Phish NET Stalkings

by Denise Robbins

  “Ma’am?” Her teeth chattered and she bit her lower lip. Why was everyone insulting her this evening? She didn’t set the fire. At least she didn’t think so. Jane gnawed her lip in concern. Was it her fault? She couldn’t remember the last time she grilled anything outdoors or started a fire in the fire pit.

  Then her mind went to Cooper. He had impeccable timing. She scratched the back of her head with her good hand. Cooper showed up and helped put out the fire before it could even truly get started. Why?

  A funny itch between her shoulders had her shivering.

  Derek pulled out a gray wool blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. The instant warmth enveloped her. The sound of doors slamming shut jolted Jane from malevolent thoughts, misery. She leaned her head into her hand and cried out. Tears flooded her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Damn!

  “Here.” The EMT pressed one of those throwaway ice packs into her palm.

  “Ahh.” Cold never felt so good.

  Several minutes later when the EMT named Derek couldn’t locate any gel and she refused to go to the hospital for possible smoke inhalation, Jane sought an exit. She wanted out of the closed in vehicle. She wanted to know what had happened to her house.

  A shout made Jane tilt her head toward the side door of the emergency vehicle.

  David. Disregarding Cooper’s order and the frown from Derek, Jane hopped from the ambulance, the blanket dropping from her shoulders, and ran for David, who stood in the middle of the street calling her name like a father for his missing child.

  Jane swung her arms around his neck and held on tight, held on for dear life.

  “Are you okay?” He set her back on her feet, kissed her cheeks, and took in the sight of her, checked her from head to toe. “Your phone call shaved ten years off my life.”

  “Oh, David, I’ve never been so frightened in my life.”

  “Shh.” He pushed back wayward strands of hair from her face. “You’re safe. That’s all that counts.”

  “Thanks to you and Cooper.” She rested her head against his shoulder as he guided her toward the house.

  “Cooper, hmm?”

  Jane stiffened. Yeah. Cooper had showed up just in the nick of time. How did that happen? Suspicion niggled at the edge of her mind, taking little bites out of her thoughts.

  David sucked in a breath and paused at the end of the driveway. “You could have been killed.”

  “It looks worse than it is,” she muttered even as an icy shiver trickled up her spine. Was she saying that to assure him or herself? Jane straightened away from David and followed his gaze. The flashing lights from the emergency vehicles lit up her dead end street like a carnival. As if a magnet pulled her, she moved forward to the remnants of the flame, stood over the charred black mass.

  “You the owner?”

  Startled by the man’s touch, Jane jumped back. And froze.

  “Sorry, ma’am.”

  The gold of the man’s badge shone in the flashing lights. She blinked, tried to force her gaze away from the gleaming insignia, but couldn’t. Her throat constricted and she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. She managed to force her feet to move and she spun away only to be confronted by another broad chest decorated with a badge.

  “Ma’am, are you okay? Should I get the paramedic?”

  She heard his words, but couldn’t answer. She struggled for breath and tremors wracked her shoulders. Then a set of hands cupped her arms above the elbows and someone stepped in front of her, blocking the vision of the badge.

  “It’s okay,” David whispered in her ear. “I’m right here and these men are here to help.”

  Jane looked up into the reassuring face of David and swallowed the lump of anxiety stuck in her throat. Acknowledging David’s words, she nodded, took a deep breath, and coughed. Then she straightened her spine and shoulders. She lifted her chin, held onto David, and faced the sea of badges.

  “I-I’m fine. What did you need?” she asked in a quivering voice. Suck it up, Jane. They are here to help, not hurt. Or kill.

  “Did you call 9-1-1?”

  She shook her head.

  “I did,” David offered.

  “I called it in as well.” Jane and David both turned to see Cooper coming toward them.

  “I called David,” she inserted as she looked back at the firefighter.

  The firefighter’s left brow shot up. “Next time dial 9-1-1 first.”

