by Sharon Dunn
“Like he is using you as some kind of substitute.” Katie and Lani were both blonde and blue-eyed, but their personalities were miles apart. Katie was quiet and thoughtful and Lani was outgoing and talkative. Noah stared at the sky. “I think we need to talk to a psychologist. I’m going to get a patrol unit to go to Martin Fisher’s last known address right away.”
“I agree. I’m with Katie that I want this all to be over with. Not just for me but for her.”
Noah could feel his body tense from all the questions that hung in the air. Martin connected to Katie and he’d had Jordan’s dog at one point. Did that mean Martin had killed Jordan? The evidence wasn’t in yet, but he clearly had motive if he thought Jordan’s death would help him be with Katie. But why bring Lani into it?
* * *
Lani walked up and down the hallway of the commercial high-rise searching for the address Noah had given her. They had agreed to meet Dr. Brenda Benchley, a private psychologist who often consulted with the police. It was Lani’s day off and Noah had taken a long lunch to meet her here.
His text had come in a moment earlier saying he was delayed.
And now she couldn’t find the office. Martin Fisher was still at large. Officers had been dispatched to his last known address as soon as they had his name, but Martin’s landlord said he’d moved out three weeks ago.
Half the building was undergoing a remodel. Plastic was drawn across some side corridors and she could hear the sound of tools being used and men barking orders and questions at each other.
Her heart squeezed tight. Katie had said that Martin was a construction worker. Of course, that didn’t mean he was here. She took in a breath to calm herself.
A man drew one of the plastic curtains aside and stepped out.
It wasn’t Martin. But she had tensed all the same.
The man had dark hair that was graying at the temples. “Lady, are you lost?” He rested his hand on his tool belt.
“I’m trying to find an office.” She showed him the address on her phone.
“Don’t know it.”
“It belongs to a psychologist.”
Light came into the man’s face and he nodded. “That’s up a floor. You must have her old address. She moved her office when all the remodeling started.”
Lani thanked the man, who disappeared behind the plastic curtain. She headed toward the door marked Stairs, walking slowly so she could text Noah about the change of address. She heard footsteps behind her but when she looked up and turned around, no one was there. Her heart beat a little faster. She searched the area, which had connecting hallways where someone could have gone. The corridors appeared to be unoccupied.
Maybe the stairwell wasn’t such a good idea. She searched for the elevator and got on. Lani found the psychologist’s office which had “Dr. Benchley” typed on a piece of paper and taped to the door.
A receptionist with short candy apple–red hair and cat-eye glasses looked up from her computer. “Yes?”
“I’m here to see Dr. Benchley, but I’m waiting for someone.” She found a chair and sat down and tried to take in a deep breath. She hated the way Martin Fisher had a hold on her mind even if she couldn’t prove he was around.
When Noah walked through the door, she could feel the tension leave her body and the air fill her lungs. His warm smile was a nice bonus.
“Sorry I couldn’t get away faster,” he said.
“Just through that door,” said the receptionist.
Lani had always thought of herself as a free spirit and an independent woman. The only other men who made her feel safe when she was around them were her brother and her father.
She pushed open the door. Dr. Benchley sat at her desk with her laptop open. “Noah, it’s always good to see you. Both of you have a seat.” The doctor was maybe in her fifties. Her voice was soft, and she had a grandmotherly quality about her.
She closed her laptop. “So Noah explained the situation to me over the phone. It sounds to me like Martin Fisher may have a sort of transference taking place, and that’s why he’s been stalking you.”
“But his attraction is toward Katie,” Lani said.
The doctor shrugged. “Obsession is a funny thing. Maybe he sees her as unattainable. The fact that he has been both violent toward you and done things that suggest romantic attraction is what intrigues me the most. He can’t acknowledge that Katie rejected him, but he has anger about that. Katie is sacred, untouchable, so he takes his anger out on you.”
The doctor rose to her feet and put her hands in her pockets. “He may also not be able to process the rejection. He might have some sort of rich fantasy life that he and Katie are in a relationship. When reality creeps in, he feels anxious and he takes it out on you. I couldn’t tell you for sure until I question him.”
In the days since they had a name to go with the face, Noah had kept Lani in the loop about the challenge of trying to bring Martin in. It was too much to hope for just a simple arrest. The man had made himself all but invisible.
“We know he moved out of his place three weeks ago.” Noah added, “Three weeks ago was also when he lost his job for giving the receptionist at the construction company unwanted attention.”
“So the job loss might have triggered the instability into high gear,” said Brenda.
Lani cleared her throat. “That’s when the attacks on me started.”
Noah’s forehead crinkled as though he were thinking deeply. He squeezed Lani’s shoulder. “We should get going. I have to get back to the office.”
Though his touch was intended to be friendly, it still sent a spark of energy through her. Years from now, would she finally be able to be around him without having that kind of response? She had to accept reality. Noah was her boss. Her dream was to be an NYPD K-9 cop. The less she nursed the feelings of attraction, the sooner they would fade. Noah was a handsome man. Sooner or later he’d meet someone and get married. They would both move on with their lives.
