Chapter 3
It was the weekend. I’d been extremely busy with my regular work, so I hadn’t been online to work on the Mora case. Or to see if my lurker was still nosing around. It was nerve-racking not to check, but I managed to resist. I refused to get sucked in when I didn’t have time to devote to it.
One of my regular contracted customers encountered an issue with their network structure.
He called me in a panic. When I got in there, I found that someone else had been messing with the framework I’d designed, and they royally fucked it up.
Whoever it was had no idea what they were doing.
When I confronted him about it, Carson sheepishly admitted he’d allowed his son, who was learning what I did in college, to attempt to redesign it.
His son swore to him that he could do it.
Carson admitted that he not only wanted to give his boy the chance, but to save some money.
When they were contracted with me, I gave them a discount, but they didn’t get it for free.
He thanked me profusely when I fixed everything and made the change he wanted.
There was no pushback on the bill, and Carson swore he would let no one else touch the system other than me.
I’d finally gotten it done late last night.
I’d been too tired to work on anything else.
Now it was Saturday, and after I ran my errands and got out of the house for a while, I’d dive back into Mora.
I wanted to update Brae on what I’d discovered to date.
Sometimes throughout the week, I had time to do tasks such as grocery shopping and buying miscellaneous items, go out to a meal, or go to the park to enjoy nice weather.
It was the one spot where I could find some nature within the city.
I would love to live outside of town, surrounded by Mother Nature, rather than endless houses.
It was late September in South Carolina.
While other parts of the country, especially those in the north, were already experiencing cold weather, the sun had mostly disappeared, not to reappear for months.
That wasn’t the case in Aiken. The sun was still shining, although we did experience days of rain, and the temperature still hovered in the eighties most days.
The first stop was a coffee shop close to my neighborhood.
Instead of taking my coffee to go, I sat there and enjoyed it along with an apple fritter.
It was a good thing I had the willpower not to go there every day, or I’d weigh a ton.
I chatted with an elderly couple, then watched a young mom trying to corral two small children while caring for her baby.
I offered to help, but she declined. I didn’t blame her.
She had no idea who I was or what I might do.
After finishing up there, I walked to the pharmacy to pick up my allergy prescription.
If I didn’t take it daily, especially in the spring and fall, I would be miserable.
Mine wouldn’t respond to the over-the-counter stuff either.
I browsed the drugstore to see if there was anything else I might need.
I found a couple of items before I checked out.
I window shopped, taking in the fall displays.
Before we knew it, Christmas would be here.
Halloween was just around the corner. Note to self, I’d better start buying candy.
I loved having children come to the door and seeing their costumes.
After I finished that, I went back to my car and drove a few miles to the grocery store.
Since it was a weekend, things were busier.
I disliked coming when it was, but I had no choice this week.
I had a list. I’d get what I needed and get out—no leisurely browsing all the aisles this time, which would save me from buying junk food.
I found everything but two items by the time I headed to the checkout.
After a short wait, I paid and then headed out the door.
With cold stuff in my bags, I went straight home to put it away.
As I pulled into my driveway, movement caught my attention.
Glancing over, I saw the couple who came to my door that one night ambling up the street.
They were coming from my direction. I stopped my car short of the garage and watched.
I wanted to see which house was theirs. They seemed to be paying close attention to every house they passed.
I was surprised when they didn’t enter a home.
Instead, they got into a car parked up the street.
As it passed me, I noted the make, model, and plate number.
I’d look it up. I was still suspicious of them.
Finally entering the garage, it took no more than ten minutes to bring in everything and to put it away. With that done, I grabbed myself a glass of iced water and changed into house clothes, then sat down at my desk.
The first thing I did was track the car’s information. It came back registered to a man and a woman. Noting their names and other relevant information, such as addresses, I then checked the DMV, property deed website, and the post office.
When you move, most people put in a change of address form.
As it happened, I had my ways of accessing such information.
What I found was that there was no record of the address shown on the license having been sold, or that they were the owner on record.
Their DMV photos matched what I saw. It had the same address.
There was no address change form. This pushed me to dig more.
The next thing was to investigate their actual names, but it would have to wait. I had other work to do.
Putting that aside for the time being, I went back to where I’d been seeking out information on Mora. Again, I resisted going back to the last places I’d been days ago to see if my lurker had been there.
