Suspicions: 4/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
"What happened?" Jim Olsen was standing beside his desk when he stood up.
"Security says the Jeep's tires were slashed," Clark said. "They said a witness reported it. If Lois finds out, she'll have a fit. I'm going to go look at the damage."
"I'll go with you," Jim said. "Let me grab my camera."
Clark cast him a skeptical look. "This wouldn't be for a story, or something, would it?"
"Clark!" Jim looked hurt. "Of course not! I figure you might need it for the insurance claim."
"Oh. Sorry. I was remembering Lois, the time my apartment got robbed."
Jimmy snorted. "I'm not up for a Merriweather. Maybe I should do a series on the increasing vandalism in Metropolis ..."
Clark couldn't help grinning. "Come on, let's go see what happened."
**********
And now, Part 4:
"No, Lois, I haven't seen her since this morning," Sam Lane said. "She said something about having an appointment."
"I can't get her on her phone," Lois said. "All I get is her voice mail."
"Her phone must be turned off," her father said.
"Well, I wanted to invite you and Mother over about seven-thirty," Lois said. "Clark and I had something we wanted to discuss with you."
"Is there a problem?" Sam asked.
"No -- well, yes, actually," Lois said. "Mother's thing about Clark."
"Oh. She's still --"
"She still thinks he's cheating on me," Lois said.
"I'm afraid so," Sam said. "For what it's worth, I know she's wrong, Princess. Clark's a good man."
"He's the best man I could ever have found, Daddy. I was luckier than I deserved."
"I think Clark was the lucky one," Sam said. "Your mother's just worried about you. She doesn't understand."
"And you do?" Lois asked.
"Yes," Sam said. "I think I do. When I get home, I'll tell her you invited us over. All right?"
"Thanks, Dad." Lois's voice sounded a little worried. "We have a lot to explain to both of you."
When she had hung up, Sam set the receiver down with care. He frowned at the inoffensive telephone for nearly a full minute and then straightened up. Whatever Lois and Clark wanted to tell them, it sounded urgent. For a moment, he wondered if it had anything to do with the deductions he had made the other night and then dismissed the thought. If they hadn't said anything in nearly twelve years, it wasn't likely they were going to now. They had no idea, after all, that he had finally added up the evidence.
Still, it must be fairly important. Ellen's suspicions of Clark couldn't be good for their family.
For the first time, he wondered about Ellen's early-morning appointment. Whatever it was, it must have been occupying her mind almost to the exclusion of everything else if she forgot to turn on her phone -- unless she had deliberately left it off.
"John!" he called, suddenly.
John Trenton stuck his head into the room. "Yeah, Sam?"
"I have to go out. Is there anything you need for me to pick up?"
The other doctor appeared to think. "How about a ham sandwich and a soda?"
"I'll stop by the deli and get it before I come back," Sam said. "I'll be back in an hour or so -- or I'll call if my plans change."
"Right." Trenton disappeared again. Sam removed his lab coat and headed for the door.
**********
"Somebody slashed your tires?" Candy said.
"I'm afraid so," Clark said.
"You don't suppose it had anything to do with --"
Clark hesitated. "Well -- I doubt it, but Wolff wants to check it out, just in case, after what happened to --" He broke off. "Anyway, we're going to have to find you another ride home, tonight. Jim can't, this evening, but he and Sandi will be by to pick you up in the morning."
"I'll take the bus," Candy said. "Would you think I'm too much of a wimp if I asked you to walk me to the bus stop?"
"Not at all," Clark said. "I'll phone Lois and tell her what's going on so she won't expect me right away."
"Tell her thanks for me," Candy said. "She's being very understanding about the whole thing. I appreciate it."
"Lois has been stalked, too," Clark said. "She knows what it feels like." He glanced at his watch. "I have to meet a source for the investigation Lois and I are working on, and since I don't have a car, I'd better leave now." He smiled. "Don't worry, Candy, Jim and I will get this thing figured out, unless the police do it first."
Candy nodded. "I can't thank any of you enough," she said. "I guess I didn't expect anybody to worry about me."
