Avalanche (13 page)

“Wait here, I want to do a walk through, before you go
inside,” Red instructed, looking around the property as he exited his car.

Pamela bit her lip, wanting to argue, but knowing that it
would be useless. Besides, Red was right. She would feel better knowing the
house was empty, before she entered.

“All clear,” he announced, coming out a few moments later.
“Go inside, I’ll bring in the bags.”

“Whatever you say,” Pamela told him, moving to the trunk.
After grabbing several bags, she headed toward the door, hearing her phone beep
as she walked.

Red and Kendra heard it too, but no one said a word as they
went into the house.  

“Let me see it,” Red held out his hand, as soon as they
dropped the bags on the counter.

“It might not be him,” Pamela frowned, fishing for her
phone.

“Fine, you read it, then.” Red crossed his arms over his
chest.

Glancing up at him, Pamela pulled her phone from the purse.
With one quick look, she saw the message, this time in all caps.

“
YOUR TIME IS UP BITCH!!
”

Trembling slightly, she handed the phone to Red.

As he read the words, another message came through.

“YOUR COP BOYFRIEND IS DEAD TOO. AND IT’S ALL YOUR
FAULT!”

“Another one?” Pamela asked, coming to stand closer to Red
so she could read the message.

“He’s just trying to rattle you,” Red told her, clearing the
screen. The last thing he wanted was for Pamela to feel guilty about coming to
him for help.

“What did it say?” Pamela reached for the phone, but Red
held onto it.

“Nothing, just more of the same,” Red lied. “I’d like to
take this with me this afternoon. A buddy of mine might be able to trace the
messages.”

“The cops in LA already tried that. The messages are coming
from a burner phone, virtually untraceable.”

“Maybe. But my friend does things a little differently.” Red
pocketed the phone. “Kendra has her phone, right?” He looked to Kendra for
confirmation.

She nodded.

“Then you should be fine. Reynolds should be here in a few
minutes. You ladies aren’t planning any more trips out today, are you?”

“No, we have work to do,” Pamela answered, wondering what
Red wasn’t telling her. She knew better than to press him now, he had that look
he always got when he had nothing else to say.

“Good. I’ll get the rest of the bags.” Closing the subject,
Red left.

“What did he mean, his friend does things differently? The
messages can either be traced, or they can’t, right?” Kendra asked, putting
away the food.

“I have no idea,” Pamela told her, coming to help. “I’m not
sure how hard the LA cops tried to help me, being that I told them I thought
the stalker was Chandler Chase. Maybe Red’s friend can find something.”

“It looked like the second message bothered him. I wonder
what it said?” Kendra asked casually, emptying a bag.

“It was nothing,” Red said, coming into the kitchen, his
arms filled. “Just drop it, okay?” he said to Kendra, lowering his voice.

“I hear a car,” Pamela told them, stopping to listen.

“Must be Reynolds,” Red answered, moving quickly to the
door. “Yep, it’s him. I’ll be back in a few hours. Keep the doors locked, and
the alarm set.”

“Yes, Sir,” Pamela saluted, angry that he was keeping things
from her.

Red ignored her attitude. Waiting on the outside of the door
until he heard the bolt slide, and the alarm ding, he retrieved Pam’s phone and
looked at the messages, once again.

The fact that the stalker was now threatening him changed
things. From everything Red had learned, a typical stalker would be deterred by
a constant law enforcement presence. Most stalkers focused on one person, not
on their protectors. The common stalker would look for ways around the
bodyguard, but would not engage them.

The last message was a definite threat to someone the
stalker believed that Pamela cared about. Which meant the stalker knew of their
connection, if not in LA, then as friends from the same home town. That took
the threat to a different level, to someone more deranged than Red originally
thought.

Unless the stalker was simply trying to rattle Pam, make her
feel guilty, thinking that she would send Red away. The stalker had no way of
knowing that Pam would never see the message.

“Keep your eyes open,” Red warned Reynolds, before jumping
into his car. He could only think of one person who may be able to trace the
messages, but that person was in Monroe. Convincing the hacker to help him, a cop,
break the law would be tricky. He had to do it in person.

“This damn red tape is enough to make me want to move to
Idaho,” Mac grumbled, pushing his laptop away.

“How do you know that Idaho won’t be just as difficult?”
Chelsea asked, used to him blowing off steam about California’s building code
requirements.

“No place is this difficult. I bet there are people in
Sacramento who do nothing all day except come up with ways to make building
anything a nightmare.”

“Here, eat something. You haven’t even stopped for lunch
today.” Chelsea placed a plate in front of him.

