“I have cameras and I didn’t see anything, but I can go through the feed.”Derek pulled it up on his phone and went through the history.Someone approached the house a few hours earlier and appeared to drop something.That must have been what they found in the garden.In back, the camera angle was such that they didn’t get anything that far back in the yard.Derek groaned, but at least they had something.
Derek was able to download the portion of the feed from the front and sent a link to it to Red.Too bad they couldn’t see who it was, but Carter said that he might be able to enhance it.
“Have you gone inside yet?”Red asked.
“No.We found the mess, and I didn’t want to go inside.”
Harm was afraid of what they might find.It was possible that if someone got inside, the house could be a disaster.Derek handed Red the key to the house, and he unlocked the door.Red pulled his gun and went inside with Carter behind him.Harm stood with his arms around Derek to keep them warm and Derek calm.As they waited, he tried to keep his imagination from going wild.
“Everything seems fine,” Red said as he stepped out.“I don’t think that anyone has actually been in the house.”
“Thank you.”Derek shook his hand and hurried inside.
“Sorry,” Harm signed.
Red smiled.“Any time.You did the right thing.”Derek returned, and they asked some additional questions before saying good night.Red and Carter wished them a good night and left the house.
Harm went inside, where Derek had turned on every light.The place blazed, and he wandered through the house.“I hate this.I hate being afraid to come home because I don’t know what I’m going to find,” he sputtered, and Harm figured that Derek needed to let off a little steam.
So in the meantime, he went out the back and adjusted the camera so it had a wider view of the backyard.By the time he returned, Derek was on the sofa under a blanket, his knees pulled to his chest.Harm sat down and messaged Derek about what he’d been doing.
“I thought you had left,” Derek said softly.
Harm shook his head and scooted closer.It was hard to explain that he was a man of action.Maybe leaving Derek alone wasn’t the best idea.“Sorry,” he signed.
“I know you were just trying to help.”Derek unwound himself, and Harm tugged him next to him.He wanted to give words of comfort, but instead just sat with him.There had to be a way to catch William… or whoever was doing this… in the act.Harm was pretty sure that William was behind all this, because the guy was crazy enough to become this obsessed.Though what he thought he was going to gain by acting this way was beyond all reason.Still….
He held Derek, and they both jumped at a knock on the door.Harm checked the time and motioned for Derek to stay where he was.Then he peered out and opened the door.“Can I help you?”he signed.
“Ummm… is Derek here?”the woman asked.It was pretty late, but Derek must have heard her.
“Mary?”he asked as he approached the door.“What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry for stopping so late.But I was heading home and saw all the lights on.”She stepped inside, and Harm closed the door.“The board received another email.”She pulled a printed copy from her purse.“It’s from a different email account than the last one, but there are some definite similarities.”
“I see.Come in and sit down if you like.”Derek really felt like he was being hit from all sides.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what was the smell outside?”Mary asked.Derek explained what they had found when he got home.
“The police were here, and they gathered nearly all the pieces as evidence, mostly to make sure that none of it was human.And the smell is part of it.”He read the note and shook his head.“It’s another threat.Apparently, this is supposed to show what he’s capable of.All of this is crazy.It doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“No.Which really helps throw light on the previous note.I’ve talked to the staff, and they agree that the last note is unfounded.This one is hard to understand.”
Derek sighed.“Well, thank you.But whatever is going on has got to be over soon.Everyone seems to think it’s escalating… I mean, it started out with bringing flowers into the library, and now it’s come to writing crazy notes and throwing dead stuff over the fence.He even showed up on Thanksgiving, expecting to join the family for dinner.”Derek really thought that might have been what pushed William over the edge.
“Excuse me?”Mary asked.“Someone did what?”
“My stalker showed up Thanksgiving afternoon with a casserole dish in hand.He actually acted like he expected to be included in Thanksgiving.I didn’t give him a chance to ask and closed the door.When my guests arrived, they had to step around a mess of glass, noodles, and chicken because he’d smashed the dish out front.I just want this to end and him to leave me alone.But I also don’t want my mess brought into the library.So if the board has decided to hire someone else for the director position, so be it.”He swallowed hard.“I think I’d be a great director, but I don’t want to bring my troubles to the library.”
Mary didn’t commit to anything one way or another.She wouldn’t.“Well, how about you let us figure out which direction the library needs to go, and you worry about yourself.”Harm joined them, his hands resting lightly on Derek’s shoulders.Mary’s eyes widened as her gaze rose.“I see you have backup.”
“Yes.You remember Harm, and that he’s a member of our signing group because he lost his ability to speak.”Derek put his right hand on top of Harm’s.“He and I first met at the library.”Derek wasn’t going to cover up anything about his life.
Harm stayed where he was.“I see.”Mary went to the door.“I won’t keep the two of you any longer.”She left, and Derek leaned back against Harm, closing his eyes.William really was attacking his home and his work.God only knew what the crazy man was going to do next.
Harm leaned close, gently nuzzling his ear.“Okay.I get the hint,” Derek whispered and turned out the light.He and Harm headed upstairs, but Derek left on more lights than he normally would.
THE BEDROOMwas quiet and dark as Harm joined him in bed.Derek went right to him.Harm kissed him and enfolded Derek in his strong arms.Derek needed that strength and let himself get lost in it.He was so tired of worrying about what was going to happen next, tired of wondering if William was going to be standing around the corner or across the street.He shook with worry sometimes, but Harm took all that away.His heat, the way he kissed him, so deeply and yet gently—it pulled him out of all the nervousness and into a place where it was just the two of them.
