Avalanche (11 page)

“I didn’t think that,” Pamela told him, staring at the
images. “That’s not how stalkers work. They like the hands on approach.”

“You’re right, they do. In essence, what this means is that
Chandler Chase is not your stalker.”

“Then who is?” Pamela raised her eyes to his, confusion
dominating her gaze.

“I don’t know. But now that we’ve eliminated Chase, we can
move on to other possibilities.”

“But there is no one else. I’ve thought about it, since you
asked the first time. I haven’t had any quarrels with anyone, no one is upset
with me, that I know of. Who could be doing this, Red?”

“Let’s start by examining your life, around the time the
stalking started. You said it was in July. What else was happening back then?
Did you drop any clients, pick up any new ones? Did you date anyone after
Chase?”

“No, I haven’t dated anyone since Chandler. I’ll double
check the roster, but I can’t recall taking on anyone since February. My plate
is pretty full. I didn’t want to overdo it, so I stopped accepting new
clients.”

“What about the ones you have, did you piss off anyone?”

“Probably, it’s part of the job. Some of these people live
to be unhappy. But they blow up one day, then they’re my best friend the next.
That’s how it goes.”

“I’ve been reading over the printout you gave me of the text
messages. Things deteriorated pretty quickly. At first, the messages seemed
innocuous, more sad than angry, like a jilted lover. When they turned nasty,
they really turned nasty. Now that you know it’s not Chase, I’d like you to
read over the messages again, see if they remind you of anyone.”

“You mean like the speech patterns, things like that?”

“Yes, exactly. You naturally assumed that it was Chase, so
you didn’t listen for another voice in the messages. We need to do that now.”
Red pulled several sheets from the folder. “Before we start, clear your mind.
I’m going to read these to you. Just listen, see if the words bring anyone to
mind.”

“The people I know do not speak that way, not unless they’re
acting.”

“Just try, okay?”

“Sure, of course.” Pamela closed her eyes, trying to make
her mind blank. It was easier said than done.

Red began reading the first message, a taunt telling Pamela
that she would miss the life she had. It was not a threat, but hearing it now,
it seemed more threatening, knowing what was to come. Still, the words did not
remind her of anyone.

By the time Red had gone through the list, Pamela was
shaking, slightly. She’d been so sure that it was Chandler. Now, hearing the
messages and knowing they were sent by a stranger, someone unknown, made them
more difficult to hear.

Red dropped the paper and looked at Pam for the first time
since he began reading. She was pale, and visibly trembling. Coming to kneel
beside her, he did the most natural thing in the world, he held her.

“Baby, it’s okay,” he soothed, rubbing her back as he spoke.
“I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Pamela sighed and leaned into Red. It felt so good to feel
his strength, his warmth, the comfortable familiarity of his arms. Her
trembling subsided, and she snaked her arms around him, pressing her face into
his shoulder.

For the first time in forever, she felt at peace.

Red felt her arms enclose him and moved without thinking.
Scooping her up, he sat down in her chair, placing Pam on his lap. Cradling her
close, he kissed her forehead, smoothing her hair away from her face.

Pamela didn’t protest, she welcomed his touch, craved the
closeness that had been missing from her life for so long. This was Red, her
Red. The man who made her heart beat faster, with just one look. The man who
made her feel at home, wherever they happened to be.

They sat like that for a long time, each enjoying the
intimacy of the moment. It wasn’t about sex, it wasn’t about disagreements, it
was about the love they’d had, and still had, buried beneath the heartache.

Pamela’s phone chirped, startling them both. Keeping one arm
firmly around her, Red reached over and dragged the device to the edge of the
table.

“It’s a text,” Pam said, straightening as she reached for
the phone. She didn’t want the moment to end, precious times like this were few
and far between. “I should read it, it could be Kendra.”

“Sure,” Red said gruffly, loosening his grip.

Pamela swiped the surface, without reading the partial
message. She didn’t leave Red’s lap as she brought the full message into view.
It seemed so natural, so perfect, to sit this way. She’d really, really missed
it.

