Avalanche (9 page)

“Did you enjoy the evening?” he asked, careful to keep his
tone neutral. Since the lesson that afternoon, they had been particularly testy
with each other. He preferred not to open that gate again.

“Yes, it was lovely. Jade and Justin are the perfect
couple.”

“I guess so. It’s strange how fast they got together. But it
seems to work.”

“When it’s right, it’s right, I suppose.” Pamela didn’t
speak the words, ‘and when it’s not, it’s not’, but they both thought them.

“The thing is, they don’t even seem to work at it. It comes
naturally,” Pamela continued. “They’re very lucky.”

Red didn’t know what to say. He felt like he should defend
his and Pam’s past relationship, but how could he? The only thing that came
naturally to them was the fighting, and the making up.

“Yes.” The one word answer felt like a copout.

Pamela’s phone rang before she could say anything else.

“It’s an unknown caller,” she told him, starting to shake,
just a little.

“Answer it on speaker,” Red directed, pulling to the side of
the road.

“Hello?” Pamela did as he requested.

“Where are you, bitch?” the voice was gravelly,
indistinguishable, but apparently male.

“I’m at home, where are you?” Pamela covered her nervousness
with a lie and false bravado.

“You’re
not
at home. I know because I just left you a
present.” The most evil laugh Pamela had ever heard came through the speaker.
“I hope you like it.”

That was it, the caller disconnected.

“Are you okay?” Red asked, placing his hand over hers. She
was ice cold.

“Yes. We have to go to my house, see what he left.”

“That’s exactly what he wants you to do. We’re not going to
give him that satisfaction.” Red nodded toward the back seat, and his laptop.
“As soon as we get to Sharon’s, we can see what he left. Maybe even see him.”

“Oh, I forgot about the cameras!” Pamela suddenly became
excited. “Hurry, let’s go.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” Red was as anxious as she to check the
footage. Pulling back onto the road, he glanced at her face, glad to see her
color was returning.

“You set up the computer, I’ll let the dogs out,” Pamela
told him as she unlocked the door. “Sharon probably won’t be home before
midnight, and who knows when JB will be here.”

“He told me this afternoon he planned to stay the night in
the field.” Red told her, following her to the kitchen. Placing the computer on
the bar, he opened it and found the feeds.

“Anything?” Pamela asked, after ushering the dogs outside.

“Don’t know yet, hold your horses,” Red answered, peering
intently at the screen.

“Let me see!” Pamela sidled up close beside him to better
see the computer. She didn’t miss Red’s quick intake of breath at their close
connection. But this time, he didn’t move away.

“Look there, it’s a box,” Red said, pointing to the coffee
table in the living room. “Was that there before?”

“No. It has to be the present,” Pamela told him. “If we can
see the present, we can see who put it there, right? Rewind the damn feed!”

“Give me a second,” Red said, not unkindly. He felt Pam’s
nerves, knew they could potentially have the proof they needed to arrest the
man stalking her.

“There, watch!” Red stopped the feed at the first sign of
the intruder. Pressing play, they both watched as a shadowy figure came into
the living room, from the direction of the kitchen.

“Go in closer, I can’t see his face!” Pamela ordered.

“He’s wearing a hood,” Red told her, cursing silently.
Whoever it was kept their face away from the camera, almost as if they knew it
was there. But that was impossible. Red hid the camera in the bookshelf, it was
almost impossible to detect.

“He looks like a black blob, nothing more,” Pamela’s
dejection was clear. “You can’t even tell if it’s a man or a woman.”

“JB knows tricks that I don’t, we’ll let him see what he can
do with the feed,” Red assured her. “But you’re right, from this angle, we
can’t tell anything about him. Let’s check the back door camera.”

Leaving the screen frozen on the ‘black blob’, Red moved
over to another feed. Rewinding it, he stopped when the person came into view.

“Look there, he looked up,” Pamela said, excitedly. “Zoom in
on his face!”

“Dammit!” Red didn’t hold back. “He’s wearing a mask. You
can’t even see his eyes. Dammit!”

They watched as the black figure came up to the back door,
from the direction of the woods, a small package in one hand. With little
effort, the figure had the door opened in less than a minute.

“So much for the deadbolt Mac installed. It barely slowed
him down!”

“The reality is that any lock is easy to breach, with the
right tools and know-how,” Red told her. “If someone is determined to get in,
they usually will.”

