Avalanche (16 page)

“No, I’m certain we weren’t followed, but I feel better if
I’m nearby.”

“I get it,” Justin added, taking off his helmet. “I don’t
like leaving Jade alone, either.”

“Yeah, but for a totally different reason,” JB laughed, tossing
Robert the keys. “We had a friendly wager on whether you two would actually
show up tonight.”

“Oh, yeah? Who won?” Justin asked, grinning.

“I did,” Mac answered, holding out his hand. “These fools
all bet against you. Time to pay up, fellas.”

“Hey, Red, how are things going anyway, with Pamela?” Justin
asked, watching as each man handed Mac a twenty-dollar bill.

“Not good. Between us, the stalker is much more dangerous
than I originally thought. He’s moved on to threatening me, and Kendra, Pam’s
assistant. According to the FBI profiler I spoke with, that behavior indicates
strong psychopathic tendencies, more than just his obsession with Pam.”

“Geez, it’s been a few months since we’ve had a psycho
running around Starsdale, I guess we were due,” JB snorted, referring to Todd
Baxter, the man who tried to kill Sharon.

“Pam doesn’t know how dangerous he is?” Mac asked, frowning.
“Is it wise to keep that from her?”

“I don’t know, man. She’s already wound so tight, that I
didn’t want to add to her stress. He called yesterday, and she answered.
Son-of-a-bitch threatened us then, but I convinced her that it was only a scare
tactic. She’s not aware of the profiler’s assessment.”

“Do you need help, keeping her safe?” Justin asked, ready to
send in a security team.

“No, thanks. Effective today, I took time off so that I
could be with Pam round the clock. She doesn’t know that, either, so I’d
appreciate it if you didn’t bring it up tonight.”

“Sure seems like there’s a lot that you’re not telling her,”
JB observed. “She’s gonna be pissed when she finds out the truth.”

“I’ll deal with that when I have to. I told her I had a
couple of days off, which wasn’t a lie. It’s my choice how I spend my vacation,
right? With any luck, we’ll have this guy in custody before I have to tell her
different.”

“What’s your plan?” Mac asked, wanting specifics.

“I’ll let you know when I come up with one,” Red told him.
“For now, I stay close, monitor the house, hopefully field the calls, and see
what breaks.”

“Basically, you’re playing the waiting game.” Robert nodded,
wishing he could help. It was obvious how stressed Red was about the whole
thing.

“That about sums it up,” Red let out a deep breath. “I’m
stumped, fellas. I can’t set a trap for him, the profiler advised against it. I
can’t get Pam out of town, odds are that he’d just follow. I don’t really have
a choice, but to wait him out, hope he screws up.”

“Phone traces come up empty?” JB asked.

“Yes, except for a bit of information obtained from a
hacker. He told me that some of the texts were coming from a computer, not a
phone.”

“Why would anyone text from a computer?” Justin asked.

“He can schedule it ahead of time. Computers are also more
difficult to trace, even harder than a burner phone.” JB supplied.

“How’s that?” Mac asked.

“He can bounce the signal all over the world, if he knows
what he’s doing.” JB answered.

“That’s a clue, right there. Whoever is doing this is
techno-savvy. I couldn’t do that, bounce the signal, could any of you?” Robert
asked, looking around the garage.

“I could,” JB answered, looking quickly at Red. “But I swear
it’s not me.”

“I know that,” Red told him. “But the bottom line is that it
could be anyone. That’s the hardest part, not knowing who we’re after.”

“I wish I could have been more helpful with the image you
sent. Whoever he is, he’s smart enough to camouflage his appearance, totally.”
JB shook his head. “There was nothing, not one thing, in that picture that set
him apart from every other bloke on the planet. His height, his weight, both
could have been altered with heels and bulky clothing. The guy is not taking any
chances.”

“Agreed,” Red said, heading for the stairs. “Let’s get back.
I feel like I’ve been gone too long.”