The warm glow evaporated as she read the words on the
screen. Suddenly chilled to the bone, she handed the phone to Red.

“
Enjoy your house party, while it lasts. I’ll be seeing
you, soon
.”

Red growled as he read it, then tossed the phone onto the
table.

“I need to check the feeds,” he told her, capturing one of
her hands. “If he knows you have a guest, he’s been watching.”

“Yes, of course,” Pam said, jumping up and away from his
warmth. “I’ll make some tea.” She had to do something with her hands, had to move.
She was shaken, as much from the tender moments with Red as from the message.
She had to put some distance between them.

“That’s strange,” Red said, searching the video feeds.
“There’s no one here.”

“Maybe he chose a new place to watch. Maybe he noticed the
cameras.” Pamela offered, setting out two tea cups. As a rule, Red wasn’t a tea
drinker. But it didn’t matter. She needed the distraction.

“Dammit,” Red clenched his fist as he watched. “He’s not in
a single frame, not for the past two hours.”

“Kendra and I have been here since around one. Maybe he saw
us unload the car. He would have been in front of the house for that view.”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Red said, still
scrolling through the feeds. “The cameras in the woods are well hidden. There’s
no way he would see them, unless he knew where to look. Regardless, I’ll do a
walk around later, make sure they’re still out of sight.”

“Sure, okay.” Pamela didn’t know what else to say. The
lovely moment was over, almost as if it had never happened. Red was all
business now, peering at the computer screen, his eyebrows drawn together in a
frown.

She hadn’t imagined it, though. There was tenderness between
them. Not the fire that usually raged, but a softness that she’d almost
forgotten existed.

Why couldn’t they be this way more often? Why did everything
have to turn into a fight?

“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary this morning,
when you arrived? Any cars parked along the side of the road, anyone walking,
things like that?” Red continued, not noticing Pamela’s extended silence.

“No, not that I recall,” Pamela frowned, trying to remember.

“I’ll take a look out front, see if he left any footprints.
Bolt the door behind me.” Red stood, finally looking at Pam. “What’s wrong?”

“You mean besides the fact that someone’s stalking me?
Nothing, everything’s great!” The sarcasm in her voice was hard to miss.

“We’ll get him, Pam. I promise.” Red put his hand on her
shoulder. He didn’t want to think about the tender moment they shared, only
minutes ago. It hurt too much to remember that side of them.

“I know,” Pamela sighed. “If I haven’t said it already,
thank you. I know you’re going out of your way to help me, and I appreciate
it.”

“What did you think I would do, Pam? File a report and walk
away? You came here because you knew I would protect you. And I will. But you
have to help. Remember to keep the doors locked, at all times. He only needs a
second to slip inside the house. You can’t let your guard down, not for an
instant.”

“I know. I’m taking this seriously. And I admit that I feel
better, knowing that you’re staying here at night. So, thanks. Again.”

 “You’re welcome.” Red held himself back from touching her
face. She looked so beautiful, gazing up at him, that it hurt. Clearing his
throat, he abruptly turned away. “Come and lock the door.”

Surprised by the sudden command, Pamela felt the familiar
anger rise. How could he be so warm one minute, and so cold the next?

Without a word, she followed him to the door, locking it
behind him. The beep of the security alarm when the door opened reassured her.
Living with a security system in Starsdale felt strange, and more than a little
out of place. People rarely locked their doors in this town.

Standing by the window, she watched Red as he walked to the
trees, fronting her property. He moved like a lion, confident, with a swagger
that declared his dominance.

Her heart swelled with pride as one word came to mind; mine.

“Not anymore.” Shaking herself free of the notion, she
turned away from the window. It hurt too much to watch him.

“I would love to go on a helicopter ride with you.” Kendra
looked at Red over empty dinner plates, admiration clear in her eyes.

“Sure, all we need is a chopper,” Red laughed, trying to
make up for Pamela’s sullen attitude. The woman had become increasingly
irritable throughout dinner, and he didn’t understand it. After preparing a
meal that would make Sharon jealous, Kendra seemed to be working overtime to
keep the mood light. But Pamela had barely said two words, just sat at the
table and scowled. What had he done to piss her off this time?

