go on. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll get back."
He nodded, reluctantly. "You're sure you have everything you're going to need?"
"I think I can manage for the next thirty minutes by myself," she said. "Go!"
"Would you like another magazine?"
"Go!" Lois glared at him. "I'll be fine!"
He appeared to gather his resolution and bent to kiss her. "I'll be back as fast as I can."
"I *know*! Go on!" Lois pecked his cheek. "Once your mom is here, I'll be better off, anyway. Besides, Mother said she might drop by this mor --"
He was gone in the blink of an eye, the sonic boom left by the passage of Superman echoing behind him.
Lois gave a soft laugh. Clark didn't make an issue of it, but Ellen Lane was one of the few law-abiding citizens who had the power to set his teeth on edge.
She glanced at the clock on the opposite wall. Ten o'clock. It would be eight in Kansas. She hoped it wasn't too early for Martha.
Wait, what was she thinking? Martha had undoubtedly been up at five, milking the cow or whatever she and Jonathan did at five A.M.
The doorbell rang. Lois turned her head toward the entranceway, reminding herself not to try to get up. "Who is it?"
"Lois?" her mother's voice called.
"Come in, Mother!" she said, loudly enough for her mother to hear her. She heard Ellen fumbling with the lock and the outer door opened. A moment later, the inner door opened and Ellen Lane stepped into the room, closing it carefully behind her.
"Hello, Mother," Lois said.
"How are you feeling?" her mother asked.
"Fine," Lois said. "I thought I'd go online in a bit to see what's on the news. And I still need to organize my research notes for that article I'm doing for the Sunday Feature --"
"Lois," Ellen Lane said, reprovingly, "you're supposed to be resting!"
"No, I'm supposed to be lying down," Lois contradicted. "Dr. Klein said I could do anything I wanted as long as I stayed horizontal."
Ellen raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about him, Lois? I've never understood why you prefer a research scientist who dabbles in obstetrics rather than an OB specialist."
Lois muffled an exasperated sigh. "Clark and I have our reasons, Mother."
"Speaking of Clark," Ellen said, "I wanted to tell you what happened the night you were at the hospital."
"Mother, if it's about Clark's supposed disappearing act --"
Ellen took a seat in the armchair and set her purse on the floor. If Lois hadn't known better, she'd have thought Ellen was nervous. "I said something that upset the children," she began. "I wanted to tell you about it."
"Oh?"
"I was talking to your father about Clark, and Marta and CJ overheard. They were upset." Ellen folded her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry. I didn't think they'd overhear. Marta wouldn't even talk to me afterwards. She shut herself in her room." She shook her head. "She still won't listen to me."
"What did you say that made her so angry?" Lois asked, already sure of the answer.
"Clark's disappearances. I said ..."
"She heard you imply that Clark is seeing another woman," Lois said.
"I'm afraid so."
"Do you blame her for being angry?"
Ellen shook her head. "I suppose not. But Lois, how is she going to react when Clark leaves you for another --"
"Mother!" Lois nearly pushed herself upright and stopped herself in mid-motion. "Stop right there!"
"Lois, I'm thinking of you and the children."
"So am I. And, I'm thinking of Clark!" Lois stopped and took several breaths, trying to bring her temper under control.
"Lois --"
"No, Mother!" Again she breathed. "I'm tired of your insinuations about my husband," she said, keeping her voice under control by sheer force of will. "I'm saying it right now. The subject is off limits from this moment on. Clark is *not* cheating on me and never has. He's put up with this for my sake, and I've put up with it for too long. He's the best, most faithful man I know. We haven't said anything in the interests of family harmony, but when you upset the children, you've gone too far."
"Lois, I didn't expect them to hear me --"
"That's immaterial, Mother. I'm telling you now. Don't bring the subject up again. Clark is a good man. He doesn't cheat on me. There *is* no other woman, and never has been."
"Are you certain? How can you be?"
"I'm certain." Lois forced herself to relax and tried to make her heart slow down, with indifferent results. "The subject is closed."
Ellen shut her mouth with a snap. Lois knew that she hadn't convinced her mother but, short of telling her the whole truth, she was sure that nothing would.
The fact was, she was quite sure that both Ellen and Sam could be trusted with Clark's secret. She and Clark hadn't told them for their own safety, but Ellen's suspicions at his frequent absences were causing a great deal of unnecessary discord. Ellen's experiences with a cheating husband had made her overly suspicious of Clark. If she knew the truth, it would settle the subject once and for all. Lois bit her lip, fighting the battle again in her own mind.
