The Stares of Strangers (5 page)

“
Okay.” Carter said. “In the meantime, let's split up and start knocking on doors in the neighborhood. With any luck, someone saw this guy delivering that envelope this morning.”

Chapter 7

Carter decided to go across the street while I focused on the neighbors next to Penny's house.

The house on the left was a similar ranch, painted green with dark trim. I rang the doorbell and a cacophony of barking erupted. A woman in her late thirties answered the door, holding onto the collar of a Husky.

“
Hello,” I said, with a friendly wave, eyeing the dog with trepidation. “I hope I'm not interrupting. My name is Sarah Woods and I'm a private detective. This is in regards to your next door neighbor, Penny Graham. Do you have a minute?”

“
Is everything okay?” she asked. “I saw a policeman over there earlier.”

“
Penny is having a problem, a potential stalker situation. I was wondering if you might have noticed someone go to her house early this morning to deliver an envelope.”

She shook her head, a worried expression. “About what time?”

“
It's hard to say. Sometime between late last night and this morning before six.”

“
I'm really sorry,” she said. “I didn't get up until six-thirty.” She ushered her dog back into the house and told him to go lie down.

“
Does anyone else live here? Your husband, perhaps?”

The woman turned back to face me. “It's just me and Josh, my son. He's at school right now.” She opened the door wide and gestured with her hand. “Would you like to come in? It's freezing out here.”

“
Yes, thank you. I won't take up too much of your time.”

“
No problem. I needed to take a break, anyway.” Once inside, she wiped her hands on her jeans, then held out her hand. “My name is Karen Gibbs, by the way.”

“
Nice to meet you, Ms. Gibbs.”

“
Just call me Karen.”

Karen reminded me of a young Sally Field; with sparkly eyes and a dimpled smile. She certainly seemed friendly enough.

“
What's your dog's name?” I asked. “He's a beautiful husky.”

“
His name is Quimby. He's my son's dog.”

I glanced around the living room and noticed all the framed pictures. “That must be your son,” I said, pointing to one of the school photographs. “How old is he?”

“
Just turned thirteen last month. Quimby was a birthday gift. Being an only child, least I could do was get him a pet, right?”

 
I smiled. “Handsome kid. You must be proud.”

She seemed to blush at the compliment. “Yes, I am.”

Glancing around, I noticed there were no family photos and I wondered what happened to the father. If he had passed on, there would still be photos of him around. So I assumed she was divorced. “Karen, what do you do for work?”

“
I do medical billing for a doctor in town. He lets me work from home. I like to be here when Josh gets home from school.”

“
Sounds like a great boss,” I said.

“
Yes.” She turned to me with a more serious expression. “So, about this stalker situation next door. Should I be concerned for the safety of my family?”

“
I don't see any reason at this point to be concerned but, in the future, if you notice anything out of the ordinary, just stay inside your house and call me right away.” I handed her my card. “Of course, if you witness anyone trying to break into Penny's house, call 911 first.”

“
Sure, I can do that.” She set the card on her coffee table, but then picked it up again. “I better not leave this lying around. Quimby chews on everything.”

It seemed like she had her hands full with the dog. “Well, I don't want to keep you any longer. Thanks for talking to me.”

“
No problem.” She walked me to the door. “I hope you find that fella who's bothering Penny.”

“
Thanks, we'll catch him eventually.”

When I left Karen's house, I headed directly over to the neighbor's house on the other side of Penny. I noticed the wheelchair access ramp leading to the front door. In the driveway was a van with an electrical ramp installed on the side.

When I knocked, a young woman in her late twenties appeared.

After I explained who I was and why I was there, she kindly introduced herself as Gretchen Powell. She had the palest skin I’d ever seen with baby fine blonde hair. “Come inside and we can talk,” she said.

I followed her through a sitting room. A young man with dark hair sat in a wheelchair, watching TV. He barely looked at me when I said hello.

The house seemed eerily dark. All the curtains were drawn and the lights were turned off.

Once we got into the kitchen, however, a small window let in some light. Gretchen gestured to a stool at the counter. “I was wondering what had happened when I saw the police next door. This neighborhood is pretty quiet most of the time. Although, the parties get a bit rowdy.” She waved it off. “Now, what can I help you with?”

