Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Riley flung her briefcase into a chair, her handbag and coat following. Taking a seat behind the desk, she sighed at the stack of mail and sundry other documents left for her.
She’d enjoyed the four-day weekend. The blood drive had been an enormous success, the boat christening a fun day with friends, and church yesterday had been a balm to her soul. Now it was time to get back to work. Shane should be as free as she was to enjoy his days with friends and family.
A hearty swallow of her Americano coffee and she was ready to dive in on this thankfully warmer Monday morning. Her phone buzzed as she reached for a stack of documents needing her signature. Appeared she would be hitting the ground running this morning.
“Yes, Hallie?”
“A Mr. Laraby on the line. Said he’s a lawyer calling about a potential case, but it’s apparently time-sensitive.”
Time-sensitive? Maybe a death penalty case? Her docket was full, so taking on another case wasn’t possible. But maybe she could provide a little guidance or refer him to an associate.
“Okay, put him through.”
She inventoried the documents on her desk while she waited. So much work. Hopefully, it would be a short call.
The phone buzzed again, and she picked it up. “Riley Hudson.”
Silence for a moment, then that chuckle that sent chills up her spine. “Miss me, Riley Hudson? It’s been a while since we’ve talked.”
Her heart racing, she sprang out of her chair, picked up a pen, and threw it at the window next to her office door. When it hit, Colton turned and looked in at her, his eyes narrowing as she motioned for him to come in.
She cleared her throat of the fear almost choking her. “Um … and you would be …?”
That snicker again. “Nice try, Miss Hudson.”
“Is it him?” Colton whispered, closing the door behind him.
She nodded, and he grabbed his cell phone, making a circling gesture with his hand as he put it to his ear. Keep him on the line. She needed to somehow keep this creep on the line, as if it wasn’t bad enough she already heard his voice in her nightmares.
“I need a trace on Riley Hudson’s office line right now,” he said to somebody on the other end.
She hit the speaker button on the phone base so Colton could hear both sides of the conversation and quietly hung up the handset. “I just like to know who I’m dealing with. Seems you have the unfair advantage, knowing me but me not knowing you.”
“I’ve greatly enjoyed getting to know you.”
Unable to stand on her quaking legs any longer, she sat back down in her chair. “You know, it’s never too late to turn to God. Whatever you’ve done, He—”
“Spare me the sermon. I’ve heard it all before. And since I’m clearly on speaker now, I assume your hired thug is standing there with you. Like he was at the shelter. You sure know how to work a white apron, Riley Hudson.”
Startled, her gaze shot up to Colton’s. A muscle worked in his jaw as he kept the cell phone to his ear. This guy had been right there, despite all their precautions.
“I … um … I hope you were able to enjoy some Thanksgiving dinner. That’s why we were there, to feed folks.”
“The turkey was a little dry, but all in all, it wasn’t bad. Oh, and by the way, I sent you a little something. Ciao for now, Miss Hudson.”
“Wait!” The line went silent. “Hello?”
Colton frowned. “Okay, thanks.” He disconnected and put his phone on her desk. “Close but no go. Needed about thirty more seconds.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. You did fantastic. Honestly. Although, seeing how composed you are in court, I’m not surprised.” His gaze traveled to her stack of mail. “Check that real quick.”
Her hands shook as she leafed through her mail until she came across a padded manila envelope with her name and office address hand-scrawled on the front.
“Don’t open it.” He picked up his cell phone again.
“John. Colton Blankenship. Riley received another envelope. Large and has something in it.” He nodded as John spoke.
“Sounds good. See you in a few.” He clicked off and stuck his phone back inside his suit coat.
“He’s about ten minutes away, so he’s coming himself. ”
“So, the creep’s mailing them now? You think he knows about the plainclothes officer planted downstairs?”
“I don’t know how he could. But I think he probably knows we’d be smart enough to do something like that and isn’t taking any chances.”
She shook her head. “This is my fault. If I’d told you about them sooner, we might’ve had someone down there last Monday when the fourth one came.”
“This isn’t your fault, Ri. None of it.” He scanned her desk. “Why don’t you go ahead with what you were doing? Concentrate on something else and try not to think about it.”
