by S. J. Lewis
“So she goes out when there are a lot of other people around.”
“Yeah,” Lisa nodded.
“When does she come back?”
“That varies too.” Lisa took another bite. “She’s always back by a little before six, though.”
“Does she ever go out at night?”
Lisa frowned, thinking. “Sometimes,” she said. “But she’s never alone then. Once she went out with some other guests from the hotel to see a play. They took a limo. I think she might have some friends here in the city, too. One evening she was picked up by a party of four. They were riding in another limo. That one was privately owned, I think.”
“That party of four: Were any of them Japanese?”
“Well, at least one of them was Oriental, but I can’t tell Japanese from Chinese. Anyway, I didn’t get a real good look.”
“That’s okay. I think those were business contacts, not friends. So she does go out in the evenings sometimes.”
“Yeah. So?” Lisa finished off her donut and took a gulp of her coffee to chase it down.
“Nothing,” Ron shook his head. “It’s just a little more information. I might or might not have some use for it.”
“You know, if I knew what you were thinking of doing, I might be able to offer some suggestions.”
“I know, and I appreciate that, but like I said, I don’t really have a plan yet. How about we get in the car and you drive me around her neighborhood? I need to get a feel for the ground.”
“And then what?”
“And then, if she comes out today, I’ll do some more walking.”
“You know, you’re a big enough guy that you’re not going to be inconspicuous, even in a crowd. She’s bound to spot you.”
Ron smiled. “I know. I want her to spot me.”
“Why?” Lisa frowned again.
“I want her to see me just about every place she goes today.”
“Okay, but why?”
“She’s looking for an adventure. Going by what she said on that tape, she wants to be taken captive by one strong man. At the same time, she’s put this cocoon of safety around her. I want her to see me inside that cocoon. I want her to know that she’s being stalked.”
“Isn’t that likely to freak her out?”
“It might, but I don’t think it will. If anything, it should pique her interest. It’ll also answer one of my big questions early.”
“What question would that be?” Lisa fished another donut out of the bag and bit into it without looking to see which one it was. All of her attention was fixed on him.
“Whether or not she finds me attractive,” Ron said. “She might not care for me at all. It’s best to find that out as soon as possible. It can save you a lot of wasted effort.”
“Really?” Lisa was dubious. “Why wouldn’t she be interested in you?”
“I didn’t say that there was a big chance that she wouldn’t,” Ron smiled. “But it’s always a possibility.”
“All right,” Lisa shrugged. “When do you want to start?”
He looked at his watch. “Why not now? She won’t be out for at least an hour yet. We can use the time for me to familiarize myself with the terrain.”
Lisa chuckled. “I wondered what made me put on my uniform this morning. Now I know. You make this feel like a military operation.”
“I was in the Rangers. Old habits die hard.”
***
“There she is,” Lisa said.
“Where?”
“Right there, see? She’s just coming out of the hotel.”
Ron looked. Once again, she was impossible to miss. She was smiling, saying something to the doorman who was smiling back and nodding. The day was chilly. The sky was full of heavy dark gray clouds. He’d already seen a couple of snowflakes drifting by as they circled the block that the hotel occupied. There hadn’t been any place to park.
“She’s a little late today,” he said as he looked at his watch. “Pull over and let me out here. If I need you, I’ll call you on your cell phone.”
“What do I do in the meantime?”
“Go have lunch, do a little shopping, I don’t know.” Ron opened his door as she came to a stop and hopped out quickly. Behind them, somebody honked impatiently.
“Gotcha,” Lisa said as he shut the door. She pulled away. He picked his way between parked cars onto the sidewalk. He paused to put on his hat. It had been a last-minute addition this morning. A bald head gets cold quickly, and today was very cold. It was a stylish hat, wide brimmed and a shade darker than his nice, warm camelhair coat. He adjusted the hat carefully, keeping an eye on Elizabeth Anne to see which way she went. She turned to her left and disappeared around the corner. He followed, hurrying a little to catch up. It was just after noon, and the streets were filling up with people going to lunch or running errands. Even with the crowds, he didn’t think he’d have any trouble keeping her in sight. She was heading into a shopping district. If she was just going to do some window-shopping, that wouldn’t present any problems, but if she was actually going to buy something a lot would depend on what she was going to buy. He wanted her to notice him, but not while he was hanging out in the lingerie section of a department store.
He rounded the corner. She was half a block ahead of him, walking slowly, looking across the street at the merchandise on display in the storefronts. The light on the corner changed. He took a chance and dashed across to the other side of the street while he had a chance.
She seemed to like walking. That suited him. It gave him plenty of opportunity to watch how she moved, what seemed to interest her, and finally confirm that she was indeed left-handed. There was a street vendor on the next corner selling hot dogs and pretzels. She bought a hot dog from him and proceeded to eat it while she continued on her walking tour. She used her left hand. He wished he was close enough to see what she liked on her hot dog.
