Chapter 17 – Philip
I’ve only been home long enough to shower and change into shorts and a T-shirt when my phone rings. I grab it off my nightstand and glance at the screen. “Hey, babe! How’s it going?” When all I hear is her shaky breathing, my body goes on full alert. “Haley, what’s wrong?”
“Philip!” she gasps.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
I hear a sob. “Talk to me, Haley. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Her words are rushed and jumbled, and I have trouble making out what she’s saying.
“Someone’s been leaving notes in my mailbox and in my room.
And a rose I pricked my finger on, and a used condom.
And some god-awful picture from a magazine of a naked woman hog-tied, who looks like me, and he said I’d look pretty like this. ”
“Haley, sweetheart, slow down please. Take a deep breath and start at the beginning.”
“Someone’s stalking me, Philip. They’re leaving notes and other things.
Tonight, Melissa and I went down to the community room to get some dinner, and when we returned to our room, she found an envelope, addressed to me, shoved under the door.
Inside was a page from a magazine showing a woman, naked and tied up, with a ball gag in her mouth.
And there was a used condom in the envelope.
He says he jerked off looking at the woman in the picture, who looks like me. ”
“What in the hell!”
“I don’t know what to do, Philip,” she says, her voice cracking with emotion.
Immediately, my brain goes into operational mode. “Haley, I’m on my way.” I run into my bedroom and quickly change into jeans and a T-shirt and shove my feet into a pair of sneakers. On my way out, I grab my wallet and keys. “Stay in your room. Is Melissa with you?” I’m already out my front door.
“Yes.”
“Good. Just stay there and lock your door. I’m getting into the elevator right now. Stay on the phone with me, okay?”
She sniffs. “Okay.” She’s quiet for a moment, and then she says, “Philip, I’m scared.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. “I know, baby. Just hang on. I’m coming.” As soon as the elevator doors open at the garage level, I race to my truck and hop in. “I’m in my truck now, on my way.”
Forget about speed limits. I arrive at the campus in record time, park outside the dorm building, and hurry inside. I grab the nearest elevator and hit the button for the third floor.
When I reach Haley’s room, I try the handle, but it’s locked. So I knock. “Haley, honey, it’s me. Open up.”
A moment later, Melissa opens the door. For the first time since I met her, this girl looks nothing like her usual calm, collected self. She steps back to let me enter and locks the door behind me.
Haley jumps up from her desk chair and runs to me.
I catch her and hold her tight. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.” I spot an envelope, a magazine page, and a condom lying on Haley’s desk. “I assume this is it.” I can tell just from looking that it’s a vile piece of garbage.
And, yeah, the condom has been used.
Shit!
I turn to Haley, who’s white as a sheet. I lean down to kiss her forehead. When I feel her shaking, it breaks my heart. I cup the back of her head and lean in to whisper, “Everything’s going to be okay, I promise.”
She nods.
I get on my phone and locate the number for campus police. When I call to report the incident, the dispatcher assures me an officer is on the way.
“Someone from campus police is coming,” I say. I turn Haley’s desk chair to face me and crouch down in front of her. “We’ll file a report, and then I’ll take you somewhere safe. I promise you, we’ll catch him.”
While we’re waiting for an officer to arrive, I plan out my next steps.
Obviously she can’t stay on campus, not until the police apprehend this stalker.
My first instinct is to take her to my apartment, but I don’t think that would sit well with her parents.
Certainly not with Mack. I think the best option is for me to take her to her mom’s house.
Haley can stay there at least for tonight, where she’ll feel safe.
I’ll camp outside their front door if I have to, to make sure she’s protected.
About fifteen minutes later, a uniformed campus police officer by the name of Suzanne Fenton arrives. She’s a no-nonsense older blonde woman, her hair done up in a tight bun.
“Start at the beginning, Haley,” Officer Fenton says after introductions are made. “Tell me everything that’s happened.”
When Haley lists everything the stalker has done, I’m shocked. And enraged. When I find who’s been doing this, I’ll deal with him personally.
The officer notes down everything Haley says, and then she steps away to make a call.
I take Haley’s hands in mine—they’re ice-cold. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this before now? You didn’t need to shoulder this alone. I could have helped you.”
She turns tear-filled eyes to me. “I didn’t want any of this to rub off on you. I don’t know if this guy is dangerous or not.”
“But that’s exactly why you should have told me. I can protect you.”
“I don’t want my parents impacted by this.”
“Honey.” I force myself to take a breath and slow down. She’s overwhelmed and not thinking straight, and I sure as hell don’t want to add to her stress. “Listen. It’s not your job to protect me or your parents. It’s our job to protect you. Trust me, Haley. Your parents would want to know.”
“Detective Bauer is coming,” the officer says as she gets off the phone. “Don’t touch anything. Forensics is coming, too. They might be able to lift a set of prints off the envelope and magazine page. They’ll also get a DNA sample from the, uh, bodily fluid.”
“We both touched the envelope at some point,” Melissa says. “And the magazine page. We unfolded it before we realized what it was.”
“That’s okay,” the officer says. “We can rule out your prints.” She dons a pair of latex gloves and carefully places the envelope, magazine page, and condom into a plastic evidence bag.
Not long after, a detective from the campus police force arrives. He’s dressed in a rumpled brown suit and a pale blue dress shirt. The man looks to be in his fifties, with short brown hair that’s starting to gray at the temples.
Officer Fenton meets the detective at the door, and they chat quietly for a few minutes.