Lani and Noah rose to their feet, thanked the doctor and left the office, then got into the elevator.
Noah stared at the elevator doors as they closed. “That was illuminating.”
She watched the numbers flash by. “Yes, but it doesn’t get us any closer to bringing him in.”
Once they were outside, Noah spoke up. “Where did you park? I’ll walk you to your car.”
After scaring herself over what was probably just in her imagination in the high-rise, Lani was grateful for the escort to her car.
Noah opened the car door for her. “I’m parked in a lot up the street.”
She got into her car but left the door open so she could talk to Noah. “Okay, let me know if anything breaks with the Martin Fisher case.”
“You got it.”
She shut the car door, resting her hands on the steering wheel but not ready yet to pull out. A day off gave her too much time to think about Noah. She did better when she was on duty.
She heard the screech of tires. She couldn’t see anything in her rearview mirror. She jumped out of her car and stared down the ramp where a motorcycle was barreling toward Noah as he sprinted to get out of its path.
FOURTEEN
With the motorcycle coming straight for him from behind, Noah ran toward the protection of the parked cars. The roar of the motorcycle engine seemed to surround him. Before he could get to the cars, a blunt object hit him from behind. He fell to the ground and rolled. His vision blurred as he looked up at the taillight of the motorcycle and the man, Martin Fisher, no doubt, holding a crowbar. Pain shot through Noah’s back where he’d been hit when he tried to get to his feet.
The motorcycle did a tight turn and headed toward Noah once again. He had an image of the tires running over his back. Again, he tried to get to his feet but the pain was too severe. He crawled toward the safety of the cars, which were still fi
ve yards away.
He heard the screech of car tires and the thump of brakes being pushed with force. Lani had pulled up beside him. He reached up for the passenger side door and crawled into the front seat.
Behind Lani’s car, Martin swerved around them and then headed up the ramp. Lani hit the gas before Noah had even closed the door. Still dazed, he struggled to click his seat belt into place.
She turned the wheel and her car barely missed the parked vehicles. Martin whizzed by on the down ramp. Though her car was not as nimble as the motorcycle she hurried after him down the ramp and out into the noonday traffic. By the time she got through the exit and out on the street, the motorcycle was not visible.
“Valiant effort. I’ll call it into dispatch. Maybe they can catch him.” He made the call offering a description of the motorcycle. He spoke into the phone. “Also if they don’t catch up with him, put an officer on pulling the footage in the parking garage to see if we can get a plate number.”
She slammed her hand on the steering wheel. “This has gone too far. Now he wants to take out the people I care about. The other times he hurt you to get to me.”
“Thank you. I care about you too.” Noah felt his smile turn to a grimace as pain shot around his torso.
“I’m taking you to the ER,” she said.
He wasn’t in a place where he could argue. At the very least, he was badly bruised.
Lani drove looking straight ahead. Her jaw had turned to stone.
So this is what she looked like when she was angry. Still as pretty as ever, but the intensity of her rage seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the car.
“Thanks for saving me before I got run over.”
“This never should have happened.” She spoke through gritted teeth. “We have to do something.”
“We’re making progress. We have a name to go with the face. He’s got to be living somewhere.”
Lani didn’t respond. She wove in and out of traffic, taking risks that she normally wouldn’t take.
“I’d like to get to the ER alive.”
She let up on the gas. “Sorry.”
She took the exit that led to the hospital, rolling through several streets before pulling into the parking lot by the ER entrance.
He leaned forward to unfasten his seat belt. The radiating pain made him wince, but he didn’t make any noise.
Lani unbuckled quickly. “Stay put. Let me get you out.”
“I can handle it.” Now he was the crabby one. He didn’t like needing help. The level to which she was tuned in to his emotions stunned him. He thought he was hiding his pain, but she’d picked up on it.
By the time Lani got around to his side of the car, he’d opened the door and swung his legs out. He raised a palm to her. “I don’t want your help.” He braced his hand on the door frame and pulled himself up. His lips were pressed together and the pain seemed to be twisting all the way around his rib cage, but he got to his feet.
“You don’t need to be a superhero. He hit you pretty hard.” He thought he saw just a touch of amusement cross her face.
Grateful for the change of mood he smiled as well. “Sorry, I have to act like such a tough guy.” Time to swallow some of that Jameson pride.
“This has upset both of us.” She held out an elbow so he could grab her arm for support, which he took. Once they were inside, Noah was taken in for an exam that revealed cuts on his hands and knees and bruised ribs. The X-ray of his back didn’t show any damage to vital organs though he had a feeling he was going to be sore for a few days.
The doctor, a man who didn’t look like he was more than twenty, came in after the nurse had wrapped his ribs. “You are free to go. You need to rest for a few days at least and I’ve written you a prescription for painkillers.”
Noah slipped off the exam table and grabbed his shirt. He shook the doctor’s hand. “Thanks. I sit at a desk most of the day, so I should be okay.”
“Actually, I’d take a couple of days off and really rest,” said the doctor.
