“Local coffee place in town.Best coffee in the county.”Nica smiled at the chorus of agreement from her brothers.They were definitely coffee snobs, and they also adored the store’s owner, Gracie.
“Gotcha.Go on.”
“A little later I noticed him when I stopped for gas on the way to school.I had run inside the convenience store at the gas station to grab a sandwich, and I saw him at the end of one of the aisles.At first, I thought it was my imagination, but I knew it was the same guy.Same build, same hair, same dark clothing.He always stayed at a distance, and he was already gone by the time I got outside.”
“Can you describe him?”
“Tall, lean.Always in dark clothing—jeans, dark hoodie, though he didn’t have the hood up.In our Texas heat, that would have raised a whole bunch of red flags.I never saw his face clearly.”Her free hand played with the pendant at her throat, a nervous habit.
“And the roses?”Mike prompted.
“Two dozen pink roses, delivered to the library at the middle school where I’m substitute teaching part-time.The card…” She hesitated, looking at Gabe.
He nodded encouragingly.“It’s okay.”
“The card said, ‘Sometimes I wonder if Gabriel really sees me, or just the version of me he wants to see.’ It’s a line from my journal, written verbatim.I wrote it a few nights ago.”
Mike’s expression darkened.“And you keep this journal where?”
“My locked bedside drawer,” Nica whispered.“Which means…”
“Someone’s been in your bedroom,” Mike confirmed.“Recently.”
“We’ve changed the locks,” Gabe added.“Installed security cameras yesterday.Alarm system, the whole works.Manager at the apartment building didn’t raise a stink when I demanded to put in the system, especially when he found out it was to protect Nica.Nobody’s getting in without my knowing about it now.”
“Good,” Mike nodded.“I want to see the journal, the card, everything you have.And I need to know everyone who’s new in town in the last six months.Anyone who’s taken an unusual interest in either of you.”
Nica stood.“I brought my journal.I figured you’d probably want to see it.Rafe has the card; we gave it to him yesterday.Gabe has the folder with everything I received in the mail.”
When she left the room, Mike turned to Gabe, his voice low.“This isn’t random, Gabe.This is someone with a personal connection to the Carpenter case, someone with a serious grudge.The level of planning suggests obsession.”
“I’ve been racking my brain,” Gabe admitted.“Melissa’s parents eventually accepted the investigation’s findings; they even wrote to the medical board supporting my reinstatement.Her kids are living with Melissa’s ex-husband and his wife.I talked to him, and he said they are adjusting and are happy.Her fiancé moved abroad after the case was closed.”
“What about colleagues?Anyone who had a personal stake beyond the professional?”
Gabe shook his head.“Richardson’s brother blamed me for ruining his family.Made some threats during the trial.But that was years ago, and he called me, said he’d had time to calm down, and accepted that Marcus had problems, and I wasn’t to blame.”
“I’ll look into him,” Mike said, making a note.“Anyone else?”
Before Gabe could answer, the landline phone rang in the kitchen, and Ms.Patti and Rafe both stood at the same time.Nica called from the other room, “I’ll get it!”
A moment later, she appeared in the doorway, face pale.“It’s for you, Gabe.”
“Who is it?”he asked, already rising.
“He didn’t say,” she whispered.“But he knows Mike is here.He asked to speak to Dr.Summers and his FBI friend.”
Gabe stood and headed to the kitchen, Mike hot on his heels.Taking a deep breath, Gabe pressed the speaker button and placed the handset back in the cradle.Mike pulled out his cell phone, presumably to record.
“This is Dr.Summers,” Gabe said, fighting to keep his voice steady.
Silence stretched for several seconds.Then a low, distorted voice—altered by some kind of device—slithered through the speaker.
“Do you think bringing in the FBI will save you, Doctor?Or your lovely wife?”The voice chuckled, a metallic sound that raised the hair on Gabe’s arms.“Nothing can stop what’s coming.You took everything from me.Now I’ll take everything from you—starting with her.”
The line went dead.
In the silence that followed, Gabe reached for Nica, pulling her against him.By now, the kitchen was filled with her brothers along with Ms.Patti and Douglas.Nica was trembling, but her jaw was set in the determined expression he knew well.She wouldn’t be intimidated easily—it was one of the things he loved most about her—but this was beyond anything they’d faced.
