Jennie flipped off the computer and scrambled to her feet. On impulse she grabbed the phone. Watching the door, she raised the receiver to her ear. “Uh-huh. Right. I’m okay, Mom, really.” A large figure loomed in the doorway. Jennie swallowed past the huge lump in her throat. “I…ah,” she stammered into the mouthpiece, hoping Rocky wouldn’t hear the dial tone. “I have to go. Talk to you later.”
Jennie hung up. A stroke of genius, McGrady. She eased away from the desk and moved toward him. “My mother,” she explained. “She worries when I’m not home.”
“I’d worry too,” he said, his eyes piercing like laser beams. “Especially if I had a kid as nosy as you.” He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
Jennie gave him her best who-me? look and eased by him. For a moment she thought he’d let her go. As she reached for the doorknob, his arm shot out, blocking her way.
“Don’t flash those innocent blues at me, Jennie. I can spot a con a mile away.”
Jennie gulped and took a step backward.
“I meant what I said about staying out of this,” he went on. “And I don’t care if your grandmother is the President. I don’t know what you were doing in here, and I’m not going to ask. But don’t get me wrong, Jennie. There’d better not be a next time.”
He smiled then, catching Jennie off guard. “So, what say we get back to that party where I can keep an eye on you. Since you don’t have a date and I’m free, we can finish out the evening together.”
Jennie’s jaw dropped. Ordinarily she’d have told him to go stick his head in a bee hive. Given her current circumstances, however, she didn’t seem to have much choice. One side of her brain reminded her she could go home. The other, as usual, couldn’t resist the challenge. Okay, McGrady, you wanted to know more about Rocky, alias Robert Kennedy, alias Dean Rockford. Here’s your chance.
Rocky held out his hand, palm up. Jennie placed her hand in his. Excitement shivered through her as their eyes met. She quickly looked away. It wasn’t the kind of feeling one should have toward a criminal.
Except for letting her go upstairs to get into her blue silk dress, Rocky hadn’t let her out of his sight all evening. They ate together, talked, and even sang folk and country songs when Jerry played his guitar. Lisa and Allison kept casting furtive glances her way, but she hadn’t been able to break away from her bodyguard long enough to talk to them. Even when she’d gone upstairs to change, he’d made sure it was at a time when Lisa and Allison wouldn’t be there.
At midnight the band leader announced the last song.
“This is a beautiful song made popular by Ian Axel and Christina Aguilera. So everybody sit back and enjoy Say Something.” Rocky slid an arm around Jennie’s shoulders as they sat together at a candlelit table for two. The tables encircled the pool, and a stage had been set up at one end for the band. The stars glistened in the gently rippling water, transfixing Jennie.
“Great song,” Rocky said softly.
“Yes. It is.” Jennie closed her eyes and let the sweet melody drift through her, imagining herself floating across a dance floor in her rustling blue silk.
She’d learned a lot about Rocky in the last few hours. His favorite singers, colors, and songs. He liked jogging, hiking, swimming, and skiing. He had a sister Jennie’s age at home who’d been paralyzed by a drunk driver a few years ago. He had a wonderful laugh and dimples in his cheeks, and when the light hit him just right he reminded her of Cody Simpson.
Whoa, McGrady. This isn’t a date, remember? The guy’s four years older than you. Besides that, he could be a stalker. Jennie tried to think of the things she’d learned that might incriminate him. All she had so far was his odd behavior and the fact that he hadn’t wanted them to know his name.
When the song ended Jennie straightened and opened her eyes. Rocky’s blue ones met hers. He lifted her chin with his fingers, and Jennie wondered what it would be like to kiss him. She wouldn’t have minded a kiss. It would have been a perfect way to end the evening.
“Thank you for a great evening,” he said softly. His sky blue eyes clouded over. “You’re a beautiful girl, Jennie—bright, warm, and alive…and I want you to stay that way. You’ve got to promise me you won’t do any more detective work.” He took hold of her arms. “Promise me,” he demanded. When she didn’t answer he tightened his grip.
“Okay,” Jennie muttered. “I won’t…just let me go.” Rats, she was going to cry. No way would she give Rocky the satisfaction of seeing that he’d gotten to her. She broke away from him and walked inside.
Fortunately, this was not the throw-yourself-on-thebed-and-cry-yourself-dry kind of thing. By the time Jennie got to the guest room where she and Lisa were staying, the tears had given way to raw fury. Jennie kicked off her shoes and yanked the bow from her hair. “Ow—” She’d also yanked half her hair off with it.
“Jennie, what’s wrong?” Lisa and Allison walked in and barely missed being torpedoed by the silk bow. “Nothing.” Jennie picked up her shoes and stuffed them into her bag.