I took out my notebook and pen. “Have you noticed any unfamiliar cars in the past few days? Or have you seen anyone walking close to Penny's house? This morning, someone delivered an envelope of a potentially threatening nature.”

Gretchen looked aghast. “Gosh, that's disturbing news. What kind of threat are we talking about?”

“
Penny might have a stalker. He's already gotten into the house and stolen some of her personal belongings.”

She slowly shook her head. “I wish I could help, but I don't remember seeing anyone around. Do you have a description of the guy?”

“
No. We're still working on a list of suspects. We'd hoped a neighbor might have seen someone snooping around.”

She placed a finger on her chin “Now, is Penny the Asian girl, or the redhead?”

“
Penny is Asian American,” I said. “The redhead is her housemate, Jessica. And Jessica's boyfriend Caleb lives there, too.”

“
Yes, I've met Caleb. He helped me get my husband into the van one time. Very nice kid.”

I glanced toward the living room and wanted to inquire why her husband was bound to a wheelchair, but I chickened out.

Gretchen smiled, as if reading my mind. “Mitch got injured during his tour in Afghanistan. Happened last April.”

The lump in my throat grew twice its size. “Oh, Gretchen. I’m really sorry to hear that.”

She shrugged it off. “You'd be amazed at how many people just pretend like nothing happened. Like Mitch has always been in a wheelchair. Friends don't come around much anymore. I guess they don't like to be reminded of the ugly stuff going on in the world.”

I nodded, unsure of how to respond.

“
Anyway,” she said. “Enough of that, let's get back to why you came here. You're looking for a stalker but you have no idea who he is or what he looks like, is that right?”

“
Yes,” I said. “That's about right.”

She folded her hands on her lap and said, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“
Well, would you be willing to ask your husband if he's seen anyone around Penny's house? Unless you think it will upset him.”

“
I don't mind asking him, but I doubt he'll be much help. He likes to keep the curtains closed throughout the house. He doesn't like going outside; he doesn't even look outside. All he does is watch TV.”

I handed her one of my cards. “If you happen to see anything out of the ordinary, would you give me a call?”

“
Certainly.” She went to her fridge and placed the card under a magnet. “There, now I won't lose it.”

I stood up and held out my hand. “Gretchen, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

“
Likewise, Ms. Woods.”

Chapter 8

When Carter met me back at Penny's house, he hadn't had much luck, either. Penny had made a pot of coffee, however, so the three of us sat at her kitchen table to discuss our next course of action.

“
Let's hope Officer Bouchard got some prints off those photographs,” I said. “But I have a feeling our guy is not that stupid. If he's managed to come to this house twice unseen, then he's very good at this game.”

“
Plus. Fingerprints won't do much good unless the guy's in the system,” Carter added.

Penny twirled her hair anxiously. “So, what should we do now?”

Carter checked his watch. “You need to call your landlord or property manager and tell ‘em what's going on, if you haven't already. As Sarah told you, I'd also like your permission to set up two surveillance cameras, one at the front door and one in the back entrance so when this guy shows up, we'll get his face on video.”

“
How long will that take?” Penny asked.

“
An hour, tops. I can do this stuff with my eyes closed.” Carter finished his coffee, got up and shrugged into his tattered leather jacket. “I'll be back soon. Sarah, do you plan on staying here till I get back?”

“
Yeah. I'll stay here. I have some more things to discuss with Penny.”

After he left, Penny went to take a quick shower while I called Officer Bouchard to give him an update.

“
Carter and I questioned the neighbors, but nobody remembers seeing anyone approach Penny's house,” I said. “Most of them claim they were still asleep until 6:30 am. Nobody has seen anything suspicious at all, in fact.”

“
I have some bad news, too,” Bouchard said. “We didn't get any fingerprints off the photos.”

“
Well, I have a name for you to check out. Brandon Whitman is a guy Penny spent the night with months ago when she first moved to the area. He hasn't contacted her recently, but it wouldn't hurt to see if he has a record. Apparently, he was a bit miffed when Penny didn't call him back.”

“
Miffed?”

“
Yeah. He called her some nasty names, that's about it. It's possible he's held a grudge and decided to mess with her. I know it's a long shot theory, but it's worth looking into.”

“
Okay, I'm on it. Any other leads?”

“
There's a guy at her yoga class that creeps her out. We don't know his full name yet, but we'll get it. We're going to follow her to yoga class this afternoon. Hopefully he'll be there.”