It wasn't as if no one knew, after all. Perry, Jim and Dr. Klein had figured it out on their own and it had become necessary to tell Sandi and Alice as well. Bill Henderson had discovered the truth five months ago, and at some time, so had CJ's girlfriend, Linda. Wyatt Dillon had also put two and two together. She had come to the conclusion that Wyatt could be trusted, after he'd learned the truth about CJ and kept it quiet. Each of the people who knew the secret was a close friend of the family and completely trustworthy. They realized the importance of keeping Superman's secret a secret. Sam and Ellen would know it, too, and she had no doubt in her mind that they would never willingly put her family in danger. Perhaps it *would* be best to tell them. She made a mental note to talk it over with Clark.
Ellen stood up. "Would you like me to make you some hot chocolate?" she asked. "This kind of stress isn't good for you." She paused. "You have the right to be angry with me. I only hope your faith in him is justified."
"It is." She turned her head at the faint "whoosh" audible through the window. Clark was back with Martha.
A few minutes later, the front door opened and Martha Kent entered, followed by Clark, carrying a pair of suitcases.
"I'll just put these in the spare room," Clark said, and headed for the stairs.
Ellen glanced at him and turned to Martha. "How are you, these days?"
"Oh, fine." Martha hurried over to the sofa. "How are you doing, Lois?"
"I'm fine." Lois cast a glance at the stairs where Clark had gone. Now wasn't the time to discuss the subject, of course, but now that she'd decided to do so, it was hard to wait.
"I'll put on the hot chocolate," Ellen said. Martha looked after her as she went into the kitchen, then back at Lois.
"What's wrong, honey?"
Lois bit her lip. "I'll tell you later. Clark and I -- and you and Jonathan -- need to talk. This thing is getting out of hand."
"Oh. That subject again, hmm?"
"Yeah," Lois said. "That subject again."
**********
Ellen measured out milk into a small pan and let it warm on the stove, aware of voices in the other room. She'd managed to do it again, she thought. What had started as a confession had ended up as another argument over her son-in-law's vanishing act. Why couldn't Lois see how suspicious his behavior was? She seemed to have no doubts about his fidelity. Was she completely in denial about the man?
What she needed was evidence, she decided. She had to find out where Clark went when he disappeared on one of his urgent departures. Then she would be able to confront Lois with the actual facts. And, on the unlikely chance that Clark wasn't cheating, she could stop worrying about it.
The milk was steaming. Carefully, she poured it into a mug and added chocolate syrup. It was only after she had finished that she realized that the mug was Johnny's, with a vivid picture of Superman in flight on it. Oh well, Lois probably wouldn't care.
She picked it up carefully and bore it through the swinging door into the living room. Clark had returned from putting Martha's suitcase away, and was sitting next to Lois on the sofa, holding her hand. Didn't Lois see how suspicious that was? They had been married for nearly twelve years. How many men held their wives' hands after that many years of marriage? The man had to have a guilty conscience!
Ellen placed a coaster on the coffee table and set the mug on it. "Hot chocolate," she said. "I hope you don't mind the Superman mug."
"Clark was drinking coffee out of Jimmy's Batman mug this morning," Lois said. "Thanks, Mother."
Clark stood up. "Well, I promised Perry I'd come in after I picked up Mom," he said, "so I'd better get going. Are you going to be all right, honey?"
"I'll be fine," Lois assured him. "Don't forget to pick up that packet of stuff that Jim put together on the Murray bribery case."
"Not a problem," Clark said.
"And tell him thanks," she said. "It was great of him to take time out of his schedule to dig it up for me. He's still better than any researcher that the Planet has hired since he moved up to the city beat."
"That's for sure," Clark said. He bent to kiss her. "I'll try to be home on time, unless something comes up."
"I'll be fine," Lois said, a second time. "We'll see you after work."
"Call me right away if there are any problems," he said.
"I promise," Lois said. "Go on, Clark. Perry expects to get some work out of you today."
"Okay." He hesitated. "Is there anything I can get you before I go?"
"Clark, I'll be *fine*," Lois repeated, again. "Go on."
As he closed the door behind him, Ellen frowned after him. He certainly seemed concerned enough about Lois. Still, it could all be a smokescreen. She made a note to call the Daily Planet in an hour or so to see if he was actually where he was supposed to be, and turned to Lois and Martha. "So, Martha, what have you and Jonathan been up to lately?"
