4.10 The Gathering Storm
Kellie
I was waiting for Grayson outside the police station. I had sent him in scout if Chris was there. I didn't want to meet my brother. He would start asking questions and the last thing I needed was to explain to him what I was doing at the police station. To be honest I kind of hoped detective Mitchel would be on duty this afternoon.
At last Grayson came out. He looked around searching for me. I rushed toward him.
"Graham! Was he there or not?"
"Graham?" he raised an eyebrow at me.
I paused in surprise. Did I just call him Graham? Why did I do that? I shook my head. "Oh. I mean Grayson, of course. I'm sorry. Is my brother inside?"
"I didn't see any male officer matching his description."
"Good. We can go there together now."
* * * * *
Terry
"Someone seems to be looking for you, Terry," Alvarez said and noded her head towards the door. "An admirer, perhaps?" she added. Normally, I would have had an equally stinging comment ready for her, if it weren't for Kellie Heffner standing in the narrow alley leading to my desk throwing me off the balance as she always did. I felt warmth spreading through my chest at the sight of her and a wave of protectiveness.
"I see," Alvarez chuckled, "It is the other way round. Poor poor Terry," she said leaning her butt against my desk.
"Can you move your... assets elsewhere, Anita?" I grumbled.
She pushed herself off the desk and threw a smirk at me over her shoulder. "Careful, Terry, she looks like the kind from noir movies, you know, the kind that tends to break the heart of a PI and make one big mess out of his life."
Sounds like a certain cold-hearted calculating blond bitch I know.
When I looked at Kellie approaching my desk I thought Alvarez may be right for once. For a second I wondered how she would look like in one of those glamorous noir movie dresses. Focus, Terry!
"Miss Heffner, what can I do for you?" I asked.
"Please, detective Mitchel, call me Kellie. You've known me since I was a teenager."
Should I suggest that she called me Terry? I thought, but before I could do so Kellie continued.
"It was Graham's... I mean Grayson's idea that I come here. He was very persuasive," she said with a smile and looked at a slender man next to her. I hadn't noticed him before. "We are colleagues," she explained.
She's completely dampening your ability to stay aware of your surroundings, Terry. Pull yourself together, man!
"I need your help, but I'd like to keep it unofficial if possible. I don't want Chris to know and start worrying too much."
I frowned. "Are you saying there's a reason he should be worried?"
"Yes, detective. Someone has been following me. I think I might have a stalker."
Is her family being targeted again. Is she being targeted? Am I going to fail her family again? The thoughts knotted my stomach. I took a deep breath. Calm down, Terry. She is still here and she is fine.
Something of it must have shown on my face, because Kellie looked concerned. "Are you alright, detective?"
"Yeah, it's nothing. Let me take you somewhere we can talk privately." I led her to the interrogation room.
"I'll wait here, if it's okay with you, Kellie," the guy Graham or Grayson said.
Kellie just nodded and entered the room. Suddenly we were isolated from the noise outside. The silence envelopped us like a blanket. I pulled up a chair for Kellie and sat down across from her.
"This stalker. When did you first noticed someone is following you?"
"About two weeks ago, I think," Kellie said and nodded to herself. "I went home from work. Thomas couldn't come for me that evening, he was too busy at work. They had an internal audit in the company that week as far as I remember. I was two streets from home when I had this feeling someone is watching me. When I glanced back there wasn't anyone there. I thought I had been just imagining it, but it happened again next day and then I saw him."
I leaned forward listening careful to her every word. "Describe what you saw. What was he wearing? Was he tall? Did he carry anything?"
Kellie shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't remeber. I was too scared and started running after that."
"This stalker. When did you first noticed someone is following you?"
"About two weeks ago, I think," Kellie said and nodded to herself. "I went home from work. Thomas couldn't come for me that evening, he was too busy at work. They had an internal audit in the company that week as far as I remember. I was two streets from home when I had this feeling someone is watching me. When I glanced back there wasn't anyone there. I thought I had been just imagining it, but it happened again next day and then I saw him."