“That’s reassuring.” Pamela walked away from the counter,
and Red. “How are we ever going to prove it’s Chandler? He’s clearly wearing
gloves, and the mask prevents any chance of us seeing his face. What’s next,
Red? Do we wait until he and I come face to face, in my house? What?”

“I know that you think this is a setback, but it actually
tells us something. Chandler, or whoever it is, is a professional, when it
comes to stalking. I seriously doubt that you’re the first person he’s targeted.
Look at everything he’s done, so far. The calls, the texts, the visits, no
matter how he contacts you, he manages to avoid detection. Now we have proof
that he knows his way around a solid security deadbolt. That’s not something
Joe Schmo would know how to do. And the fact that he dressed for cameras,
without knowing if any were in place, that’s a pro move.”

“You’re saying he’s a professional stalker?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. He’s done this before,
Pamela, I’d stake my career on it.”

“Isn’t there anything you can tell about him from the video?
His height, weight, something?” Pamela came to stand with Red, near the
computer screen.

“I’m working on it,” Red said, isolating a shot of the
stalker beside the door jamb.

“Based on this, he looks to be around six-feet tall, give or
take an inch. His weight is more difficult, given that he’s dressed in such
bulky clothing. On sight, I’d say he weighs in at around two-ten, two-twenty.”

“I guess that fits Chandler’s description. I’ve no idea what
he weighs, but this guy has broad shoulders, so does Chandler. The height is
about right as well. Do you think this is enough to get an arrest warrant?”

“No, sorry, I don’t. The person in this video could be
anyone, male or female. I see no distinguishing marks to identify anything
about them.” Red thought for a second, wishing he could pull something out of
thin air to pacify Pamela. “Maybe the contents of the box will give us a clue.”

“Why don’t we go over there, get the box? Even if that’s
what he wants.”

“I will, as soon as Sharon gets home. I’m not leaving you
here alone, and I’m not taking you with me. I’ll run by the office, get the
patrol car. This way, if he’s watching, he’ll think you called the cops to
investigate.”

“Chandler knows about you,” Pamela said flatly. “He’ll know
that I came here, to Starsdale, partially because of you.”

“Is that the truth?” Red turned to her, suddenly becoming
serious.

“Yes.”

“Then why in the hell did you wait a week to come to me with
this? You didn’t say a word at the festival, then you wait all week, without a
word, when this guy was probably watching you. If he hadn’t called and nearly
scared you to death, I doubt that you would have come to me then.”

Pamela heard the anger in Red’s words, but she also heard
something deeper. Concern.

“You’re right, I probably wouldn’t have. I saw how you
looked at me at the festival, Red. I saw the hatred in your eyes. Don’t you
think this has been difficult enough? Why would I open myself to more pain,
unnecessarily?”

“So, that’s why you waited? You thought you saw hatred in my
eyes? Pamela, I could never really hate you, don’t you know that by now?
Granted, I was furious with you, for a long time, but I would never turn my
back on you when you needed me. Surely you know that!”

“Then why have you nearly bitten my head off, every time you
speak to me? Why are you always so angry with me? We had a relationship, it
didn’t work out. Grow up, Red, and deal with it.”

“I could say the same to you, Pam. How many times did we
break up, then turn around and make up again? How was I to know that the last
time was really the last time? You didn’t take my calls, you refused to answer
the door. The only way I knew that it was actually over was when my things
showed up at the station house. Who does that?” Red stood and put space between
them.

“The only reason I refused to see or talk to you was because
I knew that we would propagate the cycle. I couldn’t take that chance. I needed
it to be done, Red. So did you. Remember the day it ended, remember what you
said? You wanted to move back here, to Starsdale. You thought things would be
better, if we didn’t have the distractions of LA and our careers. I couldn’t
believe what I was hearing. You know how hard I worked to get my business off
the ground. And you wanted me to chuck it all and move back here, to a hole in
some mountain wall.” Pamela threw up her hands in frustration.

“You blocked me out because I mentioned moving to Starsdale?
It was a thought, Pamela, an idea, something for us to consider.”

“But you did it, Red. You live here now. Your home, your
career, your life is here now.”

“You’re here now, too,” Red said softly.

“Not for long,” Pamela assured him. “I have no intention of
staying here, beyond bringing the stalker to justice. Don’t worry, Red. You’ll
have your precious Starsdale all to yourself, soon enough.”