“I can’t believe you survived a crash landing,” Kendra
gushed, thrilled with Red’s tales of adventure. “It must have been terrifying!”

“I won’t ever forget it, that’s for sure,” Red nodded,
thinking back to the near-death experience he’d shared with Mac, Justin, and
Robert. 

“Was it the worst thing you’ve ever had happen?” Kendra
wanted to know. “I mean, being a firefighter couldn’t have been easy.”

“No, but I stayed above the flames, for the most part,” Red
explained. “Let’s just say that I’m grateful Starsdale is a quiet town.”

“But don’t you get bored, after living such an exciting
life?”

“Not at all. A man can only go into the fire, so to speak,
so many times before he gets burned. I’ve taken enough chances in my life.
Moving back home, taking the Sheriff’s post, was a good way to lead a safer
life, while still making a difference.”

Pamela had never heard this side of Red’s story before. She
was surprised to hear he was ready to leave firefighting, that he wasn’t simply
running away from her. From them.

“And yet, you walked right into a dangerous situation, on
the glacier.” Kendra smiled, enjoying Red’s company immensely.

“Not really,” Red smiled back. “There have only been a few
times when my life was really on the line, since I moved home. That’s vastly
different from flying into the fire, every day.”

“Oooh, a few times? Do tell us what else happened.” Kendra
leaned forward, touching Red’s forearm.

Pamela could stand it no longer. She couldn’t believe how
blatantly Red and Kendra were flirting, right in front of her. Kendra may not
know any better, but Red sure did.

“I think I’ll clean the kitchen, if you two will excuse me.”
Pamela stood, grabbing up the empty plates.

“I’ll help,” Red jumped up, recognizing the anger on Pam’s face.
Whatever he’d done, he preferred to hear about it in private.

“Me, too,” Kendra said, surprised by the look on Pamela’s
face.

“No, no, you cooked,” Pamela told her. “Why don’t you go and
enjoy the porch? It’s such a beautiful night.”

“Sure, okay,” Kendra looked questioningly at Red, hoping he
would join her.

“I’ll give you a hand,” Red smiled at Kendra, then followed
Pam into the kitchen.

He waited until Kendra was settled outside, before broaching
the subject with Pam.

“Okay, I know I’ve done something, why don’t you just tell
me what it is, so we can move past it?”

“You say that like you don’t have a clue what you were
doing!” Pamela snarled, rinsing the plates like her life depended on it.

“I don’t,” Red said simply. “I do know that you’ve been
pissed, all through dinner, but I’m in the dark as to why.” Patiently, Red took
the plate from Pam, placing it in the dishwasher.

“You’re such an ass, Red Starling! Why don’t you go outside,
finish your conversation with Kendra? I’ll take care of this,” Pamela hissed,
careful not to raise her voice.

“What the hell are you so mad about? Just tell me!” Red
demanded, trying to hold onto his patience, but failing.

“I know that we’re broken up, but do you have to be so
obvious? Flirting with Kendra, all through dinner. She’s my assistant, Red!
Can’t you find someone else to hit on?”

“To hit on? What are you talking about? We were having a
nice conversation, during a dinner that she went to the trouble to prepare. If
you must know, I was trying to pick up your slack. You hardly said a word!”
Confused, Red truly didn’t know how Pam jumped to that conclusion.

“I couldn’t get a word in edgewise, what with you two making
googly eyes at each other!”

“You’ve lost your mind, woman! I was not making googly eyes,
or any kind of eyes, at your assistant! I was being polite, something you seem
to have forgotten how to do. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that you are
jealous.”

“Jealous! I most certainly am not jealous! But it’s common
courtesy to refrain from flirting with someone else, in our situation. Everyone
knows that. She’s my assistant, Red, how could you do that?”

“Do what? I was not flirting with Kendra. We were talking,
that’s it. Having. A. Conversation. Period. If you think you saw something
else, you’re wrong.” Red turned to face Pamela.

