Double Jeopardy (Entangled Select)

by Linda Wisdom

  “That doesn’t say much about how we can find her,” he groused.

  “Science doesn’t always have all the answers,” she countered. “What I did find interesting was the mention of the flowers she left you each time.” She pulled out a sheet of paper. “Since they all differed, I have a hunch they carry a great deal of significance in all this.”

  “How?”

  “Flowers are known to have a language all their own.” Dana passed him the sheet of paper. “What I’ve done here is list the flowers in the order you received them, along with their meaning. I noticed the first flowers sent to you were daffodils wrapped in ferns. Daffodils mean regard, and ferns mean fascination. She was letting you know right away she was entranced with you. Then, the first time she left flowers in your house, she chose jonquils.”

  He nodded, still stunned by the idea the flowers were a message how his stalker felt about him. “Someone familiar with plants said they were out of season, so she must have gone to a great deal of trouble to get them. I didn’t see any significance in them.”

  Dana nodded. “She did go to a lot of trouble. She wanted them because of their meaning. Jonquils mean ‘please return my affection’.”

  “She hoped he’d understand the meaning and therefore, automatically know she’d sent them, even though she never gave her name,” Lauren murmured. “She felt he should just know.”

  “That’s right. She’s probably convinced he’s known her identity from the beginning and isn’t revealing it for one reason or another. She might even assume he’s doing it to protect her.”

  Josh scanned the list. “So what you’re saying is that she’s sending a message with the flowers along with everything else she’s done?”

  Dana nodded. “You have to admit that people who break into your house normally don’t also clean it as she did. Which also says she’s familiar enough with your schedule that she doesn’t worry about you walking in and catching her cleaning your bathroom. What bothers me is that the messages are now starting to turn very negative. It might be she’s upset because you haven’t publicly acknowledged her. Or she’s even hoped you would have privately approached her by now to tell her you return her affection. Which is why, whenever she learns you’re seeing someone, she sees it as a betrayal of her love and she feels the need to thrust that person out of your life. In the beginning, she was happy enough pulling juvenile pranks, such as destroying rose bushes, vandalizing cars, or throwing paint on people’s houses. I have an idea it’s going to start escalating.”

  “When I left the District Attorney’s retirement party, I discovered someone had keyed my car.,” Lauren suddenly spoke up. “I didn’t think anything of it then. And I also had a feeling that someone who hated me a great deal was watching me that night.”

  Josh had a grim look on his face. “So did I.”

  Dana looked from one to the other. “Obviously the lady sensed something between the two of you. Did you go there together?”

  He shook his head. “We met there for the first time.”

  The doctor scribbled a note in the margin of the paper on her lap. “Hmm, very interesting. She probably observed the two of you meeting and put her own interpretation on it.”

  “Stop making those hmm sounds and using those idiotic psychiatric terms!” Lauren snapped, sitting forward. “Why can’t you spell it out like a normal person?”

  “This coming from the woman who just loves to throw out medical terms that no one without an advanced degree in Latin could understand.”

  “Time out!” Josh held up his hands in a T formation. “Can we just put this battle of the doctors on hold and get back to discussing the deadly lady in my life?”

  Both women turned to him, but it was Dana who answered. “It’s very easy, Josh. To make it short and sweet, she’s growing more unstable with each confrontation.” She pulled several typewritten pages out of the folder. “This will explain the profile I worked up on her. I’d say she’s white, mid to late twenties, single, and has a higher than normal intelligence, which can account for her ability to slip in and out of your house without being noticed, bypass alarms, and such. I’d also hazard a guess that the only relationship she’s ever had is in her mind. Ten-to-one she’s never been married and pretty much keeps to herself. She’s very cunning in concealing her true nature because she couldn’t handle anyone knowing what she’s really like. She has a great deal of patience, which, unfortunately, could be running out, because now when she invades your territory she destroys something instead of bestowing her idea of a labor of love. She feels you’ve hurt her, so she wants to hurt you back, even though, in her mind, she’s doing nothing more dangerous than seeking your love.”

  “Dana, this is crazy. You’re saying she’s dangerous, yet she’s not really dangerous,” Lauren questioned. “Which is it?”

  “Both, and it isn’t crazy. She sees Josh as an estranged lover she wants to seduce back to her. And we’re talking about someone who knows Josh pretty well,” Dana explained, pulling another sheet of paper out of the folder. “I looked over the list of women you know and/or work with that I asked you to compile.” She arched an eyebrow. “Impressive, if I do say so.”

  Lauren shifted in her chair as she listened to Dana’s subtle teasing as she ran down the names of women Josh wrote down. What she heard sounded too much like her ex-husband’s favorite hobby, second to his guns, during their marriage. If there was a willing woman around, Ron wanted her.

  She would be the first to admit she didn’t know a lot about Josh. It wasn’t as if they worked together or saw each other on a daily basis, so she knew she shouldn’t prejudge him. She reminded herself she was here purely as a colleague ready to help someone in trouble. Not to mention she’d somehow been pulled into this situation whether she’d wanted to be or not. She wondered why she’d allowed him to do it to her when she was doing so well in rebuilding her life from the ashes it’d once been.

