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“What about the women?” Aaron asked quietly.
“What? I thought we were looking for a man.” She seemed genuinely shocked.
“Yes. And no. We can’t completely discount women from the equation. It also wouldn’t be the first time a stalker had an accomplice. It could be a woman in the crowd, relaying information back to her partner.”
“Oh, God.” Julie covered her mouth with her hand. It was shaking. He resisted the urge to take it in his own.
“Obviously, we heard the guy on the mobile yesterday. It’s clearly a man.” He balled his hand into a fist beside his thigh, to stop himself from reaching out to her. “But don’t think that we’re only looking for a single, white male. That would be an oversight.”
“Okay. Thanks for the heads-up.” Julie’s gaze drifted to the door in the far wall, and he got the feeling it was suddenly becoming even more real for her.
Wanting to keep them on track, he said gently, “What about the four friends staying in cabin nine? What do you know about them?”
Just as Julie opened her mouth, her cell phone made a loud, jangling noise that had Aaron immediately on edge.
She jumped up and turned to face him. “No,” she whispered.
He stood and put a steadying hand on her arm. “It could be nothing,” he said soothingly. Then he went over and retrieved the cell from the table, glancing at the screen. No caller ID. Not good.
“If this is him, Julie, I want you to try and keep him talking. I’m going to let Lance know that we need to trace this call. Okay?”
She just nodded, staring at the phone as if hypnotized.
Aaron took his phone out of his pocket and dialled Lance’s number, never taking his eyes from Julie’s face. When Lance answered on the second ring, he spoke quickly and then hung up. His call had only taken a few seconds.
He nodded and said quietly, “Remember not to mention me. Let’s see what he knows first.”
Holding the phone between them, resting flat on his hand, Aaron pressed the answer button and held his breath.
After a second’s hesitation, Julie said, “Hello?” in a shaky voice.
“Hello, Julie.” It was the same voice from yesterday. With an English accent, like the guy was speaking with a plum in his mouth. God, he hoped Lance was all over this call. If they could trace this phone, they might have this fucker in custody by lunchtime.
“What do you want? Why do you keep calling me?” Julie practically spat the words at her phone.
“I want to show you the light. But a little birdie told me you’re hiding away inside. You can’t see the light from inside, Julie.”
The guy was being a lot more guarded with his comments today. It was hard to tell from what he was saying if he was nearby somewhere, or if he had someone doing his spying for him. Julie dragged in a ragged breath and Aaron put his hand on her shoulder, bracing her against the shudder that ran through her body.
“Has that big gorilla got you running scared? I never took you for a coward, Julie.”
Aaron assumed he was the gorilla the stalker was referring to. How did he know about Aaron? Had he seen him arrive in the chopper? Or seen him with Julie yesterday down at the billabong? Where the hell was this guy? Aaron’s gut was telling him the stalker had to be one of the guests to have this much information. But not one of them seemed to fit the profile. Could the guy be camped out on the property somewhere, watching Julie from afar? It seemed unlikely, but hell, anything was possible. Was there indeed a mole in their midst? Was someone on the inside slipping the stalker information? The new girl, Sasha? The chopper pilot? Everyone was a suspect.
Julie lifted her gaze to meet Aaron’s. Her beautiful face was cloaked with unease. But there was another emotion flitting through the depths of her eyes. Anger. Which was good. Anger made people stand up and fight. The Julie he’d used to know always fought for what was fair; for what she wanted. He could see the heated words forming on her tongue. She was going to tell this guy to go to hell, and rightfully so. Except, they needed to keep him talking; needed to know what he knew. Aaron lifted a finger to her lips and then mouthed, “Keep him talking.”
Julie shook her head. He didn’t blame her for wanting to let fly. But then she swallowed and pursed her pretty lips into a pout. “What do you mean by big gorilla?” Julie asked from between clenched teeth.
“That big guy who showed up yesterday, all puffed up and full of himself. I bet he’s there with you right now. Is he your boyfriend?” The emphasis the man on the phone put on the word boyfriend made Aaron bristle. His tone dripped with derision. And animosity. “Whoever he is, let me tell you, he doesn’t scare me.”
