Second Chances (13 page)

"What's wrong?" he said, alarm in his voice.

"A letter was inside the store when I arrived this morning." She took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. "Someone put it through the door slot sometime between closing last night and opening today. No return address and no name to identify the sender, but my name is on the front of it. It has photos of me in it. Of us. From the lecture. From here. Brian, I think it's from Ian."

She grabbed the single sheet and read off the ominous message.

Stark silence lasted for several long moments.

"We don't know that it's from Ian," Brian responded cautiously, obviously choosing his words carefully. "We haven't heard from him since that weekend. None of us have."

"Until now," Karina pointed out. "Brian, I'm scared. I need to call the police but I wanted to talk to you first."

"When are you done for the day?"

"It's Friday, so we don't close until six. Susan's gone for another hour at least." And of course, the store was empty for the first time that day.

"You're all alone?" he asked, tension in his voice coming through the line.

"Yes. But it's only for a couple of hours, max." Her voice rose in apprehension. She walked over the window and peered out at the parking lot, but nothing seemed unusual or out of place. "Do you think I'm in danger? What about Susan? Is she? Brian, you're scaring me!"

"Look, I didn't mean to scare you. I just want you to be careful. I don't think Ian is dangerous. He's upset over his wife, that's all. He didn't murder her, or anything. Calm down. Besides we don't know for sure that it's from Ian."

"
I
know."

Silence answered her.

"Look, I'll make the call. This way the information goes directly to the same officer I dealt with before. I'll call you back in a few minutes."

Karina hung up the phone, her hands trembling. Brian was concerned but not necessarily worried. Still, he hadn't been happy to hear she was alone. Great. Now what was she supposed to think?

***

Sitting in his small gray car in the middle of the strip mall's small parking lot outside the toy store, Ian realized just how easy it was to be invisible. His sedan was so nondescript. It blended in to the surroundings so effectively, no one saw it. Or if anyone who'd passed by had actually noticed him, they'd given no outward sign of it.

His location gave him the perfect view of the store. He'd gone in and taken a walk through. Just to push it. Not when she'd been there, though. He'd send her the pictures he'd taken soon. Just so she'd know he'd been in there.

He loved knowing that she had no idea where he was.

He was actually looking forward to Karina spotting him. But not just yet. He wanted her to worry, to get paranoid and start to panic. The first step had been the letter. He'd turn up the heat on his campaign soon enough.

Every few minutes, Karina would peer out of the door, staring out at the lot, her body language full of fear and anxiety. What the hell was she trying to do? See if she could spot him? Ha. She couldn't hide in her store, either. He'd found her workplace and her home already. Besides, if she'd wanted to hide, why put her picture on the toy store's advertising? That had been a dumb move. He'd had no trouble recognizing her picture.

Now he wondered—would Brian come riding to the rescue? That would be perfect. So far, this had been too easy. He liked his games to have a bit more challenge to them.

Now that he knew she was at her store today, it was the perfect opportunity to go and check out her place. Dog or no dog, he'd get in without any trouble. He glanced at his watch. And the kids would be at school for a few more hours. Perfect.

Feeling almost giddy with anticipation, Ian turned the key in the ignition. He couldn't wait until they found out about the rest of his plans. He glanced down at his cell phone and the photo currently on his display. He smiled. Damn, but Karina looked good.

T
he next hour felt like an eternity to Karina. Brian still hadn't called back, and she was working her way through yet another pot of coffee, hugging her cup to her chest for comfort as she paced around the empty store. She walked to the window for the millionth time and stared out into the lot until it occurred to her that putting herself on display might be making her even more vulnerable. And once
that
thought entered, she couldn't make it go away. Then she remembered the receiving door at the back. Could someone sneak in that way? How long before she'd notice them? She raced to the storeroom and the door to make sure it was locked.

Taking a deep breath, she realized how paranoid she was becoming. She was letting Ian get to her. It wasn't fair. She'd been settling nicely into her new life, looking forward to a new future and now this.

Susan came in just then, breathless with hurrying.

"I'm back. Were you swamped Karina? Was it okay? Nothing else weird happened, did it?"

Karina just looked at her darkly. "The store's been dead most of the afternoon. I wish it had been busy, though. Then maybe I wouldn't have worked myself into such a state."

Susan frowned. "Didn't you get a hold of Mark or Brian?"

"Yes, to Brian. He wasn't happy. He was going to call the police and then call me back, and I still haven't heard from him. He also sounded so alarmed when he heard I was here alone that he really set me off." Suddenly remembering why Susan had left in the first place, Karina asked, "How did the rehearsal go?"

"It was so much fun! Everything went wonderfully. The kids looked so cute in their costumes. Too bad you couldn't see them. They were so funny."

"I could use that right now."

"Did Brian say when he'd call back?"

"No. He just said that he'd talk to me after he spoke with the police. But he should've done that by now."

"I did, but I came here instead of calling." A deep voice came from the open doorway. "And of course, you two ladies were so busy talking that you didn't notice me."

"Brian," Karina gasped. Without a thought, she raced around the counter and flung herself into his arms, feeling instantly comforted.

"Is this more serious than we thought?" asked Susan.

"No, but Officer Markham wanted to see the note and speak with you both. And I wanted to be here when he did."

He squeezed Karina hard then released her, but not before placing a fleeting kiss on her lips. "Worried yourself sick, haven't you?"