The hours flew by as I noted more data and was led to other trails.
I was excited. There was something here.
I was confident I would soon have the proof Brae needed.
What dampened my enthusiasm was discovering that my mystery follower had visited those sites before me.
What the hell were they up to? Had they followed me to find the path to the data on Mora?
Or were they now digging into him because I was?
Not having answers made me want to scream.
After spending well into the evening on it, I took a break. I needed to eat and update Brae. While I waited for my food to cook, I called her. She answered on the fourth ring.
“Is this a bad time? I can call back tomorrow,” I rushed to tell her.
“No, Cam, you’re fine. I left my phone in the living room. I had to run to get it. Branton and Xander are in bed. Loki and I were relaxing, but we can talk.”
“I’ll keep it short. I wanted to give you an update on what I’m discovering about you know who. I’m not quite to the evidence part, but I’ll get there.” I told her what I’d found in various places. When I was done, she made a crowing sound.
“Damn, I knew it! And I knew you’d find it.
Great job. I can’t wait until you have my proof.
We’ll nail his ass. A man like that, if he’s guilty of half the things he’s rumored to be involved in, he deserves to go to prison for life.
And his businesses should be dismantled.
The good he does doesn’t offset the evil.
Thank you. So, you haven’t had any trouble in your research, it seems.”
I hesitated. I hadn’t told her about my lurker. But since the person was sniffing around Mora, I had to let her know.
“Not trouble, but I did pick up a mystery lurker. Maybe stalker is a better term,” I casually dropped on her.
“A what!?” she half-shrieked.
“Calm down, it sounds worse than it is, Brae. No need to have a coronary. I don’t want Loki coming after my ass.”
I heard Loki in the background asking her what was wrong and if she was alright. She reassured him that she was fine and that it was unexpected work news. Then, she got back to me.
“Cambria, you tell me every detail right this minute,” she demanded. I filled her in on what was happening. When I was done, there was silence.
“Brae, did I lose you?” I asked.
“No, I’m thinking. Cam, this isn’t good.
We need to do something about this person.
I agree it could be someone working for Mora, another person after him for various reasons, or someone who has become obsessed with you.
Given your research on Mora, the stalker may be acting on this obsession.
Cam, I want you to pull out. Don’t continue. ”
“No! That’s not happening. I will get you that evidence. You can’t win your case without it. You told me that. I can keep whoever it is from finding me. It’s just annoying,” I confessed. I wanted to kick myself for telling her.
“Cam, please, I don’t want you to get hurt.
What if this is some crazy stalker who can find you?
Let me ask Outlaw to check into it. He’s the club’s hacker.
And if he can’t, there’s Shadow in Oconee, and then Smoke or Everly in Dublin Falls.
Not to disparage your skills, but the last two are geniuses, like world-renowned. ”
“Thank you for the offer, but I have to say no, for now. However, one day I do want to meet Everly, Smoke, and some of the others. I’d love to pick their brains.”
Brae said, “That’s easily done. You should make time to visit. When was the last time you took a vacation?”
I thought back then, winced. I whispered, “Three years ago. If you mean at least a day or two, then it’s been less.”
“Cambria, that’s unacceptable. I love my work, but I still make time for other things, even before the baby and Loki entered my life. It’s not good for you. I know you like to keep a low profile, but you can’t be a hermit.”
“I know, I know. I promise that as soon as I get the supporting documentation for your case, I’ll plan one. And I’ll make sure to visit you. It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other.”
“It has been too long. I’ll hold you to the time off. Was there more? I’m not sure my heart can take it if there is. How was your regular work?”
I gave her the high points of Carson’s issue. She wondered if he kicked his son’s ass or not. That comment made us laugh. At the hour mark, I insisted we hang up so she could relax with Loki.
“Okay, I’ll do it. Take care. Keep me updated. Love you,” she told me.
“I will, and I love you too,” I responded.
After getting off the call, I ate my dinner, took a toilet break, and refilled my drink, but I didn’t return to my computer.
Brae’s words swirled in my head. Instead, I picked a book from my to-be-read shelf in my ebook reader.
I immersed myself in the tale. It was a paranormal one about shifters of all varieties. The immersion soon became complete.