After they’re done, the detective makes his way over to Haley. “Good evening, young lady. You must be Haley. I’m Detective Rick Bauer. I work for the campus police department.”
Haley nods. “Thanks for coming.”
“And these are your friends?” he asks, nodding to me and to Melissa. “How do you know them?”
“Melissa is my roommate, and Philip is my boyfriend. I called him tonight, right after I found the… stuff.”
I offer my hand to the detective, and we shake. “Philip Underwood, McIntyre Security.”
“That’s Shane McIntyre’s outfit, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“We’ve crossed paths a few times over the years.
He’s a good man. Haley, I’m going to be the lead investigator on your case.
I hear you’ve been having a rough time of it lately.
” He checks his watch. “It’s getting kind of late, and I’m sure you’re exhausted.
Is there somewhere safe you can go for the night?
I’d like to meet with you tomorrow to go over your experience in more detail.
Officer Fenton gave me enough information to get started. ”
“As soon as she’s cleared to leave,” I say, “I’m taking her to her mother’s house.”
Bauer nods. “That sounds like a good idea.” Then to Haley, he says, “Can we meet in my office at the campus police station around ten tomorrow morning?”
“I have class at ten,” Haley says. “I’m available between the hours of eleven and one. I have a lab class at one, but I’m free any time after two.”
I bite back a smile. It’s just like Haley to be more worried about making it to her classes than about the fact someone’s stalking her.
Bauer suppresses a smile. “I applaud your dedication to your studies. Would noon work for you? We could fit the interview in between your classes.”
The detective looks to me, and I nod. “We’ll be there.”
After Haley is cleared to leave, I help her collect the bare overnight essentials—her backpack, tablet, textbooks, and a few personal items. She grabs her shower bag.
“We’ll get the rest of your stuff later,” I say. “Once we figure out where you’re going to be staying until this is resolved. You certainly can’t stay on campus.”
Haley hugs Melissa and thanks her for helping tonight.
“I’ll see you again soon,” Haley says. “I’m not exactly sure when, but hopefully it won’t be too long.”
Haley pretty much shuts down as we leave the dorm building and get into my truck. I help her up into the passenger’s seat and stow her belongings behind her.
“Are you cold?” I ask. Even though it’s humid and warm this evening, she’s shaking.
She nods but doesn’t say anything.
“I’ll turn the heat on as soon as the engine warms up. That should help.”
While I’m putting the truck in gear, I notice she’s staring out her window, scanning the sidewalk as if she’s looking for a boogeyman. I know hypervigilance when I see it.
I take her hand and squeeze it gently. “It’s okay. You’re safe. No one can hurt you.”
“Why would someone do this? I hardly know anyone here. I haven’t been here long enough to make enemies.”
“I don’t know, honey. I’m sorry. There’s no way of guessing why someone would do these things. It’s difficult to get into a stalker’s mind. By definition, he’s not in his right mind to begin with. Did you ever see him? In person?”
“No.”
“Has anyone ever harassed you on campus?”
“Not really. I mean, Mark Hoffman keeps asking me out, but that’s not the same thing as stalking someone. As far as I know, he’s just a jerk.”
“You probably know this, but from now on, if you receive anything from the stalker, any notes, objects, or communication, you need to save that for the detective, right?”
“I know. Before, everything freaked me out so I threw it all away. I guess I was hoping it would quietly go away if I tried to ignore it. I hoped he’d get bored or something. Instead, it got progressively worse.”
“Hey, it’s almost ten. Why don’t you call your mom and give her a heads up that we’re on our way? She’s going to be worried enough as it is. We don’t need to show up unannounced this late at night.”
* * *
Chrissy Williams takes one look at her daughter and bursts into tears. The strong, determined defense attorney instantly morphs into a worried mother.
“Thanks for bringing her home, Philip,” she says as she leads her daughter into the family room and sits down with her on the sofa, putting an arm across her daughter’s shoulders and drawing her close. “This is exactly where she belongs.”
Dave walks over to a wet bar in the corner of the room and pours himself a shot of whiskey. “You want one?” he asks me.
I shake my head. “No, thanks.” I’m not officially on duty right now, but I might as well be. Drinking is out of the question. “I know it’s late, but if I don’t call Mack and let him know what’s going on, he’ll have my head.”
Chrissy nods. “Of course. Go ahead, Philip. I know he’d want to be here.”
I step into the hallway and call Haley’s father.
He picks up on the second ring. “Philip? What’s up?” I can tell from the tone of his voice that he’s on alert. He has to know something’s wrong, or I wouldn’t be calling him at this hour of the night.
I give him the news and reassure him Haley is safe at her mom’s house.
His response is exactly what I’d expect. “Tell Haley I’m on my way.”
After I hang up, I tell everyone Mack is coming. He’s only about fifteen minutes away, so I wait by the front door for him to show up.
When he pulls into the driveway, he and Erin both hop out of their SUV and rush toward the door.
“Where is she?” Mack says as I open the door for them. His voice is tight, and it’s clear he’s trying to rein himself in.
“In the family room with Chrissy and Dave.”
Mack pats my back as he brushes past me. Erin follows him, and I bring up the rear.
“Sweetheart,” Mack says the moment he lays eyes on his daughter. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”
Haley jumps to her feet and runs into her father’s arms. I think he’s always been her protector ever since she was little. In her eyes, her big, strong daddy could never do any wrong.
Mack wraps Haley in his arms and hugs her tightly. “It’s going to be okay,” he murmurs to her. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay, I promise you.”