I leaned forward listening careful to her every word. "Describe what you saw. What was he wearing? Was he tall? Did he carry anything?"
Kellie shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't remeber. I was too scared and started running after that."
I suppressed a disappointed sigh. That wasn't much to go by. "Sometimes we remember more than we think. I would most likely remember more details than you, because my mind is trained for it, but you saw the guy and his picture is in your memory. Let's try something. Close your eyes and think of the evening. Visualize everything you can. Was it warm or cold? How did the air smell? Focus on your footsteps. Remember the moment when you looked round. Do you see him?"
Kellie's forehead was wrinkled in concentration. "Yes. He's... tall."
"What else?"
"He's wearing a suit."
A suit? That didn't sound like a regular stalker at all. "What else can you tell me about him?"
"His hands are at his sides. He's not carrying anything." She opened her eyes and exhaled. "That's all. Sorry."
I suppressed a disappointed sigh. That wasn't much to go by. "Sometimes we remember more than we think. I would most likely remember more details than you, because my mind is trained for it, but you saw the guy and his picture is in your memory. Let's try something. Close your eyes and think of the evening. Visualize everything you can. Was it warm or cold? How did the air smell? Focus on your footsteps. Remember the moment when you looked round. Do you see him?"
Kellie's forehead was wrinkled in concentration. "Yes. He's... tall."
"What else?"
"He's wearing a suit."
A suit? That didn't sound like a regular stalker at all. "What else can you tell me about him?"
"His hands are at his sides. He's not carrying anything." She opened her eyes and exhaled. "That's all. Sorry."
I smiled at her encouragingly. "It's more than we had few minutes ago. You did well."
"I can't even believe I remebered the things I just told you."
"As I said, the information was there. I only helped you get to it." She looked more relaxed now. "Kellie, I have to ask, is it possible that the man who followed you was..."
"...Chris' father?" she finished my question and she shook her head vehemently. "It crossed my mind too, but no. Him I would have recognized, trust me. He's hard to forget once you've met him."
"Alright then. Do you have any suspicion who it could be? Have you received any strange letters or emails recently?"
"No."
"Any fights with neighbours or co-workers?" I asked writing a note in my pad.
Kellie drew a sharp breath but didn't say anything. I looked up from my notes. "Hm?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"I... it's not related to the stalker, I... I think," she squirmed.
"Let me be the judge of that, okay? Tell me."
Reluctantly she spilled it all about the co-worker of hers, the harrassment, the fight between this Gabriel guy and her boyfriend, and about the accidents. When she showed me where the acid burned her skin I had to muster all my self-control not to take her hand into mine.
"I see," I said. "And you still think these accidents and the stalker are not related?"
"But it wasn't Gabriel who was following me."
"He could easily hire someone. I'll have to talk to him."
Kellie didn't like the idea at all. I could tell. The co-worker was obviously making her feel very uncomfortable. How could she work in such hostile environment? When I saw the unhappy look on her face I seriously wanted to pull her in my arms and hold her. I hated seeing her sad. Blasted feelings! I will have to be very careful to make everything by the book with the guy. If Iose it and bruise him, Kellie will be the one to suffer. No mistakes this time, Terry. Not a single one.
"But first we're going to catch the stalker."
* * * * *
Kellie agreed to stay at work longer next day so I could make it to her lab after shift and be her shadow on the way home.
It didn't take long and the stalker showed up. I tailed him for a while to make sure he's really following Kellie. There was no doubt about it, so I confronted him.
I shoved my badge in his face. "Newcrest Police, may I see your ID, sir?"
The man reluctantly complied and handed me his ID. I checked it. Samuel Graaf. Could be fake though. "Why are you following miss Heffner, Mr. Graaf?"
