Every Move She Makes (31 page)

Her hand stilled above the keyboard before she jerked away as a chill crawled along her skin. Nestled amongst her business correspondence was an e-mail from
Jordan’s True Love
. With a shaking hand, she picked up the phone and dialed.

“Hey, beautiful, what’s up?”

Kane’s voice calmed her jumping nerves.

“I have an e-mail from someone called
Jordan’s True Love
. Should I open it?”

“Don’t do anything. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Rachel hung up and left the office. She took over for Ellen at the coffee bar, needing the familiar routine of making lattes and selling pastries. Kane walked in a few minutes later accompanied by Brandon Hendricks.

She handed a cappuccino to a young mother then hurried over.

Kane took her hand. “Brandon is a computer whiz. If the guy who sent the e-mail left a trail, he’ll find it. This could be a break for us.”

“I hope so.” She followed them through the store.

Reaching her office first, the deputy sat down at the desk to print out the e-mail. Then he spent the next half-hour trying to track its origins. Finally, he sat back in the chair with a frustrated sigh. “I’m hitting a blank wall. Whoever sent this is good.”

Kane crossed his arms over his chest. “Should we consult an expert?”

“I don’t like to brag, but I am an expert. This guy didn’t leave a trace. He either knows his way around a computer or paid someone who does.”

“Strange he’d suddenly contact Rachel through e-mail.”

“You must have provoked him last night.”

“That, or he’s only now found a safe way to reach her electronically.”

Brandon nodded. “What does our psycho have to say?”

Kane laid the printed copy on the desk.

The deputy read it and whistled. “He sounds pissed.”

Rachel stepped closer. “Let me read it, Kane.”

“It’s not pleasant.”

“I don’t expect it to be, but I need to know what he’s thinking.”

He moved away from the desk and handed her the sheet of paper.

Her hand was steady as she took it and read.

My beautiful Jordan—From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were destined to be my one true love. I’ve waited years for the time to be right. I wanted everything to be perfect. Now you’ve ruined it with your cheap relationship with that two-bit cop. You’ve become a slut and a grave disappointment. To my credit, I’m willing to overlook your transgressions. Once you’re with me, you’ll forget all about any other men you’ve known, but I’m losing patience. My time with you is now. If you continue to cheapen yourself, I’ll be forced to resort to drastic measures. Come, my beautiful Jordan, accept your destiny. Let’s not do this the hard way.

She dropped the paper on the desk and jerked back her hand. “Yuck. What do you think he’ll do next?”

“I’ll fax this to the profiler to get her opinion.” Kane put his arm around her and hugged her close. “We’ll catch him, Rachel.”

“Should I close the bookstore?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. The store’s usually pretty busy, so reaching you here would be difficult.”

“With this new development, Sheriff Walker will approve more frequent drive by patrols of the property. That should be an additional deterrent.”

“Thank you, Deputy Hendricks.”

The young cop’s cheeks turned pink. “Call me Brandon.”

“Thank you, Brandon.” Rachel forced a smile.

“No problem. By the way, neither Dawson nor Mayfield has an alibi for last night. Both claim they were home alone.”

Kane scowled. “Any news on the pickup?”

“A few similar vehicles were spotted last night, but none of them panned out.”

Rachel ran a hand through her hair. “So where do we go from here?”

“I’ll talk to Beth, the profiler I mentioned.” Kane let out a frustrated sigh. “Maybe she’ll be able to give us a starting point.”

“Sheriff Walker wants to finish the in-depth background checks on our two suspects.” Brandon stood. “Maybe that will turn up something.”

“I guess I’ll go back to work, then.” Rachel stepped toward the door. “All this waiting is so frustrating.”

“We’re doing everything we can, Mrs. Carpenter.”

“I know you are, and I appreciate it.” She gave him a reassuring smile.

Kane touched her arm. “Do you mind if I use your office?”

“No, of course not. Make yourself at home.”

The rest of the day flew by thanks to a steady flow of customers. At five o’clock, she left Ellen and Tim to close the store and drove with Kane to the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Walker called them into a conference room where Brandon Hendricks and Pete Lowery were already seated. Two steaming pizza boxes, a six-pack of cola and a pile of paper plates sat in the middle of the table.