She crossed the street and kept going in her original direction. He stayed on the opposite side of the street from her for now. It wasn’t the easiest thing in the world keeping an eye on her while dodging all the other pedestrians. It was easier out in the woods. Animals would hear you coming and quietly move out of your way. People could see you coming and act like you were the one who was supposed to step aside.
She finished her hot dog and went into a department store. The building was four stories high and it took up half a block. It had wide entrances on all three open sides. If he stayed outside, he could keep an eye on only two of them. He already knew she’d used a similar store to dodge one of the company’s capture teams. He sighed and dashed across the street to follow her in.
Inside it was crowded, and warm enough for him to doff his hat and unbutton his coat. The street level seemed to be devoted to women’s clothes and shoes. He spotted her as she was passing by racks of dresses. She wasn’t even looking at them, and she was walking more briskly than anyone else in the store. He took a chance and turned left to get out through the exit over that way.Once outside, he jammed the hat back on his head, turned right, and walked quickly over to the corner of the building. If she came out the opposite way she’d gone in, he could keep track of her. If she didn’t, he already had her next nearest exit in sight. If she didn’t come out of either of the exits, either she was lingering in the store for a while to throw off anyone following her, or she’d doubled back. In either of those cases, he’d have to play it by ear.
To his utter surprise, he almost collided with her as she came around the corner of the building. They both stopped abruptly, and for one brief moment he was looking right into her eyes. They were a dark, dark brown, wide open from her initial surprise. They stood very close to each other for a moment. Her presence, so very near, hit him almost as strongly as a physical blow. He almost thought that he had affected her the same way. Then her composure returned. She smiled up at him in the way that strangers sometimes do when they almost run into each other. Her eyes were still brown, but no longer opened wide.
A gust of wind ruffled her hair. Her grip on the handbag slung over her right shoulder loosened. She didn’t say anything.
“Excuse me,” he smiled back, tipping his hat to her. He stepped out of her way.
“Thank you,” she nodded. She swept past him and went on up the street. After a few steps she looked back quickly over her shoulder. She gave him a brief little smile and continued on her way. Until then, he hadn’t realized that he was just standing there, staring after her.
He had to step around the corner, out of her sight if she looked back again, and take a moment to compose himself. After watching the videos, he had concluded that she was a woman that a still photograph simply could not do justice to. After their close encounter, he didn’t think a mere video could capture the impact of her in person either. She radiated so much warmth and vitality that any man would want to be near her. But up as close to her as he’d been, he’d also felt somehow challenged. She hadn’t backed away from him at all after their near-collision, and he’d had to fight an impulse to back away himself.
He took a deep breath before walking around the corner to continue following her. She was already at the far corner, waiting for the light to change. He checked the traffic quickly and dashed across the street. He saw her cross. She kept going straight. He hurried a little to get closer to her. At least there was no doubt that she’d seen him now. From here on, the trick would be to show up again and again, but never so close that she would feel he was a threat. He hoped she’d be taking a long walk today.
He managed to get ahead of her without being spotted. At another intersection, he knew she saw him standing across the street from her as she waited for another light to change. He walked away before she could cross, but as he risked a quick look back he saw that she hadn’t crossed after all. Instead she’d turned around and gone back the way she’d come. He certainly had her attention now.
She didn’t go straight back to her hotel. He could think of a number of reasons for that: Maybe she didn’t want to look like she was running away: Maybe she wasn’t quite sure that he was trailing her: And maybe she was enjoying the possibility that he was stalking her. Whatever the case, she stayed out on the streets where he could see her. She must have felt it was safe. There were still a lot of other people around, although not as many as there had been. He wondered how long she’d keep this up. For the first time in a while, he was enjoying the feeling of being on a hunt.
He gave her a number of opportunities to spot him again. On the two occasions when she saw him ahead of her, she changed her direction. Once she saw him walking in the same direction as she was, but on the other side of the street. That time she went into another department store with multiple exits and it took him a little while to pick up her trail again. He managed to follow along behind her for a while before something made her look back and spot him. He was close enough to see her expression then. She didn’t look scared as she ducked into a coffee shop. He kept walking past the shop. Through the window, he saw her sit down at a table and order something. She looked relaxed, but she kept looked out the window at him as he went by. The coffee shop had only one entrance. He moved out of her sight and pretended to do some window-shopping of his own. He could only keep that up for so long, though. It was cold out here, and the wind was picking up.
Most of the city streets were laid out in a grid pattern, but near the coffee shop there was one odd street that ran straight through the area at an angle. Down the block from the coffee shop, it cut two small triangular areas out of the grid. There wasn’t room to put up any buildings in them, so the city had turned them both into miniscule parks. He crossed the street and entered one of them. Three big planters made out of concrete enclosed the area. There was a gap at the point of the triangle, and two more gaps at the other end through which pedestrians could come and go. The sheer bulk of the planters ensured that a careless driver couldn’t go careening through the parks. They also supported a lot of plants. Some were bare and leafless, but there were enough evergreen shrubs to give him some cover while he kept an eye on the coffee shop. Inside the park there were metal tables and folding chairs, scattered around in no particular order. In spite of the cold, a few people were seated there. One woman had several shopping bags piled on the table in front of her.
