Chapter 6 Axel
SIX
AXEL
We’d found him. It was Tuesday, one week after Stella had visited me at the pub for the first time, and we’d found him. His full name was Braden Lance Doucet. He was forty-two years old, divorced with no kids, worked as a pharmaceutical sales rep, and traveled a lot.
When he wasn’t traveling, he worked from home. It was a three-story townhome that Vince and I were just pulling up to.
Once I’d found him, I had asked the guys what our best course of action would be. We’d all agreed that the smartest move would be to have some words with him and inform him that he needed to stay away from Stella. How he reacted would determine what our next steps would be.
“You ready?” Vince asked as we parked on the street, three units down from Doucet’s.
“Yes. I want to see his reaction,” I told him.
Vince was going to be the talker, and I would be behind him, watching his body language and subtle physical cues.
Walking up to his front door, I noticed everything was clean and precise, but there was also nothing personal. No patio furniture, no plants, nothing to make it look like someone lived here.
Vince knocked, and a few moments later, the door opened a little as Doucet peeked out.
“Braden Doucet?” Vince asked, but Doucet didn’t respond.
His eyes widened as he took in our appearance. Vince and I were both tall and muscular. Doucet was not. He was just under six feet, with a lanky build, and had salt-and-pepper hair with a fairly deep receding hairline.
Vince was trying to give off an easygoing vibe, while I was supposed to be the stoic one.
“We’re just here to ask you a few questions about Stella Nielsen. Do you mind if we come in for a moment?” Vince asked, trying to keep his tone neutral but pleasant.
“Stella?” Doucet asked, his face changing from wary and nervous about us being on his front porch to concerned and worried on Stella’s behalf. “Is she okay? Are you cops? Did something happen to her?”
There was genuine concern in his voice, so this man definitely had some kind of feelings for her, which rankled me.
“Stella is okay, but we’d rather not discuss it loudly for all your neighbors to hear,” Vince told him, guiding him into believing we were here on friendly terms.
“Oh yes, of course,” he replied, opening his door and allowing us to come in.
We walked into an open-concept living space with the kitchen and dining space just beyond toward the back of his building.
The inside of his place was very modern, with minimal contemporary furniture and no real decorations anywhere—no picture frames, books on the shelves, nothing.
It looked as though he had recently moved in and just hadn’t taken the time to unpack everything, but I knew that wasn’t it.
From my search, he had lived here for over five years, having moved in just after his divorce.
“What happened? Is she okay?” he repeated.
“Stella is safe, and we’d like to keep her that way,” Vince said. His body language was still relaxed and inviting, but his tone was changing. “How often do you visit her bakery? Have you ever seen her family there, or a boyfriend or partner, perhaps?”
“She doesn’t have a boyfriend because she is too busy taking care of her sick father and running her business,” he told us.
“She’s been getting some threatening letters at her work lately,” Vince continued.
“Letters? Someone is threatening her? Or do you mean someone just wrote her letters and said that they were concerned for her?” he asked, his answer conveniently matching what Archer had said about the legality of the threats in the letters. “Wait…Do you think it’s me?”
“A few people have mentioned that you have stopped by on occasion and asked her out. Is that correct?” Vince asked.
That was when Doucet’s entire body language changed. Gone was the semi-concerned man who displayed a willingness to cooperate.
“Look, I may have asked her out once or twice, but that was because she flirted with me,” he shot back, and I had to stop myself from grinding my teeth at his answer. “I may have asked her out more than once because she’s beautiful, but I’m not desperate. I…I…I’ve moved on.”
That last line was complete bullshit, but I wasn’t going to call him on it.
“I’d like you to leave,” he said, straightening his shoulders. “I’m very sorry about what is happening to Stella, and I hope you cops figure it out, but I can’t help you, and I…uh…need to be going. I have a very important work phone call coming up.”
Given that we weren’t cops, we really had no legality to stay once we were told to leave, so Vince and I made our way to the door.
He opened the door, and Vince walked out first, but for some reason, I turned before exiting to face him.
“I’m glad you’ve moved on,” I told him, my voice low and clear with a veiled threat.
“But if you get the urge to try again…don’t.
She’s seeing someone, and he will not take kindly to you making her uncomfortable.