She threw up her hands in exasperation. "What did you expect? First you say I shouldn't be alone. Then you promised to call me right back, only you didn't. I've been storming around here like a madwoman, waiting for something to happen."

Brian smiled down at her then motioned to the police officer who had just entered the store. "This is Officer Markham. He's helping us with Ian. If it is indeed Ian." He held up his hand. "We'll give him the letter and let the police decide, okay?"

Grudgingly, she agreed. Turning to the police officer, she introduced Susan and herself and thanked him for coming before handing the letter over to him.

He examined it carefully and asked several questions, jotting down notes in a small notebook. "I'm going to take this and see what we come up with. Do you have any idea why he'd be upset with you?" He asked Karina, his gaze intent but thoughtful.

"No. I've spent all day thinking about this. My friendship with Brian is the only connection I can think of." She searched Brian's face. "And of course, we all went to university together."

The officer watched her as she watched Brian. "Just friends?"

She flushed at the question but didn't answer.

"Our relationship isn't the issue here," Brian protested, "it's what Ian perceives our relationship to be that counts. And I never knew Ian in university at all." Brian looked at Karina. "You knew him only slightly better than I did."

"And I didn't like what I did know," she said seriously. She briefly described some of Ian's strange and disturbing behaviors from their school days.

"I'm not sure how he thinks yet," Officer Markham said, "but if in his mind he can trace a lost relationship back to you, he may be targeting your relationship as payback."

Susan gasped at that, her face paling quickly. "Karina's not really in danger, is she?"

In a complete attitude reversal, Karina put her arm around Susan and gave her friend a squeeze. "It's all right, Susan. This is probably nothing." She cast a worried glance at Brian, who gave his head an almost imperceptible shake.

"Maybe, and maybe not," the officer said, putting the note and photographs back into the envelope. "In the meantime, if anything else happens, call me right away." He handed his business cards to Karina and Susan and left the store.

"Brian? What do you think?" Karina looked to him for reassurance.

"Maybe he just wants to scare you away. That makes as much sense as anything." He gently smoothed her cheek with a fingertip.

Soothed by the touch, Karina leaned into his warmth, grateful that he'd come.

"That's true in a twisted way," added Susan thoughtfully. "Think about it. At the seminar, Ian tried to warn everyone not to listen to Brian. Maybe this is a similar thing. If he scares you away from Brian, he's finally succeeded at trying to hurt him, where he failed in the seminar."

"Maybe. But Ian clearly wasn't thinking in a calm, rational manner then. Stalking Karina and taking photos would indicate that he's spent a lot of time and effort obsessing about her. About us. "

Dismayed, Karina looked at Brian. "If his hate is still motivating him after all this time, he wants a whole lot more from us. The question is what?"

"We can only wait for his next move. That and be smart. Don't walk to work for the next while. Don't be alone for long periods of time, if you can." Brian was in protective-male mode once again.

"Do you think Susan, Sandra or the kids are in danger?"

"No, because I don't think you're in danger. He's clearly angry, and this is a nuisance, but I don't think he's so deranged as to really hurt anyone. If he was, I'd be his target. Not you."

"I'm going to warn both Sandra and Paul regardless," said Susan. "And I think he's right, Karina. You should take extra precautions." Sandra turned back to Brian. "Why haven't the police tried to talk to Ian?"

"They have already. He fell off everyone's radar shortly after his wife left. He quit his job, left their house. They're still working on tracking him down."

"Then we should keep an eye out for him." Karina suggested, her heart thumping nervously in her chest. "He could be anywhere. He might even be hanging around the store."

"If you see him, call the police immediately," Brian warned her.

That was only sensible. However, if Ian was acting dangerous around her friends, she'd get them away by any method that worked. She turned and walked over to the front counter, guilt weighing heavily on her shoulders. She felt partially responsible for putting both the women and the children in possible danger.

As if reading her mind, Susan wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You're not to blame for this," she said firmly. "We're all in this together and together we can deal with it."

Brian stepped in. "If anyone's to blame, it's me. However, that's not going to help us at all now. We need the police to convince Ian to leave us alone."

Karina smiled at the two people rallying around her. They'd come to mean so much to her in such a short time.

"Listen, Karina, why don't you go home early today? This has been a difficult day for you. Business has been quiet today and I can close the store up tonight. Besides, Paul was going to pick me up at closing time and take me out for dinner."

Karina looked at her, torn with indecision. She desperately wanted to retreat to the safety of her apartment, but she didn't want to leave Susan alone.

Brian took the decision away from her.

"Come on, I'll take you out for Chinese food. Or even better, I'll pick it up and bring it back to your place. Then we can go for a walk in the park after dinner and you can get to bed early."

Susan agreed wholeheartedly with Brian's suggestions.

The next thing she knew, Karina found herself standing in the open door and saying goodbye to them both.

"I'll be there in about a half hour with dinner, okay?" Brian asked.

She smiled wanly at him. "I'll leave the door open, just in case I fall asleep on the couch."

"That's not likely, the twins are at home. You'll be lucky to get five minutes of peace at all," said Susan with a laugh. "Go home, but no more coffee for you. You'll never sleep tonight at this rate."

Susan was right—the twins were waiting for her. They exploded from the house as soon as she pulled into the driveway.