**********
Clark had returned from Bill Henderson's political rally and was writing up his notes when the phone rang. He answered it, while mentally composing the article for the Planet's political section. "Kent."
"Clark?" It was Ellen Lane's voice.
"Hello, Ellen. Is Lois all right?"
"She's fine, Clark. I was wondering if you'd like to have a cup of coffee."
Now what, he wondered. "Sure, Ellen. Where?"
"How about in the coffee shop around the corner from the Planet?"
"Sure."
"I'll meet you there in five minutes."
His mother-in-law hung up. He put down the phone and returned to his article, wondering what was going on in Ellen's mind this time. Lois's mother was extremely suspicious of him, he knew. Her own rocky marriage had made her distrust all men, and his disappearances weren't helping. Maybe, he thought, it was time to lay her suspicions to rest once and for all. It would certainly end one source of family discord, one that, he knew, was slowly driving his wife to distraction, and had now upset the kids. He had heard Marta vowing never to speak to her grandmother again, and although he doubted that his daughter would hold to the promise, it had been four days now and Marta still wasn't speaking to Ellen. In fact, when her grandmother had tried to apologize, she had been met with a frozen-faced little girl who turned and walked away without a word.
Of course, he wasn't supposed to know about that, but he hadn't quite been able to resist peeking in on the confrontation. It had left him with a sense of disquiet. Things couldn't be left as they were, that was for certain. When he got home, this evening, he would broach the subject to Lois.
Quickly, he finished the article, lanned it to Perry and stood up. He still had thirty seconds to get to the coffee shop.
**********
Ellen was sitting in a booth at the rear of the room when he arrived, drinking a cup of coffee. Clark made his way to the booth and slipped into the seat across from her. "Hello, Ellen."
She gave him a reserved smile. "Hello, Clark."
The waitress arrived with a coffee cup and Clark and Ellen were silent as she poured coffee for him. He busied himself with adding cream and four sugars to the brew as the woman walked away, and then met his mother-in-law's eyes across the table. "Is something wrong, Ellen?"
She was frowning. "I wanted to ask if Marta had spoken to you about the other night, Clark."
Superman didn't lie, he reminded himself. "No, but if you're referring to the argument, I know about it."
She bit her lip. "CJ told you, I suppose."
Clark didn't answer.
"I want to apologize for what happened," Ellen said, abruptly. "I didn't mean to upset the children."
Clark met her eyes, steadily. Maybe it was time to take the bull by the horns, so to speak. "I imagine not. On the other hand, the subject hasn't gone away, has it?"
Ellen's cheeks grew slightly pink. "You believe in being direct, don't you, Clark?"
"I suppose," Clark said, quietly, "that it won't matter if I tell you that I'm not cheating on Lois, and never have?"
Ellen didn't answer for a long moment. Clark sipped his coffee in silence.
"Do you know," Ellen said, setting down her empty coffee cup, "how many times Sam denied that he was seeing another woman?"
"No," Clark said. "On the other hand, do you have any reason to suspect me of the same, Ellen -- other than the fact that I haven't accounted to you for every minute of my time? I can't prove to you that I'm innocent of what you obviously suspect me of -- but it's very difficult to prove a negative, if not impossible."
"Where were you at three o'clock?" she asked, suddenly. "I called your office --"
"To check up on me? I was at Bill Henderson's fundraiser for the mayoral election. The article will appear in the Daily Planet, tomorrow morning."
"Oh." Ellen fell silent as the waitress approached.
"More coffee?"
"Yes, please."
They were silent until she had gone, again. Clark frowned thoughtfully into his coffee. The subject was obviously bothering Ellen a great deal, and he could hardly blame her for caring about her daughter and grandchildren, but he was not-unreasonably piqued at her distrust of him.
"I suppose it won't help," he said, finally, "but you're wrong, Ellen. And I would appreciate it if you don't bring up the subject again within Lois's hearing -- especially right now. She doesn't need the aggravation."
Ellen nodded. "I understand that. My daughter loves you and trusts you. But if you betray that trust --"
"I have no intention of betraying her trust -- now, or ever." Clark consciously kept his voice level. "Lois and our children are my life, and nothing can ever change that. I'm sorry you feel the way you do about me, but there's not much I can do about it."
Ellen didn't answer for several seconds. "I hope I'm wrong," she said, at last. "I like you, Clark. But you're so much like Sam when we first met. I found out about him the hard way.
He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not Sam," he said.
"True. I hope I'm just being paranoid. Maybe I am."