I suggest you find a new bakery, or he will be back to make you feel uncomfortable instead. ”
With that, I turned and walked out the door and made my way down to our car. Despite Vince having left first, he was now behind me as my gait was powered by a small bit of rage that propelled me faster.
Once we got into the car, I glanced over at Vince, who was grinning.
“Why does your face look like that? That guy was an asshole.”
“I’m smiling because that man damn near peed his pants when you threatened him just now,” Vince said, still grinning. “Plus, I didn’t know Stella had a man.”
“I just made that part up to deter him,” I informed him, dismissing it as nothing.
“Did you?” Vince asked. This time, his face had more of a quizzical look to it.
“Back before Cat and I started dating, some creep came to visit her while I was there. I pretended to be her boyfriend to get him to back off—at least that’s what I told myself.
But if I’m honest, it was because I secretly wanted to be her man. You got a thing for Stella, Axel?”
“I find her attractive, yes,” I answered.
He chuckled and shook his head before he spoke. “I’ll let you off the hook for now, but if you’re interested in her, maybe you should tell her.”
“You heard Doucet. She has a lot on her plate right now, and unlike him, I’m not the type to push her.”
“Admittedly, I don’t know Stella very well at all, but I have a feeling she used those excuses because she didn’t want to date him, not because she doesn’t want to date in general…but I could be wrong,” Vince said.
Maybe when I filled her in on our visit with Doucet today, I would casually bring up the subject. She had definitely blushed when I’d made the casual comment about her thinking I was hot. And I’d caught her gawking at me a few times when she thought I wasn’t looking.
She had come to the Watering Hole to visit me several times over the last week.
I knew it was initially because we wouldn’t let her pay us for looking into Doucet, but it was quickly becoming more than that.
I enjoyed spending time with her and learning more about her.
Plus, she was gorgeous, so the view I had every time she “tutored” me was not a bad thing.
“You think my threat worked?” I asked, hoping this visit was a one and done. “He was very defensive toward the end.”
“Yes, but honestly, I think he was just playing tough guy and trying to save his pride. I don’t think he’s got it in him to retaliate.”
I wasn’t so sure, but I hoped Vince was right.
Me: Hey Stella, I’ve got an update for you on Braden.
It’s nothing bad, but I’d rather not tell you in a text.
I had planned to stop by Scandinavian Sweets before my shift at the Watering Hole tonight, but I got held up with work.
Do you have a few minutes for a phone call? If not, I will stop by tomorrow.
Stella: Hey Axel! This is Luna texting on Stella’s phone because she is driving. We’re about to drop off a big catering order. Can she call you back in about 45 minutes?
Axel: Sure. My shift at the bar starts in an hour, so if she can’t call before then, I will come by the bakery tomorrow morning.
Stella: She said if we can’t call before your shift she will just swing by the bar tonight so you can tell her in person.
Axel: That works too.
Stella never called, and I didn’t want to start my shift late, so I put my cell phone in my locker in the break room and made my way out to the bar. Tammy was already there but was only on shift for about another two hours, and then Corey would take her place.
I had met Corey during my training, and he seemed great. His full-time job was working at a gym a few streets down as a personal trainer and fitness class instructor, but he was like me and picked up a few shifts at the bar here and there.
“Axel!” I heard Ruthie’s voice as I pushed the buttons on the computer to clock in for my shift.
I glanced over to see Ruthie and Cat sitting in the middle of the bar, both with wide smiles on their faces.
“We wanted to come support you on one of your shifts,” Cat said to me.
“But also, we love Tammy, so that’s why I’m sitting on her side of the bar and Cat is on your side,” Ruthie said, pointing to their seat choices.
We chatted for a bit while I tended to a few other customers and helped Tammy restock clean glasses for behind the bar.
I was filling a drink when I heard Ruthie yell again. “Stella! What are you doing here?”
I immediately looked up, searching for her, and found her setting her stuff down on the chair next to Cat—making a point to sit in my section, but next to the other women to talk with them.
“Axel texted and had an update on what’s been going on, so I stopped by,” Stella said to Cat and Ruthie. “Plus, I figure I can help him some more with his English while I’m here.”
“What do you mean?” Cat asked her.
“The guys won’t let me pay them money for their help, so I’ve been paying them in baked goods from my shop and tutoring Axel in weird English phrases and words,” Stella told her.