Pinch Me

Chapter Thirty-Six

Laura woke before dawn. She walked to the living room and peeked through the blinds. She found out she used to jog. Not religiously but usually once or twice a week, preferring early morning when the sun wasn’t hot.

Before.

She used to go to work and take out classes, dive by herself on pleasure trips, enjoyed her lifestyle.

Before.

She used to take long walks with Doogie, enjoyed taking him to the dog park, loved riding around.

Now, she felt like a hostage, always looking over her shoulder, feeling guilty and resentful at the same time because everyone she loved felt responsible for her safety.

Doogie woke up and walked to her side. He nuzzled her hand.

“Gotta go out?”

He wagged his otter tail.

Her robe hung over the back of the bathroom door. She slipped into it and put the gun in the pocket, knotting the belt around her waist to keep the gun’s weight from pulling it down.

She slipped the leash on Doogie and turned off the alarm before they went out the back door. It was nearly dawn and she cautiously looked around the yard while Doogie sniffed the ground. Every sound, every movement set her on edge. She smelled the methane from the rotten vegetation in the mangrove swampland on the other side of the trees, heard a raccoon rummaging in the brush, a mockingbird sounding off in a nearby tree.

“C’mon, Doog. Get it done.”

“Laur?”

She jumped at the sound of Bill’s voice. “Yeah?”

“You okay?” He was barely awake, and had Rob’s gun in his hand, held along his thigh.

“I’m fine. Just walking the brat.”

“Want me to finish up with him?”

At that moment Doogie decided he was done and led Laura back toward the house. “I guess not.”

He locked the door behind her and reached down to pet the dog. “Rob wouldn’t like you going out there by yourself.” He reset the alarm.

“I’m going stir crazy.”

Her appointment with Dr. Collins didn’t trigger any new memories, unfortunately.

But with the way she was feeling, she finally let Bill talk her into seeing her general practitioner about her other symptoms. Her regular doctor was out of town, so she had to see one of his partners, whom she’d never seen before. The doctor examined her, including taking blood work and a urine sample. After he was finished, Bill returned to the exam room to wait with her.

The doctor walked in with her chart and smiled. “Congratulations, you two.”

Bill and Laura looked at each other in confusion. Bill spoke first. “Sorry?”

The doctor smiled at him. “You’re going to be a father.”

Laura’s jaw hit the floor but Bill recovered first. “Uh, this is my sister, not my wife.”

The doctor blushed. “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought—”

Laura shook her head. “I can’t be pregnant. I had my period a few weeks ago.”

The doctor was still trying to recover from his error. “I thought the nurse said you were married, Laura.”

“I am married. My husband’s at work. My brother is visiting us for a few weeks. Are you sure? I mean, I had my period.”

The doctor nodded. “Yes, we’re sure. It’s not uncommon for a woman to have one or more episodes that look like periods in their early pregnancy.”

Laura did the math and closed her eyes. “Crap.” She’d be about five weeks along, or less.

Bill reached over and took her hand. “I thought you guys wanted—”

“We do. We did. Then we decided to wait for a while, see if they can catch the psycho first.”

“Oh.”

She looked at the doctor. “Oh, god, I’ve had wine—”

The doctor smiled. “As long as you’re not doing any drugs or smoking or anything like that, chances are, the baby’s fine. Since you’re here, let’s do an ultrasound and some more blood work, okay?”

She nodded, numb. The doctor left to order the tests and she looked at Bill, her eyes wet. “What am I going to do?”

“I’d say the first thing is to tell Rob.”

She closed her eyes. “He’s working until tomorrow. Double shift.”

They quietly waited until the doctor and nurse returned. An hour later they were finished, but the doctor recommended she not do any diving considering the fairly recent trauma she’d been through.

“Better to err on the side of caution,” he said.

Bill waited for Laura while she checked out and made a follow-up appointment for a few weeks later. He browsed a fishing magazine in the waiting area when he heard a man’s voice speak Laura’s name.

Bill looked up and saw a man in a suit emerge from the back. Laura visibly bristled.

“Oh, hello,” she said.

Bill stood, waiting for a cue she needed him to intercede. The guy looked like a salesman, probably a pharmacy rep. Two others had come and gone earlier while they awaited Laura’s turn.