"Clark?" a feminine voice said. "Am I interrupting?"
He glanced up. Candy Valenzuela, the office society columnist, was standing by the table. As usual, she was dressed in an outfit that was probably technically legal, but certainly inappropriate for her surroundings. On the other hand, what she was wearing would have been inappropriate just about anywhere, except possibly a strip club.
"Hello, Candy," he said, conscious of Ellen's eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Ellen, I'd like to introduce Candy Valenzuela, our society columnist. Candy, this is my mother-in-law, Ellen Lane."
"You're Lois's mother?" Candy extended a slender, white hand, tipped with bright red nails. "How is Lois, these days? The last I saw of her, she looked like she was going to have those babies any minute!"
"You know my daughter?" Ellen asked. Obviously Candy's appearance had distracted her from Clark's introduction.
"Candy works in the office," Clark said. "You've read her column, Ellen. Candy writes the Town Talk column for the paper."
"Oh -- of course," Ellen said, taking the woman's hand as briefly as courtesy would allow.
"Was there something you needed, Candy?" Clark asked.
"Actually, yes. I was wondering if I could get a ride home from you this evening. My car is in the shop and I --" Her voice faltered. "I don't want to --" Abruptly, she turned her head, and he could swear that her complexion went a little paler under its layer of makeup. He frowned.
"What's the matter, Candy?"
"Oh -- nothing. Nothing at all. About that ride..."
"Not a problem. I have the Jeep, today. What time are you leaving?"
"At six," she said, surprising him. "I'm supposed to attend the cocktail party at the Governor's mansion this evening, and I'll need time to prepare."
"Oh, I see. I'll give Lois a call and tell her I'll be a little late."
"Thank you, Clark." Candy glanced briefly at the front of the shop and back to them. "Well -- I guess I'll see you back in the office."
When she had gone, he turned back to his mother-in-law. Ellen was watching the woman's retreating back, her eyes narrowed. "Who is she?" she asked.
"That's the Planet's society columnist, Candy Valenzuela," he repeated.
"And she works in your office?"
"Yes." What she was thinking was obvious. "Ask Lois about her, if you like."
"You're giving her a lift home. Where does she live?"
"I don't know," Clark said.
"But you're giving her a lift home?"
"It won't hurt me to do her a favor," Clark said. "That's all it is, Ellen."
She looked doubtful and then shrugged. "I guess so. I'm going to reserve my judgement, Clark. I know Lois loves you; I hope her faith is justified."
**********
At six o'clock, Candy was waiting while Clark tidied his desk. The woman had slipped on a leopard-skin patterned jacket and had slung a matching bag over her shoulder. She smiled a little nervously when he joined her at the elevator.
"Ready?" he asked.
She nodded.
They rode the elevator to the Planet's lobby in silence, but Clark didn't fail to notice that her pulse rate had speeded up. He added that to the nervousness she had displayed in the coffee shop.
"What's the matter, Candy?" he asked. "Is something bothering you?"
"What makes you say that?" she asked.
"You're upset about something," he said, quietly. "Even I can see it."
"Nobody else noticed," she said. "You're right, though. I've got a stalker."
The elevator doors opened and they stepped out into the lobby. The Jeep was parked halfway down the block and Clark moved to walk between her and the street as they made their way to the vehicle. He opened the door for her and closed it after her before going around to take his place in the driver's seat.
"Where to?" he asked.
"112 Burlington Avenue," she said.
He started the engine and pulled out into traffic. The rush hour crush was beginning to wane, but there were still plenty of cars on the street. He concentrated on driving carefully for several minutes to get the Jeep off the main thoroughfare.
"If you don't mind, I'm going to take a few back streets," he said. "It won't be as crowded."
She nodded and watched in silence as he maneuvered the Jeep carefully through the slowly moving cars.
"A stalker," he said, finally. "What's he done?"
Candy leaned back in the seat. "Enough," she said. "It started after the Valentine Ball. I got what I thought was a fan letter. He said he'd seen me that night and hadn't been able to get me out of his mind. I was a little flattered, I suppose."
"But it didn't stay like that?"
"No." Candy shuddered. "There were more letters. Sometimes there were flowers. Only it started to change, slowly. He started to talk about us being together. I didn't think much about it...I mean, I hadn't even met him! But then, a few weeks ago, somebody broke into my apartment."
"Robbery attempt?" Clark asked.
"I thought so at first," Candy said. "But nothing was taken -- except some of my lingerie."