“Have a seat, Rachel.” The sheriff pulled out a chair. “Help yourself to pizza if you’re hungry.”

She glanced up at him. “Doesn’t your wife expect you for dinner?”

“It’s my poker night with the boys. I’ll head straight to the game as soon as we finish here.” Sitting down, the sheriff picked up a slice and took a huge bite, chewed then swallowed. “So, let’s get to it. What did we learn today? Kane, start with what the profiler had to say.”

“Beth had some interesting observations about the stalker. He probably had self-confidence issues as a child but at some point overcame them. However, when it comes to Rachel, he still fears he’s unworthy. That’s why it’s taken him so long to act. He probably hates the way she makes him feel, but his fixation won’t allow him to let her go. I should say let go of his fantasy.”

“Why does he always refer to her as Jordan?” Pete looked like he’d blow away in a stiff breeze, yet he’d demolished two slices of pizza.

“Beth believes he fixated on Rachel during the time she was on
Days of Desire
playing Jordan Hale. To this whack job, Rachel
is
Jordan, then and now.”

“Let’s hear a little about Jordan.” Sheriff Walker glanced at Rachel. “What was this character like?”

“She was basically a good girl, wholesome but with a sexy side. It was always a man who lured her into compromising situations, and there were quite a few. The viewers loved her.”

“So this sweet, naïve girl was led astray by bad men, just like Kane is doing now.”

Kane looked up from his piece of pizza. “Good observation, Stan. Rachel’s stalker doesn’t blame her. He blames me.”

“Too bad he’s tired of waiting for Rachel—or Jordan—to see the light.” Brandon popped the top on a soda.

The sheriff nodded. “Did your profiler have any insights as to his next move?”

Kane frowned and dropped his half-eaten slice back onto his plate. “She thinks he’ll try to create a situation to draw Rachel away from me. He won’t hesitate to use force again if he has to, but it wouldn’t be his first option. She doesn’t believe this man was the type of kid who tortured small animals. He isn’t inherently violent.”

“Would he hurt Rachel?” Pete asked the question, and Rachel subdued a shudder.

“Not unless he lost all hope of winning her over, and he isn’t even close yet.” Kane snorted. “He still thinks he can somehow earn her affection.”

“But he wouldn’t hesitate to take another shot at you if it served his purpose.” The sheriff took a swig of his drink. “What about his childhood, any clues there?”

“Beth said it was probably fairly normal.”

“That’s not much help. All right, now for our two prime suspects. Pete, you start.”

Pete swallowed the last of his pizza and wiped his hands on a napkin. “I checked into Curt Dawson’s background. He grew up in Nebraska with two sisters and parents who are still married. From what I gathered through phone conversations, he wasn’t a popular kid, but he dated quite a bit in high school. He went to college in Colorado then worked for a dot-com company that went broke several years ago. After holding a couple of short-term jobs, he started his own computer tech business in Santa Rosa. It seems to be doing fairly well.” Pete paused to clear his throat then took a sip of cola. “He’s currently dating a woman named Tiffany Randolph, but it doesn’t appear to be serious. Dawson goes clubbing occasionally, though he isn’t a real social guy. Most nights he spends alone.”

“Anything else of interest?”

“He used to see a shrink but quit going after moving to California. There’s no way to access those records without a court order.”

“And we won’t get one without a lot more evidence.” The sheriff frowned. “What was your overall take on him?”

“On the surface he seems fairly well adjusted with no glaring hang-ups. His social life is a little curious. He’s dated a lot but never had any lasting relationships. Maybe he’s just not into commitment. A lot of thirty-year-old men aren’t.”

“True.” The sheriff turned toward his younger deputy. “What about Bob Mayfield?”

Brandon looked down at the notes lined up on the table. “Mayfield is an interesting character. According to his sister, he was a loner growing up. Never more than one or two friends at a time. In high school he smoked some weed and skipped school a lot. According to his test scores, the guy was intelligent, but he wasn’t motivated. After high school he went to work for a private mail company and quit recently when his grandfather died. Mayfield inherited a lot of money and property.”

Kane leaned forward on one elbow. “If the grandfather was rich, why didn’t he pay to send Bob to college?”

“Mayfield wasn’t interested. The old man paid for the older sister’s education. He was something of a hermit, lived up in Lakeport most of the year but didn’t socialize with the locals.”