  “Did she break into any of the other women’s houses, or just Lauren’s?” Hearing her name spoken out loud brought her attention back.

  Josh shook his head. “As far as we know, she’s only been in Lauren’s. Kevin talked to some of the others and asked about any strange incidents that occurred during the time we saw each other. They all said the same thing—that at the time, they didn’t view anything that happened as anything more than teen vandalism. It was usually paint thrown against front doors or on their cars. One had her prize rose bushes destroyed. Most of them never thought to connect it to me until Kevin spoke to them.”

  “Most?”

  “One mentioned that she noticed the little pranks stopped right after we broke up.” His face reddened. “She said she even thought I might have had something to do with it.”

  Dana tapped her pen against her lips. “And now she’s decided to invade her rival’s territory. That means she sees you in a very threatening light, Lauren.”

  “She has no reason to,” she argued.

  “In her frame of mind she doesn’t have to have a reason.” Dana waved her hands to punctuate her words. “This is a woman who lives by her own version of the truth. She broke into your house because she wanted to prove she could get in there any time she wanted to. She wanted to walk in your territory, touch your things. I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried on some of your clothes,” she clucked, when Lauren grimaced at the idea, “maybe even fooled around with your makeup. I’d even say she walked out of there wearing your perfume. She didn’t leave the top off the bottle accidentally. It was cold and deliberate. She wanted you to know she’d been there. And I’m afraid to say she’ll probably be back.” She gazed at her friend with sympathy.

  “Not without tripping up the security system I had installed,” Lauren said grimly.

  Dana shook her head. “How many times has she gotten into Josh’s house, no matter how many times he’s changed the locks and after he had a new security system installed? This is one smart lady. She has the kind of knowledge many don’
t have, and she uses it to her advantage.”

  “Are you saying this woman could be in law enforcement, or perhaps work in the courthouse?” Josh asked. “That it might be someone I work with, perhaps on a daily basis? I know I’ve started feeling a little paranoid about some of the women I see at work, but I don’t want to think any of them would go to these lengths.”

  “It’s a proven fact that just because someone carries a badge doesn’t mean they’re trustworthy. And she knows too much about your schedule to be a perfect stranger. Not unless she doesn’t need to work and can follow you practically twenty-four hours a day. Just remember that things seem to be picking up. I don’t want you to be surprised if she suddenly declares her love for you and insists you don’t see any other women. It could get to the point where she might get even more upset if she so much as sees you talking to another woman, no matter how innocent it really is. She wants to think of you as her own private property, and woe to anyone who trespasses.” She dropped the sheets back into the folder and closed it. “I wrote up a more concise and official report that I’ll email to Detective Peterson, and I have a hard copy of it here for your use along with a copy I emailed you before you arrived. I hope you’ll keep me apprised of any new episodes. And I suggest you be very careful,” she advised her friend. “Some flowers are deadly.”

  Josh grimaced. “I guess I better brush up on my botany.”

  Dana handed Josh a manila envelope. “New stalker cases crop up daily all over the country. And I’m hearing about more cases where even children are being stalked. We don’t always know what causes stalkers to fixate on certain people, what they hope to gain from it, or what causes the behavior in the beginning. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes violence to bring them to light. At least you have the law on your side. It was much scarier when nothing could be done.”

  “It’s a small comfort when you can’t even find her,” Josh grumbled.

  “But you know enough to be careful, and that’s what counts.” She shook her head. “Many cases have ended in tragedy. A young woman of twenty dated a young man only once. He saw more into it than she did. He kept calling and she kept telling him she was seeing someone else. That she was now in a serious relationship. He didn’t believe her and kept calling and sending her gifts, which she always returned without opening them. She even got a restraining order. Six months later, he walked into the church during her wedding ceremony and shot the groom and then himself. Just before he shot himself, he told her he wanted her to live with the knowledge it wouldn’t have happened if she had loved him.”

  Lauren closed her eyes. “Death may be my business, but it still doesn’t make it any easier,” she whispered.

  “I believe in stating worst-case scenarios so you’ll stay alert,” Dana said. “Good luck, Josh. And if you ever have any questions, call me.” She reached out and pulled Lauren into a friendly hug, then leaned back to study her. “You look good. No dark shadows. Sleeping all right? No more nasties?” she murmured, then smiled at Lauren’s answering nod. “I’m glad you’re doing so well. Who knows? Maybe someday I’ll decide to travel out to the toolies and see what the back of the beyond looks like.” Her eyes danced with amusement.

  Lauren hugged her back. “You do that.”

  “I can’t thank you enough for your help.” Josh held out his hand.

  “Lauren will tell you I like nothing more than a good challenge.” Dana smiled, taking his hand. “And I can already see this one could prove interesting. If it’s possible, I’d like to meet and talk with the lady when she’s caught.” She held up a hand. “Notice I said ‘when,’ not ‘if,’ because I’m basically a positive person. I also think she chose the wrong guy for her erotic fixation, and it will ultimately cause her downfall. But I would still like to talk to her.”

  “I’ll see what I can do when the time comes.”