“I can’t help it.”
He studied her for a long moment. “Okay.” He walked around her desk, kneeled in front of her, and took her hand. “Let’s pray about it.”
Pray about it? Colton wanted to pray about it?
He bowed his head. “Heavenly Father, You know Riley’s scared right now, so if You could give her a measure of peace, we would sure appreciate it.
Please help us find this guy who’s targeted her for reasons we don’t know so she can get on with her life the way she wants to live it, without constantly being under guard.
We thank You for Your presence, even in these difficult circumstances. In Your name we pray. Amen.”
When she opened her eyes, he was staring down at their joined hands before he let her go and stood. Still reeling from everything that had happened—the phone call, the new package, Colton praying with her—she wasn’t sure what to say.
He’d been more focused on the pastor’s message the past two weeks at church. A departure from the first service they’d shared, where he’d sat next to her stiff as a board. Had he been making his way back to God after their middle-of-the-night talk?
There hadn’t been a day since she hadn’t talked to God about him, praying he’d bridge the gap he’d let grow between him and the Savior he used to trust. That he would rediscover the faith he’d left behind.
She started at the light knock on her doorjamb, and her attention snapped to the detective whose gaze traveled from Colton to her and back again.
Colton backed away and moved to the side of the desk. “John. Thanks for coming so quickly.”
“Sure thing.” John peered down at her. “Your secret admirer decided to reach out again, I hear.”
She cleared her throat. “Secret, maybe, but no admirer.”
“Let’s see what we have.”
John gloved up, picked up the envelope by its edges, carefully opened it, and looked inside. “This is interesting.”
Turning the envelope over, he held his other hand under it and a lipstick tube fell into his palm.
She gasped. “That’s mine. I always carry it in my bag, but I haven’t been able to find it. But how—” Her breath caught. “My bag. It spilled onto the concrete during the—in the parking garage. He must’ve picked it up.”
Colton grimaced. “We already determined it was the same guy, but he wasn’t aware we’d figured it out. This is his way of telling you it’s him, and he knows where to get to you. It’s all mind games, Ri.”
And he was good at it. It might be time to call her doctor about a sleeping pill. At this point, she had no idea if a good night’s rest was anywhere in her near future.
John reached into the envelope and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
Colton peered over his shoulder as he unfolded the page. “You’re kidding me.”
“What?” She launched to her feet, her pulse spiking at the vehemence in his voice.
John turned the letter around. A photo had been copied to the sheet.
A picture of her standing behind the counter wearing a white apron, smiling and serving a plate to a grateful woman in a tattered coat and floppy hat.
Colton stood right beside her. It had been taken from a distance, but there was no way the creep went through the line with her standing there.
It had to be while she was on the break Colton insisted she take, and he snapped this picture once they returned.
If they’d only stayed, this could all be over.
Colton’s forehead furrowed. “I know of two news agencies who were there. Maybe someone got this guy on film.”
“Good thinking,” John said. “I’ll get the footage.”
Riley lowered herself into her chair. “I would have recognized him if he was the same guy who grabbed me, Cole. I would’ve known his eyes. I should have never left the line.”
His mouth pulled into a frown. “Maybe. But we’ve seen he’s a master of disguise. You got a—what? Five-second look at him that day he tried to grab you? He was probably disguised even then.”
“I’d know his eyes,” she repeated. Her chest filled with heat. If only Colton hadn’t pulled her away. “And if he’d spoken to me, I would’ve recognized his voice. Trust me. I still hear it. Every day.”
With his lips pinched into a line, he turned back to John. “She also got another call. We tried to get a trace, but he hung up too soon.”
“How did you get the call?” John asked.
“Hallie put him through,” she answered.
“Did she put the two previous calls through?”
“Yes.” She took a deep breath and willed calmness into her shaking limbs. “But he gave a different name each time.”
“Means she’s heard him three times now, before he altered his voice to speak with you.”
“I didn’t think of that. But, yes. I would think she’d be suspicious of the voice I heard, so he has to be disguising it for my benefit.”
