Karin was determined to look particularly sexy tonight. As she walked into her bedroom, she thought of Adam across town, having dinner with Claudia Falcon, and frowned. Despite her pep talk with Lysette Parker in Paris, Karin was still convinced that Claudia was a threat. She was attractive, powerful and Adam needed her; it was a potent combination. Well, we’ll see who’s got what it takes tonight, thought Karin, letting her white bathrobe slip off her shoulders onto the floor.
Karin was due to join Adam and Claudia for drinks at Boujis in Chelsea and she was going to look dynamite. She picked up the deep-lilac silk dress lying on the bed and smiled to herself as she pulled it on, feeling the thin fabric skim over her naked body. She had decided against wearing underwear. Her breasts were round and firm enough not to need a bra and she loved letting Adam find out halfway through the evening that she was sans panties.
She glanced at her gold Cartier watch on the dresser; it was almost 9 p.m. Damn, she was late. Outside it was darkening quickly, the sky the darkest lavender streaked with spaghetti-thin lines of gold. Slipping on her shoes and grabbing a jacket from her wardrobe, she turned off the light. Remembering she hadn’t closed the curtains, she turned back towards the window – and suddenly saw movement. She snapped back away from the window and peered round the curtain, making sure she stayed out of view. She gasped: there was a man sitting on the low wall at the end of her courtyard garden. She recognized him instantly – it was the boy she had seen hanging around her house, the one who had unnerved her with his intense stare. And now he was here, staring up at her window, his face pale, eerie and ghoulish in the dusk.
Karin found herself squeezing her hands into tight fists. She told herself sharply it was not fear, but she was overwhelmed by a sudden sense of vulnerability. How long had he been there? Minutes? Hours? Was he there every day? Nausea swept up her throat as she realized her curtains had been open, lights blazing as she had undressed. She stepped away from the window and pulled her mobile out of her bag, quickly dialling 999.
‘Operator, there’s an intruder on the premises,’ she hissed.
‘Is he in your house, madam?’ asked the voice at the other end of the line.
‘What? No, he’s in the garden,’ snapped Karin.
‘Are you in immediate danger, madam?’
‘Of course I am!’ said Karin, her voice rising. ‘There’s a pervert rapist stalking me and he’s sitting on the wall looking at me naked.’
‘The man is naked?’
‘NO!’ cried Karin. ‘I mean he was looking at me when I was changing.’
‘We’ll see if there’s a patrol car in the area. In the meantime, we would advise you do not leave the house.’
‘But I’m meeting my boyfriend at Boujis, I have to go!’
‘We really would advise you wait until the officers arrive.’
Karin sighed. ‘Oh, very well, but I shall expect a lift to the club afterwards.’
Adam put an arm protectively round Karin’s shoulder. ‘You’ll be okay, honey,’ he said, burying his nose in her hair.
She shrugged defiantly. ‘It’s fine, I’m just a bit shaken up, that’s all.’
She had telephoned him straight after ringing the police and she had been delighted that he had left his dinner with Claudia Falcon at once.
Adam turned to face her and she could see both admiration and concern. She felt a little flutter of excitement in her stomach. There was nothing like a little bit of jeopardy to test a person’s feelings. ‘We’ll get the security on your place tightened up,’ said Adam seriously, putting his strong hands on her shoulders. ‘I can get CCTV installed tomorrow. Fingerprint entry pads on every door. Everything.’
She took his hands and gripped them. She hated to show any weakness and she was not going to start now. ‘It’s okay, honey, really. I don’t want to become some paranoid freak. What do you always say about those rich guys that travel around in bulletproof cars? You become more of a target, don’t you? No, it’s sweet, but really I’m okay. He’s just a kid.’
A middle-aged policeman came across to speak to them, introducing himself as Sergeant Danners. ‘Do you want to go through what you saw, Miss Cavendish?’
‘I caught a pervert spying at me from the garden. He was probably there ages.’
She gave Sergeant Danners a description of the youth and accepted the cup of tea that Adam had made for her.
‘Is this the first time it’s happened?’
She shook her head. ‘I’ve noticed him several times before, just hanging around.’
‘Hanging around?’ said Danners.
Karin shuddered. ‘He doesn’t actually do anything, but I think he’s following me.’
‘Did you report any of these previous incidents?’
‘No. But I wish I had. I think I know who he is as well. I was driving by a house on Pelham Grove, just around the corner from here, about a week ago, and I saw him coming out of the big white house at the end of the street. I think he lives there.’
Adam stood to face the man. ‘So what’s going to happen now? You caught him red-handed, didn’t you – surely it’s an open-and-shut case? We know where he lives …’ ‘Stalking, voyeurism, lewd conduct in an open space,’ said Karin, shivering. ‘I give you full authority to press charges on any count you want.’
Danners smiled politely. Working in this part of London where wealth and self-importance went hand in hand, he was used to dealing with victims who felt they knew more about police procedure and criminal law than he did.
‘Well, this is possibly an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act,’ he said gently. ‘Obviously we need to identify who this man is. For us to start any sort of procedure against him, he needs to have done it at least twice.’
‘Of course he has! Haven’t you been listening to what I’ve just told you?’
‘Once identified, we can get a harassment order against him. However, there does seem to be a lack of tangible evidence that constitutes “harassment”. Letters, emails, CCTV footage.’
Karin rolled her eyes dramatically. ‘So he’s going to get off scotfree is what you’re telling me?’ cried Karin, her voice full of disbelief.
Danners shook his head patiently. ‘No, Mrs Cavendish, that’s not what I’m saying. We could start off with a police warning. That sometimes deters people, although not always. If the harassment then continues, it heightens our chances of a successful prosecution.’
Adam put a hand on Karin’s knee and turned to the policeman. ‘Officer, if both the police and the Crown Prosecution Service fail to have this man properly and fully prosecuted, I am prepared to go to the highest level to make it happen.’
Sergeant Danners allowed himself a small smile. He had little doubt this imposing businessman would actually be able to do what he said, but he stood his ground nevertheless.
‘I assure you, there will be a full investigation,’ he said evenly. ‘First of all we’ll go and check out this house on Pelham Grove, and in the meantime I can give you the number of a local support group aimed at people who have had similar experiences.’
Karin snorted. ‘Whatever.’
Sargeant Danners moved away and Karin curled her body into Adam’s. ‘I’ve heard about people like this. Erotomaniacs; they become fixated with someone, fantasize that they are in a relationship with them. They can spend years stalking them.’
Adam squeezed her arm and kissed the top of her head. ‘I don’t think that’s going to happen, honey.’
‘Will you stay?’ she asked softly, looking up into his eyes. ‘Or are you going back to your dinner with Claudia?’
‘I’m staying right here,’ he whispered.
She squeezed his fingers and smiled, but deep down she was frightened.