“You’re saying someone might be listening in on my calls and conversations, aren’t you?” she asked.
“I’m exploring all possibilities.”
She paused, seemingly to regain her bearings after the realization. “Well, let’s see, I had a conversation with one of my co-workers about not wanting to take Rue to Sister’s Love,” she said. “Harrison is his name.”
“When the sheriff drops by to pick up the barbecue fork, you might want to give him the name,” he said, then watched as half a dozen emotions passed over her face and behind her eyes. There was confusion, sadness, frustration, and a couple others before resignation.
“I seriously doubt Harrison would follow me,” she said. “Or want to hurt me in any way.”
“He might be fixated on you.”
“You think?” Her face puckered. She shook her head as though physically rejecting the idea. “No… I mean, he wascomplaining about Rue crying and wanted me to get her out of the office because he said…”
Another gasp.
“He said the walls were paper thin,” she said.
“Meaning he could be listening to your calls all day, personal and private.”
“Even if he was, what would he have to gain by attacking me last night?” Her gaze unfocused like she was looking inside herself for the answer.
“Has he ever asked you out?”
“Harrison? No,” she quickly said. “I’m pretty certain that I annoy him. Also, I’ve always thought he wasn’t interested in women.”
“Do you know much about his private life?”
“Well, to be honest, not really. No. Huh.” She stood there for a long moment. “I guess we made small talk at the office.How many cases are you working? Did you have a good weekend?That type of surface-level conversation. He never asked me out on a date or even to grab a drink after work.”
“Doesn’t mean he isn’t harboring feelings,” he said. Another stab of jealousy landed.
“You’re right, I guess.” Her face scrunched again. “I’m just not seeing it. You usually know when someone is interested in you. I guess I never got that vibe from Harrison.”
Coming from his perspective, Blaize agreed. When he was interested in someone, he made his intentions clear. Dating. Damn. He could only imagine how much rituals had changed since the last time he was in the dating pool. Folks used apps back in his day, but they seemed a whole lot more prevalent now. He’d also heard tell of folks getting tired of them. Something about app fatigue. It was understandable. You both swiped. You started a chat. Someone ghosted. Rinse. Repeat.
Lynn had been the first person he met on an app. Both stopped talking to other people shortly after. Three years later, he asked her to marry him. So, he didn’t have a lot of experience to draw from.
Carys walked the perimeter of her vehicle, assessing the damage while he checked the area for any possible footprints. The chances he’d find any were slim to none. Still, he checked. The person who’d dropped the barbecue fork was sloppy, an inexperienced criminal.
The tree trunk lying across the road would have been too planned for someone like that. Right?
Or had the person intended to stop her so they could ambush her all along? Someone would have had to drive out here, move the trunk onto the road, and then what? Wait? The position of the log made it next to impossible to drive around. Was it random? Placed there?
Any tire tracks were washed away at this point. The heavy rain did a great job of erasing evidence. Was that calculated on the attacker’s part? Had this person been waiting, biding his time?
And what, if any, links could there be to Stephanie Cross?
“Let me hop in and start the engine,” she said. “Then I’ll help you move the log.”
He nodded. The parched earth soaked up most of the rain, so driving on mud wouldn’t be an issue.
The vehicle started up. Carys didn’t smile. She looked relieved.
The stalker theory was gaining steam in his mind. Could be James or Harrison. Or the two other names she’d mentioned to the law. He needed to ask her about the others and what role they might play in her life.
“We should head back soon,” he said to her as she exited the vehicle. “Kit and Rue were taking a nap when we left, but you never know when one will wake up.”
“True,” she said. “And you still haven’t gotten any sleep.”