Colton nodded. “Let’s have her listen closely for any other callers who sound like this guy so we can get a head start on the trace next time.
And we should put a tap on your phone here, catch him on tape, then we’ll have something we can go back to and listen for background noise. See if we can zero in on a location.”
“I can’t do that. I speak to or about my clients on my line.”
His face went slack. “Attorney-client privilege. Right.” He turned back to the detective. “Any luck on the phone records?”
John shook his head. “You were right. It’s a burner.
And fingerprints on the previous cards include the lobby guard, Riley’s, her assistant, and a fourth that aren’t in the system.
Good call getting baseline prints from her staff in case we ever needed to weed them out, and, of course, the guard’s are in the system as security personnel. ”
Riley’s heart sank. “So we have nothing. Still. We’re no closer than we were before.”
“We’re going to get him, Riley. Trust me. Every day, we’re closer to the day he’s ours. We’ve all got your back on this.”
Tears threatened to spill. A weakness she couldn’t give in to. “I appreciate that, John. More than you know.”
“I’ll go make those calls. You both have a good day. Stay safe.”
The door closed behind him, and Colton kneeled beside her chair again. “Have you talked with anybody since this all started?”
“I’ve talked to a lot of people. The police, my family, the girls. You.”
“I mean someone professionally.”
“Like a shrink?”
“Or a counselor. A victim’s advocate. Someone who can help.”
The back of her neck tingled, like hackles rising on a wolf protecting its territory. “I’m not a victim, Colton. I don’t need help.”
He took her hand. “Ri, you’re not sleeping. You work like a madwoman. It’s like you’re frantic. Keep busy. Keep moving. Stay awake. You’re going to collapse at this rate. You know that. It’s only a matter of time.”
Tears welled up again, and she put her head down, pinching the bridge of her nose to keep them at bay.
“It’s all right to cry. I wish you would. I was hoping the day I found you in the family room you would have a good cry.”
The quiet plea in his voice, the earnestness in his eyes, the warmth of his hand around hers—what she should find strength in, she instead found a weakening to give in to her disintegrating emotions. But if she did, could she climb her way out?
Pulling her shoulders back, she pulled her hand out of his and pushed away the temptation to crumble. “I hate crying. It makes me feel out of control.”
“I understand. But you need an outlet. Don’t fight the emotions trying to get out. Feel the fear, deal with it, and let it work for you. Not against you.”
She stared at him long and hard, wishing like mad he’d pull her close. Let her curl up into him. Hide there until this was all over. Where she’d be safe.
Until he left her. Until his work was done and he let her go and walked out of her life. He was there to do a job. But it was a temp job.
She picked up the rest of her mail. “I’m fine. I’m not going to let this guy do this to me. I’m not his victim. I’m his target, but not his victim.”
He sighed and stood. “What can I do to help you?”
“You’re doing it.” She kept her focus on the letter in her hand without seeing the words. “By doing your job.”
The silence stretched, but she didn’t dare look up. The temptation to curl into him, and the rejection that would surely follow, would be too much to bear.
“Okay.” He moved to the door but turned back.
“I know you blame me for pulling you off the line at the Thanksgiving dinner. That it’s my fault we missed him.
But did you ever consider those fifteen minutes might’ve saved your life?
That’s my job, Riley. You’re my first priority.
And something told me you needed to get off the line.
Knowing he was right in front of the servers has me believing it was the Spirit nudging me to get you out of harm’s way. ”
He opened the door. “I’m going to go talk to Hallie.”
After her door shut behind him, she rounded her shoulders and dropped the letter to the desk. She put her forehead in her hand. If she’d wanted to put him in his place, she’d certainly succeeded.
Except that wasn’t what she’d intended, knowing he’d been trying to help her.
But after he’d prayed with her … her hand held snug in his …
those precious few moments with him at the foot of the Throne.
It had all felt so intimate … so personal.
Just the three of them—God, Colton, and her—an island of peace amidst the chaos her life had become since this person … this evil … had intruded upon it.
But maybe a little distance was warranted. Emotionally. To guard her heart. She relied on him too much. To protect her. To hold her up.
And she couldn’t lose herself to a man who wouldn’t stay.