by L A Dobbs
They eyed each other across the island for a few tense moments before Dino lowered his head and smiled. “Apology accepted.”
“Ditto.” She tilted her head and smiled. “Now, how are we going to find Stacy?”
“Let me call the office. I’ll have the IT team search for her through her social media and SIM card.” Dino pulled out his cell and dialed. “The girl does love to talk.”
“Got that right.” Jan picked up her phone to finish going through her e-mails. Toward the bottom of the list, she spotted one from the last person she expected to find in her inbox. Erin McCabe. Of all people. She glanced across the island at Dino before clicking it open and scanning the message.
Hi Jan,
I came to the studio this morning to get my shoes from the other night, but the guards wouldn’t let me in. Said you needed to be there. That’ll teach me to show up without warning, right? Let me know when I can get my shoes.
Thanks, Erin.
Damn. She’d forgotten about those dumb shoes. Considering how well her day had started, Jan figured why not get all her less savory tasks out of the way in one fell swoop. She typed in a quick response, telling Erin to come back to Treble later that morning and she’d be sure to be there, then closed her browser.
“Okay,” Dino said, striding back to the island. “I’ve got the IT guys on it. I also had the Rockford techs run through surveillance. The flowers were delivered by florist, taken in by a guard. No one went in or out of your dressing room after that.”
The hairs on the back of Jan’s neck bristled. “So some guard is my stalker?”
Dino shrugged. “Probably not. He was probably paid off. The problem is, he kept his face hidden behind the flowers, so the cameras didn’t get a good shot of him. He must have put the flowers in your dressing room then added the blood. Security at Treble went through it, and he’s not one of their guards.”
“What? How can that be?”
“It was planned. The guard kept his back to everyone and the cameras. With the Treble uniform, I guess no one noticed he didn’t belong. They’re still scrubbing through the rest of the videos to see if they can find anything else.”
“So we still don’t know who it is?” Jan’s anxiety ratcheted up a notch.
“No, but we’re getting closer. Now we know for sure someone on the inside is involved.”
Great. One of her trusted co-workers or guards was a stalker.
Dino must have sensed her nervousness. He came around the island and took her hand. “Hey, nothing’s going to happen. I’ll be right there to protect you.”
The words calmed her. She couldn’t hide in her house all day—she had work to do. And with Dino by her side, what could go wrong? She smiled up at him. “Thanks. I need to go to the studio today.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have to go in there until this is settled, you know.”
“I know, but I have work to do, and I can’t let this derail me. I have an album to put out.” She finished her coffee and put the mug in the sink then headed back out into the foyer. “Let me just grab something upstairs, and I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll wait out in the Tahoe.”
“Okay.” Jan headed back to her bedroom and grabbed her purse and Erin’s shoes then locked up the house and climbed into the SUV with Dino.
“Need a spare?” he asked, glancing at the shoes, his cocky grin back in place.
“No. I borrowed them the other night at the gala when my heel broke. She’s coming by later this morning to pick them up. I’ll leave them with the receptionist.”
“Not in your dressing room?”
She shook her head and looked out the window beside her at the passing scenery. She’d not been back in there since they’d found the flowers. And honestly, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to go back in there. “No.”
Dino reached over and took her hand. “I’ll have them switch you to another dressing room. It’ll be all right.”
“I know.” She didn’t look at him, just stared out into the bright Las Vegas day.
Once they reached the studio, she dropped the shoes off at the desk in the lobby then went upstairs to check in with the recording guys. They were still busy mixing that new single, and she wanted to make sure they didn’t need any more vocals from her. Dino trailed in behind her and camped out on the sofa, engrossed in whatever it was he was doing on his phone.
Half an hour later, security called in over the PA system. “Ms. Winters, there’s an Erin McCabe here to see you.”