  As they walked out of the building and crossed the parking lot, Josh noticed it had grown dark. He automatically moved closer to Lauren as they approached his car. He had her remain a few steps back while he quickly checked it over. He paused before unlocking the passenger door for her.

  “The southbound traffic’s going to be a bitch for the next couple hours. Why don’t we look for someplace to have dinner before we battle the freeway?”

  Lauren thought for a moment and checked her watch. “There’s a pretty good place about four blocks from here where Dana and I used to meet for dinner. It shouldn’t be too busy at this hour. We can discuss what Dana told us while it’s still fresh in our minds without having to worry about being overheard.”

  “Sounds fine.”

  “Shit.” Josh pulled at a slip of paper tucked under the windshield wiper on the driver’s side. “I can’t believe they thought they could issue a parking ticket. There are no signs posted in this lot.”

  “Mark must have gotten one of the patrolmen to do this.” Lauren took the parking ticket out of his hand and crumpled it into a ball. “His nasty idea of a joke.” She clearly didn’t find it funny.

  He suddenly grinned as he took the ticket back and pocketed it. “Then it’s a good thing I have connections at the courthouse.”

  Her laughter didn’t hold any humor. “Around here, you’ll need more than that.”

  Ironically, as they got into Josh’s car, they couldn’t stop themselves from covertly glancing around as if expecting to find themselves under observation. And not necessarily by the police.

  Chapter Seven

  “I can’t believe what crazy turns this situation has taken in the past few months. I’m beginning to think I’m living in a nightmare.” Josh had waited to speak until they’d given their order to the waitress and she’d left them alone. He picked up his coffee cup she had just filled and drank deeply of the much-needed caffeine. If he wasn’t driving, he would have asked for a double scotch.

  “Is it so crazy?” Lauren countered, wrapping her hands around her cup to warm her fingers. “How many stories about stalkers do we read in the news almost every day? They’ve practically become a regular feature on television talk shows. Your own lady love would probably make the front page in town if you hadn’t used your connections to keep it quiet. Although I’d think it would be to your advantage to bring it out in the open. For all we know, someone could have information about her. Maybe she’s done it before with another man who didn’t want to say anything, but who might be willing to come forward if he discovers he’s not the only one.”

  “There might not be anyone else.”

  “There’s an old saying about never knowing until you try. What would it hurt to announce to the press there’s a woman out there who’s fixated on the assistant DA?”

  He shook his head. “We had our reasons for keeping the reports unofficial. Kevin has had to do some pretty fast tap dancing to keep his activities out of the eyes of the press. When it looked as if this woman was more than just the shy type who refused to sign her name on the cards, the DA, the police chief, Kevin, and myself discussed the case at length. We took into account that with the town growing the way it was, we couldn’t afford this kind of negative publicity. Industry is starting to move out of the big city and into outlying areas. Several large manufacturing firms are looking at property on the city outskirts. We knew we had to keep it as quiet as possible.”

  Lauren could understand his reasoning, even if she didn’t completely agree with it.

  “And if she becomes dangerous? What then? What if she finally loses her hold on reality and goes after you or the woman you’re seeing, this time with the intent to kill?”

  Josh reared back from her low-voiced fury. He didn’t think twice in retaliating. “Since we’re talking about my neck here, I don’t see why you should worry.”

  She shook her head. “Since I happen to be with you at the moment and since it was my house that was broken into, I believe I have a great deal to worry about. Now I begin to wonder if she wasn’t the one who keyed my car that night at the retirement party.”


  Even as the anger flared between them, so did something more elemental. Josh stared at Lauren and wondered if she felt the same sparks he did. For a moment, he wasn’t sure whether to strangle her for forcing the issue, or kiss her. The latter seemed a lot more pleasant.

  “Let me tell you something. I’d like nothing more than to know who to look out for.” He automatically lowered his voice as he leaned across the table. “You have no idea what it’s like to wonder if the woman who’s been making your life hell is one of the secretaries, paralegals, or clerks working in your office, or if you should worry she’s the receptionist at your dentist’s office or someone you just happened to pass on the street one day and all you did was pick up a dropped package for her and she took it the wrong way.” Angry frustration at the situation ran through his words. “I ask myself if she’s someone I’ve known for a long time or someone I might have only said a few words to at some point. I go home from work wondering if I’ll walk in to find she’s washed all the dishes, waxed the furniture, and changed the sheets, or if she’s torn up the room,” he muttered.

  “She does your housework and laundry while she ruins the surface of my dresser top with my most expensive perfume,” Lauren murmured on a wry note. “How unfair!”

  He didn’t waste any time in shooting back at her. “This is not a joking matter.”

  “You’re right, it’s not. You should hear some of the estimates I received to refinish the dresser.” She held up her hands in surrender. “All right, I’ll stop. But the stories I’ve read and heard about stalkers say that if they break in, they take something personal. They don’t clean the house. This woman has a very strong fixation about you, and it seems conceivable. I bet if you took a very careful inventory of your house you’d find something missing. Probably a piece of clothing.”

  Josh eyed her. “You seem to know a lot about investigative procedures.”