Best of all, at the base of the triangle, which faced towards the coffee shop, there was an enclosed kiosk that served hot coffee, hot tea, and cold drinks that probably weren’t in much demand today. Behind the counter, Ron could see prepackaged sandwiches and an assortment of chips. The kiosk was manned by a wiry little character with a bald head and a bushy white beard. He laid aside his newspaper as he saw Ron approaching and slid open a window. Warm air briefly blew past Ron’s face.
“What can I do for you?”
“Coffee, large, black,” Ron answered. “Can you recommend any of those sandwiches?”
“Don’t eat ‘em, myself,” the kiosk operator shrugged. “Never had any complaints, though, so I guess one of ‘em’s as good as the other.” He poured coffee into a big paper cup without getting up off of the stool he was sitting on. “You want one?”
“I’ll pass,” Ron shrugged.
“Dollar fifty,” the man said as he passed the cup over.
“Tax?” Ron asked.
“That’s with tax,” the man grinned. “It’s a pain dealing with pennies, so everything here’s priced to come out even with tax.”
“Clever idea.” Ron put two one-dollar bills on the counter and took a sip of his coffee. It had been in the pot just a little too long. He decided not to ask for fresh. He took another sip and looked towards the coffee shop. He didn’t see his quarry.
“Some city bureaucrat thought it up,” the whiskery little man said. He rang up the sale and slid two quarters back to Ron. “These kiosks are all owned by the city. Funny how it’s okay for businesses to have to count all the pennies, but it’s too much trouble for the city to do it.”
“Isn’t it always that way?” Ron grinned. He pocketed the quarters.
“I guess,” the man shrugged. “At least this job gives me something to eke out my Social Security. Gets me out of the apartment too. Otherwise, it’d be a race to see if I starved to death or went crazy first.”
He slid the window shut and went back to his newspaper. He was working on the crossword puzzle. Ron tried sitting for a moment, but the metal chair was too cold. He stood back up and walked around, keeping the coffee shop in sight.
His coffee was half gone and cold before she came out. He saw her stop just outside the shop and look up and down the street before she started walking up the street in the same direction as the two little parks. At the same time, he saw a man detach himself from the crowd and start to follow her. He was a young man, skinny and dirty-looking. He reminded Ron somehow of a rat. He dumped the half-full cup into a waste bin and quickly scanned for traffic before he dashed across the street. One thing he’d always hated about cities was all the muggers and purse-snatchers there were. When he reached the curb, he heard her cry out. The rat had run up behind her and grabbed her bag away from her. He was running straight towards Ron, a wild look of triumph in his eyes. The few pedestrians on the street moved quickly out of his way. He must have been expecting Ron to do the same. Instead, Ron body-checked him hard. The rat bounced off of him as if he’d hit a tree, lost his balance and fell heavily against a building. He didn’t let go of the bag, though, and a second later he was back on his feet. He started to pull out what looked like a knife. Ron smashed a forearm into the rat’s face and he went down again and stayed down. The switchblade clattered onto the sidewalk, unopened. Ron reached down and freed the handbag strap from the rat’s hand. As he straightened up, he found himself once more face to face with Elizabeth Anne. Her lovely brown eyes were wide again, and her face was flushed under that permanent glowing tan.
Ron handed the bag to her. “This is yours,” he smiled.
“Ah…thank you…” She looked bewildered as she ac
cepted it from him. She looked down at the rat. He wasn’t moving, but he was breathing. He had a split lip and both it and his nose were bleeding. A small crowd was starting to gather around the scene. She looked back up at Ron.
“You’ve been following me,” she said quietly. It was not a question.
“Yes,” Ron nodded.
“Why?”
“It was my pleasure, ma’am.” Ron nodded and touched the brim of his hat before turning and walking away. He could hear a siren approaching. It might have nothing at all to do with what had just happened, but he didn’t want to have to deal with the police now. His stalking was done for the day. He pulled out his cell phone and called for Lisa.
***
“Why did you do that?” Lisa asked after he’d told her the story. They were sitting in his apartment, eating takeout again. Tonight, it was Italian.
“Why not?” Ron shrugged. “I couldn’t just let that rat run off with her purse.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lisa shook her head. “Why did you make such an obvious thing of following her all over the city?”
“It worked out better than I’d hoped,” Ron smiled. The linguine was fair, the meatballs seemed to be half breadcrumbs, but the sauce was delicious. “She’s intrigued now, not scared.”
“What if she thinks the purse-snatching thing was a setup?”
“I don’t think she will,” Ron answered. “I hit that mugger pretty hard. There was nothing fake about that.”
“He could’ve stabbed you.”
“Only if I gave him the time to. I hope the cops picked him up.”
“I can find out for you, if you really want to know,” Lisa offered. “I’ve got a friend…”
“No, that’s all right. They did or they didn’t, and either way it’s got nothing to do with what comes next.”
“What does come next?” Lisa asked.
Chapter Eight
“So you’re going to do the exact same thing today?” Lisa asked. “How’s that figure?”