  Jane stiffened and shot back, “David is on speed-dial and you never crossed my mind.”

  The firefighter with the dimples at the corner of his lips smiled.

  She didn’t know why she hadn’t called 9-1-1, it just didn’t occur to her. Her only concern was to get to the fire and put it out. David elbowed her in the back. “Uh, yes, sir.”

  “Uh, Chief,” a young firefighter called. “We may have a torch here.”

  “Torch?” Jane looked at David, her brows furrowed. “What does he mean by torch?”

  Cooper slid up beside her. “He means arson.”

  “Arson.” Jane whipped her head around, her eyes wide with fright. “B-but who? Why?”

  “That was going to be my question. Any thoughts?”

  “Me?” she exclaimed when Cooper turned his icy steel-blue gaze on her and then the Fire Chief followed suit. “How would I know? I was asleep.”

  “Calm down.” David patted her on a shoulder. “They have to ask questions. Let the men do their job so we can find out who did this.” David looked away from her and spoke to Cooper. “She’s freezing. Can we get her a coat or go inside?”

  “There’s too much carbon monoxide inside,” a male voice shouted from inside the garage.

  Derek, the paramedic handed Cooper the gray blanket, and the next thing she knew he swathed her in it, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. Goosebumps rose on her flesh and then disappeared as the friction generated a heat that chased away any cold and made her all too aware of the man touching her. Tugging the blanket tight, she took a step back and stumbled against David.

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

  “It’s okay.” David wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  Had they found her? The question prompted a niggling sensation at the base of her skull. Cooper said he called in the fire. When? How? She eyed Cooper covertly from beneath lowered lashes. He appeared sincere in wanting to help her, but his timing seemed a little too coincidental.

  As if someone just walked across her grave, Jane shivered. Her shoulders bunched up then trembled. In an attempt to shake off the feeling, she wrapped her arms around herself.

  “Ahem.” Cooper cleared his throat and pulled her back from her dark thoughts. “You can’t stay here tonight.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “Just like your boutique, this is now a crime scene. Plus, there is too much carbon monoxide. You’ll suffocate.”

  Looking past Cooper’s shoulders she watched as a myriad of masked firefighters trudged back and forth from inside her home to the fire trucks.

  She groaned. “I have to get back inside. I need clothes. I need my speech for tomorrow’s party.”

  “You don’t want your clothes, ma’am. They smell like smoke,” a passing firefighter said.

  Cooper stooped him before he could pass with a hand on the man’s arm. “Can you get her papers and whatever else the lady requires?”

  The firefighter nodded.

  Cooper turned to her and pinned her in his steely-blue gaze. “Tell the man what you need.”

  Jane swallowed before she spoke and proceeded to tell the firefighter where he could find the papers that contained her speech, along with her laptop and purse. That was all she needed. She could buy clothes tomorrow morning before work. The duffle bag, with the most important papers, was safely tucked into the back of her car. She glanced over her shoulder in the BMW’s direction. How she longed for the granny mobile. The Chevelle Malibu. It would run over any car in her path.

  “You can
stay with me tonight,” Cooper announced.

  “What!” she exclaimed. “Are you kidding?”

  “We’ve already established that you can’t stay here.”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “No buts.”

  She couldn’t stay with him. How did she know he hadn’t started the fire? Maybe he let the people who had hunted her for years know where she was located. No. Tonight was her last night in New Hampshire. Tomorrow she started over. Tomorrow she assumed the identity of Carol J. Eastman.

  After David’s party.

  Cooper moved up close, wrapped an arm around her waist. “I know what you’re thinking.”

  Jane swallowed a lump of fear. Did he really?

  “You’re thinking about running,” he whispered in her ear so no one else could hear. “Stop. We’ll get through this together.”

  She swallowed a knot of fear. How did he know what she was thinking? Had his plan been to make her run? To run into his arms for safety? Did she look that stupid? That gullible?