“
I'll get a list of all the registered sex offenders in the area. That might be a direction to go in, too. If anything jumps out at me, I'll let you know.”

“
Roger that,” I said.

After my talk with Officer Bouchard, I sipped my lukewarm coffee and scribbled down some ideas. A few things had been floating around in my brain, and I had to get them on paper before I lost them. Penny would not like these ideas, but they had to be aired.

When Penny returned, that same fragrant bouquet of flowers and citrus I smelled the first time we'd met followed her into the kitchen. She wore a pink fleece bathrobe, hair folded up in a towel.

“
Did you talk to the cop?” she asked me.

“
Yes. Unfortunately, they couldn't find any fingerprints on the photos but I asked him to look into Brandon Whitman.”

Penny sat down next to me and peered over at my notebook. “What do you have there?”

“
Just some ideas I'd like to discuss with you.”

“
Like what?”

I hesitated, anticipating a negative reaction. “Can we talk about your housemates? I'd like to know more about Jessica and Caleb.”

“
Why?”

I diverted my eyes and stared into my almost empty coffee mug. “I'm just curious, that's all.”

Penny remained silent for a few seconds. When our eyes finally met, she seemed confused. “You don't think they're involved in this, do you?”

I took a deep breath and let it out. “I have a personal question to ask and, if you don't feel comfortable, just say the word, okay?”

Penny chewed the side of her lip. “Okay.”

“
Have you and Caleb .. you know ...ever hooked up before?”

Penny's eyes grew wide and she seemed lost for words. Finally, she gulped. “Um, who told you that?”

“
Nobody,” I lied. “I just got the feeling.”

She looked around nervously, as if worried someone might be listening to our conversation. “I swear to you, it only happened once. It didn't mean anything.”

“
Jessica doesn't know?”

Penny snorted. “Of course not. She'd
kill
me if she ever found out.”

“
When did it happen?”

She closed her eyes and let out a moan. “A few weeks ago. Jessica was visiting her mom in Florida for a few days. Caleb and I had a few drinks one night and, it just happened. We made a pact, that neither one of us would tell anyone about what we did.”

“
Let's assume for a moment that, somehow, Jessica did find out. Is it possible that she's the one taunting you? Revenge for sleeping with her boyfriend? She could have easily taken your underwear and those photos of you outside your window. Think about it.”

“
No way.” Penny shook her head, but I saw the doubt in her eyes. “That's not her style. If she found out about me and Caleb, I'd know about it. Jessica has never been someone to hold her feelings in. I'd be able to tell if she knew the truth. Trust me, she doesn't.”

“
Okay,” I said. “But I'm not a hundred percent convinced. So you need to watch your back around her.”

Penny looked away from me. “You must think I'm a real shit head.”

“
I'm sure you don't want a lecture from me, but just keep in mind that our actions always have consequences.”

“
So you think I deserve what's happening to me?”

“
I think you're young and, maybe, a little spoiled, that's all.” I said it with a smile, and hoped my tone would convey lightheartedness.

Penny nodded. “You're right, you know. My mom tells me the same thing. She thinks I'm a spoiled brat, but she forgets that she made me that way.”

“
It's easy to blame others,” I said. “You have to take responsibility. Own up to things.”

“
So you think I should tell Jessica the truth?”

“
Not necessarily. Just try and learn from your mistakes. Lord knows I've made my share of mistakes. Everyone does.”

Penny stood up and removed her towel from her head. I could tell she was a bit embarrassed. “I guess I'd better go get dressed before Carter comes back.”

Maybe I had become too cynical since becoming a private detective, but I've come to learn that trust is an elusive entity and friendships can turn on a dime. I didn't have the heart to tell Penny that she shouldn't be naïve. Jessica may very well know the truth. Sleeping with your best friend's boyfriend is the sin of all sins. You just don't do it, especially if you value the friendship at all
—
and being drunk is not an excuse.

Apparently, Caleb had not kept his part of the bargain. He told Trent about his one night fling with Penny. Why would he do that? Trent was heartbroken over Penny as it was. What kind of friend throws that in your face?

I felt bad for Jessica, too. Honestly, I wouldn't even blame her if she
was
the person taunting Penny. In fact, I might be inclined to give her a high five for creativity.

