by Dale Mayer
“We’ll never get past that stage,” he said, reaching the console and clicking to look at the monitors. “She’s Dave’s niece. I’m not screwing things up here because of that.”
“That’s not a good reason,” he murmured. “It’s not like she’s seventeen or something. She’s an intelligent, independent adult in her own right. I think that’s more of an excuse.”
At that, Fallon stiffened. “Whatever.” Quinn could think what he wanted, regardless.
“You always were narrow-minded, very black-and-white. You stay focused on what you want and ignore anything else.”
“Since when is that a problem?” he murmured.
“It’s not a problem, but it can, in some situations, be a fatal flaw.”
“Bullshit,” he said good-naturedly. “It’s that very intensity that gets us what we need a lot of the time.”
“That’s true,” he said, “but, sometimes, it’s just a little much.”
Fallon glared at him. “Are you telling me that I’m missing something?”
“No, I wouldn’t dare,” he said, chuckling. “Come on. Let’s go back to work.”
But he hadn’t actually moved away from work, so he didn’t quite understand what the beef was. “I don’t see anything,” Fallon said, after scanning multiple monitors.
“What’s that?” Quinn asked, as he tapped something on the screen.
Fallon narrowed the frame, bringing it into closer alignment. “Looks like a stick maybe?”
“Yet, it wasn’t there when I went outside,” Quinn said.
“Huh,” he said, as he stared at it for a long moment. “I wonder if somebody thinks she’s here alone.”
“Now that’s an interesting possibility. Maybe they saw me leave with Dave and his bags.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Things here have been a little off.”
“Like what?”
“Well, you said that Dave mentioned some hokey stuff going on with the security, and so did she, but nobody really explained what it was.”
“You really think it could be because of her?”
“If we look back since the accident, no matter what we’ve done, the leads we’ve followed, getting answers has always led to other issues,” Fallon said. “It’s been one can of worms after another. So I wouldn’t be surprised if that same thing isn’t happening right now.”
“Well, we can ask her.”
“I wonder if she’d tell us,” he said, with a twitch of his lips.
“Dave would.”
“You’re right. He would,” Fallon said, as he pulled out his phone and quickly sent Dave a text. “The problem is, he’s in the air and isn’t likely to get this for a while.”
“It’s hard to say. It depends on how bad the signal quality is.”
“From here, it’ll be shitty. You know that.”
“I know, but I was kind of hoping.”
“Whenever we really need to get through to people, it rarely happens.”
“I see she made you pie,” Quinn said.
“She made us pie,” he said, looking back at him in surprise.
“Uh-huh, you’re the one who loves pie.”
“You don’t?”
“Well, I can’t say I know anybody who doesn’t love pie,” he said. “But come on. She made it for you.”
“No way,” he said. “I’m calling bullshit on that one. You’re not going to say it’s all about me.”
“No, of course not, but it’s obvious that she would do anything for you.”
“BS again,” he said. “Don’t even go there.”
“You’ve already been there,” he said. “Otherwise she wouldn’t be so sensitive.”
“Whatever,” he said. Just then he leaned forward, closer to the screen, and said, “So what’s that right there?” He tapped the monitor.
“Was this last night?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. They watched as the shadows shifted and moved and came up against one of the walls.
“Now that’s interesting,” he said. “Did they put something on the wall?”
“Maybe, but what would that device do?”
“It could just interfere or send signals on its own.”
“I bet it interferes with our signals,” he said. “Let’s go take a look.”
The two of them raced outside, and the new addition wasn’t even well hidden. They stood and studied the small black box, attached just under one of the security cameras.
“It’s not a professional job,” Quinn suggested.
“No, it doesn’t look it, does it?”
“So what does that mean then?”
“It means,” Fallon said, “I’m thinking that we have another player in the mix. And I bet it has something to do with her.”
They walked back inside to see her cutting the fresh pie, with ice cream off to the side.
“So we’ve got a couple questions for you,” Quinn said.
She looked up, smiled, and said, “What do you want to know?”
“Has anybody around here been paying attention to you, that you would rather wasn’t … paying you attention?”
She looked at Quinn and frowned, saying, “Are you asking me if I have a boyfriend?”
“No,” Quinn said. “I’m very awkwardly trying to ask if anybody’s giving you unwanted attention?”
Immediately a shutter came down over her eyes.
He shared a glance with Fallon, then nodded slowly. “You need to tell us.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” she said. “Why?”
“Because it seems like there is something to tell, and it looks like whatever’s going on with the security system could have to do with something other than Bullard.”
“That makes no sense,” she murmured, studying the two men in front of her.
“Yes,” Quinn said. “So we need details. Now.”
Chapter 3
“There’s nothing to explain,” Lindsey said. “If it was important, I’m sure Uncle Dave would have mentioned it to you.”
“Well, that certainly gets our interest,” Quinn said.
She shrugged. “Last time I was here, there was that guy—remember him?”
Quinn asked, “The delivery guy?”