“Sure. Just remember that we’re here for you, man. Let us
know if you need anything.” Mac followed, as did the others.

~~~

“I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun,” Pamela sighed,
waving goodbye as Red pulled away from Robert and Dana’s house. “Too bad we had
to cut the evening short.”

“I know, but there’ll be other evenings. I want to get back,
relieve Sam. He’s been out in the cold all evening.”

“I know, I understand. I don’t ever remember it being this
cold, this early in the season. Do you?”

“Nope, can’t say that I do. You never know, we might get a
white Thanksgiving this year.”

“God, I hope not. I’m not a fan of snow as much as you are, remember?”

“I remember you got sick from eating too much snow cream one
year. Threw up all over JB’s backyard,” Red chuckled.

“I did not!” Pamela insisted. “I only threw up once, after
you and Mac took me on that sled ride, down the road in front of JB’s house. It
was all your fault that I got sick.”

“Oh, I forgot about the sled ride,” Red cut her a sideways
glance, saw that she was smiling. “That was fun, and funny.”

“Shut up, Red Starling. Leave it to you to remember the one
time that I embarrassed myself, in front of everyone.”

“It wasn’t in front of everyone, just me. Remember? I took
you behind the tree, held your hair back. I don’t think anyone else even
noticed.” Red lied to try and make her feel better.

“That’s crap, and you know it. Though I had forgotten that
you helped me. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. See? We can be nice to each other.”

“I never said we couldn’t,” Pamela smiled up at him,
unexpectedly. The wine had softened her defenses, she no longer shielded the
love she still felt for Red.

Red saw it instantly, but he couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t
looked at him like that in so long, that he’d forgotten how it felt. But there
it was, shining out at him from her beautiful baby blues.

“Pamela, how much wine did you drink?” he asked, without
thinking.

“I don’t know, why?” Pamela didn’t care that she was a
little tipsy. It had been forever since she’d let herself go this way.

“No reason, just wondering.” Red turned his attention back
to the road, not wanting to see the love in her eyes any longer. It had to be
the wine, combined with the fact that he was protecting her. She’d fallen out
of love with him a long time ago. This much he knew.

“It’s so pretty here, even at night,” Pamela sighed, looking
out of the window. “Look at the stars, there must be a trillion of them out
there tonight. You can’t see stars like that in LA.”

“No, not even close. Keep watching, you might see a shooting
star,” Red encouraged, hearing the wistfulness in her voice.

“Do you think so? I’d like that. You’re supposed to make a wish
on a shooting star.” Pamela’s voice was dreamy, totally out of character with
the woman she had become.

“That’s what I’ve heard. What would you wish for, Pam?” Red
asked, trying to keep his tone light.

“I can’t tell you that, Red. You know that wishes only come
true if you keep them private.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll remember that.”

“You’re being so good to me, Red. I don’t deserve it.”

“Where did that come from? I thought you were looking for a
shooting star. And you’d do the same for me, if our roles were reversed.”

“I would,” Pamela assured him. “I really would. At least I
would try.” Pamela reached over and patted his arm.

“Look, there goes one!” Red pointed to the sky.

“Ooh, I see it. Make a wish, hurry!” Pamela closed her eyes,
focusing her thoughts on the one thing she wanted, more than anything.

“Sure you don’t want to share it?” Red asked, chuckling.
“I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours.”

“You can tell me yours, but I won’t tell you mine.”

“But what if I can help make it come true?”

In answer, Pamela simply sighed, saying nothing.

~~~

“How about a night cap?” Pamela asked, dropping her purse
onto the table.

“You go ahead, I think I’ll keep a clear head,” Red
answered, punching in the alarm code.

“Party pooper,” Pamela tossed back at him, on her way to the
kitchen. “What’s that?” she stopped at the glass door, leading to the porch.

“What’s what?” Red asked, coming up behind her.

Together, they stared at the brightly wrapped package, on
the other side of the door.

“Stay back,” Red commanded, walking to the door and sliding
it open. Kneeling down, he listened for any sounds, coming from inside the box.

Nothing.

A card on top, with the same scripted P that had graced the
note left in Pam’s closet, mocked Red by its very existence. He wasn’t supposed
to be able to get that close.

Flipping on the porch light, Red put on gloves and lifted
the package, taking it to the table outside.

It wasn’t heavy.

It didn’t smell.

It made no sound.

It was totally innocuous in every way.