Clark frowned. "Candy, you're our friend, even if we haven't got to know you as well as we should. We aren't just going to stand by while you're in trouble and ignore it."
The elevator opened as she spoke and a delivery boy carrying a large vase of flowers stepped out. Candy froze. "Oh, my god."
"What's the matter?"
"Those are the same as the last flowers *he* sent me," she said.
"Maybe they're not for you," Clark suggested.
"Want to bet?" she said.
The delivery boy crossed the room to Candy's desk and set the vase carefully next to her computer. Clark moved quickly to intercept him before he reached the elevator on his return trip. "Excuse me. Did you see the man who ordered those flowers?"
The delivery boy shook his head. "No, sir."
"Which flower shop is it?"
"Myrtle's Florist and Hardware," he said.
"'Hardware'?" Clark said, slightly incredulous.
"Yes, sir. It's new."
"Oh. Okay, thanks." Clark let him go and returned to Candy, who was checking the flowers. "Is there a card?"
She nodded, holding it out to him.
"'I apologize for our disagreement'," he read. "'I hope our next meeting will be happier and look forward to our being together'. What disagreement and meeting?"
"I have no idea," Candy said. "I haven't met him, as far as I know. If I had, he'd be in jail."
"Maybe you've met him and didn't know it," Clark said.
"I guess," Candy said.
"Have you argued with anybody that you can think of?"
She shook her head. "Maybe he's talking about my so-called betrayal, when I found his camera and reported it."
"Maybe," Clark said. "It sure doesn't say much about his mental stability, though. Call Wolff and let him know about the flowers and note. And show it to Jim. I'll be back from my meeting as soon as I can." He paused. "If you have to go somewhere outside the office, at least take a photographer or somebody with you. I have kind of a bad feeling about this."
Candy shivered. "Isn't there any way to stop this person?"
"Just be very careful," Clark said. "Don't take any chances. I know somebody who might be able to give us some information on this guy. I'm going to see him after I meet my source. He always seems to know everything, so maybe he can help us."
**********
After stepping into the stairwell, Clark made a quick departure through the roof exit. He had a meeting in the park with one of the staffers of Councilman Murray for the series Lois was working on, and since the Jeep was currently out of service, it looked like Superman Express was going to be his mode of transportation for the rest of the day.
The meeting took no more than fifteen minutes. Clark tucked the recorder away and thanked the woman. "I appreciate this, Ms. Underwood."
"My name won't be mentioned, will it?" she asked, anxiously. "I just wanted to be sure that people get the whole story."
"You have my word," Clark said.
"Thank you," she said. "Councilman Murray doesn't have many friends, right now."
"This should give people something to think about," Clark assured her. He glanced at his watch. "I have another meeting in a few minutes. Don't worry. I'll be careful to leave out any possible identifying information."
He waited until she had vanished around a turn in the sidewalk and then ducked quickly out of sight among a stand of trees. An instant later, Superman was on his way toward the section of Metropolis known as Little Italy.
He landed in an alley and a few seconds later, Clark Kent strolled into Figaro's Deli for the takeout order he had phoned in some forty-five minutes earlier. The transaction completed, he headed back towards Centennial Park.
Bobby Bigmouth was waiting on the park bench nearest the fountain when he arrived. Clark handed him the bag. "Here you go, Bobby. What do you have for me?"
The snitch opened the bag and inhaled rapturously. "Y'know, Clark, you bring better food than any other reporter in the city," he said. "You're having problems with a stalker, right?"
"Right. He's after one of my co-workers."
"Candy Valenzuela, your society columnist," Bobby said. "I've heard about it."
Clark had learned not to even wonder where Bobby came by his information. "Can you give me a lead?"
"Maybe. Check out the name Tyla Richards. And before that, Rebecca Bell. And you might look for some similar cases in Cincinnati, about five years ago."
"Thanks," Clark said.
"Oh, yeah. And watch your step. This guy doesn't like competition." Bobby reached into the bag and removed the boxed Italian herbed chicken. "This is great! I *love* this stuff!"