The nurse behind the counter handed Laura an appointment card and some paperwork. “Mrs. Carlton, do you want any brochures, or need a referral to a Lamaze class?”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll get that from you next time.”

The nurse turned to the man. “Hi, Don. Didn’t see you come in. I thought you weren’t due until next week. Did you need anything else?”

He smiled, but Bill didn’t like the look of him. “No, I’m okay, Della, thanks. I was in the area, thought I’d pop in. Tell the doc I’ll stop by next week to see if he needs anything.” He turned to Laura. “How are you?”

Laura forced a smile. “I’m fine, thank you.” Then she turned back to the nurse. “Am I all set?”

Della nodded. “Yes, we’ll see you back in three weeks.”

“Thank you.” Laura turned to walk away. “Nice seeing you, Mr. Kern.”

Bill fell into step beside her and sensed her agitation. In the car he quickly locked the doors once they were inside. “Okay, sis. What’s that about? Who was he?”

She filled him in. “Customer from the shop. It unnerved me seeing him there until I remembered he’s a pharmaceutical sales rep. And Englewood is a very small town.”

“So he’s just creepy?”

“Yeah, but apparently he’s got a girlfriend now. Sara said he brought a woman in with him for a dive last week.” Laura groaned and smacked her leg. “I can’t dive!”

“What?”

“I’m supposed to run the check-out dives this weekend. I can’t do water classes. Crap!”

“Why?”

She looked at Bill. “Duh. What’d the doc just say?”

He winced. “Sorry, sis. I’m not used to the fact that I’m going to be an uncle yet.” He drove. “Where to?”

She closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. “What time is it?”

“Noon.”

“Let’s go to Rob’s station.”

“I need directions.”

They found Rob at the station. He was happy to see them until he got a good look at Laura’s expression. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to talk,” she said quietly.

Rob looked at Bill. Bill shook his head. No help there.

Rob took her hand. “Come on.”

Bill followed them inside and sat in the lounge to watch TV. The captain let them use his office, where Rob sat her down.

“Okay, tell me what’s wrong, baby girl. What did the doctor say?”

Her tears finally broke through the shock and she sobbed, unable to speak.

He put his arms around her, trying to soothe her. “Honey, please, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me.” His imagination pictured the worse. Was it cancer? Was she dying?

It took her several minutes to calm down enough to sniffle her answer against his shoulder, and he couldn’t understand what she said.

“Sweetheart,” he whispered, “please. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together. I love you. Tell me.”

She sat up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Sir, I’m pregnant.”

He stared at her, sure he misheard her. “You’re not sick?”

She looked at him. “What?”

“What did you say?” He must have misheard her, as upset as she was.

“I’m pregnant, Sir,” she whispered. “About six weeks.”

The words finally made it through to his brain and he felt his dread lift. He grabbed her hands. “We’re going to have a baby?”

She nodded, and he grinned. “That’s fantastic!” He hugged her, “Jeez, I thought you were going to tell me you were dying! You scared the crap out of me! I should beat you on general principle just for that.”

She finally laughed and managed to pull free. “No, Sir. Not dying.”

“That’s great! A baby—” He processed the look on her face. “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with it?”

She shook her head. “No, Sir. Not that I know of.”

Rob studied her and finally understood how upset she was. He lowered his voice and dropped into full-on Dom tone. “Baby girl, why do you look like you’ve received bad news?”

She looked down at her lap. “Because we decided to wait, Sir.”

“It’s okay.” He pulled her to him again. “It’ll be okay sweetheart. Don’t you still want to have a baby?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell me what’s wrong.”

She shrugged. “I’m just… It was a shock, Sir. It hasn’t sunk in yet.”

He kissed her. “Have you told anyone else yet?”

“Bill was there when the doctor told me.” She barked out a laugh. “He mistook Bill for you and we had to explain he was my brother.”

He caressed her cheek. “I love you so much. You have no idea.”

She rested her head against him. “I don’t want to tell anyone else yet, Sir.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “I don’t mean not tell Shayla and our close friends, or Steve and Carol and Sarah. I just don’t want it to be public knowledge.”

He studied her face. “Okay,” he agreed.

Bill stood when they finally emerged from the office a few minutes later. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. Rob held her hand and walked them out to the car. He hugged her before opening the door for her. “Sweetheart, this is okay. This is good news.”