  “I can stay at David’s.” There. The set of Cooper’s jaw tightened but he loosened his grip on her waist and stepped back.

  “As you wish.”

  “Hey, Chief!” Cooper looked up and away, in the direction of the voice.

  “Chief Chance.”

  Cooper stalked away from her. Her stomach lurched and part of her wanted to apologize for not trusting him, but part of her felt relief.

  “He deserves more credit, Jane.”

  Part of her knew that. Part of her remembered her mother’s and granny’s deaths and couldn’t risk the loss of another loved one. Or her own life.

  “I know,” she said with a firm headshake. “But can you put up with me for one night?”

  “I think we’ll muster through.”

  Just then, the firefighter returned with her things and held them out to her. David stepped in and took them. “Let’s get you out of here.”

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  Jane woke the next morning feeling disoriented and out of sorts. It wasn’t until she blinked a few times before she remembered where she was. “David’s.”

  David had driven to his house while a younger police officer followed them and left her car. She had been adamant about not leaving without it. With the duffle in the trunk, it was her lifeline, her safety net, and she had refused to leave without it.

  Now it was Friday, David’s birthday, the day of the party. Her last day in New Hampshire. Silent tears streamed down her face as she crawled from under the covers, dropped her feet to the wood floor, and padded into the en suite bathroom. She emerged minutes later and found a pair of her jeans and a sweatshirt sitting on the unmade bed.

  She paused in the doorway, resting her shoulder against the doorjamb. She loved David. It would kill her to walk away from him. At least, she thought, she wouldn’t leave until she gave him his birthday present, which was also safely tucked in the trunk of her car.

  Swiping at tears, Jane crossed the bedroom to the bed and proceeded to get dressed. She decided that the birthday boy deserved to have breakfast made for him.

  She rushed down the hall past David’s bedroom where she heard the shower running then down the stairs into the kitchen. The aroma of fresh ground coffee assailed her senses.

  “Oh! The man is a God.” She took one of the mugs sitting on the counter and poured a cup of hot caffeine. A few seconds later, the addictive liquid seeped into her system and she felt almost human.

  “Eggs. We need eggs,” she announced to the empty room. She went to the refrigerator and pulled out eggs, milk, bacon, and butter. In a glass bowl, she cracked several eggs, added a little milk then whisked the eggs with a fork. Leaving the eggs for a minute, she pieced the bacon into a skillet and covered it with a lid to cook. Then dropped a couple slices of toast into a toaster.

  By the time David entered the kitchen, the table was set and bacon and eggs were ready. Hearing his footsteps on the stairs, she poured a cup of black coffee and handed it to him the minute he crossed the threshold.

  “Happy birthday, David.” Standing on her toes, she pressed her lips to his cheek and gave him a kiss.

  She loved the way his face turned a shade of red. “Breakfast is served.”

  David turned and followed the direction of her arm. “Oh, Jane. You didn’t have to cook.”

  She shrugged. “It was the least I could do to thank you for your hospitality. Besides, it’s your birthday.”

  “Hmm.” He rubbed his hand across his chin. “In that case, let’s eat.”

  Jane chuckled as she sat across from David then proceeded to serve him. After David had his plate, she helped herself.

  “How’s your hand?”

  She made a gentle fist and then held it out, palm up for David’s inspection. “Pretty good. Tender, but no real pain.”

  “That’s good.”

  They ate in companionable silence until her cell phone rang. She reached over to one of the empty chairs where she had left her purse the night before, fished in the bag and located the phone. On the third ring, she answered.

  “Hello?”

  “How are you doing?”

  Her heart leaped at the sound of Cooper’s deep rumbling voice. “I’m fine. Checking up on the woman you tried to burn alive last night?”

  “What?” She heard a hint of anger and shock in the question. “You think I torched your place? Are you serious?”