“When I first saw you and Rocky together,” Lisa said, “I thought maybe you were questioning him. Then…Jennie, you don’t have a crush on him or anything, do you? The way you two were looking at each other tonight…”
“No!” Jennie said a little too loudly. “I don’t have a crush on anybody. I can’t stand the creep.” She took a deep breath. “Thanks to you two, he caught me in your dad’s office and decided that making himself my date was the best way to keep me out of trouble.”
Allison scooped up the bow and dropped into a wicker chair. “Did Rocky…I mean, he didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Jennie closed her eyes. Hurt. Embarrassed. Humiliated. Used. All of the above. How could she have been so stupid as to think he might have been having a good time…that he might have really meant what he’d said about her being pretty? You let your guard down, McGrady. You let yourself get caught up in music and candlelight. You were acting like a girl. Jennie almost choked on that one. She could almost hear Gram saying, “My dear child. Of course you were acting like a girl. You are a girl.”
“No,” she said finally. “He didn’t hurt me.” To herself she added, Not physically, anyway.
“Good.” Lisa shrugged out of her dress and shoes and retrieved her sweats. “Did you find out anything?”
“Yeah. According to the file, his real name is Dean Rockford. Lives in Vancouver. I tried to memorize the address. Twenty-two something East Third. I can’t remember right now.” Jennie unzipped her dress and let it slither to the floor. “It doesn’t matter anyway.” She jerked on her jeans and a purple University of Washington sweatshirt. “I’m through.”
“No!” Allison wailed. “Jennie, you can’t give up now.”
“Like I told you earlier. Your dad is taking this seriously. He says the police are too.”
“Even if that’s true,” Lisa argued, “the police aren’t going to look for another stalker. They have Jerry.”
“I’m sorry. Both Rocky and Mr. B warned me off. I’m not about to go through another night like tonight.”
“Listen,” Allison said as she rose and headed for the door. “I’ve got to go back downstairs to say goodbye to everyone. Promise me you’ll stay till I get back.”
“Look, Allison. I’m tired. I just want to go home and go to bed.”
“Please.”
Jennie sank onto the bed. “Okay, you win.”
Lisa watched Allison go, then closed the door. “Are you really giving up?”
“Forget it, Lisa. It’s not going to work.” She turned onto her stomach and buried her head in the soft pillow.
Jennie felt the bed shift as Lisa sat on it. “You want to talk about it?”
“What?”
“You know.”
Rocky. The unspoken word hung between them. After a few minutes, Jennie turned onto her back and sat up.
“Lisa, Rocky is arrogant, mean, he uses a phony name, I’m sure he’s involved in something shady, and he could even be the stalker. He could easily have taken Mr. B’s gun and stashed it in Jerry’s pickup. He could have written the message on the mirror, then come down by the pool. He could have followed Allison to my house that night she and B.J. stayed over, and he could have followed me to Crystal Springs. Do you honestly think I could like someone like that?”
Lisa didn’t have to say it. The answer was evident in her smile. “He’s also cute and very charming.”
Lisa reached over and gave her cousin a hug. “Oh, Jennie, I love it when you mess up. It makes me feel like there’s still hope for me.”
At ten minutes after midnight Jennie stopped at a red light and wondered about the wisdom of her decision to drive home alone. Brad—after he, Lisa, and Allison drove Jerry home—would drop Lisa and Allison off at Jennie’s. Jennie had already locked the car doors, but she pressed the button again.
Twice she could have sworn someone was following her, but both times they’d turned off. She saw headlights again, about half a block behind her. Stop it, McGrady. You’re being paranoid. If they follow you home just keep going—right to the police station. Jennie turned off her lights and turned right onto Magnolia Street. She paused just before her driveway and peered into the rearview mirror. Nothing. The car had either turned off or stopped.
Jennie eased the white Mustang into the driveway, wishing she had a color that would blend more easily with the shadows. She found her house key before opening the car door. She’d read somewhere that you could use keys as a weapon by holding the key ring in your hand and arranging them so the keys stuck out between your fingers. Jennie tried it and made a fist. She whistled. “You could poke somebody’s eyes out with these.”
With her keys still sticking out between her fingers, Jennie unlocked her car door and stepped out. The night had grown cooler. Jennie shivered. The porch light was out. Had Mom forgotten to leave it on? She doubted that. Jennie had called earlier to say she’d be coming. It was probably a burned-out bulb. Or someone had removed it. The stalker wouldn’t need to follow her. He knew exactly where she lived. He could be waiting in the bushes right now.
Oh, for Pete’s sake, McGrady. Cool your jets. This thing’s got you so spooked you’re hallucinating.
Squeak—groan. Squeak—groan. The porch swing. Now that she hadn’t imagined. The wind had come up but not enough to set the swing in motion. Was someone in it? Mom had said she was going to bed. Had she changed her mind?
Jennie slowly climbed the porch steps. “Mom?” she called. No one answered. Squeak—groan. Squeak—groan…Jennie adjusted the keys in her fist. As she reached the top step a shadowy figure rounded the corner.