Chapter 1 #3
They acted very non-threatening, but an internal alarm blared in my head. Yes, it was a weird request, but that wasn’t what set off my alarm. It was a gut instinct. Not wanting to advertise that I was alone and had no husband, I gave them an apologetic look.
“I’m so sorry. We don’t have anything like that, but since you’re new to the area, let me direct you to a store that has clothing.
It’s open twenty-four seven, and it’s only a few miles away.
If you’ve forgotten anything else, such as shampoo or even towels, you can get those there, too.
If you’ve got something to write on or your phone’s notes, I can tell you how to get there. ”
Their nice expressions faltered. My grip on my gun tightened. However, they must’ve decided not to push. Their pleasant expressions returned.
“I have a good memory. If you tell us how to get there, I can remember the directions,” the man said.
I rattled off the directions and repeated them to ensure they understood.
Then I smiled, wished them luck, and said goodnight.
I closed the door and locked it back up tightly.
My tension eased a bit when I engaged the deadbolt.
In addition, I shut off the light in the living room so I wouldn’t be seen peering out the window.
The couple paused at the end of the walkway that connected to my driveway.
They spoke rapidly, with hand gestures and head shakes.
They stood there for probably a couple of minutes before they walked down the sidewalk.
I remained at the window to make sure they didn’t sneak back. After ten minutes, I gave up.
My brain told me that I was overreacting, but my gut was telling me I wasn’t.
I kept recalling the lurker who was following me online, even though my trail should’ve been invisible.
Were the couple the ones doing it, or were they somehow connected to my lurker?
Either way, why come to my house with such a flimsy excuse?
What was their true purpose? What did they hope to gain?
I went through the house, ensuring my drapes thoroughly covered every window.
I turned off all the lights except for the one at my desk, but I was too nervous to work.
Instead, I paced the whole house. I lived in a small cottage in a quiet neighborhood.
It was made up of mostly elderly people.
My neighbors stayed to themselves, and so did I.
If the couple were new neighbors, I wondered how they’d change my solitude.
As I paced, I demonstrated what some would call OCD.
I rechecked all the windows to be sure they were locked and covered a couple of times.
I did the same for my front, garage, and back doors.
It was times like this that I wished I didn’t live alone.
And there was no one I could call who would understand my anxiety except Brae.
But she just had a baby and needed her rest. She didn’t need to borrow my worries and paranoia. Knowing her, she’d want to see me.
After a fruitless hour of this, I forced myself to sit at my desk.
I needed to occupy my mind. Placing my handgun within hand’s reach, I started with Mora.
I picked up where I left off and was soon working my way through the threads left behind.
While he was cautious, he wasn’t as discreet as he should have been.
Whoever he had working for him left bread crumbs. I loved following crumbs.
I was at it for over an hour before I noticed I was being tracked again.
It came to my attention when I backtracked to a site I’d been on earlier and noted someone had retraced my footsteps.
It didn’t make sense to someone not into computers, but if you could get into the coding and infrastructure of programs and sites, you’d be amazed at what you could discover.
That was my world. Seeing that the lurker was back, I paused and sat in thought.
What has this person found so interesting about me and what I’m doing? Was it mere curiosity after stumbling upon me? Or was this person sent to find me? A shiver went down my spine at the thought they were sent. God, please, I can’t have that happen.
I looked at the clock on the screen. It was one a.m. Damn it!
Even if I wanted to call and talk to Brae so she could talk me down, it was far too late.
I’d have to wait until later in the morning.
Debating whether I should at least talk to her about what I was seeing, I shut down for the night.
I had no intention of letting my spy continue to track me and my work.
Could it be someone who worked for Mora, and he wanted to stop Brae from gathering information to prosecute him?
But if that were the case, why hadn’t they done more than follow?
Before getting into bed, I turned on the recording I had of rain and other sounds.
I used it when my mind became too cluttered, and I needed to clear it to sleep.
I knew without it, there was no way I’d sleep tonight.
It took over an hour before I began to drift in and out.
I had no idea how long that lasted before I was asleep.