She wished she felt the same. “I know.” She forced herself not to call him “Sir” in front of Bill.

Rob held the door for her while she got in, and he leaned in and kissed her one last time. “Take it easy, all right? Don’t wear yourself out.” He closed the door and watched them pull out of the parking lot.

“Where to, sis?”

She sighed. “Let’s pull through somewhere, get something to eat, and take it to the shop.”

There were no customers when they arrived at the shop. Steve put down the regulator he was working on when she walked in. “What’s wrong?”

Bill laughed. “Who says anything’s wrong?”

He frowned and pointed to Laura. “I’ve known this girl since she was a kid. What’s going on?”

Laura shook her head. “Where’s Carol and Sarah?”

“They’re out back. Why?”

“I want to say this once and get it over with.” They took the food outside and found Carol and Sarah at the table.

“Honey,” Carol said, “what’s wrong?”

Bill shook his head. “Does everyone have this weird psychic stuff?”

“About her, yes,” Sarah said. “What’s wrong?”

Laura sat and started to unwrap her burger. “I’ve got something I need to tell you all. And you can’t tell anyone. It needs to be between just the three of you. Bill knows, obviously. And Rob.”

“What is it?” Steve asked.

She looked at him. “I’m pregnant.”

Sarah grinned. “That’s great!” She studied Laura, her smile fading. “That’s not great? Why do you look upset?”

Laura glared at her. “Psycho guy after me. Sort of preempts the baby buzz.”

“Oh. Yeah.” She looked at the table. “You’re right.”

Carol patted her arm. “This will be fine, honey. I’m sure. But why don’t you want anyone to know?”

“What if it sets this psycho off?”

“Oh.”

They all fell silent. Steve finally spoke. “Well, you’re dry-docked for the duration. We’ll need to come up with a story for a while. But it’ll be awfully hard to hide a baby bump once you start to show.”

“I already thought about it. We can tell people I’ve got a perforated eardrum. That’ll explain me being sick to my stomach, blame it on vertigo. That’ll get me through a few months. Hopefully this creep will be in custody by then.”

“What about Cody? You don’t want to tell him or the others?” The boat captain was a friend, but she didn’t trust him or the others to keep her secret. They might likely reveal it accidentally, not intentionally.

She shook her head. “Not yet. Not right now. The fewer people that know, the better.”

The next email arrived one Wednesday afternoon after Bill had returned to Montana and while she was home alone. Rob was at work, just starting two days on duty.

A little stork told me you and your man have been busy. The more, the merrier.

Laura ran for the bathroom. She collapsed in front of the toilet, sick, sobbing. Twenty minutes later, she finally pulled herself together and called Det. Thomas. He wasn’t in, but she left a voice mail and he called her back a few minutes later.

“He knows I’m pregnant. How can he know that?”

Thomas was quiet for a long moment. “Maybe he’s someone close to you. We need to reinvestigate—”

“No. You ruled out everyone around me the first time. We know it wasn’t Rob or Steve or Cody. It wasn’t any of my friends. It damn sure wasn’t my brother. This guy has got to be local.”

Thomas went quiet again. “Laura, maybe it would be best if you left town for a while.”

Rage washed through her. “No! I am not putting my life on hold again for this son of a bitch. He ran me off once, he’s not doing it again. I want him to come after me once and for all so I can put a fucking bullet in his head!”

“You need to calm do—”

“Calm down? How dare you! You’re not the one being stalked. You have no idea what I’m going through.”

“No, you’re absolutely right, I don’t, but getting this upset isn’t good for you or the baby.”

She fell silent. He was right, of course, but she didn’t want to admit it.

“Did you tell Rob yet?”

“He’s at work. I don’t want to worry him.”

“You need to call him.”

“No. There’s nothing he can do.”

“I’ll get Hutchinson working on the latest email. Call Rob.” He hung up.

She stared at the phone, trembling. She wanted this over with, wanted the bastard out of their life.

I can’t even enjoy my pregnancy in peace.

Finally, she called him. She almost hoped it’d go to his voice mail, but he answered.

“What’s up, baby girl?”

She broke down crying and it took her several tries to get the story out. “Calm down,” he said. “I want you to pack. I’m going to call Sully.”