He remained silent. Didn't even try to deny it. I walked around this tall broad-shouldered man. I stopped behind his back making him nervous because he couldn't see me, but he didn't turn around. Former military, his posture said. He could probably knock me down easily and run for it, but then he would have the whole NPD after him.
"We can talk here or at the station, your choice. Who hired you?"
For a moment I really thought I would have to find a way how to drag him to the station. But then the upper part of his body heaved up with a deep drawn breath that he released again in a resigned sigh. "I wasn't hired by anyone," he spoke at last and turned around to face me.
"No? Are you telling me then that stalking young ladies is your favourite pastime? I think I will have to take you to the station after all."
"I wasn't hired. I was asked politely. And I told him it was a bad idea."
Finally we were getting somewhere. "So, Mr. Cole asked you politely to follow miss Heffner? To scare her?"
"Cole? The oversexed wannabee scientist? No. I was asked by Mr. Nightshade to watch over his lady friend on her way home when he's too busy to do so himself. I work as a security guard at Nightshade Electronic Systems." He said the last bit with a hint of pride.
Having his girlfriend followed without telling her? How convenient for Mr. Nightshade. To know about her every move, about all people she meets. Unfortunatelly, I couldn't arrest neither of the men. No crime has been comitted and proving any criminal intent would be impossible. The only thing Kellie could do was to file a stalking complaint against the man and make it difficult for him to find a job in the future. However, I didn't think he would have to look for a new job anytime soon. Well, at least I can tell Kellie what a scamp of a boyfriend she has. But first things first.
"Do you know anything about the accidents that have been happening to miss Heffner at work?"
It was interesting to watch Mr. Graaf's face in that moment. Surprise, suspicion and irritation in a quick succession. Then the stone expression again. "No."
There was no way I could get more information out of him. I waved him away. "You may go. Tell Mr. Nightshade... Nevermind. I'm sure miss Heffner will give him her own piece of mind when she learns about this."
* * * * *
Chris
I was watching the tv when Kellie came home from work. It was quite late, not the time she usually arrived home. The sounds that accompanied her return - the rattle of her keys being thrown at the small table next to door with too much force that they flew across its surface and fell on the floor, the muffled cursing when she had to pick them up, the vigorous clatter of her high heels on the stairs when she headed to her bedroom - told me she's pissed off beyond measure. It had been happening way too often these days, and because I was pretty sure I didn't do anything wrong this time, there was only one other person that could have caused it - Thomas. I sighed, it didn't play well into my plans.
I was watching the tv when Kellie came home from work. It was quite late, not the time she usually arrived home. The sounds that accompanied her return - the rattle of her keys being thrown at the small table next to door with too much force that they flew across its surface and fell on the floor, the muffled cursing when she had to pick them up, the vigorous clatter of her high heels on the stairs when she headed to her bedroom - told me she's pissed off beyond measure. It had been happening way too often these days, and because I was pretty sure I didn't do anything wrong this time, there was only one other person that could have caused it - Thomas. I sighed, it didn't play well into my plans.
"Hey sis," I called at her when she was climbing the stairs. "Are you still seeing Thomas tomorrow night?"
The clatter of her heels stopped. I heard her mumble something that sounded like, "You bet I am!" but aloud she said only, "Yes." The sound of her steps hasn't resumed yet, as if she was thinking about something.
Come on, Kellie. Just go to bed and don't think too much tonight.
"Why are you asking?"
Damn! "No reason. Just wanted to know if I'll have the house all to myself tomorrow."
She peeked down at me over the railing. "Don't even think about bringing any of your girls here, Chris! I mean it! I'll know if you did!"
Oh, this is really bad, I thought when I saw her angry face. Thomas is a goner. I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. "No girlfriends, I promise." I sure am not going to bring Raven here.
Without another word she disappeared upstairs and I heard her slam the bedroom door. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly tomorrow. Celeste will be spending the weekend at uncle Brian's. All was set. No going back now.
I pulled out my phone and read again the message.
You're in for a big surprise, dear dad.