"I see."
"I replaced my locks and told my landlord," Candy said. "The funny thing is, I didn't connect it. Then, last week I found a -- " She hesitated. "A videocamera. In my bedroom. I don't know how long it's been there. The police traced the wires to a transmitter, outside the building. He's been watching me for who knows how long. And then I got another letter. It was -- different. It called me a --" She broke off. "Well, it called me some names and told me that I'd betrayed him and that I was going to pay the price for 'spurning his love', I think the phrase was. I --" She stopped and seemed to gather herself. "This morning, I -- well, I must have been around you and Lois too long. I started up my car, and realized the brakes felt odd. I managed to get it stopped, but the mechanic I called said someone had cut the brake lines."
"I see." Clark said. "Did you call the police?"
"Sure. They took my car away to see if they could find any evidence in it, and told me to be careful. So, now I don't have a car, and some whacko is stalking me, and I haven't any idea who he is. All day I've had the feeling that somebody was watching me. Nerves, I guess."
"I see. And that's why you wanted a ride this evening."
She nodded. "I figured I was safe with you, Clark. If anybody's a straight arrow, it's you."
"It's nice to know somebody thinks so," Clark said, dryly. "Do you have an escort tonight?"
"Are you volunteering?" Candy asked.
"Candy --"
"I'm kidding, Clark," she said. "I know you want to stay close to Lois, right now. I heard she was in the hospital a few days ago. Are the babies all right?"
"Yes."
"Good," she said. "And to answer your question, yes, I have an escort. I'll be okay, tonight."
"When do you get your car back?"
"Detective Zymack said it would be a couple of days, and after that it has to go to the shop for repairs, so ... probably next week."
"How did you get to work this morning?"
"I got a cab," Candy said. "Why?"
"I'm thinking that somebody you know needs to drive you to work in the morning. Let me see what I can work out."
"You don't need to go to the trouble," Candy said. "I think I'm probably okay by daylight."
"Probably," he agreed. "Humor me, okay? Let me see if I can arrange for some friends to give you a lift for the next few days."
She smiled, wryly. "The last Boy Scout," she said. "Lois is a lucky woman. Thanks, Clark."
**********
They arrived at Candy's apartment house a few moments later. Candy got out and raised her eyebrows as Clark also descended from the Jeep. "You don't have to --"
"It won't hurt for me to walk you to your door," he said. "Just to be safe."
Again she smiled, but he noticed that she didn't object.
Candy's apartment was on the fourth floor. As they waited for the elevator, Clark lowered his glasses and glanced around the area, scanning for anything unusual. The doors opened at last and a short man in a pair of battered jeans emerged. He nodded to Candy and glanced at Clark.
"Is this a friend of your, Ms. Valenzuela?"
"This is Mr. Kent. We work in the same office," Candy explained. "Clark, this is Mr. Bryant, who manages the apartment."
Clark smiled. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Bryant smiled briefly. "You'd better be careful, Ms. Valenzuela, after this morning."
"That's why Mr. Kent drove me home," Candy explained. "Thanks, Mr. Bryant."
"If anything scares you, don't hesitate to call," the manager said. "There are a lot of weirdoes around, these days."
"Tell me about it." Candy caught the elevator doors and entered the car, and Clark followed.
The fourth floor of the apartment house was quiet. Candy led the way to her apartment with a brisk step, amazing for someone in spiked heels, Clark thought. He didn't know how women managed to walk in heels without spraining an ankle, but surmised that there had to be an art to it. They paused at the door and she fumbled for her keys. Clark unobtrusively lowered his glasses to check the room beyond the door. Everything seemed normal. He waited patiently until she had the door open and turned to him.
"Thanks, Clark. I appreciate the help."
"You're welcome," Clark said. "I'm going to phone a couple of friends. If they're willing to give you a ride in the morning, I'll let you know; all right?"
Candy nodded. "Leave a message on the machine, if I don't answer," she said. "I'll probably be out late."
"Right," he said. "Lock your door."
Candy closed the door and he heard the click as she fastened the bolt. Clark turned to retrace his steps to the elevator, frowning. The whole story Candy had told bothered him. It sounded as if his coworker might really be in danger.
He rounded the corner to the elevator just as the doors opened, and a man in a janitor's coverall emerged, towing a vacuum cleaner. He held the door politely for Clark.
"Thanks." Clark stepped into the car and punched the button for the first floor.
The man nodded absently and headed down the hallway, pushing the vacuum.
**********
tbc
