Chapter Four

 

 

“Thank you.” J.T. took the plates Dan’s wife Ally handed him and set the table. It wasn’t the first time Ally had put him to work, but J.T. didn’t mind. He missed family dinners. That had been one of the things his mother had insisted on—at least twice a week when he was in his teens the entire family—him, his sister, his parents, and sometimes both sets of grandparents would gather for a family meal. He’d not realized how much that meant to him until he’d lost his mom and half his grandparents within two years of each other, and was faced with knowledge that he’d never have one of those meals again.

But Ally and Dan did it every night. With as many of their seven kids as possible. Sometimes Emma, Kelly or Gracie would have other commitments, but most nights Emma on down to the twin babies were there.

Dan was really lucky, and J.T. knew the older man realized that. The only other man he’d ever met that prized family that much was his own father. J.T. was really looking forward to his dad visiting. Dan was great, but he couldn’t replace his own dad.

But tonight he wasn’t there to be a part of Dan’s family. He was there for her. And he was worried.

She was so quiet, far more than he was used to. They’d explained to her step-mother what was going on when they’d walked in, half an hour before Dan. Emma had chosen to ride with J.T. rather than her dad. She’d spent the entire drive quiet and almost brooding.

He didn’t like it. That was not the Emma he knew.

A rush of anger at the jerk responsible had his hand clenching on the plates and him fighting the urge to grind his teeth.

No one would scare or hurt her again. Not if he could help it.

They made it through dinner, then he and Dan slipped out of the family room while Emma went upstairs to grab a bag or two to take to his house.

J.T. sank into the chair near Dan’s desk while the older man closed and locked the door. J.T. knew there were things he and Dan would need to talk about without Emma or anyone else overhearing. While J.T. knew Emma deserved to be involved in everything the investigation would entail, there were some things the victim didn’t need to hear.

The idea of Emma being a victim of anything really pissed J.T. off. He knew her father had to feel the same anger.

“We’ll get him, Dan.”

“And you’ll keep me from ripping the son-of-a-bitch’s head off, right?”

“I’ll just remind you of the five daughters and two sons who still need you.”

“That’ll work. But still—“ Dan sighed. “A father wants to protect his child. It doesn’t matter how old or strong that child is. A real man does what he has to.”

“And that means being there for the entire family.” J.T. knew Dan would control himself—he’d seen the man in some hellaciously tense situations, and Dan had always kept his control. But this was one of Dan’s daughters… “Where do we want to start?”

“I need a list of all the men she’ll have come into contact with on a regular basis on campus. Then we’ll need to talk to her. See if we can eliminate some of the names.”

J.T. knew the statistics involved in stalking cases. Knew what patterns to look for. How many times had he studied social media posts to check for indications that the victims were being harassed online? “I’ll check her social media. She won’t like it, but we’re already connected online, so other than her emails, it won’t be too much of an invasion of her privacy.”

“Don’t soft glove her, J.T. I’d rather her be angry at us than a victim of a stalker. We know the odds. She most likely knows this guy.”

“If it is a guy.” J.T. was familiar with the possibility. One in nineteen men were stalked in some form or another—and most of those stalkers were women. It wasn’t impossible that it was a woman. Not as likely, but not unheard of.

“It probably is a man. Maybe one she’s turned down. We both know she’s a beautiful young woman. She draws attention wherever she goes. Add that she’s got a beautiful personality, it’s possible some freak took her the wrong way.”

All it took to attract a stalker sometimes was an initial moment of contact, or a casual glance. Nothing overt from the victim was needed, and stalking affected every socioeconomic and age bracket. No one was truly immune.

And almost two thousand victims died at their stalkers’ hands each year.

He would not let that happen to Emma. “I’ll keep her safe, Dan. No matter what I have to do. I promise you that.”

“Every instinct I have is urging me to bundle her up somewhere, where I can watch every moment of every day. But…”

“But you’ve got the rest of the family to protect. Most of them are kids. Let me, let the rest of the CCU, help you. You know we are here. And I’ll have my weapon on me at all times.”

“You’ll have to sleep sometime. I’ll call Ed, see if he can spare a watch for night time duty.”

J.T. knew the man’s limitations. This wasn’t a CCU or PAVAD type of crime. “It could have been an isolated incident. Though we both know the odds of that.”

“Especially with someone breaking into the car, in broad daylight. This guy was determined. And the contents of the note make me think this is just beginning.”