Chapter Ten #2
She detested the idea that Helen or Lawyer had known the killer—if there was one.
The townspeople had been through enough, having one of their own murdering tourists and friends alike.
Not to mention the ritual killings that had occurred after the first one had been caught.
Did she really believe there was another serial killer stalking the citizens of Knightly?
The idea was insane, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling.
“Has the vet determined what made the dog so ill?” Rainier asked.
“If she has, she hasn’t shared that with me,” Harlow said. “I’ve called several times, and I believe she would let me know if she’s found what nearly killed Gwen.”
Rainier sighed. “Unfortunately, we don’t have much to go on.
There’s no way, at this juncture, to know if we’re looking in the right direction.
I think it’s best to warn our family and friends and look out for one another.
Go in pairs. But, Harlow, you need a full-time bodyguard.
We’re going to have to talk about these threats to your life.
And you need to start taking them seriously. ”
Harlow sighed. The last thing she wanted to discuss was the vile letters she received in her mailbox or through email, but she couldn’t very well act like a petulant child when Rainier and Wilder were going out of their way to help her.
It was just that no one wanted to face the fact that someone hated them so much they would threaten their life, or even try to follow through to kill them.
Wilder stood up, a flow of muscle and strength, drawing her attention. He was definitely getting stronger. He crossed the room and took her hand, tugging until her body was close to his.
“I know this is a difficult subject, Harlow, but it’s very necessary.” He tucked her under his shoulder protectively as he walked her back to her chair.
Harlow wasn’t certain how he did it, how Wilder could make her feel safe, surrounded by a fortress, when she’d never felt that way in her life.
This time, he sank down into the chair she’d occupied, taking her with him so that she was pressed to his side. He curved his arm around the back of the chair, his fingers settling under her fall of hair to massage the nape of her neck.
“You have a couple of different things going on here, Harlow,” Rainier said. “I think you’re well aware of it, but you don’t want to deal with it.”
She flashed him a small, rueful smile. “You’re right, Rainier. I didn’t always look at them these last few months.”
“The ones you received from Bale Landry were worded very carefully so they can’t be considered death threats. He was ugly and nasty as only Bale can be, but he didn’t threaten your life.”
“Just my reputation, but that doesn’t seem such a sacrifice. My father’s managed to trash that already.” She tried not to sound bitter. Or tired. But she was both.
She knew Shabina’s father had actually attempted to hire an assassin to kill her when she was a teen and had been kidnapped.
Another time, he did his best to make her appear insane enough to be hospitalized by gaslighting her.
Shabina’s father was a nightmare. Stella’s had been a convicted serial killer.
Vienna’s refused to even acknowledge her as his daughter, and he’d used her as bait to draw out a killer.
Raine’s father had been a mobster, and her entire family disowned her after he’d been murdered.
Zahra’s father had sold her into a marriage with a man who demanded she obey his every word or be beaten severely.
“Sheesh, Wilder. I think all of my friends and I have daddy issues.” Despite the gravity of the situation, she burst out laughing. “Poor Rainier has to deal with all of us.”
Rainier’s eyes smiled so briefly she barely caught it, but it transformed him from a hard, tough, unbending man to a warm and caring one.
She realized Wilder was like him. Zale and Sam were like him.
They were all cut from the same cloth. It was no wonder she and her friends were attracted to similar men.
“I consider it a privilege,” Rainier said. “Wilder’s a different matter. Looking after him is a full-time job and much more annoying than it should be.” The trace of humor in his voice tipped her off to the fact that Rainier felt affection for her man.
She sent Rainier a genuine smile, for the very first time feeling true camaraderie with him, the way she did with Sam. That surprised her. She had never considered that Rainier would grow on her, but he had.
“You’re supposed to be on my side, Rainier,” Wilder said, not sounding in the least perturbed.
Rainier’s expression had gone back to that hard, tough man who didn’t pull his punches.