“Thanks, love. Sorry to be so grumpy.” Mac grabbed her
around the waist, pulling her into his lap. “I’d rather snack on this, though,”
he whispered, kissing the side of her neck.

“Mmmm, if only we had the time,” Chelsea sighed, giving over
to the familiar butterflies.

“We can make time.” Mac continued to nuzzle her skin, loving
the fresh fragrance that was uniquely hers.

“Can’t do it,” Chelsea tilted his face to hers and kissed
him soundly. “That will have to do you, Mr. Mills. I have an appointment with
Jade. She’s meeting with the head of the Birdwatchers Guild in Monroe. They’re
considering Cliffside for their annual gala.”

“Can’t Jade handle it? We really need to have a meeting of
our own.” Mac tried to keep her captive, but Chelsea managed to escape,
laughing.

“Hold that thought, I won’t be long. This is a big deal.
Sharon and I are both going.”

“Heaven forbid that you keep the bird lady waiting,” Mac
grinned, tempted to convince Chelsea to stay.

“I don’t think she would appreciate your referring to her as
the bird lady,” Chelsea rolled her eyes, sidestepping out of Mac’s reach. “In
any case, I have to run. Oh, have you spoken with Red recently? I wonder how
Pam is doing.”

“No, not since he was here the other night. I’ll give him a
call, check in.”

“We’ll see them tomorrow night at Robert and Dana’s. I was
just thinking of them.”

“I’m sure they’re fine. We would have heard differently, if
not.” Mac reached for his phone. “I’m sure Red is keeping a close watch on her.
They’ll be fine.”

“Still, it’s so scary to think that someone is watching her.
I can’t imagine how that feels. What happened with Preston was bad enough, but
she’s living every day, wondering if someone is following her every move. I’d
hate that.”

“With all of those cameras Red installed at her place, he’s
the one watching. But I know what you mean.” Mac pressed a button on his phone.
“Go on now, so you can hurry back. I’ll be waiting.” The look he gave her as
she walked out the door had Chelsea’s skin tingling.

“Hey, buddy, what’s happening?” Mac asked, hearing Red’s
voice over the phone.

“Hey, Mac. Just driving back from Monroe. What’s going on
with you?”

“Chelsea and I were wondering how Pamela’s case was going.
Have you made any headway?”

“No, dammit, not really. The creep is still sending
messages, freaking her out. Which is the point, I’m sure.”

“How’s she holding up?”

“Good, you know Pamela. She’s hard to read sometimes, even
for me. I did manage to find out the perp is sending some of the messages from
a computer, not a cell phone. Whoever he is, he’s smart enough to hide the
signal, so that’s pretty much a dead end at this point. It does open the door
of possibilities, though.”

“How so?”

“He could be using a program that delays sending the message
until a pre-determined time. So, whoever it is could have set this up well in
advance.”

“How does that help?”

“I don’t know yet. But my gut tells me it’s an important
point. Anyway, I’m heading back to Pam’s now. I’ll tell her you said hello.”

“Do that. You’re coming to Robert’s tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“Wouldn’t miss it. It’s been a day or two, since we’ve all
been together.”

“That’s true, if Justin and Jade actually make it out of the
house this time.”

Both men chuckled.

“Hey, have you given any more thought to offering the
chopper service for the lodge?”

“No, but I’m definitely interested. I’ll get into it after
this situation with Pam is finished. The biggest obstacle I can see is liability
insurance. I’m not sure I can afford it.”

“We’ll help with that. We all want you on board, but we’ll
table it for now. If I can do anything to help with Pamela, let me know.”

“Will do, thanks. See you tomorrow.”

Red ended the call, his mind instantly reverting back to the
stalker. At least the hacker had cooperated, on the promise that Red owed him a
favor, to be determined in the future. It wasn’t the way Red liked to operate,
outside the law, but he would do whatever was necessary to keep Pam safe.

He’d also spoken with a profiler from the Sacramento office
of the FBI, courtesy of his contact in the police department over there. The
stalker’s escalation from threatening Pam to threatening her “cop boyfriend”
indicates that whoever is stalking Pam is more delusional than the average
stalker, possibly even psychotic. Most stalkers fixate on one person, and most
have a previous relationship with the victim.

The profiler was even more concerned with the fact that the
stalker followed Pam to Starsdale. That level of commitment, of continuing
harassment, is indicative of a higher threat of danger. In other words, this
guy is not playing. His threats to Pam are real; her life is in serious danger.

