Avalanche (19 page)

“Will do.”

As soon as they heard Kendra reset the alarm, Red took
Pamela’s arm and led her away from the house.

“What are you doing?” Pamela asked, turning on him. “You
were so rude to her, acting as if the stalker was not a threat. What’s going
on, Red?”

“Get in the car and I’ll tell you,” Red said, shuffling
Pamela into the vehicle. “Reaching for his phone, he found the number to the
FBI profiler in Sacramento. Pressing redial, he slid into the car beside Pam.

“Agent Tibbs? Red Starling, from Starsdale. I’ve got a name
for you. Can you run Kendra Knowles through your database? She says she’s from
Kentucky, but she’s living in LA now. I think she might be the stalker.”

“Red! You can’t be serious!” Pamela cried, ignoring the fact
that Red was still on the call.

“Yes, thanks. I will. Bye.” Tossing the phone onto the seat
between them, Red glanced at Pamela’s shocked face and started the car.

“What on earth makes you think the stalker is Kendra? She’s
been there when I received the texts. She was asleep, in the house, when we
caught the stalker on camera, outside the door. It doesn’t make sense, Red.”

“Sure it does. Think about it. You hired Kendra about the
time that all of this started, right? You’ve only known her for a few months,
you don’t know what she’s capable of. As for the texts, they were sent by a
computer, she could have set that up at any time. And she could have climbed
out of the window, gone to the door, had her picture made, then climbed back
up, all without anyone being the wiser. We were gone, remember?”

“But your deputy was on the door. He would have heard
something, surely.”

“Not necessarily. She could have one of those escape ladders
that people have to get out of a burning house. Throwing one out of a window
wouldn’t make a lot of noise. It could easily be her, Pam. Picture the nose on
the images JB sent. Now picture Kendra’s nose. Both long, and slender. I’m
telling you, the stalker is living inside your house. It’s her.”

“But why? Why would she want to torment me that way? Like
you said, we’ve only known each other for a few months. And I did a background
check on her before I hired her. She came back clean as a whistle.”

“Employment background checks don’t tell the whole story.
The FBI will give us a better picture. I know in my gut that it’s her. If not,
then she’s involved in it somehow. I made fun of the stalker this afternoon,
when you went up to change. She didn’t like it one bit, but she played it cool.
She also didn’t like the fact that I was questioning her.”

“Who likes to be interrogated, Red? Maybe she was reacting
to the questions, not to the fact that you were mocking the stalker. I really
think you’re reaching, Red. Kendra has never made me feel threatened, not at
all.”

“If it is her, we still have a problem. We have no proof,
and I don’t want you living in a house with a dangerous woman while we try to
find some. I want you to send her back to LA. Now that we know who it is, we
can build a case from a distance.”

“Slow down, I’m not convinced that it’s Kendra. And if it
is, wouldn’t it be better to keep her close, where you can keep an eye on her?”

“No, not if she has such easy access to you, it’s not.”

“But you’ll be there, the whole time.”

“Not when you’re sleeping. Unless you want to sleep with me.
That’s the only way I’ll consider this, Pamela. I will not have you upstairs,
alone with her, all night long.”

“It’s not her, Red,” Pamela knew that she was right. “Kendra
is a very gentle soul. She wouldn’t hurt me. And she surely wouldn’t take
pleasure in torturing me for months beforehand. I really think that you’re
wrong.”

“I’m not willing to take that chance, Pam. If you want her
to stay, I’ll agree. Mainly because you’re right, it would be easier to keep an
eye on her if we’re living in the same house. But only if you agree to move
back into the downstairs bedroom. That’s non-negotiable.”

“Fine, but how will we explain the move to Kendra? She’ll
certainly think it’s odd that we suddenly sleeping together.”

“Does she know about our history?”

“No. I’ve never mentioned it.”

“Doesn’t mean she doesn’t know. We don’t say anything. If
she asks, then we tell her that we’ve rekindled our old romance, or something
like that.”

“Don’t quit your day job, Red,” Pamela grinned. “I’ll just
say that we decided to try again. That living together brought us close again.
But you’re going to have to act like you like me, when she’s around.”