When she tried to argue with him, he overruled her. “Stop,” he said, taking Dom tone with her. “Are you listening to me?”

He didn’t raise his voice. In fact, he lowered it, forcing her to listen. “Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl. Go pack. I’ll call Sully. Then call Seth and have him come get you and drive you up to Sully’s. You be ready to go when he gets there.”

She didn’t respond.

“Did you hear me?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Are you going to obey me?”

“Yes, Sir. But what about Doogie?” He weighed nearly a hundred pounds and still acted like a puppy.

“Let me worry about Doogie. I will call you back in five minutes, and you’d better be getting packed.”

She wanted to break down crying again and knew she wouldn’t—couldn’t—disappoint him. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Sir.”

When he called her back five minutes later, she was already halfway packed and Sully had okayed her bringing Doogie with her to their house.

Two hours later, Seth was pulling his truck into Sully, Mac, and Clarisse’s Tarpon Springs driveway.

Clarisse hurried down the steps first and engulfed Laura in a tearful hug as soon as she stepped from the truck.

“Hey, momma,” Clarisse said as she laid her hand on Laura’s tummy. “How you doing?”

“I’ve had better days.”

Mac had made his way downstairs, with Sully behind him.

“Go on,” Seth said. “We’ve got your bags.” He grabbed Doogie’s leash as the dog tried to lunge out of the cab and head for the bushes. “And I’ll walk the moose.”

“Thanks, Seth.”

Clarisse hooked her arm through Laura’s as Mac and Sully walked over to her.

“Hey, sweetie,” Sully said.

“Hey.” She burst into tears as the three of them gathered around her in a hug.

“It’s okay,” Clarisse softly said. A hard edge crept into her friend’s voice. “You have your gun, right?”

Laura gave a tearful laugh. “Yeah. I’m afraid Sully and Sir would both spank me if I didn’t.”

“Might make me go a little switchy myself,” Clarisse admitted. “You keep that on you, even here. Okay?”

“Yeah.”

Seth rejoined them, a more subdued Doogie now walking on a slack lead. “Who gets this guy?”

Mac smiled and reached for the leash. “I think Bart’s going to have his paws full trying to dominate this guy.”

“Oh, my god,” Laura said. “Please don’t let Doogie chew any butt plugs!”

Laura stayed with her friends for a week, spending time at the local gun range with Sully and improving both her aim and her confidence with her gun. When no more emails from the stalker arrived, she begged Rob to let her come home.

He finally relented and came to get her. He had three days off on rotation, and they spent it locked in the house, making love, curled in bed together, and watching TV.

Rob didn’t want her to return to work, but finally gave in on that point, too. Laura tried to hide the worst of her morning sickness from everyone. It wasn’t easy. She had to stay home until well past noon every day, usually when her stomach decided to behave.

As the weeks passed with no new emails from MedicineMan, there was still no sign of her missing journals. She’d scoured the laptop, Rob’s computer, her desktop, and even Rob’s personal laptop to no avail. They weren’t on the shop computer, they weren’t in Dropbox. Wherever she put them, they were well hid. Either she kept the file in some place she had yet to discover, or she’d deleted it by mistake.

It didn’t seem plausible she’d stop journaling, but she finally had to let go of her need to find them. If she found them, she found them. It was consuming far too much of her energy.

Her pregnancy was four months along now, and while still on edge, MedicineMan’s absence allowed her to resume some semblance of a normal routine. She was in the dive shop one Saturday afternoon when the boat returned from a dive.

Don Kern was listed as one of the passengers.

Shit. She hadn’t checked the manifest.

When he spotted her he acted friendly but not creepy. Even better, he was holding a woman’s hand. “Laura, this is my girlfriend, Tammy.”

Whew. Apparently he’d found a happier hunting ground than the staff at Lemon Bay Dive. “Nice to meet you,” Laura said with a genuine smile as she shook hands with the woman. “I hope we see a lot of you around here.”

The woman beamed a radiant smile at Kern. “I hope so, too. This has been so much fun!”

Laura wasn’t allowed to lift tanks. She couldn’t dive. She couldn’t work on regulators because of the risk of exposure to cleaning chemicals.