“Right.” She straightened from where she was leaning over the producer’s shoulder at the mixing board and smoothed a hand down the front of her shirt. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
Jan glanced over at Dino to find him watching her with his usual stoicism. If having Erin around made him uncomfortable at all, he didn’t show it. In fact, he looked like he couldn’t care less, like he hadn’t even recognized the name. Doubts crept in on the heels of that realization.
Had she been wrong about what happened between them in high school? Sure, Erin had been Ms. Popularity—head cheerleader, always bubbly and flirty—and Dino had been King Jock—the man all the guys wanted to be and the stud all the girls wanted to be with. But there’d never really been any indication Dino had cheated on her with Erin, other than her own suspicions. Suspicions possibly brought on by her own negative feelings of self-worth. She’d never even asked him. And the other night after the party, it had seemed like he really didn’t remember Erin, which surely he would have if he’d had a fling with her.
“Be right back,” she said to Dino and headed for the door.
“I’m coming with you.” He pushed to his feet and followed her down the stairs.
They reached the reception desk, and Jan smiled warmly. “Hi, Erin. So sorry you had to make two trips for those.” She indicated the strappy sandals in the other woman’s hand. “How about I give you a tour of the place as an apology?”
“Oh, I’d love that!” Erin grinned. “I’ve always dreamed of being a superstar singer.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s silly, I know.” She glanced over Jan’s shoulder at Dino. “Don’t I know you?”
“Oh.” Jan glanced between the two of them, again struck by how neither one seemed to remember the other. Of course, it could all be an act. An elaborate one, but still. “This is Dino Machiavelli. He’s my new bodyguard. He also went to high school with us.”
“That’s right.” Erin stepped forward to shake his hand. “I remember now. You got some big scholarship for college, right?”
“Yeah. Then I blew my knee out and lost it.”
“I’m sorry.” Erin stepped back, her gaze narrowed. “You were at Binion’s a week or so ago, weren’t you? With Stacy? That was really nice of you to come down there and help her out the way you did. I—”
Jan glanced at Dino sharply. Did everyone in the whole stinking town know about him and Stacy except her?
He cut Erin off quickly. “It was nothing. A friend helping a friend. Excuse me a minute, I’m getting a call.”
Jan watched him walk away with his phone to his ear then turned back to Erin. “So, tour?”
“Absolutely.” She grinned. “Wish I had a guy like that to guard my body.”
“C’mon.” Jan took Erin by the arm and steered her toward the opposite corner of the room. “This is our lobby area. Down here we have the dressing rooms, the security office, reception, a few conference rooms and—”
“What the hell is she doing here?” Lou yelled from over the second-floor railing. He ran down the steps and over to where Jan and Erin stood, his expression stern. “You need to get out of here.”
He grabbed Erin’s other arm and wrenched her away from Jan.
“Lou, what the hell is going on? She’s here as my guest.” Jan gave Erin an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry.”
“She doesn’t belong here, that’s what’s wrong. In case you’ve forgotten, we have a serious
situation going on here. No one that doesn’t work here gets in.” He tugged Erin toward the side exit and shoved her out the door then slammed it in her face. “Guest, my ass.”
“Lou!” Jan stalked over, appalled by his rudeness. “She was here to pick up some shoes she lent me. And you just tossed her out on her butt like a criminal.”
“Damn straight.” He straightened his suit jacket and hailed over one of the security guards milling around the receptionist desk. “Why didn’t the alarm go off on that door when I opened it?” He pointed at the side door, the one where her mysterious package had been delivered the week before. “I thought you had that fixed. What the hell kind of operation are you people running here?”
The guard sputtered and stammered an explanation, but Lou wasn’t interested, obviously on a roll now. “And where the hell is that beefcake bodyguard I hired?”
Dino glanced over at them from where he stood on the opposite side of the room. He ended his call then walked over, looking far less than pleased. “What’s wrong?”
“Do you even screen any of these people coming in?” Lou’s face had flushed an unattractive shade of purple. “I’m paying you a hell of a lot of money to protect this woman, and you let people like that just waltz in and cuddle right up to her. Do you even have a clue how to do your job?”