“Difficult, but not impossible,” Red shot her a grin. “I
feel so relieved, now that we know who’s targeting you.”

“It’s not Kendra, Red, so don’t get too comfortable with the
notion. And don’t mention it to Jade, or anyone else. I don’t want Kendra’s
reputation shot for no reason.”

“Fine. It looks like Justin’s here, too,” Red said, coming
to the top of the mountain.

“Remember, not a word!”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Red parked the car, wondering why Pamela couldn’t see
reason. He refused to argue with her, he knew it would be useless, but the fact
that she wouldn’t even consider Kendra as the stalker was ludicrous.

“Hey, guys, it’s nice to see you,” Justin greeted them as he
exited Cliffside. “Jade’s inside.”

“Thanks, it’s nice to see you, too,” Pamela replied, waving
as she passed him.

Red fell back, waiting to speak with Justin alone.

“How’s it going?” Just came over, shook Red’s hand.

“Good, good. We may be closing in on someone. Have you got a
minute?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I wanted to speak with you about the chopper business. I
told Mac that I was interested, but I may need more time to be sure.”

“Okay, that’s fine. Is there something I can do to help you
decide?” Justin was perplexed, Red had seemed ready to jump at the chance,
before.

“No, not really. I’ll let you guys know soon, though. I
won’t keep you hanging for long.”

“No problem. The opportunity is yours if you want it.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it. See you soon.” Red clapped Justin
on the shoulder and headed for Cliffside. He was glad that Justin hadn’t asked
any questions, because he sure didn’t have any answers. The only thing he knew
for certain, was he wanted to throw caution over the mountain, and try to work
things out with Pam.