She couldn’t do much, it felt like. In the office, she pulled her iPad from her purse. Rob and Steve both said she’d used it a lot…before. But she hadn’t found much use for it other than reading the older journal files Bill had loaded on it for her. She didn’t like browsing the Internet on it, no matter what Rob and Steve told her she’d done, because her laptop had a larger screen.

Sarah was in the middle of doing a replenishment order on the office computer and Laura didn’t want to make her move. She sat at the other desk and, with the iPad and its little portable Bluetooth keyboard, she started working on her novel after using Dropbox to download the latest backup copy.

Sarah stepped out of the office to check inventory levels on a couple of things for the order.

Laura needed to look something up on the Internet, but still didn’t want to disturb Sarah’s order. She clicked on the pull-down of sites to find a quick link for Google and saw a list of other frequently visited websites.

She froze as she studied it. One of the listed links was a site called www.classfriends.link.

Why does that sound familiar?

She closed her eyes, feeling dizzy, and grabbed at the edge of the desk to steady her. This was maybe the second time she used the Internet on the iPad since the attack.

Since before.

She figured out how to access the browser history. Sure enough, the last time she’d accessed that site was the day before the attack.

Then she accidentally hit the Home button and the main screen appeared. One of those hunches hit her, the kind that recent experience told her was maybe more of a memory than a hunch. She swiped through the menu screens until she found what she was looking for.

An icon for the Evernote app.

With trembling fingers, she tapped it.

No wonder she’d never found the journals. She didn’t find her journals on the computers because they weren’t on the computers—they were stored here, on her iPad, via Evernote. She could have accessed them from anywhere if she’d had it installed on the other computers.

She closed her eyes and swore. The Evernote app had been on her phone, and early on she’d had Bill delete it and anything else she wasn’t sure how to use.

Fuck. All this time there they were, waiting for her to find them.

She immediately exported everything into a document and sent it to her iPad so she could read it. She scanned ahead to the days before the attack, and other than a notation about signing up for the Classfriends site, there was nothing that would help.

Tear stung her eyes. She had been so sure, so certain that she’d find the answer there. Still nothing.

The final entry was at 1:14 p.m. the afternoon of the attack.

Doogie’s getting snipped. I get to bring him home tomorrow morning. Poor guy, but he needs it. We should be getting our wedding invitations from the printer any day now. I can’t wait! This is really happening. I’ve met Prince Charming. Well, my handsome Sir.

He’s not an ugly toad, either.

I think I’m looking forward to the collaring even more than I am our wedding. And it’s pointless to stay in the condo. I want to start moving all my stuff to the house. I’m going to surprise him with the news this weekend, over a candlelight dinner. I’ve got it all planned…

The memory returned. Not of the attack, but of writing that entry. How happy she’d been, making her shopping list, even the music she wanted to play on the stereo. Remembering how deeply in love she felt that afternoon.

And upset that, after all these months, there were still no more answers.

Steve entered the office and found Laura sobbing over the iPad. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

She pointed to the device. “I found the missing journals. They don’t tell me shit.”

He turned her chair to face him. “Sweetheart, you knew it might not give you any information.”

“I was so sure it would.” Steve held her, let her cry against him. Sarah heard the commotion and walked in, closed the office door behind her, and sat with them.

“What’s wrong?”

Steve told her. “Did it trigger any memories?” Sarah asked.

Laura finally sat up and shook her head. “Not of the attack. I thought it would. I thought for sure it would answer everything and I would know who did this to me.”

The weather radio alarm sounded, blasting its warning tone and startling them, announcing a marine thunderstorm warning.

“Looks like the boat returned just in time,” Steve said. “We’ll have to cancel some charters this week if that latest tropical depression spins up our way.”

When Rob picked up Laura from the shop a little after four that afternoon, she told him what she’d found. He hugged her.

“It’s okay, baby girl. We’ll figure it out.”

He wouldn’t let her help with dinner, knowing she was emotionally worn out. She decided to explore the Classfriends site on her laptop. Maybe if nothing else she would remember something. The username and password combo was her usual, and she logged in. Her last recorded login date was the afternoon of the attack.

Nothing.

Something itched at her conscious, though. It was a feeling she hadn’t had in weeks, like a buried memory wanted to come through. But it didn’t feel like it was about the attack. And frankly, that’s all she cared about at the moment was remembering who did it to her.