“I’m the best bodyguard in town,” Dino replied, his words clipped and his voice lethally calm. “You seem awfully on edge today. Why, I wonder? Could it have something to do with the fact that you were seen talking to the security guard impostor that delivered the flowers to Jan yesterday?”
Dino saw something pass across Lou’s face. Guilt? He couldn’t tell. All he knew was the clues had been steadily piling up in favor of Lou being the stalker. And now, after the phone call from Josh at Rockford Security telling him that Lou was seen talking to the fake security guard, he was more suspicious than ever.
“What? I knew that guy wasn’t one of our regulars—that’s why I questioned him.” Lou waved him off and took off back upstairs. “I’ve got work to do.”
“Lou, what is he talking about? Come back here.” Jan shot Dino a confused look and followed after Lou.
Dino trailed after her, his angry steps pounding on the hardwood floor.
Together, they walked into Lou’s office to find him shoving handfuls of documents into his shredder. Jan stepped forward, frowning at the documents, which Dino recognized as the copyright infringements they’d seen earlier. “What the hell are you doing? Those are legal documents. You can’t just shred them.”
“Like hell I can’t.” He shoved in another handful of papers. “None of this stuff has anything to do with you, cupcake. You don’t need to be dealing with any of it, okay? Just let me handle it.”
“No.” She reached for the letter in his hand. Dino could see it was addressed to Jan and had the words “you ugly bimbo.”
“Lou, this is from my stalker.” Incredulous and shaking, Jan held the letter up. “Were you hiding that from me? Why would you hide that from me?”
“Like I said, you don’t need to deal with this stuff. It’s my job to handle it.”
“And you do that by shoving it in the shredder?”
Lou reached for the letter, grabbing it roughly out of Jan’s hand.
The dam broke on Dino’s self-control. He knew he should try to rein in his temper, but the rough way Lou handled Jan had him seeing red. In a flash, Dino stepped between them, grabbing Lou’s collar, his tight fist raised. “I don’t know what your game is, but if you ever go near her again, I’m going to make sure she’s the last person you ever go near.”
Jan laid a calming hand on Dino’s arm, distracting him from rearranging Lou’s ugly face. “You don’t have to hit him. Hitting doesn’t solve problems. You’re not like your father—you’re better that that.”
Dino’s eyes flicked from Lou’s panicked face to Jan. Her look of loving concern and faith … yes, faith in him made him hesitate. Jan believed in him, and that was all he needed. He lowered his fist, his anger subsided. She was right—he was better than his father. And even if he needed to work a bit on it, he would be a better man. For her.
“I’m sorry, Jan, but he’s not handling anything for you here like he says he is. He’s destroying evidence.” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed. “Yes, dispatch? This is Dino Machiavelli with Rockford Security. I need the police at Treble Studios, Imperial Street, between Main and Casino Center Boulevard. Stalker situation. No. He’s not armed. Okay, thanks.”
“Stalker situation?” Lou scoffed. “You think I’m the stalker? That’s perfect. All I’m doing is shredding letters. Like I said, January doesn’t need to read them after all she’s been through.”
“Maybe not, but I do.” Dino reached over and yanked the shredder’s plug out of the socket, silencing the whirring of the machine. “Care to tell me why you didn’t share them with me?”
“They’re not important.” Lou tossed the papers in his hand back onto the desk. “Hell, most of them don’t even make any sense. If I raised a red flag over every insane fan letter Jan got, we’d need a hundred bodyguards to take care of them all.” He sighed and rubbed his hand over the top of his balding head, his tone taking on an edge of desperation. “Listen, I realize what this probably looks like, but I swear I had nothing to do with the stalker situation. Can I at least call my wife and let her know what’s going on?”
“You’re married?” Jan asked, the shock evident in her voice. “Why didn’t you tell me? Where’s your ring?”