Carefully, Red lifted the note, reading the message inside.

“This reminded me of you. See you soon.”

With a growl, Red unwrapped the box, careful to preserve any
fingerprints that might be on the paper. The box was the same type as the last
gift he sent, so common that it could have come from anywhere.

Lifting the lid, he peered inside to see a stick-figure
doll, without a head. Taking it out, he saw the head, rolling around on the
bottom of the package.

“What the hell?” he said quietly, glancing into the dark,
but seeing nothing.

“What is it?” Pamela asked from inside the door.

“A broken doll,” Red answered, bringing the gift inside.

“Let me see,” she demanded, as soon as he stepped inside.

“Don’t touch it, there might be prints,” Red told her,
taking the box to the counter. “See?” he said, lifting the doll. It’s just a
broken doll.”

“It’s a voodoo doll,” Pamela said softly, paling as she saw
that the head was removed. “Why would he send me a voodoo doll?”

“Who knows what gets this creep off?” Red asked, placing
everything into a plastic bag. “I’ll send it to the lab in the morning, but I
don’t expect we’ll find anything useful.”

“We never do. How did he leave it here, without us seeing
him?”

“We weren’t watching the feeds every second,” Red reminded
her, heading for the computer. “But we should have something. He had to stand
beneath the camera to leave the package in that spot.”

“Kendra! I have to check on her!” Whirling quickly, Pamela
ran for the stairs.

“Wait, I’ll come with you.” Red followed behind.

“There, she’s fine,” he whispered, standing in Kendra’s
doorway. The form of the sleeping woman was clear beneath the covers.

“I have to check,” Pamela tiptoed inside the bedroom to
stand beside Kendra. She could tell that Kendra was breathing, she looked so
peaceful as she slept.

“She’s good,” Pamela said, joining Red at the doorway.
Closing the door behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Without a word, Red turned and led the way down the stairs,
eager to see the video feeds.

Isolating the camera above the back door first, Red replayed
the footage, stopping when the black figure suddenly appeared. Setting the feed
to move forward in slow motion, they watched as the figure stepped up to the
door, dropped the package, then turned and left. He was only there for a few
seconds.

“He didn’t even look inside,” Pamela noted, no longer
feeling tipsy. Finding the package, and her worry for Kendra, sobered her
instantly.

“It doesn’t seem so,” Red agreed, replaying the footage
again. “I can’t tell which direction he came from, either. He just suddenly
shows up.”

“It had to be from the back,” Pamela reasoned. “Sam was on
the front porch all night, right?”

“I told him to walk the perimeter a few times, but yeah, he
was mostly on the front. Dammit, how did he know we were gone?”

“He must have been watching from the woods, saw us leave,”
Pamela offered. “Surely he wouldn’t have come so close, if he thought you were
here.”

“He could also have noticed the car was gone, and that Sam
was on the front. Must have put two and two together.” Red looked up, saw the
fear had come back into Pamela’s eyes. “It’s okay, Pam. This could be the time
he screwed up. Maybe we’ll get a print.”

“You know that’s wishful thinking,” she countered, heading
for the kitchen. “You want tea?”

“Sure, thanks.” Red began sifting through the other footage
from each of the cameras. He saw Kendra, watching television until around nine.
She kept looking up at the camera, as if it made her uncomfortable. “Probably
does,” Red nodded.

He saw her ascend the stairs, presumably for bed, as she
never made another appearance.

The living room camera did pick up the shadow at the door,
but it gave no other clues as to the man’s identity. Kendra had left the lamp
by the sofa turned on, so the living room would have been well lit for him to
study.

But he didn’t. If he glanced inside, it was only for a split
second, as if he had no interest whatsoever in the interior of Pamela’s home.

Did that mean something?

What?

Red studied the footage, but found no other indication the
man was ever on the premises. He’d avoided the outside cameras, as if he knew
they were there.

“Here you go,” Pamela said, placing the mug on the table
beside the computer. “Find anything?”

“Thanks,” Red told her. “Not really. He could have studied
the room, but he didn’t. As far as we know, the only other times he’s been
here, the house was dark. Unless he turned on the light then, which would be
stupid. And he’s definitely not stupid.”