by Curry, Edna
“I know. But this one tried to run me down.”
“What? When was this?”
“When I walked to the bank after work tonight. It almost hit me, then circled the bank and raced out of town.”
“Could you see who was driving it? Get a license number?”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t tell. I think he was wearing some kind of dark cap or hood. And then he drove fast, so was too far away.”
“Did you report it?”
“No.” She shivered and hugged herself.
The teakettle whistled, so he made the tea in the teapot, took down mugs and poured the tea. When he added a spoonful of sugar to her cup, she roused and objected, “I like my tea plain.”
“Sugar is good for shock,” he said in a no nonsense tone and placed the tea in front of her. He sat down opposite her at the kitchen table with his own mug in his hands.
She sighed and curled her hands around the mug, seeming grateful to absorb the warmth. She sipped it and made a face. She glanced at him, apparently to see if he was still watching, then dropped her gaze and drank it.
He smiled as pink color gradually returned to her checks. “Feeling better?”
She brushed back a strand of blonde hair and nodded. “I’m sorry I freaked when I saw the dead animal, whatever it is.”
“A raccoon.”
“A raccoon? The animals with the cute black and white striped faces?”
“Yeah. Not cute now.”
She swallowed more tea. “That’s for sure. It’s a bloody mess. Sorry. I’m usually not so emotional about things.”
“That’s okay. Would you like to go stay at Jolene’s or Maria’s house for the night? Or ask one of them to come out here?”
“No. No need to bother anyone.” She finished her tea and pushed the mug away. “I’m fine now. We shouldn’t have bothered the sheriff this late at night. Let’s just forget it.”
“Too late,” he said, relieved when red and blue lights flashed on the window. He rose to admit Ben.
* * * *
Loni heard the two men talking as Matt showed the sheriff the raccoon, then brought him back to the kitchen. “We were having some tea, Ben. Would you like some?”
“Sure, thanks,” Ben said, pulling out a chair across from Loni and easing his long body into it. Matt poured Ben a cup and refilled both of theirs from the teapot.
She eyed him, guilt tugging at her gut. Ben’s lean, angular face held little color and sagged with exhaustion. “I’m sorry to bother you tonight.”
“No problem. All in a day’s work,” Ben told her. “Tell me what happened.”
“You saw it, Ben. Someone killed a raccoon and left it on my doorstep. I almost stepped on it.” She shuddered and looked away.
Matt said, “She was almost hit by a dark van earlier tonight, too.”
“And you didn’t report it?” Ben glared at her.
She shivered. “It was gone too fast. And I’m not sure he tried to hit me on purpose. It could have been an accident.”
Ben glanced at Matt. “Or it could have been the same guy. You didn’t see anyone around when you drove in?”
“No. But her porch light was out. It’s on an automatic timer.”
“I’ll check it. Maybe he just unscrewed the bulb. He left only the animal? No wrapping or note?”
“Nope, nothing else. I didn’t touch anything yet.”
“I doubt I’d get any info from the carcass.” Ben turned back to Loni. “You have any idea who did this?”
“Ben,” Matt cut in, “it’s probably somebody’s idea of a joke.”
Loni flushed under Ben’s scrutiny. She couldn’t answer. She didn’t want to explain all her past problems—not now—not with Matt listening in. Their relationship was too new, too fragile. She liked him and Dee had trusted him. But she’d known Ben most of her life. She glanced at Matt, hesitating.
Ben seemed to understand the problem. He glanced at Matt, too, and suggested, “Matt, would you get rid of that raccoon for us?
Matt flushed, taking the hint. “Sure thing. Do you have a garbage bag, Loni?”
She rose and opened a cupboard door, pulled a plastic bag from the package inside and handed it to him. “Thanks. There’s a trash can beside the garage.”
She poured herself and the sheriff more tea while Matt disposed of the raccoon. He came back in, washed his hands in her bathroom.
