“Alright, Ali, so you guys know who the man was, right?
“Yeah, it’s Shane Peterson from the club.” I watched Garrett’s thumbs move along his phone to make notes and jot information down.
“It’s both a good and bad thing that the prick belongs to Oxygen. Even though he’s a newer member there, the owner will have all sorts of information on file. I’ll obtain most of the info for him when I stop by Oxygen tomorrow. I already contacted the owner.” Garrett looked up and at Sam. “Walt said you already notified him of the incident.”
“I notified him last night of the incident, and this morning I updated him with the name of the guy,” Sam explained.
“Okay, good. I’ll see if I can get the security footage of the parking lot.”
“My SUV was parked next to her car. Because of its size, even when I approached, I hadn’t seen Ali, but hopefully the security cameras have footage of the incident,” Josh explained.
“We’ll take a look and see what was captured. Since he’s new, I don’t even think I know what this guy looks like,” Garrett said.
“He looks like the cartoon character onThe Simpsonsthat takes care of the landscaping at the school,” I said. I smiled at Salem when she laughed along with Josh. Salem tried to stifle her laugh when Garrett looked at her.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“He seriously looks like that. Ali and I have laughed about it for a while now,” Josh quickly added.
“I can’t say that I’m familiar with that guy,” Garrett said while he typed on his phone. He looked up and asked, “Can you tell me about the threat? Sam mentioned that he threatened to send someone to your house if this was reported.”
“Yeah.” I shrugged because that was the gist of it, but I went ahead and elaborated the details about Josh that made me shiver. “He told me if I reported it, he’d make sure Josh’s throat was slit and that I wished I were dead.”
“Did he say Josh’s name?”
“He called him ‘surfer.’ But he said he knew where I lived, so I knew he meant Josh.”
Garrett nodded, showing me that he agreed with me.
“Are you two able to stay here for a few days?” Garrett asked while he typed on his phone.
“Yeah, I sent a text to work letting them know I had a family emergency,” Josh explained.
“I only work at Oxygen in the evenings now. So I can call Walt today and explain.”
“Okay, most likely the guy was using the threat as an invisible weapon to create fear. But out of caution, I think it’s best if you and Josh stay with Sam for a few days. Let me talk with Walt at Oxygen, get some surveillance footage, and talk with the local police so we can arrest him.”
“The hospital has the evidence packaged. If you are going to stop by to pick it up, I’ll alert the front desk to have it ready for you,” Sam offered.
Garrett locked his phone screen and stood. He nodded at Sam and held his hand out for Salem.
“Yes, let them know I’ll be by, but it’ll probably be tomorrow. I need to talk to Walt first, then get with the local police. I can text you in the morning and let you know.”
Sam walked Garrett and Salem to the door, and I stood and walked to the entryway with them. While Garrett and Sam were wrapping up their conversation, I wanted to get Salem’s attention. I started to reach out to touch her arm so she’d look at me, but I quickly retracted it. I didn’t want to spook her and upset her. Instead, I said her name quietly to get her attention.
“Salem.” She turned to face me and smiled. I could be friends with this girl. “Thank you for the clothes. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad I was able to help.” Salem gestured with her head toward Garrett. “If he was left to picking out clothes, who knows what you’d end up with.” Salem and I stifled our laughs.
“When things settle down and they arrest the pig man, you and I can start up our weekly coffee dates,” I reminded her.
“Yes! I’m looking forward to that. I want to try Three Brothers Coffee. Garrett said one of the members of Oxygen owns it.”
“Andrew! It’s great coffee, and it’s a cozy atmosphere too.”
I nodded, letting her know that I felt the same as she did. We turned our attention to Sam and Garrett, and they were watching us talk and listening to us make our future coffee date plans. Garrett nodded along, smiling, happy to hear of our plans.
“Don’t worry, ladies. I’ll make sure things settle down quickly so you can begin your coffee dates,” Garrett promised before they left.