“Don’t tell me what I saw, Red. I’m not blind, and I’m
definitely not stupid. Kendra is interested in you, that much is obvious. Are
you going to stand there and tell me that you don’t know that?” Slamming off
the water, Pamela turned to face Red.

“You
are
jealous!” Red’s smile spread slowly, as the
reason for Pam’s irrational behavior became clear. “Admit it!”

“I admit no such thing,” Pamela fumed, pointing her finger
in Red’s chest. “I don’t care who you flirt with, as long as it’s not my
assistant, while we’re living in the same house. It’s too uncomfortable, Red.
Surely you can see that.”

“What I see is a jealous woman, standing right in front of
me,” Red chuckled. “It’s nice to know that you care, Pammie.”

“You are impossible, Red Starling. I am not jealous. Just
have the decency to back off of Kendra, at least until this is over. Then, you
can flirt, date, get married for all I care.” Pamela turned away, horrified
that Red would see the tears suddenly filling her eyes. The thought of him
marrying someone else really threw her, but she couldn’t let him know.

Red’s smile disappeared as the meaning of Pam’s words hit
him. Watching her walk away, he understood the reason for her anger. He would
feel the same way, if the roles were reversed. She didn’t like thinking he was
interested in her assistant, while they were in such close quarters. It made
sense. She wasn’t jealous, she was uncomfortable. She could only be jealous if
she cared about him. Which she didn’t.

“Thanks for giving us your blessing, but I don’t think it
will be necessary. Kendra is nice, but she’s not my type. I wasn’t flirting, Pam,
but on the off-chance you’re right, and she was, I’ll keep things professional
in the future. Does that work for you?” Red’s voice was flat.

“Yes, thank you.” Pamela brought the rest of the dishes in
from the table. “I’m not trying to tell you who you can see, and who you can’t,
but starting something with Kendra right now would be terribly awkward.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Red replied, angry with himself for
believing that Pam was still interested in him, for even a second. “If you’ve
got this, I’d like to take a walk around the perimeter.”

“Sure, go ahead. I’ll lock the door behind you.” Pam
wondered at the change in Red’s tone.

“No need, I’ll go out the back, check on Kendra. I’d really
rather neither of you be outside alone. Even though she isn’t the target, he
might try to get her out of the way.”

“Okay. Understood.” Pamela went back to the dishes, feeling
suddenly sad.

