“What kind of things, Nate?”
He released a shaky breath before he began. “I chalked up the first incident to vandalism. I went out to my car to leave one night and all four tires on my Mercedes had been slashed. I figured I pissed off a guy when I didn’t want to hook up with him for a repeat performance or something.”
“And then,” I prodded when he went silent for a few moments.
“Then I received an email about a week later and it basically said I was the scum of the earth and I had to die. The email address was generic and the reply email I sent was returned with an error message that stated the email address I replied to didn’t exist. He’s tech savvy, whoever he is.” Nate looked away, as if deep in thought.
“Is that all?” It seemed to me like he had more to say, but getting the story from him was like pulling teeth. I had to keep nudging him to tell me what was going on. Hell, he was the one who called me and asked me to meet him, not the other way around.
“I’ve received a few more emails since the first.” Nate paused and swallowed hard before he reached inside his desk and pulled out copies of the emails he received. “This is when I started to get freaked out. I didn’t even connect the first two incidents until I received this.”
The first email included a picture of Nate checking out the damage to his tires. The email message stated:I could’ve killed you then, but what would be the fun in that?
The second email showed a picture of Nate walking buck-ass naked through his house holding a coffee cup in one hand and his phone up to his ear with the other. A second picture of a naked Nate looking out his back French door in the direction of the photographer was included. The email message read:Such a beautiful cock wasted on a piece of shit excuse for a man. I’m going to cut it off while you’re still breathing and shove it in your mouth. I’m going to laugh as you choke to death while deep-throating your own cock.
“Wow.” I slid the emails back across the desk to Nate. “That’s some serious shit, Nate.”
“That’s why I called you. What the fuck do I do?” He ran his hands through his hair, causing the strands to stick up in several different directions. His looks had changed from a confident man to a scared boy.
“You need to call the police here in Cincinnati, Nate. I’m outside your jurisdiction and can’t legally help you.”
“I know you can’t legally help me, but I was hoping to hire you to do it privately. I need to keep this from going public.” His dark eyes pleaded for help, but I instinctively knew it would be a mistake to get tangled up with his problems. There was no way to keep that private, even if he did hire a PI to track down the person sending the emails. What then? Was he going to have the guy killed instead of pressing charges against him. A cold chill ran down my spine as I realized there might be truth to my random speculating. “For old times’ sake.” He had changed his voice to a seductive pitch, but I wasn’t biting.
“I’m sorry, Nate, but I honestly can’t help you. The CPD can and will, so I strongly recommend you get a report started right away. I’ll go with you if you…”
“No!” He spoke loudly and emphatically, leaving no doubt in my mind that he never intended to handle this within the law.
I was not willing to help him skirt the legal process and kill the person threatening him. If his intentions had been spoken out loud then I would’ve been obligated to report the incident to the police myself. All I had to go on was gut instinct and speculation. “Okay,” I said throwing up my hands. “I’m not really sure what you expected out of me, but I’m about to disappoint you.” I pushed my shoulders back, made strong eye contact with him, and carefully enunciated my words so that there would be no doubts as to my unwillingness to assist him. “You have no idea who this person is who seems hell bent on seeing you dead. You have no idea about their abilities to carry out their threats. The only course of action you should be considering is calling the police and allowing them to help you. They have a team of tech people who can trace the IP address of where these emails were sent. These emails were sent at the exact same time. Maybe he’s using a public computer at one of those cyber cafés and they have video feed or, if not, the staff might recall the person. Whatever alternative you’re considering is probably going to end in a fatality – yours.”
Nate pressed his lips firmly together as a stony expression formed on his face. “I guess we’re through here.”
“I guess we are.” I rose to my feet and didn’t bother offering him my hand to shake, as I knew he’d reject the offer. He didn’t get his way and his displeasure was plainly etched on his face. “Good luck, Nate.” I turned and left his office without a backward glance.
A week later, and the conversation still replayed in my mind. I was wound tighter than a drum and needed a healthy way to get rid of the stress that had my shoulders and neck knotted up. Sally Ann had purchased a gift certificate for a massage for my birthday, but I hadn’t planned on using it. I’d only ever had a sensual massage given to me by a lover so I associated massages as an intimate thing. Plus, the gift certificate was for Curl Up and Dye and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to see Josh so soon after his rejection. It had been a few weeks since then, but I still craved him and his touch. I didn’t trust myself not to embarrass us both in his salon if I got close enough to touch him.
I caved in after a few days of popping ibuprofen every six hours to relieve my tension headaches. I called the salon and spoke to Chaz, who got really quiet when he discovered it was me calling. His professionalism kicked in and he scheduled an evening appointment for me to see their massage therapist, Josi, that same night. I wanted to call and cancel the appointment as soon as I hung up the phone and then realized I was being foolish.
I was bound to run into Josh in our small town; it was a miracle that I hadn’t already. I could continue on with the way things were and constantly wonder when it would happen or I could take the situation into my own hands – like I did with my frustrated cock each morning – and be mentally prepared to see him. I reasoned that I would be in better control of my hands and mouth if I knew when I was going to see him. That was my story and I was going to stick with it.
I returned to my desk after I made the call to the salon and found Adrian looking dazed and confused. He was staring at his computer monitor as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. I felt a tingling sense that Adrian might’ve found something that broke open Georgia’s case, which we needed badly. Nothing had panned out in the weeks after her death and we desperately needed something to shake loose in our case. I sat down at my desk and waited for him to say something. I didn’t have to wait long.
“I can’t believe it.” He ran his hand over his face and returned his attention to the computer. “The gas station finally sent us the video of the gas pumps for the timeframe on Rocky’s receipt.” Adrian shook his head in disbelief. “I just can’t believe it.”
“Is she someone we know?” I assumed his shock had to do with the identity of Rocky’s second girlfriend. It still amazed me that the little weasel had a wife andtwogirlfriends. I slid my chair back after Adrian continued to stare at his computer without answering me.
“Him,” Adrian said about the time I rounded his desk. “We know him.”
“What?” I leaned over the back of Adrian’s chair and stared at the monitor. Adrian rewound the video and I saw a familiar person pumping gas into Rocky’s SUV. “So they went hunting together,” I said.
“Keep watching,” Adrian replied.
The video played on and Rocky came out of the gas station after a minute or two with his arms laden with snacks and drinks. He walked around to the driver side of the vehicle where the man was pumping gas. Instead of getting in the car like I expected, he walked up to the man and kissed him full on the mouth.
“What?” I stood up straight and watched as Adrian replayed the video after he zoomed in so we could be sure of the other man’s identity. “Adrian, isn’t that…”
“County Commissioner Jack Wallace,” he said before I could.
“Rocky has a wife, girlfriend,anda boyfriend?” I asked in awe – but not the good kind.