She walked him to the door. “Thanks, Matt. I appreciate your help.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll head on home then. If you’re sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. I’ll see you at the mall tomorrow. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” He called goodnight to Ben, too, then strode out to his car.
Now she’d hurt his feelings. Heaving a sigh, she locked the door after him and returned to the kitchen. “Thanks, Ben.”
“Matt’s a good guy. You can trust him, Loni. But I guessed you didn’t want him to hear this?”
She bit her lip. She didn’t want to explain how attracted she was to Matt. After all, she’d only met Matt a few days ago. Ben wouldn’t understand. “The fewer people who know about this, the better. I’d rather my problems didn’t become town gossip.”
“Do you think there may be a connection to Jolene’s slashed tires?”
She stilled at his question. “What makes you say that?”
Ben narrowed his eyes at her. “Your attitude, Loni. And your reaction to the dead animal. It’s way out of proportion to the incident. I gathered you didn’t want to explain it to Matt. What’s going on?”
“You’re right, Ben. I guess it’s past time to tell you. I meant to fill you in when I first came to town, but I’ve been busy, and time sort of got away, you know?”
“Yeah. Fill me in about what? Loni, I can’t help if I don’t know what the hell is going on.” His long face held curiosity and a lot of frustration.
“I—I guess you’d call him my stalker.” She sighed and began from the beginning, telling Ben about the jewelry store hold-up and the robber’s threat of revenge if they talked to the police. Then the late night phone calls started, followed by the fire at her apartment and someone following her, both in Chicago and here in Canton.
“Did you report this to Chicago PD?”
“Yeah. They checked things out, but didn’t find any evidence, so they couldn’t do anything. The caller used various pay phones and the voice is too disguised on the messages to identify it.”
“The apartment fire was arson?”
“Yes, their state fire marshal ruled it an arson. I haven’t heard any more. But then, I have no way to know what’s happening back there without letting them know where I am. I don’t want to do that.”
Ben grinned. “Well, I can find out. And I’ll check with Chicago PD to see if they caught the guys who did that robbery. But you can’t be sure it’s connected to that?”
“No.” She sent the sheriff a wry smile. “I’m so jumpy, I’m not sure what’s connected and what’s just my imagination, running wild. The night before I moved, my phone was stolen in a fast food place. I wake up at night wondering if someone took it to get all my family and friends’ information.”
“Did you see anyone suspicious in that restaurant?”
“No, just a bunch of teenagers.” She sent Ben a rueful smile. “It was probably only a kid who saw a chance to grab an expensive toy.”
Ben reached out to pat her hand and nodded reassuringly. “Most likely, Loni.”
“I know. But then a dark van followed me home the other night, too and I panicked until it turned off on a side road. It was probably a neighbor going home.”
“True. You didn’t see any business name on the van?”
She shook her head. “No, or a license number. But I couldn’t get a plate number on the car following me in Chicago or on the van that almost ran us off the road here, either.”
He frowned at her. “What van? Almost ran who off the road where? You didn’t te
ll me about a van trying to run you off the road.”
She flushed and shrugged. “Sorry. Matt was driving. It was that Sunday night when Matt took Dee and me out for her farewell dinner.”
“Where was this?”
“On highway eight, on the way to the Lagoon, on that curve around the lake, maybe a mile before we got there. Matt said it was probably a drunk. The license plate was muddy so I couldn’t read it. Matt kept control of his car and then the van disappeared down the road, so no real harm done.”
“Hm. That area is outside my jurisdiction. Still, I like to know about things like this. I’ll talk to Matt about it tomorrow. So, you think whoever is doing this may have followed you here?” Ben asked.
Loni’s stomach churned at hearing her fears voiced. “I’m not sure, Ben. But yes, I think it’s very possible he was driving the van by the bank tonight. He also could have slashed the tires on Jolene’s car because he saw her pick me up.”
Ben sent her a disbelieving look. “That would mean he was watching your house.”
She shuddered. “I know. He probably left the raccoon as a warning.”