Red knew in his gut that Pam’s life was on the line. The
threats, the harassment, were not merely scare tactics. This creep meant
business.

The profiler also felt that setting a trap for the stalker,
by staging Pam’s house to make it seem that she was alone, was not the best way
to handle the situation. The profiler told him that, for the most part,
stalkers were more intelligent than other criminals. He would not be easily
fooled. A botched sting could wind up getting both Red and Pamela killed.

All the way to Pam’s house, Red discarded a variety of
scenarios to potentially capture the stalker. No matter which way he played it,
the profiler’s warning always rang true in the end.

So, he couldn’t set a trap. All he could do was watch, and
wait, for the stalker to make a move.

“Bloody hell,” Red slammed his hand hard against the
steering wheel. How long could Pamela take the constant scrutiny, the death
threat, hanging over her head? How long could he sit patiently by, waiting for
the woman he loved to be attacked?

~~~

“Dana said to tell you that she would accept no excuses for
missing dinner tomorrow,” Jade told Justin as she hung up the phone.

“You’re right, we are getting a reputation,” he laughed
coming to put his arms around her. “What do you say that we live up to it,
right now?”

“You are insatiable,” Jade laughed, folding herself around
him. “But I like it. I can’t ever remember being this happy, Mr. Devereaux. And
that’s all thanks to you.”

“Right back at you, darlin’. And to think all it took was a
thunder storm in a small town to make it happen.”

“I do love a good thunder storm.” Jade snuggled up against
him. “We should really go riding again soon, before the weather turns bad.”

“I’m ready whenever you are,” Justin walked them both to the
sofa. “But for now, I want to sit and hear all about your day. How did the meeting
with the bird woman go?”

“It went great,” Jade laughed at his description of Mrs.
Turner. “We got the job, but we also made a good contact. Mrs. Turner sits on
several boards in Monroe. If she likes the way we handle the event, it could
open a lot of doors.”

“I’ve no doubt that you’ll be a smashing success,” Justin
nuzzled her neck. “Did anything else exciting happen today?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact. Pamela dropped in with her
assistant, Kendra. We agreed that she would represent me with the publishing
companies. She liked the book.” Jade still seemed awed by the reception her
work received.

“Of course she did,” Justin scoffed. “It’s brilliant. I
liked Pamela, even if she and Red seem to constantly rub each other the wrong
way. I like that she has the guts to go up against Kingsley.”

“That part didn’t bother her at all. She was concerned that
she was closing the business in LA, but I convinced her that I didn’t care
about that. And I don’t. Who cares if she’s in business, or not. She has the
contacts, she knows what she’s doing, and she’s not afraid of Laurence. I’m
sold.”

“Sounds like it,” Justin chuckled, loving that Jade was so
sure of herself. Knowing her story, what the bastard had done to her, he would
understand if she had lost some of her confidence. But no, not his Jade. She
constantly surprised him with her strength, and her willingness to move on from
the adversity. She was only unsure of her talent as a writer, but the more
people who read, and loved, the book, the easier it was for her to accept her
gift.

“Enough about me, how was your day? Did you conquer any
worlds, broker any deals, merge any corporations?”

“None of the above, not today,” Justin grinned, making light
of her questions, as she intended. In truth, he had made several inroads on a
private project, one he could not tell Jade about now, maybe never. Laurence
Kingsley had hurt Jade horribly, and Justin intended to make him pay for it.

For the past several weeks, Justin had been buying stock in
Kingsley’s media interests. His goal was to eventually claim ownership, and
push Kingsley onto the street. He wondered how the mighty man would handle
being treated the way he treated Jade.

“Do you still have to go out of town next week?” Jade tried
not to sound disappointed at the prospect. She refused to be a clinging vine,
but she would miss him terribly.

“Unfortunately, yes. But I’ll only be gone for one night, if
I can help it. You can always come with me, you know.”

“I know, but we’re getting so busy at Cliffside, I couldn’t
just up and leave them in the lurch. Maybe next time.”

“I hope so. If I could run the business completely from
here, I would. But I have to attend this board meeting.”

“I know. It’s fine. Being apart will help us grow closer, or
something like that.”

“Maybe so. I already feel as close to you as I’ve ever been
to anyone. It still boggles my mind that it happened so fast.”

“I know. I guess it’s true, that love can hit you, when you
least expect it.”

“Sort of like lightning, right?” Justin referred to the bolt
that sent Jade’s horse rearing into the air, tossing Jade onto the ground.

“Just like lightning,” Jade laughed, pulling him to her for
a kiss.