“If that’s the one you’re talking about, that was a few years ago, wasn’t it?” Fallon asked.
“Well, that’s when it started, but he always seems to know when I come into town.” She shrugged. “In the beginning, it was kind of flattering.”
“And now it’s obviously not,” Fallon said, crossing his arms over his chest.
She could already see his anger vibrating, just at the edge of his frame. “No, it’s not,” she said. “But it hasn’t gotten particularly bad either.”
“Okay, so how bad has it gotten?” Quinn asked.
“He just won’t take no for an answer.”
“Well, that’s bad enough,” he said. “How far wrong has he gotten?”
“Come on,” she said coolly. “It’s not like he’s attacked me or anything.”
“How does he contact you?”
“He usually texts me or calls,” she said. “Uncle Dave changed my number before I came over here, so the guy can’t see if I’m in town. Because we were trying to figure out how he always knew when to call.”
“Yeah, that’s a good question. So how does he know?”
“Uncle Dave figured that he had some kind of alert set up, whenever I hit town.”
“Well, that’s fairly dedicated,” Quinn said, sounding surprised. “Outside of keeping watch on the compound, I’m not sure how he’d do that.”
“It’s also fairly creepy,” Fallon said. “Does Dave realize that something happened, since you came back?”
“Yes, but we thought we fixed it,” she said. “I didn’t think it had anything to do with the security system.”
“Well, I don’t like the sound of it either way,” Fallon said, firming his jaw.
She stared at him. “It’s got nothin
g to do with you anyway.”
Quinn whistled at that. “Well, if that wasn’t guaranteed to get his goat, I don’t know what else would.”
She glared at him. “It’s got nothing to do with either of you. He’s just some guy who’s got it in his head that I’m supposed to be somebody special to him, and he’s wrong.”
“But some people get it in their head,” Fallon said, “and unfortunately you’ve not shaken him loose, no matter what you tell him.”
“So I’m supposed to just let this guy dominate my life or what?”
“Obviously we would have preferred that it not go down that way,” Fallon said. “But a stalker like this can be very dangerous. And, if he’s doing something to the security system, then that’s even more dangerous.”
“Do you know what he does for a living now?” Quinn asked.
“Last I knew, he was doing IT for a gold mine or something over here, working at one of the older mines,” she said, with a shrug.
“An IT background is a little more concerning,” Quinn said. “I think I’ll take a walk around, take a closer look at that box he left behind, and see if we’ve got anything else happening.”
“Sounds good,” Fallon said. “Maybe take a bug detector too, to see if he’s somehow gotten into the house.”
“You think?” Quinn frowned. “I guess, with less of our team here, it’s possible.”
“In theory,” Fallon said, “he could have shut down the security and come in at any point in time when he thought it was empty. Then he could have done whatever he wanted.” Fallon turned and looked at her. “When did you get here?”
“Three days ago.”
“When did he contact you last?”
“Within an hour of my arrival,” she said in a dry tone. His eyebrows shot up, and she nodded. “I have no idea how he knew. Neither did Uncle Dave. He wasn’t real happy about it, but he had a talk with the team, and they just laughed and said it wasn’t any of them.”
“But you had the guy’s text.”
“Uncle Dave gave him the warning of his life. The guy said somebody hacked his phone. Anyway, Uncle Dave didn’t consider the guy much more than an overzealous admirer.”
“He wasn’t really worried about it?” She nodded. “So,” Fallon continued, “if we told you that he had completely screwed with the electronics system so he could get in and out of the compound whenever he wanted, how would you feel?”
“A little more dismayed maybe,” she said.
“I would hope so. The fact of the matter is, it looks like somebody has access to something we don’t really want them to have access to, and that’s a concern. Because, if he can get in and out, you could be sound asleep when he comes next.”
In the end, Quinn jumped in and added, “Remember. He probably saw me leave with Dave.”
She looked at him, chewed on her bottom lip, and she thought about it. “Do you think he’s planning on coming in tonight?”
“I don’t know what his plans are,” Fallon said. “But I think it’s something that we have to assume is possible and be prepared for it.”
“In that case,” she said, “maybe we shouldn’t remove whatever he put in place and use it to trap him instead.”
“I like the way she’s thinking,” Quinn said, with a big grin.
“But listen,” she said. “You can’t just assume that this guy is nothing more than a lovesick stalker because I haven’t had any relationship with him.”
“And that’s possible,” he said, “but it could also be exactly as it seems.”
“I guess,” she said. “It’s still bizarre.”
“No doubt about it,” he said. “But that’s how these stalkers can be. They get a very narrow focus, and nothing else is important in their world but getting the object of their desire.”
“I really don’t like the way you said that,” she murmured.
“Maybe not, but maybe it’ll keep you safer if it keeps you more aware.”
She shrugged. “Or you’re just making too much out of it,” she said lightly. But inside she knew that they weren’t, and she realized this could be a serious problem. “Maybe I’ll just go home early,” she said, with a shrug.