“What kind of warning?”
She sent Ben a tired smile. “If it’s the same guy—one of his favorite phone messages is, ‘I’ll always find you.’ I think he wants me to know he has.”
* * * *
By Sunday noon, Loni felt anxious and restless. She’d finished the novels she’d gotten from the library and found nothing she wanted to watch on TV. Her laundry was done and she’d dusted the house, although it hardly needed it. She’d been at the store most of the time and Dee had always kept everything neat.
Picking up the phone, she called Maria to thank her for the lovely party.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Maria said. “Jolene and I are going to the Twin Cities to shop in a little while. Want to come with us?”
“Oh, I’d love to. I really need more clothes.” And she could use a pay phone there to call the Chicago cop and see if they’d picked up those jewel thieves yet. If anyone traced the call, they’d only see Minneapolis, so wouldn’t be able to find her that way.
“Great,” Maria said. “I’ll pick you up. I’m driving because Jolene hasn’t gotten her tires fixed yet. Can you be ready in a half hour?”
“Sure.”
Loni enjoyed the friendly chatter on the way to Maplewood Mall and spent the next couple of hours replenishing her wardrobe. It would be great to have more choices in clothes again. Maria sold clothes, too, of course, but mostly dressy, party clothes, not the more practical, business casual clothes Loni wore to work every day.
Naturally, her friends were curious why she bought so many clothes, so over dinner at a nearby restaurant, Loni told Maria and Jolene about losing everything in the apartment fire a couple of weeks before. She left out the firemen’s ruling of arson to avoid more questions.
After they ate, she found a pay telephone and called Joe Jennings, the Chicago PD detective who’d given her his card. But he had no news to report. The jewelry thieves were still on the loose.
“I’m not sure, but I think they may have followed me here,” Loni said. She told him about the scary incidents. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve given your name to the local sheriff. He may call you for an update on the jewelry store hold-up.”
“That’s fine. Do you have his number?”
“Sure.” She looked it up on her phone and read it to him.
“Thanks. Be careful, Loni,” he told her. “Another stalking case I’ve been involved with ended up a homicide. This guy may be very dangerous.”
An icy finger of fear ran down Loni’s spine. She shuddered and promised, “I will.”
* * * *
Detective Joe hung up the phone and dropped his head into his hands. The hum of conversation and ringing phones faded as he tried to make sense of what Loni had told him. She’d moved hundreds of miles and her stalker followed? Why?
His gut told him something wasn’t right here. Could it be connected to one of his other cases? Catherine Wells had also reported being followed repeatedly. Then a hiker had found her body in the woods, when he saw a hand sticking out of some leaves and brush. She’d been buried in a shallow grave. Animals had dug up her decaying body. His stomach churned at the memory of arriving on the horrific scene. The autopsy revealed she’d been sexually molested and strangled. A chunk of her hair had been cleanly cut, apparently with a sharp scissors. A souvenir?
What kind of creep were they dealing with? Robbing stores and stalking women and murdering them? Could it be the same person? Or more than one? Two men had robbed the jewelry store. They’d threatened Loni and then she’d noticed being followed and the harassing phone calls started. Could the timing be a coincidence? Not likely.
He rubbed his eyes and crossed the noisy room for more coffee. He stood at the machine, sipping the overcooked brew and eyeing his fellow officers busy at their desks. Then he went back to his desk and read through the files on Catherine again, looking for anything that might help him decide if it was connected to Loni.
He found some similarities. The two women were about the same age, mid-twenties. Both had blonde hair, were pretty, active and loved to dance. They’d also both lived alone.
He called Sheriff Ben and they compared notes, but the Sheriff had little to add. “I’ll keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious here,” Ben promised.
Detective Joe hung up, frustrated. He vowed to search the various national databases for any murder with a similar MO as soon as he had some spare time. Yeah, right. Like he had so much of that. If this was the same guy and he’d followed Loni to Minnesota, maybe he’d moved around before as well. Worth checking out.
