Kate leaned against the front door as the details of the situation sank in. Her heart was racing but she didn’t want to let Maggie know how she really felt. Maggie would only start to stress out and she needed her focused. She needed her to catch this killer.
There would not be much sleep for Kate tonight. She went into her room, gave Salem a quick tummy rub as he stretched out across her bed, and picked up her laptop. If she could put some of her thoughts down on paper, she’d share the information with Maggie and help formulate a profile. Until she had some details from the current investigation, she decided to focus on what she could ascertain from the notes and gifts she had been sent. Kate had meticulously logged all the information, including her own photos, taken carefully so as not to disturb any evidence that might have been on the items. Her gut instinct that the individual was good at covering their tracks was proven correct when forensics had found no identifying evidence on the items.
The letters had arrived in black envelopes with gold writing. No stamps, so they had been delivered personally. Each had a common theme: possession. They said, for instance, ‘I will have you’, and although in and of themselves they were not threatening per se, it was the gifts that ramped up the obsessive qualities: dead roses, a wreath with ‘together soon’ on it, rings made of skin, and vials filled with liquid that looked like blood – sinister and threatening, as if this individual were trying to make a point.
Who are you? Have we met before?
Kate looked at the photos of the items she had received. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
She looked around the room. Are you watching me now?
Kate knew that there were various ‘types’ of stalkers and wracked her brain trying to think of anyone with whom she had recently had an unpleasant encounter. No one in particular jumped out at her. She had been attending a lot of training events these last few months. Could the stalker be someone she had met, or possibly even someone she worked with? Her lips trembled and she wiped the sweat from her palms on her trousers.
Why have I been chosen?
A loud bang at the door made her jump out of her skin.
What the hell was that?
Kate stood up slowly. Her curiosity urged her to see what had happened, but her fear screamed at her to stay where she was.
If she didn’t check, she definitely would not get any sleep. She tiptoed to the door and put her eye up to the peephole. Inching closer and holding her breath, a loud BANG caused her to scream.
Then she heard the whispers and giggles. Two voices. She peered through the peephole again. A young man and woman were stumbling about in the hallway, trying to hold each other up. She shook her head and laughed.
Maybe Maggie was right. I think I do need to stay somewhere until I can get the security sorted.
Kate packed up her laptop and double checked that all the windows and the door were locked. She turned off the light in the hallway, headed to her bedroom and gently moved Salem over as she settled herself in bed.
It was the first time since her childhood that she slept with the light on.