“Well, you could, but then he’ll just wait until you come back again.”
“Once I go back, I could be there for years,” she said.
“And yet you’re so close to Dave. So, chances are, you’ll come back and see him on a regular basis. Do you really want to deal with this every time?”
She sat here, tapping the counter, watching the ice cream melt. Finally she put away the ice cream and said, “You guys should eat.” And she handed off the desserts.
“Do we get dinner first?”
“No,” she said. “It’s not dinnertime yet. And, hey, why wait?”
Neither of them argued, and they both quickly sat down and ate their pie in front of her.
She had a small piece, but her mind was consumed with the problems at hand. “I haven’t had anything to do with him,” she murmured. “I don’t understand why he’d even care.”
“You’re a beautiful woman,” Quinn said.
She looked up at him in surprise.
“When you’re here, you’re just part of the family,” he said. “So you probably don’t see yourself that way, but you are pretty amazing. So any other guy will see that and will be interested.”
“So just because he wants it, he gets to have it, is that the idea?”
“Well, that’s the problem. We hope it’s not the idea, but some guys think they can take whatever they want.”
“Bastards,” she said lightly.
“Yes, but it doesn’t change the fact.”
“Maybe not,” she said. “But it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the male species.”
“You’ve never been short of admirers,” Fallon said.
“Well, it’s not like they’re dropping at my feet either,” she said. “I am too busy with my job and training to have much of a social life,” she said. “So I don’t really see why it’s something I have to deal with now.” The trouble was, it didn’t matter what she felt; she had to deal with it. Because, chances were, it would be here right in her face. She shrugged. “Well, do what you guys can, and I’ll just go home early.”
With that, she got up and walked out.
*
“That went well,” Quinn said.
“If you say so.”
“I don’t think avoidance is the way to handle it.”
“No. Her stalker will just keep it up, going a little farther every time. He could even nab her at the airport or something. Imagine if Dave wasn’t expecting her, and nobody else knows she’s missing, until nobody hears from her for a while.”
“I don’t even want to think about that,” Quinn said.
“No, but we see women kidnapped and held captive for years, all over the place. That’s not what I would want for her.”
“It’s not what anybody would want for any woman,” he muttered. “Such bastards that they even think they can do that.”
“I know, so we have to find this guy and teach him a lesson,” Fallon said.
“That’s a good point, but how? It needs to be a big-enough lesson that he never comes back after her.”
“That’s not as easy as you’d think either. Kano put the fear of God into somebody on our last job, but that guy kept coming back, like a bad penny, and nearly beat his wife to death and threw her in a Dumpster,” Fallon murmured.
“Some of them have to be sick in the head. I sure wouldn’t want to piss off Kano. Some of these guys just don’t know when to quit.”
“Sometimes they’re so afraid of the consequences of quitting that it’s not in them to stop.”
Quinn stared out in the distance. “I think she’s right though, … about setting a trap.”
“In that case,” he said, “we should do a reconnaissance and see what else there is.”
“Then we’ll check for bugs?”
>
“Crap, I got derailed with that whole conversation. Let’s do a recon, then the bug check.”
The two of them hopped up, and Fallon opened the oven to see a roast cooking inside. “Any idea when the roast will be ready?”
“No clue, but it’s a little early for dinner, so I presume it’ll be a while yet. Once it’s dark out, no telling when the stalker will be back.”
With that, they headed outside.
Chapter 4
Upstairs, Linny sat on the side of her bed and stared out the window. The truth of the matter was, this guy had scared her for a long time now. She’d finally talked to her uncle about it, and he’d been horrified to think she’d been dealing with these kinds of issues. He promised her that, if he could do anything to stop it, he would, but even he hadn’t picked up on how intense it was even now.
She had chalked that up to Uncle Dave’s worry over Bullard because that dominated everything in their lives right now. And it was the scariest crap. To think that somebody could have gone after Bullard the way they had was insane, and she didn’t believe that whatever was happening in her corner had something to do with that, but it was hard to not consider it at least. And that raised her fear level quite a bit. She wondered if she should ask the guys about it, though she’d been downplaying the whole topic for so long that it felt strange to let her fears come to the surface.
She realized it was time to deal with the roast anyway. She had packed up the measly bit of clothing she had brought with her and headed downstairs. It was already turning dark outside. In the kitchen she turned on the lights, pulled out the roast, put it onto a great big serving platter, and wrapped it up to keep it warm, while she checked on the veggies. Then she sent out a call on the intercom. “Dinner’s in ten.”
It had been at least two hours since they’d had pie. She was surprised at that. It seemed like the time had gone by so fast—too fast. There was never any end to it, but such was life. When she heard an odd sound behind her, she spun around but found nobody. The room was cool, empty, a storm gathering outside. She stared back out the window, feeling a creepiness wash over her. Just as she was about to call the men again, Fallon walked in. Though relieved to see him, she felt a sense of disquiet settling over her.
