When he got back to the place he was staying, Frog was happy to see him. They went outside so Frog could get some much-needed exercise.
After he tossed a ball for Frog for a while, he sat in the shade, giving his eyes a break from the sun.
His phone buzzed, and he checked the caller ID, but didn’t recognize the number calling.
“Hello.”
"Is this Mr. Nolan?"
“Yes.”
“This is Jason with Rightway Insurance. I wanted to make sure we had your correct information before we sent the settlement.”
“Oh. So you’re already done?”
“Not quite, but it’s being processed.”
“Okay. I’ll log on and make sure my information is updated.”
“Can I confirm on the phone?”
“I’ll tell you if you’re right, but I’m not giving information to you over the phone.”
The man rattled off the address of his house and the mailing address for Sharp’s place. He confirmed, but didn’t like that someone had called him for information.
The call ended, and he wondered if he was being too paranoid. Calla’s brother knew about this house, but he’d kept his friends separate from his work with the group. If Brent had found out about Sharp’s place, he would be a little surprised.
He sent a text to Sharp, telling him about the call. His phone rang, and he saw it was Sharp.
“Hey, Sharp.”
“Hey, Thario. Jason is the person I was speaking to. I get why you were nervous about it. I talked to the detective, and he thinks Brent got spooked and left the area because he hasn’t been spotted again.”
“I hate that he’s still out there.”
“I get that. We’ll keep our eyes out. He shouldn’t know about us or where we are.”
"What if he was watching me for a while, and that's how he found my home? He could have followed me to your place."
“You’re fairly aware of what’s going on.”
“Yeah, but he found my house.”
"I know that's got you upset. I get it. I don't know how he found you, and we can work on that, eventually. Right now, he has no clue about Griz and Elowen. There is no way he will find her out there. He may not even be looking for her."
Thario rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d feel better if they caught him.”
"I know. I'd feel better, too. We're going to do what we can, but you don't need to worry about us. We're used to taking precautions, and we'll be ready."
“I thought I took enough precautions.”
“I know. But you let him in when he showed up because you knew him. You trusted him. You didn’t have a reason to think he would attack you.”
“I’d never given him my address. I should have known. But you’re right, I thought I could trust him.”
“We all know we can’t trust him. We’re locking up and keeping the alarms on. We know he’s dangerous.”
Thario ran his hands through his hair. “Man, I hate how I fucked up.”