Lou hung his head and cursed. “I don’t wear one, and I don’t talk about it because it’s better for business, okay? People see me as some jet-set business mogul. If they find out I’m a happily married man, then they think I’m soft, that I won’t play hardball to get what I want. I actually brought my wife by your house to meet you, but you weren’t home.” He looked over at Dino again. “C’mon, man. Please? I don’t want her to find out on the six o’clock news.”
Sirens wailed from outside, and Dino crossed his arms. He had no sympathy for Lou. “You can talk to her at the station. They still give you one phone call.”
Several officers burst in, and Dino directed them toward Lou. They cuffed him and read him his rights while walking him toward the door. Lou glanced up at Jan one last time, his tone pleading. “This is all a misunderstanding. I swear, Jan. Please believe me, cupcake. You’re the best client I have. Why would I do anything to jeopardize that?”
Jan looked over her shoulder at Lou as they led him away. Lou was her stalker? No, that couldn’t be right. She knew Lou. He had her best interests at heart.
But if she knew him so well, why hadn’t she known he was married? Or had she? Looking back, she vaguely remembered a few mentions of family, but they were so few and far between, they hadn’t really registered with her. Of course, he rarely talked about himself, even when she asked him directly. He always deflected the conversation back to her. Always. And ever since this stalker business had started up, she’d noticed that Lou would disappear from the studio for hours at a time and then brush off any questions about where he’d been. A niggle of unease bore into her gut. Maybe Dino was right—maybe Lou wasn’t as loyal as she thought.
One of the officers had pulled Dino aside, while the other approached her. “Ma’am, I need to get a statement from you, if you have a few moments.”
“Uh, sure.” She caught Dino’s eye, and he gave her a reassuring smile and nod, though it did little to quell the growing tension inside her. “Go ahead.”
“Has Mr. Tanner made any threatening statements toward you at all? Mistreated you in any way?”
“No.” In fact, besides Dino, there hadn’t been anyone she’d put more trust in. “He’s never done anything that made me suspect he’d be behind this.”
“What was he doing when you walked in here today?”
“Shredding documents.”
“What kind of documents?”
She sighed, hating
the incriminating facts even though everything pointed to her manager being the stalker. “Legal notices and letters.”
“Letters from who?”
“My stalker.”
“I see.” The cop scribbled some notes on the tiny pad in his hand. If he truly had made sense of this whole mess, then that made exactly one of them. “I think that’s all that I need for now.”
He thanked Jan then joined the officers in the hall while Dino returned to her side. “How about we get out of here for a while?”
She rubbed her arms against a sudden chill. “Yeah, that might be good.”
“All right.” He placed a hand at her back and escorted her from Lou’s office and back to the recording studio where she’d left her purse. The whole place seemed abuzz with the news of Lou’s arrest, and the sharks-out-for-blood atmosphere made her sick. Lou had been a good manager and a good friend.
And, apparently, a stalker.
No, that couldn’t be right. Why would he do it? He had no motive. Even though Dino seemed certain of his guilt, Jan had her doubts.
Jan did her best to block all the gossip out as they walked back downstairs and out to the Tahoe. “I still can’t believe it was Lou. It doesn’t even make any sense. I’m his bread and butter—he wouldn’t want something to happen to me.”
Dino shrugged. “Who knows, maybe he did it for publicity. Maybe he’s crazy. I’m just glad he’s somewhere where he can’t hurt you.”
An image of the photos she’d found in the envelope in her kitchen flashed through her mind—her buying coffee, her with Stacy, her in the recording studio. Wasn’t Lou in one of those? She glanced at Dino out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t dare tell him she’d found those photos and thrown them out. He’d be pissed. But they’d been in her kitchen—how would Lou have put them in her kitchen?
He paid someone. Of course, that’s what he did. He paid someone to take the photos and to put them in her kitchen. Probably paid off someone at the cleaning company to put the envelope on the counter. Jan made a mental note to question Marta. That would be typical Lou—he never did the dirty work himself. But still, something didn’t seem right ...