Red left without another word.

~~~

“I think I’ll turn in, read for a while,” Kendra said, eager
to escape the tension in the living room. Everything had changed since dinner.
Red and Pamela barely looked at each other, and no one said anything.

“Okay, good night,” Pamela looked up from the manuscript she
was reading. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night,” Red said, not even bothering to look up from
the computer screen.

“I’m making tea, would you like a cup?” Pamela asked,
several minutes later.

“No, thanks.” Red checked the feeds one more time, then
pushed the laptop away. Waiting until Pam came back into the living room, he
considered what to say.

“You used to enjoy a cup of chamomile at night,” Pamela
said, trying to break the ice. She hated the tension as much as anyone. They
couldn’t go on like this.

“I guess I got out of the habit,” Red answered, omitting
that having tea at night always reminded him of her. “We need to talk, Pam.”

“I know. This is crazy. We can’t live in the same house and
act this way.”

“Exactly,” Red sighed. “I’m sorry if you thought I was
interested in Kendra, but that’s behind us, right? We were working together
pretty well this afternoon, let’s get back to that.”

Their moment of tenderness flashed in front of Pamela’s
eyes. Was that what he meant?

“This will be so much easier if we just get along, Pam.
Don’t you agree?”

“Yes,” Pamela tried to hide her disappointment. He didn’t
mean that at all, he only wanted them to be civil to each other.

“Okay, then. Can we start over? Or at least over again?”

“Sure. I apologize if I jumped to the wrong conclusion
before.” Pamela extended the apology with a small smile.

“Thanks. And I’m sorry that you thought I would flirt with
Kendra, in your house, under these circumstances.” Red matched her smile. “Are
we good now?”

“Yes.” Pamela nodded, moving on. “I take it that you didn’t
see anything amiss outside?”

“No, the cameras are still out of sight, and there wasn’t
any indication that anyone was watching from any other vantage point.” Red
shook his head.

“And you said there were no footprints out front, right? So
how does he know that I’m not alone?”

“He could have been standing farther away, on the pine
needles. You can still see the front of the house from there. Or it could be
that he knows another way. Did you tell anyone that Kendra was coming to stay?
Did Kendra?”

“I only told you, Jade, and Justin. No one from LA. As for
Kendra, she probably told her family, but they live in Kentucky. I doubt one of
them is my stalker. I specifically asked her not to tell anyone else.”

“Okay,” Red nodded. “I’ve been going over the client list
you gave me, checking on each individual’s whereabouts last night. Most of
these people are photographed so frequently, that it’s easy to see where
they’ve been.”

“I don’t think it’s any of my clients, Red. What would they
have to gain?”

“I’m not as concerned with your current clients, as with the
ones you’ve let go. Someone who may still hold a grudge against you.”

“There was only two people whom I chose to let go, and they
immediately found other representation. I can’t see either of them harboring
hard feelings.”

“Both of them have iron-clad alibis for last night,” Red
mumbled. “Photographic proof that one was in New York, and the other was in
Australia. Kind of hard to make it to Starsdale, drop off a craft project, then
get back in time to smile for the cameras.”

“From what I’ve read, stalkers can be strangers, someone I
crossed paths with at the store, or on the street. Why are you so focused on
the people I know?”

“Because this feels personal, not random. I can’t explain
it,” Red shrugged.

“I’ve been trying to come up with someone, anyone, else that
it could be, but I’m at a loss. I was so certain that it was Chandler, that it
feels strange imagining that it’s not him.”

“I assume that your relationship was pretty public, yes?”
Red suddenly became animated, reaching for the laptop again.

“I suppose so, we went out a lot. There were pictures.”
Pamela didn’t know where he was going with this.

“What if someone else in Chase’s life didn’t like the fact
that you were together? What if your stalker is one of his old girlfriends?”

“But that doesn’t make sense. The stalking started after we
broke up, not while we were together. Why would an old girlfriend go to the
trouble to stalk Chandler’s ex?”

“Who knows why people do what they do?” Red said, searching
for Chandler Chase’s past relationships. “Tell me what you know. Who did he
date before you?”

“Seriously, Red, I think you’re grasping here.” Pamela
sipped her tea.

“Just give me a name,” Red looked up, waiting.

“Geez, I really don’t know,” Pamela sighed, seeing he wasn’t
going to let it go. “We started going out in February. Do a search for images
of Chandler in January. He’s not one to go for long without companionship.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere, looks like there were three
women he was seeing then.” Red spent the next half hour searching for recent
images of the three.

“It seems that two are in another relationship,” he told
Pam, after hitting a wall. “I can’t find a thing on the third woman, an Erica
Bane. Do you know her?”

“Never heard of her.” Pamela looked up from Jade’s
manuscript.

“Here,” Red enlarged a photo, then turned the screen toward
Pam. “Does she look familiar?”

“No, not at all,” Pam said, peering at the woman on the
screen. “I just don’t think we’re on the right track, Red. None of these women
have anything to gain by stalking me.”

“You keep saying that, about your stalker having something
to gain. That’s not how this works, Pam. People who stalk aren’t looking for
gain, not the way you mean. They’re obsessed, fixated, sometimes to the point
of being fanatical.”

“I get that, but I don’t think a woman is stalking me. The
content of the notes and messages, the gifts, they all seem as if they’re from
a man.”

“Or maybe that’s what she wants you to think,” Red said
absently, studying the screen. “We can’t discount anyone, Pam. Male or female.
There is just no telling what prompted their interest, or what they’ll do
next.”

“If you’re trying to scare me, you’re a little late. I’ve
been afraid of this guy for a long time,” Pamela said quietly. “And yes, I’ll
keep referring to the stalker as a ‘he’ because that makes the most sense to
me.”