She would be shocked to know he was thinking along these
lines. She probably wouldn’t even consider it. But if she was willing, he’d
decided he would go wherever she wanted, live wherever she wanted, to try and
make it work.

~~~

“Jade seemed excited,” Red commented as he and Pamela headed
back down the mountain. “It’s nice of you to help her.”

“Please, that woman is going to make me a lot of money,”
Pamela laughed. “She’s very talented, I’d be surprised if this book is her
last.”

“Still, you can’t survive with just one client. Have you
decided what to do with yourself, after this is over?”

It was the first time Red had come out and asked her that
question. Pamela was surprised.

“Not really. All I know for certain is that I do not want to
live in LA. It would be a shame to waste the contacts I’ve made, so maybe I’ll
give New York a try.”

Red cringed inside, but he didn’t let on. If she wanted to
live in New York, he would find a way to cope. Living in LA had cured him of
ever wanting to live in such an urban area again. Starsdale suited him just
fine, but he knew that it would never suit Pamela. Still, it would be nice if
she would settle on a compromise.

“I’m sure that you’d do well there,” Red said, keeping his
voice neutral. “We need to make a plan on how to deal with Kendra.”

“I thought we had. I’ll move downstairs with you, we tell
her that we’re back together, then we wait until she does something to give us
proof she’s the stalker.”

“Yes, that’s part of the plan, but I’d like to help move
things along. Goad her, like I did this morning. Don’t be surprised by anything
I say. If I mention sending her home, you say that you have too much work still
to do. Give her a reason to stay, and she’ll jump on it.”

“Okay, I can do that. What else?”

“Under no circumstances are you to be alone with her. If
something comes up and I have to leave, you’re coming with me, no argument.”

“Agreed. Anything else?”

“That should do it. Just be careful, Pam. Even though I’m
there, she could still try something, like poison your tea, or food. Don’t eat,
or drink, anything that Kendra makes. Be aware, and be conscious, and you’ll be
fine.”

“Yes, sir.” Pamela gave him a mock salute. “I’m going on the
record here. I do not believe that Kendra is the stalker. I’m only going along
with this so you’ll know it, too. Got it?”

“Got it. Believe what you want, but I know she’s in this up
to her neck.”

“I guess we’ll soon see.”

“I guess we will.” Red turned into Pamela’s driveway. “Every
light in the house is on.”

“It sure is, that’s strange.” Pamela got out of the car and
waited for Red to join her. “Maybe she’s cleaning.”

“Would she do that?”

“Who knows? Maybe.”

Red unlocked the door, then punched in the alarm code. “We
should have looked in on her, while we were away.”

“We weren’t gone that long. Everything seems fine,” Pamela
walked ahead of him into the living room. Kendra was nowhere to be seen.

As soon as Red entered the room, the light on the porch
switched on, illuminating the scene, framed in the doorway.

Kendra, tied to a chair, a gag in her mouth, stared at them
through the glass. Behind her, a figure, dressed in black from head to toe,
held a knife to her throat.

Pamela froze, unable to process what she was seeing.

Red pulled his gun, pointing it directly at the figure’s
head.

No one said a word for several seconds.

“Drop it, or I’ll slice her throat!” The female voice
sounded completely different from the stalker, but her message was just as
clear. To emphasize her point, she jerked Kendra’s head back, exposing her neck
more fully.

“Drop it, or I’ll shoot your head off,” Red responded
calmly.

The black figure ducked so that Kendra blocked any shot Red
could make. Her hand remained firmly attached to the knife, positioned at
Kendra’s throat.

“I said drop it!” The woman shouted, nicking Kendra’s skin
to prove that she meant business. Kendra moaned. “I’ll kill her. I swear I
will.”

“Drop the gun, Red!” Pamela pleaded, reading the fear in
Kendra’s eyes. “Please!”

Red saw no other way around it. He slowly lowered the gun.

“Put it on the floor!” The woman demanded. “Kick it away
from you.”

Red did as he was told.

“Sit down on the stairs! Cuff yourself to the rail!”

Red glanced over, saw that two pairs of handcuffs rested on
the lower stair. He’d missed them when he walked in.

Cursing himself for being so sloppy, he followed her
commands.

“Pamela, get the rope from the sofa! Tie his legs together!”
The woman kept a death grip on Kendra, while following every move the two made.
“You’d better make it tight, or I’ll make her bleed.”

Pamela found the rope, then took it to Red. She could feel
the anger coming off of him in waves.

“What should I do?” she whispered, her back to the glass
door.

“Make it tight, like she said,” Red instructed, spreading
his feet a few inches apart. He’d given himself enough space to step out of the
ropes, when he put his feet together. As long as the stalker didn’t notice.

“Hurry up!” The woman called, making Pamela jump.

“It’s okay, Pammie. I promise,” Red whispered with a
confidence he didn’t feel.

“Pick up those handcuffs, put them on!” the stalker yelled,
her voice rising with impatience. “Sit on the chair, facing the Sheriff.”

Pamela did as commanded, all the while trying to figure a
way out of their predicament. Facing Red, her back was to Kendra, and the
stalker. She heard the glass door slide open, letting in frigid air, blowing
off the glaciers in back of her house.

Kendra and the woman must have been freezing on the porch,
waiting for them to return.

“Tie her up, hurry!”

Pamela saw Red’s eyes widen at the stalker’s command.
Turning quickly, Pamela saw Kendra stand, the ropes falling away.

What was happening?

“You’re in on it,” Red accused, staring at Kendra. “I knew
you were a part of it, but I never thought you had a partner.”

“Shut up!” The woman in black commanded, taking Red’s gun
from the floor and pointing it at Pamela’s head. “Move, Kendra. Tie her up!”

Kendra removed the gag from her mouth as she disentangled
herself from the pile of ropes at her feet. Looking at Red apologetically, she
slid the door close, blocking the cold wind from the room.

“You weren’t supposed to be a part of this,” she told him,
coming to stand beside Pamela.

“Stop talking to him,” the woman in black insisted, pressing
the gun against Pamela’s head. “Tie her feet, first.”

Kendra did as she was told, not once looking up at Pamela.

Stepping out of the way so that Kendra could tie Pamela’s
body to the chair, the woman in black walked to the table and laid down the
gun. Things were on track, now. Both of her victims were incapacitated.
Everything was going exactly as planned.

With her back to the room, she removed the black mask,
fluffing her hair when it fell around her shoulders. No need for anonymity now,
no one would live to identify her.

Red suppressed a groan, realizing what it meant that the
woman was not afraid to show her face. She intended to make good on her threats
to kill them.

“Who are you?” Red asked, memorizing the details of the
stalker’s face.

“Little sister, would you like the honor of making the
introductions?”