Rob didn’t want to leave her, but he was scheduled to work a twelve-hour shift starting that evening. “I could call in or swap off.”

“No, don’t do that. I’ll be okay. Really.”

“You want me to call someone to come stay with you? Or I can take you over to Seth and Leah’s.”

She shook her head. “No. I’ll be okay. I’ll probably go to bed and watch TV until I fall asleep. You’ll be home tomorrow night, right?”

“Hopefully. Depends on this storm.” He stared at her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I’m just…” She stared at the iPad, which she’d left on the coffee table. “I need to read through everything.”

He cradled her face in his hands. “We’ve talked about this. You knew it might not be a magic pill. And you’ve got so much back.”

“I know.” She let him pull her close, holding her tightly. She couldn’t take her eyes off the iPad. Somehow, she sensed it still might hold the answers.

If she could just figure it out.

Thomas called her cell phone that evening.

“Two calls in a week?” she quipped. “To what do I owe the honor?”

“Are you at home?”

She didn’t like his terse tone. “Yeah?”

“Doors locked?”

“You’re freaking me out.”

“I’ve dispatched a deputy to your house. He’s already on the way.”

She shivered and walked to the living room where she closed the curtains. “What’s going on?”

“We discovered a woman’s body late this afternoon down in Placida. Not far from your shop.”

“What?” She gripped the phone tighter.

“She was strangled and beaten pretty badly.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

Laura knew. In her gut, she knew.

“Have you checked your email lately?”

She walked to the table where her laptop was set up and opened her email program.

Her blood chilled. Sure enough there was a message from MedicineMan.

Her spit dried up. “How did you know?” she hoarsely asked.

“He left a computer-printed note on the body. I can’t tell you what it said because of the investigation. What does his email say?”

Her hand trembled as she clicked on the message.

Sorry I’ve been too busy to pay you any attention lately. Storm’s around the corner, Laura. I’m ready to finish our business pretty soon. Here’s a preview of coming attractions. ;)

Attached was a picture of a woman’s body.

The face beaten beyond recognition.

She dropped the phone to the table and ran for the bathroom, barely making the toilet in time to puke her guts up. After she could walk, she drew the gun from her holster and returned to the living room. She heard Thomas screaming into the phone, and when she picked it up to talk to him, someone started pounding on her front door.

“I’m okay. I got sick. Sorry. There’s someone at the door.”

“Don’t open it. Ask who they are.”

She went to the front door. “Who is it?”

“Sheriff’s Department. Are you okay, ma’am?”

She spoke into the phone. “He says he’s a deputy.”

“Can you see out the door?”

“Peephole.”

“Ask for ID.”

“He’s in uniform.”

“Ask, dammit!”

She called through the door. “Det. Thomas told me to ask for ID.”

She watched as the deputy held up his ID to the peephole. In the driveway, she saw his marked cruiser. “He’s got ID. And he’s in a cruiser.”

“I don’t give a damn if he’s in Santa’s sleigh. Get his damn badge number.”

“What’s your badge number?”

The deputy read it to her, and a moment later, Thomas said, “He’s legit, let him in.”

She did. The deputy stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “Ma’am, would you mind putting that away?” He pointed to the 9mm she still gripped at her side.

Still stunned, she looked at the gun as if she’d never seen it before and returned it to her holster.

“Laura, let me speak to him,” Thomas said.

She handed her phone to the deputy and tried to ignore the dangerous roll her stomach took. The deputy spoke to Thomas for a moment and turned to her. “Ma’am, where’s your computer?”

Laura pointed to the laptop. “The message is still up.” She walked into the bedroom so she couldn’t hear him read it to Thomas. A moment later the deputy knocked on her bedroom door and she emerged.

“Here’s your phone. They’ve already notified your husband. They’ve sent a car to pick him up from the firehouse.”

“What did the note on the woman’s body say?”

He shook his head. “You don’t want to know. I couldn’t tell you even if you did, because it’s evidence.”

Doogie quietly watched everything from the living room, and when she sat down on the couch he curled up next to her, his head in her lap. The deputy stood guard by the front door and twenty minutes later, another deputy brought Rob home.

He ran inside to her, hugged her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I guess.”