“Does Mayfield date?” The sheriff reached for another piece of pizza.

“He doesn’t appear to.” Brandon glanced up from his notes. “He didn’t have many friends at work, Chip Stevens being one of the few. According to Stevens, Mayfield has never had a girlfriend. He picked up a few women in bars and has used the services of prostitutes in the past, but that’s about it. Right now he’s moving to Marin from Vallejo. He bought a house by the beach courtesy of the inheritance.”

Kane frowned. “The guy’s a misfit. Is he still doing drugs?”

“From what I could learn, he smokes pot but isn’t using anything harder.”

The sheriff wiped his hands on his napkin. “So he’s a loner with no girlfriend. Mayfield could fit our profile. On the other hand, so could Dawson. His social life is a little odd as well.”

Kane sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’d like to have a second talk with both men. I think I’ll look Mayfield up tomorrow while Rachel’s at work.”

“Don’t push too hard. I don’t want any phone calls about police harassment.”

“I don’t work for you, Stan. I’ll speak to him strictly as an interested civilian.”

“I can’t stop you from doing that.” The sheriff gave a grunt as he pushed away from the table. “We’re done for the night.”

After helping to clean up the trash, Kane and Rachel left the building and headed home. He locked the door then pulled the shades on the first floor windows while Rachel fed Daisy. She smiled when he opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses.

“Sit down and relax. You’ve had a rough day.”

“No rougher than yours.” Sipping the wine, some of her tension drained away. “Anyway, I can’t relax for very long. I have muffins to make.”

Kane leaned against the kitchen counter. “Wouldn’t it be easier to use a bakery?”

“Not as profitable, and I enjoy baking.” She set down her glass and went to the refrigerator, returning with eggs, milk and cream cheese. “You can get the flour and baking powder out of the pantry for me.” She broke eggs into a bowl she’d pulled from the cupboard. “Bring those strawberries, too, please.”

“What else can I do?”

Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Are you in a hurry?”

“Maybe. The window’s repaired, so I don’t have to sleep on the couch tonight.”

Warmth coursed through her. She took a breath. “Wash the strawberries and cut them up into pieces. I’ll call the girls while I’m mixing the batter.”

“That’s the spirit.” He grinned as he passed her on the way to the sink. “Multi-tasking is a beautiful thing.”

Rachel dialed her sister’s number and updated her on the previous night’s shooting.

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Susan lowered her voice. “Are you going to tell the girls?”

She positioned the receiver between one ear and her shoulder. “No, it would just worry them.”

“It worries me. Are you sure you’re safe?”

“The place is locked up tight, and Kane is with me.” Rachel turned on the oven then folded the strawberries into the batter. “We’ll be fine. How’s everything there?”

“Wonderful. We had a great time at the beach. I promised everyone a trip to the zoo tomorrow.”

“Susan, you don’t have to entertain them so lavishly. They’d be happy spending the day in your pool or at the park.”

“I don’t mind. I’d planned to take my kids, anyway.”

“At least let me pay. I gave Lark a credit card for emergencies. Charge the entrance fees.”

“Paying for the zoo isn’t going to break me.”

“I feel guilty about it. You’re already doing me a huge favor by keeping the girls.”

“Don’t feel guilty. We’re enjoying having them. Do you want to talk to Jade? She’s standing at my elbow, and I think she’s going to explode if she doesn’t tell you her news.”

“Put her on. Thanks, Susan.”

“You bet. Take care of yourself.”

“Mom! Guess what?”

Jade told her all about her surfing lesson. Then Ivy relayed every detail of the giant sand castle she’d built with her cousins. Finally, Rachel spoke to Lark.

“Hi, honey. How was the beach?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“Did you try surfing?”

“No, I just worked on my tan. Yes, I wore sunscreen.”

“Good girl. I love you.”

Lark was quiet for a moment. “When can we come home?”

“I’m not sure, but the police are making progress. They eliminated another suspect.”

“Which one?”

“Mr. Olmstead.”

“I guess that’s good. It would have been weird if your stalker turned out to be my old teacher. Is Kane there?”

“He’s helping me make muffins.”

“Is that what people over thirty call it?” Lark’s voice hardened.