**********
Ellen Lane sat in the Taurus, parked across the street from the Daily Planet. If Clark didn't have the Jeep, she assumed that he wouldn't be driving that woman home again today, but if he needed to go somewhere, he'd either have to walk or call a cab. If, by chance there was another female out there, somewhere, she was going to follow him and find out.
The little digital camera that Lucy had given her for her birthday rested on the front passenger seat. She was going to need pretty solid evidence, or Lois would never believe her. The camera filled the bill perfectly.
She still had no concrete evidence of any infidelity, but it had only been a few hours, and finding the proof she needed might take some time. After all, didn't private detectives trail people around for days and sometimes weeks to get evidence on them? She knew that with Lois, her investigations sometimes lasted for what seemed like forever and often led her into trouble. Ellen shuddered, but reassured herself that she was probably safe. If that vandal was still around and saw her, the fact that she was in public should deter him from anything of a violent nature, she thought. She should be fine where she was.
Overhead, she caught a flash of blue and red. Superman, she thought. It seemed that the tabloids were right in their assertion that he was often seen in the vicinity of the Daily Planet. Of course, their implication that he came by to see Lois Lane was nonsense. Lois wasn't even there right now, and she had no interest in the Man of Steel any longer, other than as a family friend. Superman had denied the rumors of an illicit affair long ago, and the stories those rags tried to spread ought to lay them open to a slander suit. Lois and Clark shrugged them off. That was another thing that made her wonder about Clark's fidelity. It didn't seem to matter to him that the National Whisper was constantly making allegations about his wife and Superman. He and Lois simply laughed at the stories and went about their business.
On the other hand, that was probably the only way to handle the tabloids and their insinuations. Suing them was something only the wealthy could afford to do and Lois and Clark weren't wealthy. Certainly, no one seemed to give the rumor-mongers much credence, in any case. Clark actually collected the things and had a big scrapbook with years of outrageous stories about the two of them and Superman. Maybe he had a point, she thought. If he and Lois made a fuss about the stories, people might pay more attention.
She checked her watch. She had been sitting here for a couple of hours now, and had nothing to show for it. Maybe she should go about this another way.
The revolving doors of the Daily Planet went into motion, and *That Woman*, Candy Whatever-Her-Name-Was, came out, accompanied by another reporter. Ellen picked up her camera and snapped a picture, just for the record. Whoever the man was, he wasn't Clark. They flagged down a taxi and drove away. Ellen was about to set the camera back on the seat when motion caught her eye.
Clark Kent, straightening his tie, emerged from an alley a couple of buildings down from his place of work and strode in a businesslike way to the Daily Planet building.
Ellen raised her camera and snapped a picture, then a second one, as a man in the uniform of a security guard passed him, ruining the first shot at the last second. As she watched, her son-in-law entered the building and disappeared.
Ellen slowly put the camera down on the seat. It seemed as if she had somehow missed Clark when he left the Planet. Where had he been?
Well, she told herself, it wasn't possible to keep him completely under her eye. Probably, he had just been out doing his job. But why had he been in the alley?
After a moment's thought, she stepped out of the car and crossed the street to the alley.
It was just an alley, she thought, looking around in growing disappointment. It was as she turned to retrace her steps to the Taurus, that it hit her.
The far end of the alley had been blocked off by a high, wooden fence. The only way in or out was the way she had come.
So how had Clark gotten in there without her seeing him? And why?
**********
"You know," Lois said, "this is getting old, really fast."
"What is?" Martha set the tray of sandwiches down on the side table within Lois's reach.
"This lying flat thing," Lois said. "I've got *weeks* to go and I can't *do* anything but lie here. Jim said he was going to send that stuff on the Murray bribery scandal, but I haven't heard from him. I'm going crazy just watching soap operas."
"I know what you mean," Martha agreed. "I just can't stir up a lot of enthusiasm for any of them, and I understand why you won't let Jimmy watch. Everybody's cheating on everybody else. I never let Clark see things like that while he was growing up."