Thomas wasn’t far behind. “Hutchins tracked the email already. It was sent locally.”

“What do you mean, locally?” Laura asked.

He looked at her. “The guy accessed the Internet through your shop’s wireless modem. His computer ID was fudged, but he apparently wanted us to know where he connected at. You don’t have it password protected, do you?”

She numbly shook her head. “I…I don’t know. I never thought about it.”

“Whoever he is, he’s local. And he was either in your shop or parked outside, close enough to grab a signal and send the email.”

“Meaning I might have seen him today,” she numbly said.

He nodded. “Yeah. Meaning that.”

Stir-crazy didn’t begin to describe Laura’s state of mind. But when two weeks passed following the discovery of the woman’s body with still no sign of an attack, Laura let her guard down, angry that she’d let herself be scared yet again.

It didn’t help there was another tropical storm out in the Gulf headed their way.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Laura flipped the Open sign over, turned the showroom lights off, and locked the front door. She’d sent everyone else home a couple of hours earlier so they could take care of their storm preparations.

She felt tired and needed to go home, but frankly, she didn’t want to return to an empty house. Well, Doogie was there because she didn’t want to have to wrestle with keeping him from running out into the rain. She’d gone home and walked him at lunchtime before returning to the store.

Rob picked up on the third ring.

“Hi, baby girl.”

“When do you think you’ll be home, Sir?” she asked.

His tone of voice immediately changed to concerned. “Why? Is there a problem?”

“No.” She looked out the window at the sky. The tropical storm was predicted to skirt to the south of them, but she still needed to double-check the boats’ mooring lines and stow some stuff inside the cabins in case the wind picked up or the storm changed course. “I just don’t want to go home yet.”

“They have me on stand-by because of the storm. I can probably get away for a couple of hours. Do you want me to come home?”

“Could you? I’m at the shop right now. Meet me here, maybe we can grab a bite and you can follow me home?”

He paused. “What’s going on, baby girl?”

“I think it’s just the storm.” She walked to the back door and glanced at the weather station. “The barometer’s dropping a little already. I think it’s got me on edge.”

“Okay. I’ll be there in about an hour. Gotta wait for Cal to get back from the store.”

“I need to check the boats anyway.”

She hung up, feeling better. She left her cell on the counter and went out the back door. The boats were secure but she liked to double-check. She clung to a piling and carefully climbed down into the larger cruiser, feeling for her keys in her pocket and finding them. The engine hatch was secured, and when she lifted the bilge access cover, the pump float was working and everything looked dry.

Good. It meant one less worry.

She replaced the cover then checked the ports and top hatch inside the cabin. Secured. She climbed out of the cabin hatchway and spied the hose and boat brushes on the dock. Dang it.

She sighed and struggled up to the dock, grabbed the brushes and dropped them onto the deck, then unhooked the hose. She’d stow them in the cabin instead of trying to wrestle them into the already crowded dock box.

Laura thought she heard a car pull into the lot at the front of the building, but then shrugged it off. Probably someone at the real estate office across the street.

She dropped the hose into the boat and was about to climb back in when she heard a car door shut. Sure it was nothing, but realizing she had to go to the bathroom, she returned to the shop and took care of business first. When she emerged from the back room she was startled by a dark figure standing by the counter.

“Hello, Laura.” Don Kern.

“Jesus, you scared me!” Her heart pounded in her chest.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“We’re closed. What do you want?” she snapped as she walked past him and back outside. She didn’t want to be rude but between the fright and the impending storm she was on her last nerve.

He followed her out to the dock and didn’t offer to help when she climbed into the boat and opened the cabin hatch.

“I just had a couple of questions.”

She turned her back to him to pick up the boat brushes from the deck and toss them into the cabin. “Sure, go ahead.”

Laura heard the sound of his feet hitting the deck and felt the boat rock under his weight. Before she could turn, he shoved her into the cabin, leaping on her and pinning her to the floor.

She screamed but she couldn’t reach behind her to get the gun. His knee dug into her back and he laughed.

“Oh, little momma’s packing heat.”

She felt him pull up her outer shirt and slide the gun from the holster. Then she froze as he pressed the muzzle against the back of her head.

“We have unfinished business, Laura.”

She felt a blinding pain as her world went black.