Then his phone rang again and another emergency claimed his attention. Joe put Catherine’s file aside to deal with the more immediate problem.
* * * *
A few days later, Loni waited on several local ladies who couldn’t decide between several colors and scents of fancy candles. Then a middle-aged man walked into her store. He was stocky and bald, but well dressed and professional looking. He hovered, waiting for her to finish with the women, and then introduced himself as John Danley, a field representative for a greeting card company other than the one Dee had done business with.
“What happened to Dee Jacobs?” he asked.
“She’s retired. I’m Loni Jacobs. I’m in charge now.”
She listened to his presentation, but her nerves tingled with the oddest feeling he wasn’t really a company representative at all. She’d often dealt with salespeople and was familiar with their usual banter. This guy didn’t follow the usual procedures. His language seemed off to her. Was he a salesman at all? Or a private detective hired to find her?
She let Mr. Danley rattle on as her mind flew back to the past. Had the jewelry store robbers found her? Or her ex-boyfriend, Hank? Or was she only being paranoid as her friends had accused her of being?
Well, she had reason to be wary. Her ex-boyfriend, Hank, had seen to that.
She’d liked Hank and thought he was fond of her. They’d had several pleasant weeks of dating, until things had soured between them and she’d broken it off. She shuddered at the memory. That’s when she’d learned how nasty Hank could be.
“Can I put you down for an order of cards?”
Loni pulled her mind back to the present and to what the card salesman was saying. Her heart was racing in remembered panic.
She swallowed and shook her head. “No, thanks, I think I’ll stay with the company I’m with,” she told the salesman.
“Oh, but this is so much better a deal for you,” Mr. Danley argued, then met her eyes and sighed.
“Thanks, anyway,” she repeated, standing her ground.
He nodded and took out a sparkly violet colored crystal paperweight and laid it on the counter. “Please have this little gift as my appreciation of taking up your time today,” he said. He closed his sample case, touched his head as though in a salute and
left.
She watched him walk out, her heart still racing. The paperweight glittered in the afternoon sunlight.
It was pretty, but not all that different from some others she sold herself. What had irritated her so about the man? Why hadn’t she taken the salesman’s card? Then she’d have had some way of checking him out. She turned over the paperweight, but it didn’t have his company name on it.
Pulling out her phone, she recorded those details of his name and affiliation she could remember into it.
* * * *
In his Minneapolis apartment, he worked at his computer. A chime told him he had new mail. Aha, an email note from his contact in the wholesale gifts business. Amazing what information a little cash changing hands could supply him.
It simply said, “Order delivered to Canton Gifts, in Canton, MN.”
He grinned. He didn’t need anything more. Loni had never told him much about herself, but he’d researched her and her relatives. Canton, Minnesota, was Loni’s hometown and Canton Gifts her Aunt Dee’s gift shop. Loni had gone home. How typical. She’d be easy to find in that little burg.
Oops. For a moment he’d almost forgotten to thank John. Might need him again. He e-mailed back, “Thanks. Gift deposited,” and went online to transfer the agreed upon finder’s fee into John’s account.
Chapter 5
John Danley moved on to his next stop, the new mall on the highway outside Canton. A big box store had opened there last year, but of course, they didn’t buy from jobbers like him. They had their own warehouses with a direct line to the manufacturers and it was cutting into his business big time. Not a good thing.
But he’d been at this a long time and knew how to make a little extra cash on the side. Had to keep his new sweetheart in sparklies, or she’d find another honey right quick.
He especially liked a small gift shop there. He often had coffee with George, the owner. Maybe he’d be good for an extra hundred or two today.
He opened the door and tipped his hat to a gray haired lady ready to leave. She smiled and tittered a thank you. He sent her an answering grin and strode in.
George nodded at him from behind a glass counter of costume jewelry. Glancing around the brightly painted showroom, John saw no customers, so he came right to the point.