Noah felt like the doctor was speaking in a foreign language. Jamesons worked, that’s who they were. A couple of days off would drive him up the wall. He’d seen how Carter had struggled after being shot. Doing nothing was not in the Jamesons’ vocabulary.
“At least take your work home with you and sit in an easy chair,” said the doctor.
Noah picked up his paperwork and found Lani sitting in the waiting room. She rose to her feet when she saw him. Something in her expression was different. She wasn’t angry anymore, there was a look of resolve in those blue eyes.
“What did the doctor say?”
“Rest...tall order for me.”
“Noah, I’ve been thinking. What if we lure Martin out by setting a trap for him using me as bait,” she said.
The words seemed to echo through Noah’s brain. He couldn’t risk Lani being hurt or worse.
“We know he watches me enough that he’s figured out my schedule and routines. He’s not working, so he has all kinds of time on his hands. If there was some way to provoke him to come out into the open, to come after me while I was wearing a wire and a team was set up. We might be able to get him to confess to Jordan’s murder. We can definitely file charges for his attacks on me.”
Noah wasn’t sold on the idea, but maybe there was a way to make it work that ensured Lani’s safety. “We know he’s provoked when he thinks you and I are an item. Maybe we can get him to come after me again and this time I’ll be ready for him.”
“But you’re in no kind of shape to get into a fight,” Lani said. “I’m assuming he waits for me to leave my house in the morning or he hangs in the shadows around headquarters then follows me.”
“This is going to take a while to plan and set up. I should be feeling better in a week or so. But yes—you and I should make it look like we’re seriously dating since he thinks I’m your boyfriend.”
Lani blinked as though the remark had hurt her. “What do you mean exactly?”
“I’ll pick you up. We’ll go out someplace in public where if he’s following you, he’ll see us. He’s watching from a distance. He’s never getting close enough to hear our conversation and know that we’re not involved. You’re right, he probably does have a way to watch you leave your house.”
“What’s to stop him from going after either one of us before we’re ready?” she said.
“He’s never attacked with people around. He only taunted you at the parade. I’m sure I can talk Zach and maybe another officer into standing by in case something does go down.”
“Reed would lend a hand too.” She was silent for a moment. “So we stay in public places until he’s good and angry. Then maybe I can go for a bike ride or a jog. I’ll wear a wire and go to an area where there aren’t many people but the team can be in place watching.”
Noah knew Lani well enough not to argue with her now, but he hoped it didn’t come to her being the bait. Next time Martin came after him, Noah intended to be ready.
* * *
Before she entered the living room, Lani took one more glance at herself in her full-length mirror. She had gone to way too much trouble for her pretend date with Noah. The pastel purple dress and sapphire necklace brought out the blue in her eyes. She’d braided her blond hair into a French braid.
Reed, Abigail and Dominic were in the living room playing a board game.
Reed smiled at her. “You look great.”
“Like a princess ready for the ball,” said Abigail.
“Hardly,” said Lani. “Just another day on the job.”
“Are you sure they have enough officers covering you?” Reed asked, concern etched on his face.
“Noah knows what he is doing.” Reed had so little free time to spend with Abigail, she didn’t like making him feel like he had to give up even more of it for her. “Enjoy y
our night off.”
The doorbell rang. Lani walked over and opened it. Noah stood dressed in tan pants and a button-down shirt.
They got into his car and he pulled out onto the street.
“I picked a restaurant that has outdoor seating. Zach and Tony are already in place. One at the bistro and one across the street.”
“Sounds like you have everything set up.” Almost like a real date. She had to admit to the sadness she felt over it not being real.
“Both Zach and Tony have a photograph of Martin. Chances are, he’ll stay out of sight but if they see him, we can grab him. And this will all be over.”
Both of them kept checking traffic through the windows and the mirrors. There was no sign of the motorcycle or the dark sedan. Though Martin was clearly unstable, he wasn’t stupid. He may have rented or borrowed a car.
Once they were at the bistro, Noah requested a table close to the sidewalk. Lani spotted Tony Knight immediately. He was at the bar sipping a soda. A baseball hat covered his brown hair. Lani didn’t know that much about Tony. She hadn’t worked with him much. She did know that he’d been Jordan’s best friend.
It wasn’t until they had ordered that she noticed Zach on the other side of the street standing at the window of a bookstore that stayed open late. A moment before, Zach had been seated at a table inside the bookstore, his face hidden behind a magazine.
Lani glanced around not seeing anyone with Martin’s build. He could be peering at them through any one of the windows of the high-rise across the street.
“We should make it look like you and I are really enjoying each other’s company,” said Noah.
“Who would have thought my acting skills would come in handy?” The only problem was, she wasn’t acting. She leaned her head closer to him, resting her chin in her palm and gazing into his eyes. “How’s this?” That spark of attraction caused a flare in Noah’s eyes. She wasn’t imagining things, he must feel it too. She pushed aside the intense feelings and opted for humor. “See, I’m acting like I’m hanging on your every word.”