  Glancing up she noticed the furrowed brow on David’s face. Well, what was she supposed to think? Until he showed up in her life, nothing odd or scary had happened. Now…now everything was a mess. Someone had hacked her company’s network, tried to steal from her bank account, attacked her in the boutique, and now torched her home. It all started after she met Cooper Chance, Chief of Police. It was just a little too convenient.

  “Jane?”

  “I-I don’t know what to think,” she admitted honestly, propping an elbow on the table and cupping her head. “It’s just so coincidental.”

  A heavy sigh slid across the line and up her spine. Was she blowing her one chance at happiness? Could she truly trust Cooper? Or was it too late for her, for them? Her bag was packed and she was ready to go. After the party.

  “Listen, before you do anything foolish, like run, will you hear me out?”

  Was he reading her mind?

  “I love you, Jane. Let me prove it.”

  “Stop saying that.”

  “I called to let you know I probably won’t make the party tonight.”

  Jane blinked in surprise. She hadn’t invited him. “The party?” She peered up and saw the slight upturn of David’s lips. Narrowing her gaze, she shot him a seething glare.

  “Yeah. I have a job tonight. I hope to just be fashionably late to the party, but there’s no telling what could happen.”

  “Is it dangerous?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

  “You do care. In this job, everything is dangerous, but I’m prepared so the risks are less.”

  “Be careful.” His soft chuckle on the other end of the line warmed her.

  “Just don’t bolt,” he pleaded. “I will get there as soon as I can and we can talk. I’ll explain everything then. Promise me.”

  Did she dare wait? Give him a chance to risk her friends’ lives, her life?

  “Jane, please. Promise.”

  She swallowed the small heartache. “I promise.”

  “One more question. Where do you buy your clothes?”

  “Huh?”

  “Clothes. Where do you buy them?”

  What on earth? “Um, various places. J Jill is my favorite.”

  “Do they carry clothes for bigger women?”

  “Uh, I think so.”

  “One more question. Does Bob Richter have really nasty smelling breath?”

  Jane blinked in surprise. “Yes. How did you know that?”

  “Great. Be safe and have fun! I’ll see you later.”

  When the li
ne went dead, she shut the phone and slid it back into her purse. She looked up when David cleared his throat.

  “That was Cooper, I take it?”

  “As if you didn’t know.” Jane took a bite of her cold eggs. “Did you invite him to the party or did Tony?” She set he fork on the plate and covered the cold food with her napkin. She wasn’t hungry anyway.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he answered with feigned innocence. He stood and took his and her plate to the sink.

  “You can’t play matchmaker, David. It won’t work. You know that.”

  David dumped the dishes into the sink then spun around on her. “I know no such thing. What I do know is that Cooper Chance is a good man who is in love with you. I know he did not start that fire at your house last night.” He took a deep breath, ran his fingers through his salt and pepper hair. “And if you stopped to think, instead of react you would know it too.”

  “I…” What could she say?

  “Think, Jane. You are the smartest woman I know. Maybe the smartest woman I have ever met. Smarter than my Sara. But you have let your past rule your future for too long. Look at me.”

  She looked up from beneath hooded eyelids. Unshed tears stung her eyes.

  “I know you and I love you like the daughter I never had. I see how the two of you are with each other. I hear the way he talks about you and you about him. Oh, yes, you try to hide it, try to shove your feelings aside, but it’s there. You love Cooper whether you want to admit it or not.”

  “So what if I do?” She rose to her feet. “It doesn’t change anything. He’s a cop and I just don’t know if I can trust him.”

  “Yes, you do.” He took short strides to her, placed his hands on her elbows. “You know in here.” He put one hand on her chest near her heart. “And even in here.” He touched her head. “You know what you need to know to let yourself love. Trust me. I’ve been there.”

  “Oh, David.” Jane wrapped her arms around his waist, tucked her head against his shoulder.

  “Hush,” he soothed with a brush of his hand over her hair and down her back. “You can’t run away. It’s time to take a stand and protect what is yours.”