“Getting back to Bale. He even worded his threat to your reputation carefully. He’d claimed he’d heard rumors about you and warned that if he heard them, others would too, and you might lose your nursing license. ”
“He should get together with the senator,” Harlow said. “That sounds like his threat.”
“The senator is an entirely different matter,” Rainier said.
Wilder tightened his fingers on the nape of her neck as if knowing any mention of her father utterly destroyed her peace of mind. She found comfort in his presence. His strong fingers dug into the knots in her neck, easing the tension out of her.
“Yes, well, he always is.”
“We have a solid wall around you, Harlow,” Wilder assured. “He may come here. We can’t prevent that, but he won’t get to you.”
She hoped he was right. “We’ve dispensed with Bale’s idiocy, and you’ve warned me the senator will most likely come here, which I already knew, so why are we really talking?”
Rainier pulled a sheaf of papers from the inside of his jacket.
“This person isn’t playing around. He started out sending you hate mail, and his language and threats worsened with each letter.
The earlier letters were mailed from a small Texas border town.
The words and symbols were cut out of a very popular magazine that is both online and in print.
The words cut out and pasted on the sheet of paper were all from the same publication.
Unfortunately, as the threats have increased, the sender is no longer mailing the letters to you.
Someone is delivering them in person to your mailbox. ”
That was scary. It hadn’t occurred to her that whoever hated her so much would be close enough to deliver the letter in person. “Do you know who it is?”
“I had cameras installed in anticipation of another letter, and one was delivered yesterday by a woman. Guadalupe Brown. Do you know her?”
That didn’t make sense to her at all. She had known Guadalupe for the entire time she lived in Knightly. “Yes. Why would she be sending me threatening letters? We’ve always been friends. At least I thought we were.”
“How do you know her?”
“She was one of the first people I met here. She’s a realtor, and I needed to find the right property.
I went to her because she was open and friendly and explained everything to me up front.
She spent weeks searching for the perfect property to meet my needs.
It wasn’t easy; she kept saying she had a property in mind but it wasn’t up for sale yet.
She was certain it would be if I had patience.
She was right. I love where I live. I love the studio.
I had to do some renovations to the house, but that just ensured everything was exactly the way I liked it.
She even helped me with those. She’d come over, bring food, and we’d discuss color schemes and wallpaper.
She was very knowledgeable about Knightly and the various businesses, and she graciously shared information with me. ”
Not only was she astonished and shocked, but she was hurt as well. She considered Guadalupe a friend.
“What you’re telling me, Harlow,” Rainier said, “is that Brown knows this property inside and out. She knows every entrance and exit. She knows which windows open and which don’t.”
Harlow hadn’t thought of that. She rubbed her face against Wilder’s shoulder just to inhale his scent.
“Did you discuss security with her at any time? Where you would put cameras outside or inside? Did you have any discussions with her of that nature?” Rainier persisted.
Harlow nodded. “Actually, several. She was the one to suggest cameras and an alarm system. I thought it sweet that she worried about me being alone here. Rainier, if she talked about that when I bought the property, that would mean she was planning something against me almost from when she first met me. That doesn’t make sense either. I’ve lived here for years.”
That was really difficult to believe. She tried to recall every conversation with Guadalupe and never once had there seemed to be any discord.
“Have you ever had a fight with her? An argument?” Rainier questioned.
Wilder shifted closer to her, his body heat warming her when she hadn’t realized she felt cold.
Very fine tremors shook her body. The way he moved into her felt even more protective.
In a world that seemed to be turning upside down, Harlow was grateful to have a rock to anchor her.
Two of them, really. Rainier was definitely on her side.
“Never. Why would we? It makes no sense that she would make death threats.”
“What of your parents? Does she know who you are? Did you ever discuss your parents with her?” Rainier asked.
Harlow shook her head decisively. “I moved here to get a new start, far away from them and their world. I didn’t say a word to anyone about them.”
“Where did you get the money for this property?” Wilder asked. He rubbed his chin onto the top of her head. “It couldn’t have been cheap, and the down payment had to be quite a lot.”