Red stared at her for a long moment. She was doing it again,
making it clear that she wasn’t interested in him. Fine. He’d catch the damn
stalker, and send her on her way.

“Let’s talk about your assistant coming here.” Red changed
the subject. “I’m still not comfortable with you putting both of you at risk,
by staying in your house.”

“But you said that I would be safe, as long as someone is
with me. I’ve even read that most stalkers only attack when their victims are
alone. Besides that, you have the place wired for sight and sound, not to
mention the alarm that Mac arranged to have installed tomorrow. What else can I
do?”

Red took a deep breath, and readied himself for an attack.
She wouldn’t like his suggestion.

“I’m moving in. You have three bedrooms, so there’s room.
I’ll have a deputy stationed outside the house during the day, and I will be
there at night. This way, if he shows up to watch the house, we’ll see him on
camera, and I’ll be on site to catch him.”

“You want to move in with me?”

Red was right, Pamela didn’t like the suggestion. She didn’t
like it at all.

“That’s what I said. You’ll be safe, your assistant will be
safe, and we’ll have better access to the stalker.” Red crossed his arms over
his chest, a sure sign he was closed to argument. “Think about it, Pam. The
guy’s smart. He’ll watch the house, before he tries to come inside. When he
does, we’ll know about it, and go after him. You want out of Starsdale? This
will be the fastest way to accomplish that.”

Pam heard the last sentence, and realized that this was
Red’s way to get rid of her quicker. Fine, she thought. He wants me gone, I’ll
cooperate.

“I’ll have to sleep in your room, though. Just in case he
gets brave and decides to pay us a visit in the middle of the night.”

“You’re not sleeping with me!” Pamela put both fists on her
hips.

“Of course not, you’ll be in the guest room. I’m sorry, but
it’s the only way this will work. He’s been in the house before, he knows there
isn’t an alarm, so he won’t be expecting one if he tries to break in. He’ll
probably see us living there, which is not a problem. He’ll think your
assistant and I are upstairs, in the other two bedrooms. Whether he comes
through the window, or the door, I’ll be there to meet him.” Red leaned his hip
against the counter, a smug look on his face.

“You’ve got it all worked out, don’t you? That’s fine, Red.
You come ahead and move in. Kendra and I will be happy to have you.” Pamela
turned her back on him, mostly so he wouldn’t see the sheen of tears in her
eyes. It was one thing to believe he hated her, it was quite another for him to
confirm he wanted her gone so definitively.

“Great,” Red replied, satisfied that she’d agreed so
readily.

“Great,” Pamela shot back, still stinging from his
reasoning. How hard would it be to live with Red, and not let him know that she
still loved him? Could she do it?

~~~

Hours later, Red drove to Pam’s house through the still
night. Pamela had retired, shortly after their discussion, leaving him to stare
at the computer screen and wait for Sharon.

At some point during that stretch of time, he realized what
he’d set himself up for. Living with Pam would be difficult, at best. How could
he have suggested something so potentially painful?

“Because she needs me,” he said aloud to the empty car. “And
I need for her to be safe.”

It was as simple, and as complicated, as that.

Turning into her driveway, he saw the porch light was still
on, as were the kitchen and living room lights. Parking near the front door, he
decided to walk the perimeter of the property, before going inside.

Everything appeared quiet, no one lurked in the shadows of
the pine trees. Satisfied, he made his way to the porch.

Entering through the kitchen door, he walked through to the
living room, straight to the small box still sitting on the coffee table. Donning
gloves, he picked up the box and held it to his ear, listening for any noises
within.

He heard nothing.

Wrapped in plain white paper, the box seemed innocent and
non-threatening. Opening the folded note on top, he read: “For Pamela.”

Taking the box to the kitchen, he found a knife to slip
between the folds and slice the tape. Carefully unfolding the paper, he removed
the box, and placed it on the counter.

One edge of the lid flap was tucked inside the box, enabling
him to open it with a flick.

Crumpled tissue paper hid the contents. Red gingerly removed
it, using the knife as a tool.

Peering inside the box, he could see a heart-shaped object
in the bottom. Reaching inside, he removed it, bringing it into the light.

Made of clear resin, the heart encased a craft-store
eyeball, which still swirled from side to side. It was creepy, but not at all
dangerous.

Flipping it over, Red saw a message, scrawled into the resin
in a child-like hand.

“I’ll be watching you.”

“Points for originality,” Red said aloud, dropping the ugly
heart back into the box. “I’ll be watching you, too.”