Chapter 80
786 Words
After Nigel had left, Dallas got on the phone to Mark.
“Hayden.”
“How’s it going?” Dallas asked.
“Good,” Mark said. “We’re back at her place, and we’re settling her in a bit.”
“She’s OK?”
“Yeah, better now. She was a bit shaky at first.”
Dallas remembered her legs collapsing under her in the bedroom, her trembling body on his as she cried out her fear and shock.
“Yeah, I’m not surprised.”
“She’s just making us all coffee, and Sully and I are going to explain to her how things need to work.”
“Good.”
“And the PA? How’d it go?”
“The man had nothing whatsoever to do with this. His body language and facial micro-expressions showed nothing but shock and worry. No way he could have faked that, not with the way I came at him. I was pretty sure Nigel wasn’t involved, but I needed to check.”
Mark sighed. “So we’re still empty-handed.”
“Well,” Dallas said slowly. “I don’t know about that. I think we need to do some more digging into Abraham Castell.”
“Nigel’s boyfriend?”
“Yeah. They met around the time the stalking began, he’s a security guard, he cancelled plans with Nigel the night of the party. I’ll have Marnie find out where he was that night, see if he was at work.” He paused. “And before the party, he showed up at Olivia’s house with flowers for Emma, quite unexpectedly, and Nigel didn’t actually see him leave.”
Mark narrowed his eyes, picturing the entrance area of Liv’s house. “So he could easily have pretended to leave by opening and closing the door, but actually walked down the stairs into the basement. Hidden out there until after the party, scared Liv, walked out the front door again while she was in the bathroom and before you arrived.”
“Exactly.”
“He’d have pretty easy access to Liv’s life, too,” Mark said. “Just pick up Nigel’s phone or laptop when he’s not around, maybe… they aren’t hard to get into if you know what you’re doing, even if they're password-protected. And a trained-up security guy would find it easier to get into a cell than most people, for sure.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”
“Did Blue Star do any investigation on Castell?”
“None.”
Mark sighed. “Yeah. Figures.”
“Anyway,” Dallas said. “It’s a lead.”
“And it’s more than we had an hour ago,” Mark said.
“Sure. But we’ve been on this job for less than one day, really. Gimme some time, man. You know I always get the bad guy.”
Mark grinned. “Yeah, you do. Dallas Foreman, the one-man police force.”
“Yeah, yeah. OK, I’ll be there around six o’clock tonight.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
****
Olivia set down the coffee in front of Sully, her hands still shaking a bit. It was so, so unnerving to realize that the man who’d sent her horrible, frightening texts had been standing literally three feet away from where she stood now. She felt sick at the thought, and fought to push it firmly out of her mind.
Liv sat down across from Sully now and he gazed at her. Beautiful woman, Olivia Jameson. He had seen her covers and photo shoots and makeup campaigns, of course. Liv on some beach somewhere, her glossy hair styled and blowing sexily in the wind, her perfect body in a tiny g-string bikini, the top barely covering her n*****s. Olivia laid across a bed in a pair of minute panties, looking over her shoulder at the camera with a come-hither stare. Drop-dead f*****g gorgeous, and hot. Sully had wanted to meet her a thousand times, and now here he was, drinking coffee with her.
And the amazing thing was that the real woman was, in a way, even more breathtaking than the fantasy one. A natural beauty, and a smart, kind woman to boot. He’d braced himself for a screaming, spoiled model-brat, and had instead been met with a scared woman, but tough and strong. Scrappy, his Mom would have said, and his Dad would like her spirit and red hair. He’d call Liv feisty.
Sully cleared his throat and she glanced up at him.
“So, Liv.” He smiled. “Let’s talk a bit about what we need from you, OK?”
She took a sip of coffee. “OK.”
Mark joined them now and he nodded at Sully.
- Writer