"Well, I'm afraid pink dinosaurs don't do a lot for me, either," Lois said. "I know Jimmy loves the show, but you can only take so much."
"Maybe I could go down to the drugstore and buy you some books, or something," Martha suggested. "A good, trashy novel would keep your attention and Jimmy wouldn't know what was in it."
"You read them, too?" Lois asked.
"Sure. Jonathan thinks I'm wasting my time, but --"
The phone rang. Lois reached for it and nearly upset her glass of milk. Martha grabbed the glass and moved it out of the way while Lois wrestled the receiver to her ear. "Hello?"
"What's the matter?" Clark's voice asked.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. I almost spilled a glass of milk. What's up?"
"Well, Jim isn't in the office, so I wondered if you'd like to do some research in connection with this stalker thing."
"Sure!"
"I need to find out about a couple of names that Bobby gave me. Rebecca Bell and Tyla Richards. And, he said to check out Cincinnati for similar cases, about five years ago."
"Rebecca Bell and Tyla Richards," Lois repeated. Martha had picked up a pen and was scribbling the names onto the back of an envelope. "Cincinnati. Anything else?"
"That was all," Clark says. "Except he said to watch my step because the guy doesn't like competition."
"That's ominous, but it fits, after what Wolff said happened last night."
"Yeah, it does. By the way, if your Mom asks, I'm walking Candy to the bus stop before I come home."
"Why not just drive her to her apartment?"
"Because the Jeep is at the garage. I'll tell you about it when I get home. By the way, did Ellen drop off the stuff on the Murray case?"
"I haven't seen Mother all day," Lois said. "I haven't even been able to get her on her cell phone. All I get is her voice mail."
"That's odd," Clark said. "She was at the Planet, this morning. Jim said she came by to pick up something for you, and he gave her the research you asked him for, to give to you. I met her on the way out."
"Clark," Lois said, "I didn't ask her to pick anything up for me."
Silence for a moment. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Clark said, finally.
"That Mother came by to spy on you?"
"That's what I was thinking."
"I'll kill her," Lois said. "This is getting *way* out of hand."
"Jim said she took something out of your desk, too," Clark said, "but I'm sure she wouldn't steal anything. She'll probably give it back, later."
"I'm sure she will," Lois said. "I recognize the technique. She was establishing a reason for being there -- besides spying on you. And in the meantime, I can't work on the Murray case because of her." She paused. "Clark, *what* happened to the Jeep?"
"Um ... "
"*Clark!*"
"Security called me a few minutes after I talked to you this morning. A witness reported that a vandal slashed our tires."
"*What*!?"
"It's okay. After Wolff had his people check it over, just in case, Superman did us a favor and flew it to the garage. It'll be ready in the morning."
"Clark, *who* was the witness?"
"They didn't say. Why?"
"You don't suppose it was Mother, do you?"
"It doesn't seem likely."
"Clark, you've forgotten our normal luck. Do me a favor and ask, would you?"
"Sure. But, why?"
"You don't know what my mother is capable of when she's in a crusading mood."
"Lois, I'm sure she wouldn't slash the tires, just to keep me from taking Candy home."
"Well, maybe not," Lois admitted. "But if she was there and saw the guy --"
She heard her husband sigh. "I'll call and ask, just to relieve your mind, okay? Besides, even if she did see him, what does it matter?"
"I just had a thought," Lois said. "Bobby said this stalker doesn't like competition, right?"
"Right."
"And, he probably killed Johnson because he was Candy's date last night."
"Probably."
"So, what if he realized you were taking Candy to and from work and decided to put a stop to it? And, if by chance, my mother saw him, he might decide to be sure she couldn't identify him. I realize this is kind of far-fetched, but --"
"It isn't likely that she was the witness," Clark said, reassuringly. "Even if she was, how would he know who she is? But I'll check, just to be sure."
"Do that," Lois said. "And call me back."
"I will. And after that, I'm going to have Superman pay a visit to Myrtle's Florist and Hardware."
"*Hardware*?" Lois said.
"I'm told it's new," Clark said. "I'll call you back."
**********
(tbc)