…
but, in my heart, I knew Jessica wasn't the culprit. It would take a lot of self-control to pull off a stunt like this.

* * *

When Carter returned to Penny's house around two, he brought a small duffel bag with his equipment. He sniffed the air and grinned. “Something smells delicious - grilled cheese sandwiches?”

“
Yes,” I said, meeting him at the door. “And you got here just in time. Penny insisted on making lunch for us.”

Carter followed me into the kitchen where Penny had set the table for three, with glasses of ice water and a bowl of juicy, red grapes as the centerpiece.

Penny had a look of satisfaction on her face as we all sat down to eat. “I enjoy cooking for people. I make dinner all the time for Jessica and Caleb. They seem to love it ...” She looked down suddenly, as if ashamed, and said nothing more.

Carter seemed oblivious to Penny's dropped sentence. He was too busy enjoying the meal.

Penny had only taken a few bites of her sandwich. “So, how is this going to work? Will one of you guys be watching my house from across the street in your car all night? Where will you park so that it's not obvious?”

Carter took a sip of water and cleared his throat. “The blue house across the street is empty. It's a foreclosure and the bank currently owns it. I figure nobody will mind if Sarah and I camp out there for a few nights.”

Penny made a grunting sound. “Sounds like a boring job.”

“
Sarah and I have done this kind of thing before. We keep each other company.”

Penny glanced at the clock over the stove. “Well, we have a few hours until the yoga class. Would you guys mind if I took a quick nap?”

“
Go right ahead,” I said. “I'd like to do some research while Carter installs the cameras.”

“
If you need anything to drink, help yourselves. If you have any questions, just knock on my bedroom door, okay?”

“
Thanks, we'll be fine,” I said.

Penny stood up, gathered the dirty plates, and stacked them in the sink.

After she retreated to her bedroom, Carter proceeded to go through his duffel bag,  sorting the small recording devices and mounting equipment. Each of the cameras was about as big as a golf ball and controlled via a wireless program on Carter's laptop. The batteries were only good for ten to twelve hours, so we'd have to change them out accordingly. The state of the art equipment is extremely pricey and, therefore, must be handled with the utmost care. That being said, I shy away from touching any of it. I don't want to be responsible for breaking a camera that costs two thousand dollars.

While Carter got busy with the install, I booted up my laptop and did an online search for information on different types of stalking and profiles, hoping to discern the kind of person we might be dealing with.

According to several websites, there are five types of stalkers; the
Rejected
stalker, the
Resentful
stalker, the
Intimate Seeking
stalker, the
Incompetent
stalker and the
Predatory
stalker. Predatory stalking arises from deviant sexual practices, such as stealing women's underwear. Perpetrators are usually male and victims are usually female strangers with whom the stalker develops a sexual interest. The stalking behavior is usually initiated as a way of obtaining sexual gratification, but can also be used as a way of obtaining information about the victim as a precursor to a sexual assault. In this sense, the stalking is both instrumental and gratifying for those stalkers who enjoy the sense of power and control that comes from targeting someone who is usually an unsuspecting victim.

Some predatory stalkers mess with their victim’s minds by leaving subtle clues that they are being followed without revealing their identity. However, even when the victim is unaware that she is being stalked, the perpetrator can still take delight in the details – deciding how long to prolong the suspense, rehearsing the attack, fantasizing about the victim’s response.

The other scary thing about predatory stalkers is they often lead double lives, leaving their friends and family stunned and in disbelief when finally caught. Cold and calculating on the surface, they are often able to maintain a façade as devoted husbands caring professionals or kind-hearted neighbors.  Underneath, though, lurks an underbelly of twisted sexual desires and rapacious violence.

Penny's stalker could be anyone she knew, or someone she didn't know which, of course, complicated matters. The thing that frightened me the most; this guy had been in her house undetected, which meant he had to be smart and organized - or just plain lucky.

When Penny woke up an hour later, she joined me in the kitchen once again, and drank a tall glass of water. “What're you doing?” she asked me.

“
Research. Hey, I want to ask you about your neighbors on either side of you. I spoke with Karen Gibbs on the left and Gretchen on the right. How well do you know them?”

Penny thought it over. “I don't think I've ever met Gretchen and her husband. He's the one in the wheelchair, right?”

“
Correct. Apparently, he doesn't go out much after his injury. How about Karen Gibbs?”