Gayle Wilson - The Inquisitor

As she waited through the rings, she looked back toward the window, but from this angle she couldn’t see the line of cars.

“Jefferson County 911,” a woman answered. “What’s your emergency?”

“I talked to the Mountain Brook Police today about a man who’s been harassing me. I think he’s outside my apartment.”

“He’s at your door, ma’am?”

“I think he’s parked across the parking lot.”

“You think? Can you see him?”

“I can see someone sitting in a car that looks like his.”

“And what’s he doing, ma’am?”

“He’s just sitting there. I think he’s watching my apartment.”

There was a long silence. Although the dispatcher’s voice had been expressionless, the questions themselves had become more telling.

“The officer I spoke to this afternoon told me to call if he bothered me again.” Jenna fought the urge to slam down the phone in the face of the almost palpable disbelief.

“Did you get a restraining order, ma’am?”

“Nobody suggested that. Do I need one?”

“Well, it would require him to stay so many feet away from you or your property. If you don’t have one, and if he isn’t bothering you…”

The dispatcher let the sentence trail, but it was obvious what the woman was suggesting. The police weren’t going to do anything. Not until Murphy did.

“You do know there’s a serial killer on the loose?” Jenna asked, no longer bothering to hide her own frustration.

“Yes, ma’am. Most of the officers in this area are working on some aspect of those murders.”

Again, although there had been only politeness in her voice, the dispatcher had made her point. Jenna could only commend whoever had trained her.

“Ma’am, if you really feel you’re in danger…” Again the dispatcher’s words were allowed to trail.

Did she? Did she believe Sean Murphy was the murderer the police were seeking? Did she believe he was out there in the parking lot because he intended to kill her?

“Thanks,” she said, pushing the off button with her thumb.

If she got the police out here, what were they going to do? Tell Murphy to move on? He wasn’t doing anything except sitting in his car. Even she was forced to acknowledge that.

Carrying the phone with her, she walked to the window again. This time she made no attempt to hide the fact that she was looking out it.

Nothing had changed during her conversation with the dispatcher. The SUV was parked in the same place, the security lights shining down on its top.

Her eyes focused on the interior. That’s when she realized she’d been wrong. Something had changed. There was no one in the car now.

She scanned the parking lot. Although the people who lived in this complex usually came and went throughout the evening, not a single soul was outside now. Even the curtains on the lighted units across the way were drawn, shielding their inhabitants from the night.

Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe one of them had been sitting in his car. Listening to the ending of a song. Or to one of the popular sports discussion shows. Finishing a conversation on their cell phone.

There were a dozen legitimate reasons for someone to be sitting in their car.

Jenna almost dropped the phone when it shrilled, vibrating in her hand. She lifted it, holding it out in front of her as she waited for the number to appear on the caller ID display.

It wasn’t one she recognized, but that didn’t mean anything. Maybe someone from work who’d heard about what had happened was checking on her. Or maybe the dispatcher had decided to pass her call on to the police after all.

When the phone rang a second time, she punched the talk button, bringing the receiver to her ear. “Hello?”

“Should I be expecting a visit from the cops?”

There was no doubt in her mind who was on the line. The same deep voice. The same nearly unidentifiable accent.

“Any minute now.”

“You don’t lie worth a damn, Dr. Kincaid. I would think that someone with your training would be much better at that.”

“I’m not lying.”

He laughed, sounding genuinely amused. That should probably have unnerved her as much as seeing him sitting outside her building had. It made her angry instead.

“What do you want from me?” she demanded.

“Absolutely nothing, I assure you. Not one thing.”

“Then why are you out there?”

“Out where?”

He wasn’t going to admit what they both knew. He had parked across from her apartment so he could watch her.

“I’m sorry you thought I was sympathetic to him.” If placating the man would put an end to this nonsense, Jenna was more than willing to do that. “Nothing could be further from the truth. He’s vicious and sadistic, and believe me, I want him caught as much as anybody in this town.”

“It’s good to hear we’re in agreement.”

“Look, I’ve said I’m sorry for the way I came across. I don’t know what else you want me to say—”

“I told you. I don’t want a thing from you, Dr. Kincaid.”

“Then why are you outside my apartment? Why did you wait for me to come out of the office last night? What kind of game are you playing?”

“I’m not your concern, Dr. Kincaid. Believe me, I don’t intend you any harm.”

“Then stop stalking me.”

“Legally, what I’m doing—”

“Don’t talk to me about ‘legally.’ You followed me. You’re outside my apartment. You’re calling me. If that isn’t stalking—” She stopped the tirade because she knew she was giving him what he wanted. Control. “Just go away and leave me the hell alone.”

The catch in her voice on the last word made her furious. The day she let this bastard make her cry—

“Did you read those papers, Dr. Kincaid?”

He must have been parked out there when she’d arrived this afternoon, the newspapers under her arm. She had been so focused on getting inside and devouring them that she’d never thought to check out the parking lot. Of course, that wasn’t part of her normal homecoming routine. It would be from now on.

“I read them,” she answered.

“Then you know what I told you yesterday is true.”

About how well she fit the profile? “I don’t think—”

“Good,” he interrupted. “Don’t think. Just close your blinds, lock your doors and stay inside.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that if I were a woman in this town who looked so much like the rest of them, that’s what I’d do. It’s what other women all over this town are doing right now. I’m suggesting you join them.”

Jenna tried to come up with a response, but she couldn’t find words to express how his advice made her feel. Angry, of course. Yet fearful, too. And furious with herself that with a few words he could make her feel that way.

“Leave me alone.” Her voice was soft, but she allowed the emotion she felt into her tone, something she rarely did.

“I know you won’t believe me, but that really would be your worst nightmare. You do exactly what I tell you, and I promise nothing is going to happen to you.”

Jenna opened her mouth to respond, but the click on the other end of the line told her it was too late. He’d had the last word, just as he’d intended.

Frozen in shock by what had just transpired, she realized she was standing with the phone still pressed against her ear and her mouth open. She closed it, swallowing her fury, and lowered the phone. She pushed the off button as she took a deep breath, trying to think.

She wasn’t going back through 911. And she for damn sure wasn’t going to talk to the Mountain Brook police again. She was going straight to the task force instead and demand that she be allowed to meet with one of the detectives working the case.